Last Battle (X-Men Fanfiction)

Doubting Myself

I padded out of the Professor's room and Thruster was waiting for me. He rushed forward and touched his nose to mine. "Is everything alright," he asked as he licked my ear affectionately.

I looked away from Thruster and sighed. "Well Thyme is super intelligent, Avery wants to be a teacher, Reed doesn't care, and Murk has dyslexia."

Thruster's eyes flickered. "Well that's a large range," he barked with a shrug of his shoulder. "However everything can be worked with. Why do you seem so down?"

"I'm not down," I argued with a growl. I threw my head aside and swore under my breath. "It's just that this is so difficult, being a parent. What if we let them down?"

"We won't," snarled Thruster as he trudged toward me and intertwined his tail with mine. "We are great parents! We just need to make sure we're there for our pups when they need us." He pointed his muzzle across the hall. "And I think they need us now."

I nodded and forced myself forward and pushed myself into the door. I hard my pups snarling and baring their teeth at each other. Their fur was spiked and their claws were extended. I was afraid one of them would launch themselves at another.

"Enough," I snarled as I darted between them, my own fur bristling. A growl rolled in my throat but it seemed so far away. I felt as though I was snarling into something to muffle it. I shook my head to clear it and looked back to my pups. "What's going on?"

Murk arched her back and spat on the ground. "Reed got us in trouble with the Professor," she flashed as her brother.

"No I didn't," argued Reed as he leaped for he, thrusting her to the ground. "All I did blend in a bit. It's no big deal!"

Murk pushed up a paw against Reed's throat and struggled to push him off. Thruster surged forward and sunk his teeth into Reed's scruff. He hauled him backwards and set him down and snarled. "Leave you sister alone! Families talk about things, not attack each other!"

I snarled at them to keep it down and all eyes turned to me. "The Professor just wanted to tell me how you all did on your tests," I explained as I looked to my mate. "He also wanted to make sure that you could come tomorrow."

The pups relaxed and I let out a sigh. "Now you have a long day tomorrow," I chided as I saw the sun begin to set. "How about you go and get something to eat and play a game before you go to bed?"

"Okay," barked Thyme as she strode toward the door. "I want to see if Poultice wants to get something to eat with me."

A growl rolled in Thruster's throat and I had to stop him from launching himself to stop Thyme. She was growing older and Poultice wasn't about to do anything to her. Thruster needed to understand that. However he didn't so I just rolled my eyes.

"Go ahead Thyme. Murk, Avery, Reed, do you want to eat too?" I strode toward them and nudged them toward the door.

The pups looked like they wanted to argue but they thought better of it and strode out of the den, their tails dragging. Once they left I turned back to Thruster. "See I'm not always insensitive," I flashed him.

"I never said you were," argued Thruster in affection as he stepped forward, his hindquarters swaying. He pressed against me and licked my cheek. "Now come on. You must be hungry as well."

I nodded and pushed myself forward with Thruster following. It was time to eat.