Completed [Quest] First Steps (Radiant)

[Nathaniel Deveraux]

Day 44, Season Summer, 501 AV

"Come on, Nathaniel, catch up now," Anton shouted, as Nate ran around the outside of the gates in small circles and figure-8s. He had been excited to finally get out of the city; up until this point Nate had only ever watched his father's retreating back as he went to get food and pelts from the Bronze Wood that was near the Fortress City. He didn't understand much of what was happening; after all, he was only a child. But what he did understand was that after several weeks of his father teaching him how to properly hold and fire a bow, he was finally bringing him on a real, live hunt.

As Nate bounded on over to his father, rolling his eyes at the man's stern expression, he grinned up at him and asked, "What's the rush, dad? We're just going into the woods for a little while, right?" He imagined grand adventures in the woods, full of beasts that his father would valiantly slay, his kukri flashing in the midday sun as the arrows sang from his bow, crescendoing into an image of his father, proudly standing atop many slain beasts, with Nate by his side, grinning widely.

Anton just laughed. "Yes, Nathaniel," he admitted, "but we are not going very deep into the woods. You must never underestimate the dangers of the wilds; it is always-"

Nate just rolled his eyes again, mostly tuning out his father's lesson. After all, his dad was here, what could go wrong? His father had always come home with exciting stories about how the hunt had gone that day, regaling Nate with tales of derring do. The girls were far too young to understand, they just knew daddy went out and came home with food. But Nate had always been excited by the grand adventures, and now today, he was on one!

"So when do we get there?!" he whined, interrupting what Anton was saying. They'd been walking the path to the Bronze Wood for not much longer than a few chimes, and already Nate was bored. This wasn't hunting, this was walking he thought, as he pouted and crossed his arms. Walking was boring! Where was the action? Where was the adventure?!

Anton placed a calming hand on Nate's shoulder. "Nathaniel, I know you're excited to be here, but try to stay calm," he cautioned. "The beasts out here are very dangerous, and out in the woods, everything is trying to eat you. Even the insects." Anton took a moment, and raised an eyebrow. "Especially the insects," he added.

Nate sighed. He'd heard that cautionary tale before, and it never failed to bore him to tears. Yadda, yadda, danger. Yes, yes, he knew. It was like his dad thought he was stupid or something. It wasn't that Nate thought the forests were safe, but he had the child-like certainty that his father would be able to handle anything that came their way. After all, he'd done this for so many years, surely he'd know what to do!

"So when do we hunt a tiger?" he asked, almost hopping up and down as he walked beside Anton. "O-or, maybe a wolf? Or oooh, how about a bear?!"

Anton grinned at Nate's exuberance but stopped, and fixed his son with a level stare. "Son, son calm down a tick..." When Nate wouldn't stop bouncing, Anton's voice got just a little bit more firm. "Nathaniel Deveraux," he intoned, using Nate's full name. Nate instantly stopped. His father never used his full name unless it was something serious.

"What is it, dad?" he asked in a small voice, fully expecting to get scolded for being overly excited. But he couldn't help being excited about this! It was his first time out here! Anton just smiled slightly, pulling his son into a light embrace.

"Someday, we may very well hunt those dangerous beasts," he promised, "but today we hunt rabbit and, if we're lucky, deer. I'll show you how to track your quarry and, maybe later, how to use this."

Anton took out his father's father's kukri, the blade still as bright and sharp as the day it was forged. The heirloom had been passed down the male heirs of their family since as long as Anton had known there to be male heirs. Nate's eyes grew wide as saucers as he saw the blade. His father was going to show him how to use this?! But he never even let Nate touch his kukri before! Always said it was too dangerous! Today must be a special day, for that rule to finally be rescinded.

Nate just nodded dumbly, a huge grin on his face at the prospect of what was going to happen today. He'd totally be telling this story to mom and the girls. They were going to be so jealous! Anton nodded in response, returning the kukri to its place in his belt, Anton stood and waved for Nate to catch up. Pretty soon the formidable trees of the Bronze Wood loomed into view. Anton's face grew serious as he considered how to teach the easier hunting methods to his son. Nate just continued to grin.

This was gonna be the best day ever.

