Chapter Text
Samos exhaled slowly, letting out a louder sign than he’d intended.
Reconciling his natural compassion for all living things against the mission that had come to define his life was an impossible task but he put his best efforts into reconciling it to the back of his mind.
He took time out to meditate and commune with the plants, putting the world on hold for a little while, at least, but no matter how hard he tried, the inherent mismatch between what he wanted to do and what he felt duty bound to do, forced itself to the forefront of his mind.
The remorse he felt over what was to befall the child under his care was too much for him to bear.
He’d tried to distance himself from the kid, farming the childcare out to a kindly explorer, whose tales of adventure on the high seas, piqued the young boy’s interest.
The bad feelings rebounded though, when the child’s newfound “Uncle” popped round one evening, bursting with pride that he had picked the perfect name for the lad…Jak.
As the boy listened to his elders discussing his new name, he ran round the sage’s hut, pretending to spin kick and jump. It was obvious to Samos that the young child approved of the title, and that the kid’s vague memories of Haven were enough for him to connect the name Jak to his heroic older self.
Samos had no sooner managed to lock the guilt away again, when he spied Jak once more, busy catching star fish in a pool left by the retreating tide under the bridge to the sculptor’s hut.
The young boy’s cap that he wore around Haven now gone, Samos could make out the sun had started to bleach the tips of Jak’s hair from vibrant green to a golden blond. The sage looked at the child slowly starting to grow into the teenage Jak and swallow the hard lump of guilt that formed in his throat.
Over the next few weeks Samos struggled to push his conflicting emotions aside.
He didn’t actively avoid the lad but found himself getting snappier with the child, sub-consciously putting more and more distance between them.
The sage reflected on how his behaviour was changing as he wound his way through the village, trying to ascertain the most efficient space for his green eco collectors.
He stepped carefully onto the soft sand that led the way to the three huge monolithic sentinels, when he spied Jak hiding behind a large rock, with another child, giggling to themselves.
The other boy had obviously seen Samos, as he turned to Jak and asked in a too-loud voice, “But why is he GREEN though?!?”, before dissolving into a fit of hysterical laughter.
His voice puzzled Samos as it seemed both familiar and not familiar at the same time. Still he was not about to take that kind of cheekiness and definitely didn’t want such a disrespectful attitude rubbing off on Jak.
He stood up straight, as much as he could and marched authoritatively towards the rock.
He took a good look at the offender. Pale skin, buck teeth and red hair fading to strawberry blond at the roots.
“I will never…” Samos began, “put up with such insolence!!! You, young man, will learn some manners, either voluntarily, or with the help of my staff!!” He waved the stick at the boys to further illustrate his point.
“OK…” the boy looked stunned at the unexpected turn of events and stood behind Jak, who was giving Samos a death glare.
“Come out from there! And stay away from Jak! Young… whatever is your name anyway?”
“D…d…Daxter”
The boys watched as Samos’ face quickly shifted and the sage visibly deflated. The sage’s eyes glossed over as he became lost in his thoughts.
The obnoxious but cowardly child before him, grew up to be Jak’s conscience, confidant and compatriot rolled into one.
Just how he would become a talking rat, Samos was hazy on the details, he did know dark eco was involved somewhere, but the truth of the matter was that Jak would need Daxter to escape the Baron’s clutches.
He swallowed as his guilt once again rose to the surface. He was already taking so much from Jak, did he really have to take his one true friend, as well”
Samos regained his composure and looked at the children. “Just play nicely boys.” He forced out, voice barely above a whisper.
He turned on his heel and made his way back up to his hut. Green Eco collecting would have to wait for another day.