K. rubbed her hand over Kuruk's head gently and he let loose a croon from his mouth, a rumble in his throat. He closed his eyes feel ing her hand against him and sighed as he pressed himself against her side as she lay down beside him on the floor of her, their home. They were not wealthy, but James had left K. to stay in his household, to be their household once they were to be married when he returned home. It was a moderately sized home, but not so extravagant that only those with money were allowed to see the depths of its belly. K. herself did not come from a wealthy family, Kuruk gathered that from the small trinkets she held dear to herself, and the small things she loved in comparison to those more expensive things in windows.

She stroked his fur, her fingers gliding over his shoulder and as she pressed down slightly, he winced, and her hand stopped, feeling the tension rise. She rose her head upon her head, leaning, her eyes meeting his.

"You know its time," she said softly.

I know, he thought, watching her, and she rolled to lay flat, and then push himself to sit.

He couldn't wallow in his pain, he had won, which he was glad for. But he had to train to gather his strength back.

"It won't be day, but know you can do it, you're so strong," K. said, standing beside him, and he rose to stand with her. He looked up at her, and she smiled at him. Kuruk, her bear, he was strong, broad, and he would be a force to be reckoned with.

They walked together from the interior of the house to the backyard. Kuruk trying his best to walk without stumbling, and as he continued to walk, he felt his muscles begin to let loose of their tension, the pain beginning to cease. He had needed rest, but now, he needed to work it out of his system. There were storm doors in the yards in the back, James has said they led to two rooms he had built under the soil so he could work privately. The second room he had finished in secret before he left.

He had left K. a note:

Dearest K.,

I know I will miss you terribly while I am away, but I hope that Kuruk will be able to keep you company and keep you well in my absence. I cannot wait until the day I return to the docks and see your eyes again, and take you as my wife.

~James

As she opened the doors in the fenced in yard, Kuruk quirked a brow, ears swiveling, steps led down into darkness which K. lit candles to help find their way. As they walked a small corridor, small technical parts lined the walls, and she was met by two doors. One, as she peered through the window, led to James' workspace where he liked to be in peace for his research and experiments.

The other, as she peered through the window, led to a rather vast room, with small objects placed around. As she opened the door, creaking under the press, Kuruk peered inside.

It was a training room, sealed off from the outside.

There was a note on the nearest wall.

So that you may train together in peace way from the world, and harness both of your strengths as one.

K. smiled and touched the piece of paper with her hand, and left it upon the wall.

"Do not take it down," she said, pointing to it, "No, down," she made a motion, and Kuruk nodded.

This paper was special, he gathered.

It also had the faintest smell of James still on the surface.

He knew why she wished for it to remain there.

K. looked to the assortment of equipment that had been placed around the room. There were heavy bags hanging from the ceiling, different levels of stairs and boxes stacked for Kuruk to jump on and gain strength in his legs. There were also heavy bags sat upon the floor upright, attached to the ground on springs so that when they were hit hard enough, they would fall, but then come back up. K. went to every piece, every corner of the room and inspected it, then looked to Kuruk who raised his head, puffed out his chest.

He was ready.

"I can't always give you direction in the ring, and I don't know if you can understand this, but you need to know certain commands, just in case I see something you don't okay?"

Kuruk caught a few words, but one things stood out in her tone of voice: trust. He had to trust her.

K. helped Kuruk learn a few words, a few commands, tackle, hit, hard, bite, sweep, and he learned combos from that. Hit hard, sweep tackle, and so on. But there was one thing Kuruk didn't know yet.

A stray can had been left, from when the walls had been painted the muted tone, and K. picked it up. K. held it out in front of Kuruk, she mocked threw her arm forward, as if she was going to let loose the can, Kuruk didn't move.

"No, no, Kuruk, watch," she said, pointing from his eyes to her own, then the can. "Dodge," a new word he didn't know, and he looked confused. She made the mock motion again, and after she did, she moved to the side, pointing at him.

He was..supposed to move out of the way.

The can…was his opponent.

He nodded, he understood.

The can was evil…dodge the can.

K. threw the can then, and Kuruk side stepped, and K. smiled, "Very good, again." Kuruk picked up the can and gave it to K. and she continued, she threw it faster and faster, and he kept going. His muscles were easing pain, and he felt stinger, lighter on his paws, stamina increasing.

As she threw it one last time he dodged quickly out of the way, doing a half flip in the process.

"Good boy! Attack! Kuruk, tackle, sweep," and Kuruk went for the can, using his body weight and thrust it out in a sideways manner.

The can was knocked to the other side of the room.

He continued his tackles against the bags, his dodges, until he was panting and K. touched his head. "Enough, Kuruk, good boy, you did well."

He felt proud, and this was only the first of many days he would come here, that he knew.