The Nexu And The Wolf Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-one
(note to self- Firmus doesn't get his full tattoo until after he's joined the crew of the Nexu's Nemesis)
Remus Fairfax's long, blue-purple tongue was messily entwined around the base of an icicle, and he tried, vainly, to remove himself. 
I looked at him with pain in my eyes, whispering, "I swear I'm going to kill whoever pulled that. I'll go get help." I turned toward the main building. "And kill the sack of poodoo that did this. . . . I'll 'prank' them all right, I'll make sure they won't be able to karking walk for the rest of their karking lives. . . No, I'll do worse." Reaching into my belt, I held up a thermal detonator. My voice was ice-cold, completely devoid of emotion. "They won't know what happened, I'll slip this under a bed, trigger it and run."
Eyes widening in terror, Fairfax vehemently shook his head in response. 
Oh well. I wish I could. "I think if you put added pressure on the icicle it'd come free. There's a crack near the base." I replaced the detonator; reached and took hold of the icicle with both hands, pushing slightly. 
Albeit gradually, Fairfax's tongue came loose.
"Whew."
When his tongue was freed; Fairfax was quick to yank down his sleeve; as his left arm was covered by an obscene tattoo of two krayt dragons buggering each other. 
"You did not see that tattoo..... You did NOT see that specific tattoo......"
I remained silent. My hand moved unconsciously to my arm. 
Fairfax frowned a bit. "Was it something to do with....at-hem..... *my* tattoo?" Notably; this appeared to be the first time he referred to himself in the first person.
"No, it's a semi-recent one of mine I don't want anyone to see. . . . I've never shown it to anyone before. Want me to prove it?"
Fairfax raised an eyebrow. "Yes."
I shivered as I hurriedly stripped off my shirt. On my right forearm was a faint yet detailed tattoo draft of a nexu on its back paws buggering an acklay from behind. I moved my arm; the nexu seemed to move in a mating rhythm.
Fairfax's blue eyes widened again and he clapped a hand to his temple, clearly not having anticipated anything WORSE than his dragons. "Er. . . You never struck Remus Fairfax as one to 'have' tattoos at all. You should keep that covered up. Karking low temperatures."
"The design was . . ." Tears burned my eyes; I shivered again as I turned my face away. "My mother's." Pulling my shirt back on took less than six seconds. "I wish it was warmer here too." 
My companion arched an eyebrow. "Somewhere like Tattooine?" 
I nodded. 
"Did you know Remus Fairfax previously?" 
"I might have. I'm not positive, but I might have. Were you free when you were young?" 
"No. Remus Fairfax's mother was a dancing girl for Jabba the Hutt." 
I couldn't hold my emotions back any longer and just started crying. Force, I was a mess. 
Fairfax cut himself off and silently drew me into an embrace. I buried my face in his shoulder. 
"Sorry about the mess," I managed once I could talk. "I'm Firmus. Firmus Jinn . . . Firmus Piett." 
 
Once I made it to my dorm room, I immediately moved for the balcony door to sit out in the fresh air despite the cold before my dorm mate, whoever they were, arrived. 
I stared, almost longingly, down to the streets twelve stories below. The dark thought 'it would be so easy' suddenly drifted across my mind. I actually dragged one of the balcony chairs over to the rail and took a death grip on the railing so I could climb up on it before a sudden coughing fit racked me, dropping me back down to my hands and knees. 
Behind me the balcony door slammed open. "Are you all right? Can you breathe?! Firmus!?" I couldn't see the face, but I recognized Fairfax's voice. I shook my head. 
Fairfax managed to get me off the balcony and back into the dorm room, where he turned the heat up and raised the humidity slightly to match that of one of the underground moisture farms on Tattooine. "What were you doing out on the kriffing balcony?!" 
"I was going to sit and get fresh air but . . .then realized the date. It's the anniversary of. . .her physical death. When you mentioned what happened, it all came back to me. I was tempted to . . ." I trailed off. 
"Remus Fairfax is terribly, terribly sorry for your loss, Firmus." 
"I was free for part of my life, but then a band of kriffing Gammorreans who worked for Jabba took Mum and I captive. Aemira was killed during our capture."
"Aemira?"
Fresh tears welled and fell. "She was a baby womp rat who adopted me as her human."
"You said your mother was captured too. . . Remus Fairfax dimly remembers a young boy, a fellow slave, killing a guard . . . He didn't even have weapons; he went for the guards with his teeth and killed one of them!"
"I just wish it could have been that karking Hutt instead."
We stared in shock at each other for what seemed like an eternity. 
"What have you been doing since . . .?" We asked at the same time. 
 
 
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