The Tiger Within

Chapter 3

"Verone, as I have told your father I have looked into Talis a few times since we last discussed this. I have his instructors bring me reports once every few weeks. He has not improved enough for me to take him out to either training ground." Kyera replied patiently, taking a bite of her breakfast as her gaze traveled over him slowly. The cool, lazy expression would have been incredibly infuriating, being as it seemed she didn"t care but he knew better. His eyes picked up on the slow twitch of his lover"s tail. The first hint she was displeased with this topic, as he well knew she would be.

"We have had him training constantly. He puts in maximum effort, but he needs more guidance from someone who can truly train him. The cla.s.ses he is with are slightly behind and he isn"t being challenged enough. If he stays there too long he will become lazy." Verone countered, leaning back against the table, not really wanting to stand down. Kyera finished the last few bites of her food before setting the leaf bowl aside and licking her lips clean.

"If we rush this, and we take that timidness away before he is ready and replace it with confidence do you want to be the one with his blood on your hands?" She asked folding her hands at her waist, leaning up on one side to watch him. "It won"t be your hands that blood is on, by the way. If I start training him and he dies, it is the failure of the Weapon"s Master. Its MY failure." She points out her voice tinted slightly with the burden of her position. No one considered how hard it was to be the leader here. To be the weapons master, the head of the guard. They only saw their goals, the results but never the cold truth of the matter at hand.

"Ky he is becoming a Coward…" as soon as the word left his lips he knew he had misspoke. The fire in her eyes and the tension of her form was instant. Her tail bristled out and her ears flicked back in a very cat like angry expression.

"He is NOT a coward. He is Cautious there is a difference. He can sense the danger beyond the fire ring and he does not charge headlong into it to die. The boy is smart. He has the makings of so much more than a hunter or a warrior but your father is pressing him so much into a mold that he doesn"t fit. NO, I will not start training him to be something he isn"t made to be because in the end I will be the one holding his medal in my blood stained paws. Your father will be able to say he died a hero, you will be able to say he fought with honor, All I will be able to say is he never had a chance." Kyera replied her voice heated as she rose to her feet, her dominance suddenly filling the room. THe chill of her aura flooding over him like a tidal wave enough to make his hair stand on end.

"Kyera…" He began but her gaze made him think twice. "Help me see it as you do." She sighs looking him over critically. The slight hint of desperation in his soul softening that cold edge in her heart.


"Okay, listen to this description real quick." She opens the report and clears her throat. "This student is fast on his/her feet as well as Paws. Climbs well and has a keen eye. Logical and cautious, not one to dive in head first but quick to plan and act on it. Adaptable."

Veron listened, nodding as he placed each quality toTalis, unable to truly find a fault in any of these descriptors. He knew his younger brother had always been fast and acrobatic. Leaping between trees and keeping pace with the cheetah brothers during the yearly race. Logic and caution were a given, granted he bordered on scaredy cat most days. These were all things he believed would make his brother a fantastic soldier. So what was her point. His facial expression brought that confusion out for her to address. "I knew that much."

"Thats not Talis." She says with a bit of a grin.

"Then Who?"

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