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 Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 11:33 pm
"The queen's consort is full of useful knowledge," Chimera said, casually. He settled down to his belly, taking the opportunity to gnaw at the fur between his toes, cleaning the accumulated dirt and mud. "He's a warrior, you know. Of a sort."
He hesitated, not sure what he should disclose. He could certainly understand and sympathize with the feeling of wanting to live to his full potential...but he would hardly think of it as an opportunity to protect his sisters. They were plenty capable themselves. That was why he wanted to fight, to begin with: so he could keep up with Isobel.
And he was still failing at that.
"What enemies do you suppose we have, cousin?" Chimera had always wondered about this. What possible purpose did all of this fighting serve? It seemed like a waste of time to be a warrior with no war.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 11:47 pm
Lucian started. He had not known that his grandfather was a warrior. He had never even heard of such a thing. Was it true? If it was...would he help him? It was something the dark male would have to look into. In the meantime.
"Other packs. Strangers who know no better. The sisters, at least, are not always in the packlands. What if they run across a dangerous wanderer while traveling? Would you have them be defenseless? What about us? Even we sometimes visit our sister pack."
Of course, the most dangerous enemies were the ones who shared your den. He had seen the way that some of the females looked at his mother, even his sister. It raised his hackles.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 12:58 am
Chimera didn't look up at the teen, but instead focused his attention on his paws and his long, bony legs. His little cousin was so earnest...and so worried. Chimera couldn't remember ever worrying about a thing in his life. Oh, he had raged, and moaned, and sulked. But never worried.
"What would you say, cousin, if I told you I knew a little about fighting, myself?" He asked, casually. Did he want to teach him? Or did he simply want someone he could challenge...someone he could bully, under the guise of apprenticeship?
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:36 pm
Now, that caught Lucian's interest. Even Chimera knew something of fighting? He would never have thought it of his cousin. Of course, that may have been the point. Why advertise such a thing? It would certainly not be the intelligent thing to do, not if self-preservation was a priority.
It was beginning to look like there was more to the other males than he had given them credit for. Was he the only one of them who was as of yet unaware of this little secret?
"Well," he began, trying for casual, but probably failing. "I would wonder what would be in it for you, telling me something like that."
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:28 pm
He finally chanced to look up at him, gazing evenly with eyes the same shade as his father's but filled with none of the warmth. "Bonds of family run deep," he said, with a rueful grin.
Oh, but he didn't believe that, did he? He certainly felt no love for Varia, or any of her pups. Or, for that matter, did he really care that much for most of his other cousins. And Lucian, a second cousin, what love was left over for him? They were hardly real relatives.
Still. "And perhaps I'm in need of a sparring partner. Mine...seems too busy for me, these days."
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 10:00 pm
Though Lucian might agree with Chimera's words, he was not at all certain that Chimera himself actually believed them. He might be young, but he was not blind. His dear cousin had never shown much interest in family before. Why start now?
Well, it hardly mattered. He was being offered one of his deepest desires on a silver platter. It would be foolish to refuse.
"Anything to be of service to family, cousin. I will oblige, if you could spare some time to give me a little instruction before we begin in earnest."
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 10:28 pm
He nodded. "Of course. It's only fair."
Did he know what he was doing well enough to be able to give lessons? He thought he did. He was pretty confident in that, in fact. Chimera was very confident in a lot of things.
"Under cover of darkness, then," he said, rising to his paws, the matter settled. Could he trust the youth? He thought so. They weren't friends, and the more time he spent talking to him the more Chimera began to understand that they may never be friends. But it didn't matter. Chimera didn't need friends. "Meet me tonight, in the clearing by that old dead oak tree. You know the one -- the bark is well-worn on one side, where it's been scratched off. I'll teach you enough to get started, anyway."
He shook himself off, turning serious eyes toward the other pup. "And if you tell a soul, I'll insist we never spoke and be sure you are sorely punished. Understood?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 11:04 pm
Was his luck truly so great? Had his surly, self-absorbed cousin really just provided him with the means to achieving something that had been bothering him since he was a pup? Lucian could scarcely believe it, himself, but there it was. He was to begin learning the warrior's methods tonight.
"I know the place," he assured, already allowing his mind to look forward to the moment, wondering what he might learn, wondering whether he would really go through with it. What if they were caught? It would all be for naught if he was banished, or got his family disgraced. Still, he knew that this was a chance that he could not allow to pass by. This was it.
Then, Chimera went and opened his mouth again, insulting Lucian's intelligence.
"Do I look that foolish to you, cousin? No one will know of this unless you tell them...in which case, I will take you down with me.
"Until tonight." With that, the young male padded off, going back to whatever it was that he was supposed to be doing at the time.
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