[Radiant]

Another fine day in the Fortress City with Syna's light gracing upon the wilderness surrounding it. Though the stone walls and ceilings defiantly refused the sun's light, those outside the Fortress could still bask in her glow. Particularly, the pair of father and son heading into the Bronze Woods. As the pair passed the main gate, the two guarding Knights greeted them, wishing them safe travels. Hunters were very respected in bringing meat and pelts for the Fortress.

Not half a chime after the pair got out, a curious figure was following them, a little girl with shoulder-length snow white hair and deep reddish brown eyes wearing a pretty white dress. The knight stopped the girl from going out, a child going out alone was dangerous. "Woah there, dear, what are you doing? Where are your parents?"

"Eh?" The little girl, looking barely just ten years old, tilted her head as she examined the knight "I want to go to the woods today!" Her high-pitched cheerful voice that could melt the heart of fathers escaped her small pink lips. "Uhm~ I want to meet that boy! I'll be fine! I'm a wolf! Woof!" She wasn't kidding though, she was a Kelvic and though still a child, her white wolf form was as big as a normal adult grey wolf, evident of her dire nature.

"Uh... are you a kelvic, child?"

"Oh, yes! Yes I am! I am Ama! May I go now?" She didn't see the need to hide her nature. She was getting impatient, both the boy and his father were getting farther as they spoke.

The Knight looked at his companion and the other one nodded. This girl was a Kelvic, they could take care of themselves as far as they knew, also, she would be with those two hunters, she would be fine. "Alright, be careful..."

"I will! Yay!" Without another word, Ama dashed from the location, her white hair trailing behind her as her barefooted form thumping against the ground. She caught up with Nathan and his father soon enough. The girl suddenly glomped him from behind, sending both of them tumbling to the forest floor. "Hello~♪" She sat on top of him and affectionately hug the boy "Can I come with you and your father, ehehe? You guys look like you want to have fun! I want to have fun too! Especially in the forest!" She spoke fast and her pronunciation was not very good, with baby-talk coating her sentence every now and then.

"I'm Ama! What's your name? And he's your papa right? What's his name? Hehe~♪" Whether they agreed or not, the dire Kelvic would keep following and clinging to Nathan.

[Nathaniel Deveraux]

Nate had been bouncing up and down again by his father's side, tugging at his arm and pointing at random things and asking what they were, when he felt something hit him from the back and sending him to the ground. Anton, having seen the little girl before Nate, was not worried, though he raised an eyebrow that the Knights would allow a child this young to leave the safety of the Fortress. What were they thinking?!

Nate, for his part, was too young and inexperienced to be frightened by what had just happened to him. Had the girl bowled him over four years later, he might well have whirled on her and drawn a weapon in defense. But as it was, Nate just laughed as he tumbled over, mind already filled with the games he played with the other children in Syliras. A cheerful "Hello!" caught his attention as he wiggled a bit. He felt a small pair of arms hug him and he grinned up at his father.

The girl, for it was definitely a girl, Nate couldn't imagine that sort of voice coming from a boy, asked whether she could come with them. Anton frowned. "I don't know if that's a very good idea, young lady," he cautioned, but Nate just pouted.

"Hey come oooon, dad! Why not?" he whined. "I mean, it's not like you can just let her wander out here by herself, right?" To his twelve-year-old mind, that seemed like a good argument.

Anton sighed. The girl kept going, introducing herself as "Ama" and asking for Nate's name and for Anton's. Before Anton could even open his mouth, and tell Nate that it wasn't always wise to just blurt out one's name to random strangers, it was already too late.

"Hi Ama!" Nate grinned broadly, as he'd finally twisted around to see what the girl looked like. She had long white hair and reddish-brown eyes, and looked like a very friendly person to Nate. He was really curious about that hair-color too. He'd never seen anybody with white hair before!

"I'm Nathaniel!" he introduced himself. "But umm, please call me Nate," he added, with a sheepish grin. He hated being called 'Nathaniel', his father did it all the time and it was super annoying. Indicating said father, Nate continued. "And this is my dad! His name's Anton. Hey, that's really cool hair! I've never seen anybody with white hair before! Is it real?"

He reached out and touched Ama's hair, too young to know that such an action might not be received well by the young Kelvic girl. It certainly felt real. Anton just heaved a heavy sigh.

"Nathaniel, we can't just-" he started, before looking at how much fun Nate seemed to be having with the girl. He shrugged helplessly. This was supposed to be a training lesson for Nate. Maybe it could still be one, but he dearly hoped the girl wouldn't get them both into more trouble then they could handle.

