The Tiger Within

The afternoon sun poured down and played across the water in shimmering waves. Fairies danced and played over the water"s surface as Kyera watched. She laid quietly at the top, her tigress fur catching light and glowing as well. The warmth on her fur feeling amazing on the bruises below.

She considered her options. She knew she needed to show up at the Palace soon. Clovis did seem a bit concerned that she hadn"t. Kyera just felt a little trapped. How was she to balance both human and tiger form lives? She wasn"t quite sure at this point unless she comes up with a reason for "Kyera" to disappear in the afternoon and have Moon accompany the family during the day? Afterall Kyera wasn"t needed at night anyway. She could afford to sleep at the Dancing Winds Palace. It had been a long time since she transformed in her sleep.

She stood and stretched, roaring just to wake up those vocal cords. The birds twittered in surprise to the sudden aggressive nature of their quiet afternoon. She chuckled before climbing down from the top of the falls. The woods were fairly quiet as she made her way back to the palace. Perhaps Clovis would be back from court, or perhaps not. Either way she would be able to find him easy enough. The question was, how did she want to search.

The paths of the Imperial compound would be easy enough to move on, and very few would dare to get in her way. Not just because her sheer size and presence could make even a warrior bow but she also wore the Prince"s seal. He had been kind enough to just attach it to the collar she already wore, rather than adding another strip of heavy leather to her throat. Wearing it wasn"t too difficult, just annoying at best. However, most people would stare at her. If not stare then there would be the whispers and smells that would be heavily concentrated on those often used paths. She didn"t really want to deal with all that, and try and track him.

Kyera"s attention was then drawn to the walls that ran around the compound like a well designed little maze that looped back on itself and wound around the palaces and their gardens. It was just wide enough that if she balanced herself she could move fairly freely. She launched herself up, landing gracefully on the lowest edge of the wall she could reach, looking down at the world below. A few guards stared up at her, looking quite perplexed as to why the Prince"s familiar was now on the wall rather than the path.

Paying them no heed, Kyera began picking her way carefully down the wall toward the center of town. As she became more comfortable up there, it became easier to find her way back to the center of the complex. The scents of the palace were strong and though the majority of the smells were centered close to the ground, there was enough to befuddle her a bit. As she sorted through them a soft chuckle got her attention.

Kyera turned around looking down from her place on the wall. Below the wall, looking up at her with a hint of kind curiosity, stood Alexi, dressed as though he had just come from the training fields. His long hair tied back in a ponytail falling down his back. A emerald and dark brown training outfit lightly drenched in water as he dried off from his work out. She tilted her head at him, inquiring further.

"Well, Moon. Looking for your Master?" Alexi asked as he gripped the edge of the wall and lifted himself up onto the ledge, sitting on it. He looked back at her, eyebrow raised as he looked her over. Kyera sat back on the ledge, leveling him with a serene gaze.

She dipped her head down and lifted it again, the slow nod signaling her agreement. He nodded standing up and winking at her.

"Let me show you the way." He replied dashing forward on the wall. "Try to keep up." He added with a tease before continuing down the hallway. Kyera stayed close as they leaped and swung across the compound. The scent she was looking for got stronger the closer to the main Palace. No wonder, Clovis was probably still in court dealing with money tables. After all, she vaguely remembered the paperwork he had been going through that morning.