Traversing Worlds

Arc One Ch. 20

Stepping into the dining room Kira found the table had already been set and dinner waiting on the table. Without showing any obvious outward signs that she'd become instantly suspicious of the whole meal.

"You're a bit late Kira but don't fret I had Edith help me instead." Hanae said while walking out with a pitcher.

Edith followed behind her with a blush on her face. "I didn't need to do much." Her words were softly spoken towards Kira. "Momma would be proud." As she added in an even tinier voice Kira gave the older girl a grateful smile.

Sitting down with just the three of them to dinner Kira move in a well-practiced manner when cutting up the meat and serving the most tender piece to her grandmother before giving the next best cut to Edith before putting any on her own plate.

Hanae gave her a satisfied look before using her claws to cut into the meat, Kira followed suit using her own claws to cut the meat into smaller bites. Edith didn't feel at all uncomfortable as she picked up her specially prepared knife to dig into her own meal as her nails were kept to a shorter more moderate length. Hanae showed no dissatisfaction towards Edith for the simple reason that a Healer never uses their claws for eating but healing.

Having kept her guard up all throughout the meal Kira froze coming across something that shouldn't be mixed within the fruits. With a careful hand Kira fished it out of her bowl and placed it off to the side without either one noticing her actions.

At the end of dinner Hanae noticed Kira's empty bowl of fruit and frowned deeply, it was only a little pretest and already the girl had failed. "Grandmother is what you're perhaps looking for..." She asked picking up a small cloth that was used to wipe her fingers during the meal. "...these?" The tiny round black fruit that she picked out were revealed.

"Kira it's not nice to tease grandma with such tricks." Edith said the moment she noticed that her complexion wasn't great.

Hanae held up her hand stopping the girls before they could continue. "No it's alright Edith I'd been testing Kira a bit without her being aware that I was doing so." Hearing this Edith quickly backed down while wondering why Kira was being test in such a strange way by their grandma.

The next few days pasted by in a similar manner, waking up early to help with the pack breakfast while giving guidance to the younger children, from there she would head towards the Healer to help out Edith with her afternoon chores then head off towards the small arena to spar.

The elder ringmaster watched from the sidelines as the Little Moon began to spar with a wolf that wasn't from the Stonemason pack. It wasn't unusual to see a few mixed in here and there since the trade route had become a bit safer.

The young woman stood about the same height as Kira, her dark brown hair didn't give much away about which area she came from though it did rule out the desert regions to the north. A lazy smile hung on Kira's lips while showing a few minute changes to her provocative gaze. One particular expression caused the young woman to suddenly charge in with an enraged look that quickly gave away the general region of her pack.

Using this knowledge Kira simply deflected the first few strikes made against her as the power hidden behind each attack wasn't simple. The young woman quickly calmed down after making those initial strikes and found that Kira hadn't taken more than a few steps back.

"Is that all you have?" Kira asked her playfully knowing full well that there was a great chance of annoying her even further as many both young and old hated when others treated sparring like it was a game.

The young woman felt annoyed hearing those words spoken and began feeling it was good to give this little girl a proper thrashing. Her movement became more precise as she began setting the rhythm and forcing Kira into a disadvantageous position. Kira appeared to be pushed into a tight spot as she did her best to retreat while taking a few precis attacks from time to time.

Watching from ring side the old ringmaster could see what was really happening instead as the Little Moon had the other dancing around the ring. Each strike that managed to land would be used to place a little more distance between them while forcing her to follow the direction she went next.

Finally the two stopped moving as the young woman panted angrily having finally noticed what had happened it was already too late. She felt humiliated having been played around with by this furless whelp.

Kira panted slightly feeling each spot that had taken a direct blow from the young woman. The fight seemed to be over so Kira allowed her defensive posture to drop. Finding her attacks to be on the strong side without losing too much speed Kira wanted to ask more about how she could also try and accomplish this feat. Walking over in a defenseless manner Kira smiled at the young woman wanting to first thank her for showing where she could further improve on her defense.

It all happened in a split second as the young woman's hands suddenly transformed into a pair of claws and lashed out at Kira.

The old the ringmaster moved with a surprising amount of speed stopping the young woman's attack though not fully as four bloody and jagged marks were left down the side of Kira's face.

"This ring isn't for those that have already gone through their first change." The old ringmaster said while clutching onto the girl's wrist with a painful grip.

She cried out but didn't seem all that sorry while looking over at the now bleeding girl. "So you knew all along then?" Kira nodded slightly.

"I take it that Head Elder Hanae requested you come here and spar with me to see where my capabilities are at currently." The young woman nodded hesitantly since she didn't know how the whelp had found out about her orders.

Since gaining the Little Moon title Kira had made sure to understand what was going on within the pack. The young woman Aspen was one such wolf she knew some general knowledge about since she wanted to make the Stonemason pack her home due to troubles within her own pack. Having tested Aspen's character for herself, she didn't mind helping the young woman out by putting in a good word.

"Elder ringmaster you can release her, I was simply testing her character." She said while pulling out a small cloth from her pouch. The old ringmaster was slightly confused by this but it seemed that the Head Elder had known about it and released her wrist.

"Are you alright?" Aspen asked this time showing more concern for her after having time to calm down.

"I am fine it's not a deep wound so it should heal nicely if I take good care of it." She said while pulling a small handmade jar from her pouch that released a medical aroma when opened. A thick paste sat neatly in the bottom that appeared to apply in a smooth even layer in Kira's deft hands.