"Where are your parents?" Anton asked the girl. And the unspoken question too: why did they let you come all the way out here alone?

[Radiant]

"Why is that not a good idea? I like hunting too!" Ama pouted at Anton, her cheeks puffing up in childish annoyance. Some adults were so boring, they kept having fun and left the little ones abandoned in their homes. The white-haired girl disliked the confines and walls of the Fortress.

"Hello, Natha-... eh... Nathanununu..." Ama fumbled with her words, she was not good with speaking yet, some words were too hard for her including this boy's name. "I'll just call you Nate then! Hehe~" She sheepishly grinned, a slight blush on her pale skin. She turned to the adult when Nate mentioned him "Hello, Anton!" Ama forgot that she had to use titles when speaking to an older person to show respect, such things were annoying and unnecessary in her child mind.

"Eh? Ehehe~ You like my hair?" Ama was not offended when Nate's hand brushed her white locks, as usual with Kelvics, she didn't mind physical contact. Why should people be afraid being touched unless the other person was diseased? Perhaps, those people thought everyone else was diseased. She held Nate's hand and urged him to brush more "Of course it's real! Eh? You never see anyone else with white hair? I think lots of grandmamas and grandpapas have them!" Ama's white hair were natural though, not the result of old age.

"My parents? Oh! Papa is a merch-... what was that word? Oh! Merchant! He's in the Great Bazaar while Mama..." Ama was a rare product of a human and Kelvic. Usually, a human and Kelvic marrying would produce a human, but in rare cases, it would be a Kelvic like her. "Mama is with Papa I think." She shrugged, she was always an independent girl. However, she did sneak out on this occasion... she would have to hurry before her mother found her.

"Let's go now! Hehe~ I can help you!" She tried to convince the adult man to let her join them "I have fangs and claws, I can run fast like lightning Wooooooosh!" She was exaggerating, truly like a child but she was not lying about the fangs and claws.

[Nathaniel Deveraux]

Nate grinned when Ama declared that lots of grandfathers and grandmothers must have had white hair. That was true! Why hadn't he thought of that? Apparently her parents were in the Great Bazaar. What was a Great Bazaar? And what made it great, anyway? Was it, like, really huge? Did it have lions?! And apparently her dad was a merchant. Nate didn't really know what merchants did except buy and sell stuff. Well, that was kinda cool, he guessed, although he thought hunting was way cooler.

Anton, for his part, just sighed. So the girl was a merchant's daughter, and somehow she'd slipped her parents and ended up way out here. He didn't know how he was going to do this, and had half a mind to just turn around and lead both children back to Syliras. If the girl had been a hunter's daughter, he might have consented, but a merchant's daughter wouldn't know what to do out here.

He was going to open his mouth to suggest this when the girl continued talking, indicating that she had fangs and claws, and with childlike enthusiasm implied she could run quite fast. Fangs and claws? Anton lifted an eyebrow.

"Young lady... are you suggesting that you are a Kelvic?" Kelvics were different. Though Anton had only met a few in his lifetime, he knew they aged differently from humans, and their animal forms were just as formidable as their non-Kelvic counterparts. If the girl was a tiger or a bear or some similarly powerful predator, then that would mean she'd be more than capable of handling herself.

Nate was busy rubbing Ama's hair between his fingers. It sure was silky! But he looked up in confusion when his father used an unfamiliar word. "Dad? What's a Kevic?" he asked, mispronouncing the word he'd just heard. Anton shook his head.

"They're called Kelvics, Nathaniel," he corrected. With a light shrug, he continued. "And I don't know all that much about them except they're animals that turn into people. Or maybe they're people that turn into animals... I an not entirely certain."

"Y-you mean you can turn into an animal?" Nate asked, turning to Ama. His eyes were wide with surprise and excitement, not a trace of fear at all. "That's super cool! I wish I could turn into an animal. I'd be, like, I dunno, a bird or something! Or, or, maybe a lion! Or a bear!"

Anton sighed. "Nathaniel, we really need to get moving if the three of us want to finish hunting before the sun sets."

Nate pouted a bit, but then stopped, and grinned up at his father. "Wait, the three of us?" he repeated, the grin spreading wider. "You mean she can come?!"

