Your Biggest Fan (Drake)

[Adrian]

Kirk looked over at Anna, a little unsure of how to respond. He had never killed anyone and he had never been the type to enjoy action movies perse. Gratuitous violence just didn't appeal to him. But he knew Drake was a war hero and that meant he'd been in battles and he'd killed people. Kirk didn't really have a good grasp on what killing someone would mean but he knew that that is what soldiers did. And he was sure Drake had never killed anyone that didn't have to be killed. Everyone who had fallen before Drake had surely been evil or at least bad. Kirk didn't see the world in black and white but he liked to think there were at least darker and lighter shades of gray. Drake was certainly on the lighter side.

He looked back at Drake, confused as to why he'd brought this up. Wasn't it veteran's 101 that you didn't ask about the people who had died? He had been extremely careful of avoiding just that question because he knew what proper manners to affect around war heros and he was pretty sure Anna did too.

"No," Kirk said, glancing at Anna.

[Nineteen]

"Oh my God, no!" Anna replied quickly, looking horrified at the thought. Now that people turned into animals regularly, she could barely stand the thought of swatting a fly. Not that there were even any flies to swat in the Bladeship... unless they were Animorphs, which just made her think about how horrible the idea was all over again. Even the lack of widely available meat had made her a better person, taking most of the temptation that had kept her from becoming a vegetarian long ago.

"Have you killed people?" Anna asked, her voice almost a squeak. Her eyes were large and shiny. Animorphs were supposed to kill Yeerks; it hadn't really occurred to her that hosts would often die in the fight. She'd always assumed they were somehow captured and their Yeerks starved out. That was what you were supposed to do, wasn't it?

[Drake]

"Yes," Drake said flatly. More than I care to admit, he wanted to add. But the truth was, he couldn't admit it. The only way he had handled all the death so far was by not thinking about it. Not at all. And even then it was still hard to deal with sometimes.

But now that he had brought it up himself, he couldn't help but remember some of those foul memories.

The first time he had killed someone was on a mission with Ray, Cecily, and Nadia. It was an accident, but still, he had been pointing the gun right at the person. He had pulled the trigger.

And then there was the whole Hoover Dam incident. It wasn't his plan, but he had helped. Not that he regretted it, but he certainly didn't enjoy the memory or that... accomplishment.

Then there was Dallas. There was at least a possibility that he was partly responsible for that whole ordeal as well. That nightmare.

There had been others too. None that stuck out so well in his memory, but there were others too. Yeerk, human, hork-bajir, and taxxon alike had been trampled, gored, or otherwise destroyed by his own doing. So many.

Drake ran a hand through his hair and stood up. "I- I think I need to go for a walk." Drake stepped through the door and headed down the hall without so much as a glance at his two guests.

[Adrian]

Epilogue

When Drake finally returned to his room much later he found a small cake on his dresser next to the pie, small because there were only leftovers (Kirk and Anna had gotten hungry baking and then waiting for him to get back). The two fans themselves were no where to be seen which, of course, didn't mean they weren't watching.

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OCC: For the record the cake was Nicole's idea.