The Tiger Within

Kan nodded at her and offered a soft smile . The shock on Kyera"s face was just the beginning of the emotions that poured over her . It was clear she knew there were so many levels to this mess that her heart didn"t know what emotion to settle on . Then the crystal dome seemed to appear over her eyes, but then the first tear fell and he frowned . She had made a realization that he had expected .

"I"m sorry, Kyera . " Kan didn"t know what else to say . What else could he say really? He could have stopped it all, but he hadn"t . Now he regretted it, but he truly thought he could stop her back then . All the heartache and repentance in the world wouldn"t bring her brothers back .

Advertis.e.m.e.nt"It"s not your fault . " Kyera replied with a bit of a laugh . It was a laugh that made him uneasy and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up . The tears still fell making her seem slightly deranged under the pale glow of the moonlight .  "It is like Ancestor Kyera said, long before I was born, there is no escape from the war for power, nor is there an end . The only way to avoid being destroyed is to build enough power to protect yourself . " Kyera replied shaking her head slowly . "Fantasy did what she believed was best, and took her child away and found a strong man to protect them . She took the power away from her husband and put it in herself . However my mother, she chose to abandon her children and that resulted in weakness . No matter how hard Keenan tried to be like a father to us cubs, he was just a child himself . " Kyera pointed another soft, eerie laugh escaping her lips .

"Keenan was a good fighter and he tried . He wanted to protect you and I didn"t want to kill him . It was an accident . I never dreamed he would land on that table the way he did . " Kan tried to apologize remembering watching the life drain from his cousin and the mob gathering outside .

"Why did you run?" Kyera asked turning her eyes on him . "If you didn"t mean to kill him we could have  figured this out together . " her curiosity was to pull attention away from her weakness . She didn"t want to think about it right now .

"Because, little kitten, you were a baby . Adult you knows the truth, but baby you would have been so confused and in shock from what you saw . You would have trusted your eyes, and all you saw was me and your brother fighting and the blood . I"m fairly sure you never really saw anything other than the blood . " Kan replied shaking his head as the image of the child drenched in crimson .

"I… I guess you"re right . If I hadn"t seen it from your sister"s eyes I never would have known the truth . " Kyera shook her head and slowly rose to her feet, wiping her eyes with her dress sleeve . "Thank you for saving me . " She added motioning to the pool where she had almost drown thanks to that memory . If he hadn"t pulled her out, perhaps it would have been too late for her to save herself .

"Thats what family does . " Kan replied gently . He stood as well and looked her over critically . It was clear she wasn"t as put together as she pretended to be .

"Yea… Family . " Kyera offered a rueful smile . He avoided her eyes, unable to take the look in them right now . There was no blame, no hatred, no anger, just pity and a sense of loss . He had crumbled her world yet again . One day she would have a solid foundation, at least he could pray it would be so .

"What do you plan to do now?" Kan asked seeing her move toward the forest, back toward the palace he had followed her from .

"I need to get ready for the ball . I have to grow stronger so I can protect what is mine . I won"t let those I cherish suffer because I am too weak to defend them . I am a mother and I am a warrior, hear me roar . " Kyera replied, the words themselves were soft, but there message was the most powerful thing he had heard in a long while .

"My blade and Claws are at your disposal . " Kan replied and she smiled at him .

"No, Cousin . Your blade and claws are at my side, where they should be . Family is being part of a unit, not just a shield, but something worth shielding as well . " Kyera replied and he couldn"t help but nod . This felt right .