Anton almost groaned. He was going to regret this. He just knew it. "Yes, Nathaniel, but-"

"You can come! Yay! Dad said so!" Nate was overjoyed to have a friend along for their hunt. Most of his friends in Syliras weren't even interested in coming out into the woods. They were all such scaredy-cats. "Oooh, it's so daaaangerous out there," they'd say. Pfwah! What's a little danger? He hugged Ama and grinned. "Isn't that great?" he commented. Anton had already walked a bit ahead.

"Come on, you two, get a move-on," he prompted, and Nate scrambled to his feet and offered Ama a hand up.

"This is gonna be really cool, Ama, you'll see!" he insisted. "Dad's a totally awesome hunter! I mean, this one time, he-"

"Nathaniel!"

"Okaaaay dad, we're coming, we're coming," Nate grumbled. As the three of them walked into the woods, Anton walked along the tree-line, looking for the signs of rabbits. They were, after all, the smallest and easiest prey to catch, and while they were fast like deer, they were much less hardy and therefore easier to actually catch.

Anton explained that rabbits were skittish, and creatures of habit, so they liked their grazing grounds to be close-by to their homes. He described the small, semi-circular indentations in the grass that indicated rabbits were nearby, and how rabbits tended to post a sentry on the outskirts of their grazing grounds, and how that sentry rabbit often left quite a pile of droppings after a few bells. All useful knowledge, but most of it went in one of Nate's ears and out the other, as the boy quickly became bored of the lesson.

Nate glanced over at Ama to see if the girl was bored too. "This is booooring," he whispered to her conspiratorially. "I thought hunting was gonna be more fun..."

"Nathaniel! Pay attention please!" Anton called, as he noticed the "covert" communication between the children. "I know this seems dull, but trust me, you're going to want to remember this someday. Hunting isn't all about chasing down an animal through thick and thin of forest and stream. I hate to say it, Nathaniel, but most of hunting is waiting. And the rest of it is wishing that you were still waiting."

Nate stamped a small foot into the ground, making a little puff of dust rise as he scowled at his father. "But all your stories...!"

Anton groaned. Sometimes he wished he hadn't told his son all those stories. "Nathaniel..."

Nate shook his head vigorously. "But you said we'd go hunting! This isn't hunting, it's walking! C'mon dad, you promised!"

With a sigh, Anton nodded. "Alright, Nathaniel, we'll go 'hunting', as you say. But you have to promise to do exactly what I tell you to, OK?"

Nate nodded and grinned. "Sure dad!" he replied, and turned to Ama. "See? I told you! It'll be totally cool." Anton had walked a fair distance away, so Nate grabbed Ama's hand, and fairly dashed to catch up.

[Radiant]

"Eh? Mhm~" Ama nodded repeatedly at Anton's inquiry, her white hair bobbing up and down following her motion. "I'm a wolf Kelvic! Papa told me I'm a white wolf~ Hehe~" She opened her mouth and pointed to her canine teeth, they were slightly longer than than usual compared to humans. "Want to see my wolf form? Don't you? Hehe~ People say I'm adorable and fluffy! I also like being rubbed in the belly~" She pulled Nate's right hand and forced him to rub her there.

"Oh! Oh! I know! Kelvics are both animals and humans!" She was getting excited, explaining what she knew about her wonderful race. "We also grow faster than you slow humans, hehe~ I'm uuhm... eh... about one year old I think!" She didn't get it, why did humans need so much time to grow? They consumed much more resources such as food and required more nurturing as well. The way she saw it, Kelvics were better in every possible way; but of course, being polite, she didn't comment on that.

"I can! Uhm... you caaaan't~" Ama teased, putting her right index finger to poke Nate's left cheek "It's reserved for Kelvics only~ Hehe~" Obviously, the child didn't know anything about magic such as Morphing or other shapeshifting race such as the Dhani.

"Yay! Let's go now!" Ama held Nathan's right hand with both of her hands, slightly blushing at the contact, it was a mere crush of a young girl. She hoped Nathan wouldn't mind with her cuddling him so much. The trio began venturing into the Woods, led by the experienced hunter.

"This is booooring."

