#especially because the monks finally get results on the dna test while he's in haven
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Snippets Thursday: Meddling Mar (part 1 of 2)
A two-part piece to avoid a super long post, jumping ahead to how Damas and Phobos got their suspicions about the boys confirmed (part two is Damas confronting Jak over it)
The net thumped against the supports of the dock as Phobos hauled it upward. The catch was small for the evening; normally she wouldn't have even considered bringing it in so early. But the scanners had picked up a storm blowing in, and the last thing she wanted was for her net to get dragged out over the reef -- or for the Scylla to get any ideas about free snacks if she decided to shelter in the lagoon. Small though the catch may have been, it would just have to suffice until the weather was more favorable. Phobos supposed she could always take another overnight trip for larger fish later in the week. Maybe Jak would agree to let Mar tag along.
Phobos's hands stilled over the net of wriggling greenbellies. She stared out at the water without really seeing it as her thoughts drifted to the two boys who had drifted into their lives. Or, drifted back into their lives.
She knew her son when she saw him. He could have been five or eight or twenty-five and she would have known him. Denial at this point was foolish. But what she couldn't understand was Jak.
Phobos knew the child she'd borne. Knew every curl on his head, every dimple and birthmark. But to her knowledge, she'd only given birth once. And Jak...
Jak looked at her with Mar's eyes. He smiled with Mar's left-cheek dimple. And according to Damas, beneath the scarf he never took off, Jak had Mar's portwine stain on the back of his neck.
Phobos didn't need the blood results from the monks to know who Jak was. What she didn't understand was why.
Why had the Precursors given their lost son back, in two different bodies? Why did the older Mar call himself Jak? How had he come to be? And did he even know the impossibility of his own existence?
The wind began to pick up, sending a spray of salt into Phobos's face. She sputtered and spat. Served her right for getting distracted. Grumbling to herself, the angler slung the net over a pole and balanced it across her shoulders. It was getting to be time to take shelter, and her dawdling meant she might not make it to the tower before the sands picked up.
As she trudged through the West Market, shops closed their shutters and people nailed down tarps over stands. The walls and cliffs would protect most of Spargus from the winds, but the West Quarter was open to the sea. Things sometimes got a little dicey on the coast.
"Captain!" Someone called across the street, and Phobos spotted one of the summer semester teachers for the little ones.
"Oye, Captain Phobos!"
"Wind's picking up, Korah," Phobos warned her, "Is everyone home?"
The younger Spargan shook her head with a worried frown. "Not yet! I've got Seek with me -- the new boy? Seek? -- he refuses to go home! Says he needs you."
Phobos dropped the net immediately.
"Clean the net and those are yours," she said hastily to the startled shopkeeper beside her. Then she raced across the street.
Sand was beginning to carry along the wind, stinging her face as she caught up to Korah.
"Where is-" She caught herself quickly before saying Mar. "Where is he?"
The teacher gestured with the stump of her right arm. "I convinced him to wait in the Chime Sisters' place so I could look for you. I'm sorry, Captain. I know you're busy. The little guy's really taken a shine to you, though."
She ducked into a half alley between shops, looking for some relief from the wind.
"Don't know if he's showed you any of his classwork or not, but he picked you for his presentation on important roles in the community."
Despite her worry, a warmth filled Phobos's chest. "I uh. I know," she answered, just a little bashful. "It's taped up in my boat cabin."
So much had changed. Mar didn't suck his thumb anymore. He didn't respond to old nicknames. He didn't snuggle anymore, or want to be carried. He didn't call her Mommy -- that one hurt most -- but something, something was still there. Perhaps it was instinct. Or perhaps she'd rebuilt it with her own two hands by simply being present.
Phobos followed Korah to the two story building that held the Chime sisters' shop and apartment. Just as the teacher had said, Mar sat just inside, huddled next to the door with his knees drawn to his chest. He looked sullen. Like he couldn't decide between anger and sadness. Immediately, Phobos knelt in front of him with a worried frown.
