• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Beside her at the table, her twin brother Jacen had only half finished his meal; a droplet of greenish syrup ran unnoticed down his chin. Jacen spoke excitedly, his brandybrown eyes blinking as he ran a hand through his tousled brown hair.

"And I did manage to catch that stinger lizard down in the hangar bay.

It's taken me weeks to coax him out of hiding. He's all by himself now in that new cage you built for me, but I'm not sure what he eats." He paused briefly to stuff some food into his mouth.

Jaina nodded, only half listening. She was concerned that Lowbacca hadn't shown up to eat. Their Wookiee friend had been reserved lately, keeping to himself, speaking little even to his closest friends.

"Not to mention that several of the cocoons for my beetle moths are about to hatch!"

Jacen continued. 'I think I'm going to let most of them go, but I want to keep two as specimens, to see if they'll lay eggs in captivity. And you should see the fascinating blue fungus I found in a crack between some stones down by the river."

He gulped more juice, then suddenly held up a finger as he remembered something.

"Oh yes, I've been meaning to ask-could you check the cage for my crystal snake? I think he's up to some mischief, maybe even trying to break out again-and you know what trouble that would cause."

Jaina could@t help indulging in a quick giggle, remembering the pandemonium the nearly invisible snake had caused the last time it had gotten loose: the serpent had bitten the uppity student Raynar, sending the boy instantly to sleep. Not all of Jacejys pets caused trouble, though. Another crystal snake had helped to divert the lost TIE pilot Qorl from his attack on the Jedi academy, shortly after the ns had found Qorl living in self-imposed a deep in the jungles of Yavin Jaina had hoped the old TIE pilot might have a soft spot for them after f. leir e: to help him, but Qorl had chosen not to become their ally. Instead, the Imperial brainwashing he had undergone resurfaced and became even more deeply entrenched. The pilot had returned to the remnants of the Empire, where he had fallen in with the Shadow Academy.

Jaina nodded to her brother, shaking herself from her reverie. "Okay, I'll take a look at the crystal snake cage."

She whirled as she heard the tinny mechanical voice of Em Teedee saying,

'Master Lowbacca, I must urge you to ingest a wider variety of nourishment than that. According to your species' nutritional requirements, those foods are insufficient for a growing Wookiee to maintain a healthy level of energy... though I must admit you have been sulking lately instead of engaging in physical activities. Your diet should consist primarily of large quantities of fresh meat, which is substantially higher in protein than those fresh fi-uits and vegetables you're presently consuming."

Lowbacca answered with only a halfhearted growl as he carried his food into the eatingarea. Without even looking for his friendsamong the other Jedi trainees, he sat by himself at a small table against the stone wall.

"Lowie!" Jaina got up and hurried over to the ginger-furred Wookiee. "We were worried about you. You didn't come join us for the meal."

Lowie grunted something too brief for Em Teedee to translate.

Jaina pulled up a wooden chair across from their Wookiee friend and straddled it. Tucking a long strand of straight brown hair behind her right ear, she looked with concern at Lowie's shaggy head. The Wookiee turned his golden eyes down and studied the fruits and greens on his platter.

"Lowie, will you please tell us what's wrong?" Jaina said. "You can talk to us. We're friends, remember? Friends help each other." Em Teedee spoke before Lowbacca could respond. "He won't answer you, Mistress Jaina. Even I can't get a response out of him.

I'm afraid I'll never understand Wookiee behavior. Do all biological creatures have these unpredictable moods?"

Jacen sat down beside his sister. "Hey, maybe Lowie just wants to be left alone."

The young Wookiee groaned and nodded