Ama had to agree. After a few bells of fruitless search, the girl was getting impatient. Usually hunting didn't take this long, her wolf form could smell an animal from faraway and her feet could chase them fast. With her giant-size for a wolf pup, it was to her advantage. "Pssst... Hunting shouldn't be like this right?" Ama whispered to the boy as well "I mean, I usually do it much faster than this with Mama..."

Ama grumbled, she didn't agree with Anton's explanation. It was the "human" way of hunting, all waiting, and sneaking. Hunting should involve stalking, leaping, and tearing off a deer's throat with fangs and claws. She decided to take the lead, puffing up her chest proudly, she approached the adult. "Hehe~ Anton! I have a better way of hunting! Much more fun than this! Watch me!" She suddenly took off her dress and removed her underwear, tossing them carelessly. Ama didn't have any visible blush or embarrassment at her nudity due to being a Kelvic.

She went to all fours and her body shone, a tick later, the white-haired girl was replaced by an adult-sized white wolf, adorable reddish brown eyes staring at both Anton and Nathan. She barked with delight and held out her tongue, also wagging her tail.

Ama sniffed the air and ground, searching for the familiar smell of those tasty long-eared animals. She led the group like a hunting dog, after a few moments, she found some rabbit droppings. Ama's eyes became sharp as her predatory instincts drove her. She kept searching around until her brown eyes locked themselves into the figure of a grazing rabbit not far away to the front.

She looked back to Anton and Nathan, wondering if she could go in for the kill, but of course, she couldn't speak right now.

[Nathaniel Deveraux]

Nate blushed heavily when Ama threw off her clothes with abandon. He wasn't used to girls just taking off their clothes like that; his mother always secreted the twins away when they were taking baths and such. He did not know about the fact that the Kelvic's dual nature meant they rarely gave much care or thought to modesty, he just found it really embarrassing because he'd never seen a girl naked before. Anton, having been around a Kelvic or two in his lifetime, was less embarrassed and more annoyed.

Despite knowing the girl was a Kelvic, Anton visibly tensed when she transformed. Even though he knew that she could probably handle herself, he also knew his son would not be able to hunt the way she did, and he would not have her around all the time to help him. He needed to learn the proper way to hunt, and not rely on a Kelvic who would probably be gone by the next day. He couldn't deny her keen nose and powerful jaws would work in their favor today, but what about tomorrow? Though he did raise an eyebrow at the girl's size; despite her relative youth, she was huge for a wolf.

As she sniffed about, acting for all the world like a trained hunting dog, Nate couldn't help grinning. Ama was definitely cooler then the kids he played with back in Syliras. Wait till he told them about the girl that could transform into a wolf! Apparently, she'd found something, because she walked forward a few steps, then stared keenly at something ahead of them. Nate stood on his tiptoes and saw that what she was looking at was a cute-looking little bunny rabbit that was nibbling on some grass just a few feet away.

Ama was looking back at Nate and Anton, as though asking what the next step was. Nate thought the answer was obvious. They caught the rabbit and ate it! What else did you do? But Anton just quietly took his short bow from his back and handed it to Nate, along with one of his arrows. "Nathaniel, I want you to try to hit that rabbit with this."

Nate looked up at his father and pouted. "But daaaad, you know I can't hit something that little with a bow! I suck at shooting stuff!" Nate managed to somehow whisper in a whiny yet quiet voice, a feat apparently only young children were able to accomplish. "Why can't Ama grab it for us?"

Anton smiled slightly at the Kelvic girl. "Ama is certainly a very nice girl for helping us, Nathaniel, but she won't always be by your side. Someday, you'll be out here alone, and if you don't learn how to hunt properly..." Anton sighed, and looked Nate sternly in the eyes. "You have to understand, Nathaniel, the wilds are merciless. The animals out here don't care that you aren't prepared, they'll eat you anyway."

Nate blew out his cheeks, but ultimately took the bow and arrow from his father and tried to nock it like he'd been taught. But his tiny, clumsy fingers couldn't get it right, and his nervousness about not getting it before the rabbit scampered away for other grazing grounds meant it was half a chime before he could even get the arrow on the string. Nate tried to draw the arrow back, but it fell onto the ground, and he had to pick it up, nock it again, and then draw it to his ear again.

"Remember, Nathaniel. Breath in, shoot, breathe out. Try to stay calm, don't force the shot. Feel it."