"It's about to storm, minnow," she said, "Why aren't you home? Where's Jak, he usually picks you up by now, doesn't he?"
Apparently this was the wrong thing to say. Mar's brows fell into a fierce scowl.
"Jak left me!" he answered in short, terse signs.
That didn't make any sense. Jak was devoted to his little brother! Phobos glanced at the women sheltering around her and then back at Mar.
"I'll take him up to Damas’s," she said. "We'll get this straightened out after the storm blows over."
Nadia Chime clucked her tongue and nodded. "You get that little sprout out of this weather, cap'n!'
Phobos held her hands out to Mar. "Come on, you. Let's go see Damas, eh? Bet you he kept Jak late for training again."
Mar shook his head angrily. This time, tears beaded up in his eyes. But he reached out and grabbed Phobos's hands anyway, using them as leverage to propel himself into her arms.
Something was very wrong.
"Hey, hey," Phobos murmured, returning the embrace, "It's okay, baby, I've got you."
She shoved down the beginnings of anxiety fluttering in her stomach. The sooner she got to the tower, the sooner she could regroup with Damas.
"We need to move fast if we don't want to get sandburn. Can I carry you, minnow?"
Silently, Mar nodded into her chest. Phobos took a breath, scooped up her little boy, and made a dash for the residential sector.
Something's wrong with Jak. He's hurt, or he's sick, he must be. He wouldn't leave Mar. He wouldn't!
By the time she'd made it to the bridge tunnel that led to the tower door, the storm was beginning to sweep across the eastern part of the city. Wind howled down streets an alleys like a dune-wolf looking for prey, and kangarats scurried for cover while Leapers bedded down and covered their heads with their vestigial wings, as they did in the wild. Phobos hefted Mar higher in her arms and made for the door marked with the great spiral wyrm.
"Almost inside, Mar," she said, trying to comfort him.
Just as he had every time she'd slipped his name into conversation before, the child failed to correct her.
The walls of the tower were thick, almost erasing the wind entirely. Phobos stepped into the elevator and sat down as it rose. She set Mar down on her lap and took advantage of the silence to ask, "What did you mean "Jak left"? Is he on a mission?"
Mar still looked angry, but tears stained his dusty cheeks. "He left!" Stupid Haven's stupid governor whined about all the trouble happening -- but it's only happening because they tried to kill us, so stupid Jak left to keep them away from Spargus because they're all so STUPID!"
Phobos felt a knot forming in her stomach.
"Haven?! Why the- why in the world would Jak listen to them? And why would he try to keep them away from the city by himself?"
And with that, the dam burst. The silent trickles of tears turned into sobs that shook Mar's little body as he signed, "Because of me. I'm a bad brother."
"What?! No, nonono you are not a bad brother!" Phobos wiped tears from round cheeks and rocked her son back and forth. "Why would you think that?!"
"Cause it's my fault he left!" Mar hiccuped, and his signs shook. "The Council guys in Haven are looking for me, cos I go where Jak goes. And he- he- he-"
"He left so the council would look for you somewhere else," Phobos guessed grimly.
A fresh flood of tears soaked the front of her tunic as Mar cried. He clung to her the way he used to as a toddler, wailing into her chest. The elevator locked into place and Damas was already running towards them, having heard the cries, before Phobos even had a chance to stand up.
"Pho! What's wrong? What's happening?"
Phobos's face was pale as she looked up at him.
"Daym," she asked, "When did you last see Jak?"
Damas’s blood ran cold.
Part Two
#fic prompts#writing prompts#jak and daxter#dadmas#king damas#jak and daxter au#free day thursday#meddling mar#meddling mar au#jak and daxter mar#captain phobos#this is when Jak goes back to Haven#he's going to be extremely grounded when he gets back#especially because the monks finally get results on the dna test while he's in haven
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