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"You wanted a reprieve from being base-bound. I just gave it to you for being willing to come talk with me, as stepping into my office seems to require Herculean effort." Nadja lifted one hand in a graceful palm-up gesture. "But your behavior is putting that in jeopardy."

This one still smelled like misaimed defiance and impetuousness underneath the actinic scents. The Arcanine's nostrils flared and he rolled over, reclining on his stomach with paws stretched out lazily. His ears were up; he was alert now.

"You mentioned an apology. Go on."

A fleeting smile graced Nadja's features. The elite tilted her chin, brows raised slightly as if to say 'See? It's not so hard.'

"If you're aware of it, that's one step out of the way." Nadja wasn't about to let Panther off as easy as that, it seemed, because she fixed him with a direct look. "Why does it continue?"

"That doesn't answer my question." The elite's mouth tugged back at the corners, thinning. "Do you have any insight on your behavior? What, for example, compels you to shoot yourself in the foot with insolence."

Nadja closed her eyes for a brief moment.

Then she leaned forward, folding her arms on the glossy surface of her desk, and clarified. She pronounced each word carefully, as one would when addressing a non-native speaker.

"Why do you do it."

Well. Nadja's brows lifted, then fell. She sat back in her chair, considering the grunt from beneath half-lowered lids. "You get angry often." It was somewhere between a question and a statement.

Drawn by the movement, her Arcanine rolled its eyes at Panther when he fidgeted.

"That is a question," the elite clarified.

Nadja glanced down at her Arcanine, then returned her gaze to the grunt. "You were punished not for your failure, but your subsequent behavior, which was to argue with your superior about the particularities of your assignment and attempt to dodge blame in a manner that, frankly, reeked of impatience and disrespect." She arched a brow at Panther, as if to suggest there was some of that now. Certainly the impatience.

"To release you from it now would teach you your current attitude is acceptable. And while it is certainly improved, which is why you will be granted a reprieve as was my word, it is not yet satisfactory." She splayed her fingers, shifting a manila folder under her hand. "My goal is not to make you miserable, but to see to it that the Team possesses satisfactory field operatives."

"To survive in this organization-" and the word 'survive' was given a particularly literal intonation, "-you will need to learn to manage your anger in a way that does not anger others, do you understand? As your behavior improves, you will be granted the occasional day off-base for your progress, and eventually - depending - you will be afforded all the privileges granted a productive, fully-functioning member. Should your behavior worsen, however, so will the penalties you find yourself suffering."

"Your future is very much in your hands."

"Do reconsider," the elite said, which was Nadja for 'You are about to shoot yourself in the foot.' "And make an effort to curb your behavior, starting now."

"For example," and Nadja slid a finger under the folder and lifted it up, "this is your mission briefing. Or it might be, if you can manage yourself for once."

Beside the desk, her Arcanine's ears perked forward. He raised his nose.