Nate did as he was told, taking in a deep breath and holding it, aiming for the tiny puff of brown fur that was the rabbit as it grazed happily away. He'd walked a few steps away from Ama, since he really didn't want to hurt his new friend with his lousy shooting, and he waited a few more ticks before letting go of the string with a whoosh of breath. The arrow flew only a short distance before landing a good foot short of its target, and the rabbit scampered off into the brush. Nate growled, tossed the bow onto the ground with all his might, and stamped his foot.

"See dad?! I told you that would happen!" he shouted, no longer forced by the presence of Ama's find to speak quietly. "This is stupid! I'm going after it, and I'm gonna catch it by myself!"

Anton's face registered his panic, but he'd processed his son's words a little too late. Nate was already scampering into the brush after the rabbit, stubby little legs pumping as he dashed after the furry prize, not heeding his father's cries behind him to slow down, to wait up. "Come on, Ama! Let's catch it ourselves!" Nate called out to his new friend, only glancing once behind him to see if she was still with him.

Nate crashed through several layers of shrubbery, scaring off innumerable game and frightening every bird for miles, before he stopped to catch his breath. The rabbit was nowhere to be seen, and truthfully, Nate had probably ran in the wrong direction anyway. But now he was lost, and as he glanced around nervously at the unfamiliar trees he felt the first trickle of fear crawl down his spine. His eyes grew wide and he backed up a bit, only to gasp in terror and whirl around, to see that what had frightened him was just a tree.

The branches and trunks seemed larger and larger, and appeared to almost close in on him, and Nate whimpered slightly. He was scared, and he didn't know what to do. Which way should he go? Should he start yelling? What if that brought the bad animals to him? Oooooh, why did he have to run off?!

"D-dad?" he stammered, sweat pouring down his back. "Ama? Anybody? Help!" Nate could feel the tears well up in his eyes as he desperately tried to listen for anything that might indicate either his father or his newest best friend. But nothing except the screeches of birds answered his call.

"... please?" he pleaded, and that was when he heard it. A low growl, coming from behind him. At first, he thought it was Ama, and he spun around with a happy grin on his face.

"Ama! I knew you'd..." the happy cry died in Nate's throat. It wasn't Ama. It wasn't Ama at all. The hungry-looking young cougar snarled a second time, wicked canines glistening in the sunlight, as it backed Nate up against a tree. Nate gulped, his feet rooted to the ground, eyes wide in terror. He had no idea what to do, and he had the terrible feeling that something awful was about to happen to him.

[Radiant]

Seeing that Anton wanted his son to learn hunting in the "boring" way, Ama gave a whine in protest but stayed put. She watched as the boy clumsily drew the string, her eyes filled with encouragement. He fumbled and stumbled, the dire wolf was getting impatient, the rabbit might notice them and bolted off then they will lose all hope of a surprise attack, leaving Ama the only one capable of catching it.

The Kelvic tilted her head as the boy suddenly bolted off, chasing the rabbit. Ama wanted to tell him that it was not a good idea, but he was too fast. The Kelvic barked at the boy, but he didn't heed her. "Ama, go! Catch that foolish boy!" The hunter grumbled, he was heading deeper into the dangerous Woods and Syna was about to rest too, this was not a good situation for a young human boy to be wandering around.

Nathan was surprisingly fast, Ama didn't want to lose sight of Anton so she ran at a slower pace than usual. Suddenly, both of them heard swift pawsteps coming to their direction. Anton instinctively readied his bow and look at his side to see a black panther running to them...

........

.....

...

The cougar couldn't believe its luck, a free meal in the form of a small squishy weak human was below it. It licked its lips in hunger, it readied its claws as it stalked the boy from above. When its would-be prey noticed it, it knew it was the time to strike. Snarling, the couger jumped down from the tree, claws and fangs prepared to cut the boy's throat apart...

*BAM!!*

Only to be knocked down by something larger than it was. Its eyes frowned in anger as a rival entered the scene, a larger black panther. The two big cats stared down like the predators they were, but the panther was quiet, almost as if it was sentient. Then suddenly it roared with all its might, filling the cougar with immense primal fear. The brown young big cat saw it was not worth it to linger so it backed away and retreated from the location.

Nathan got the cougar out of his problems, but now, he was facing a larger black panther. Out of the cauldron, into the fire it seemed. The panther turned around, angry eyes staring deep into the boy.

"NATHAN!!" A screamed recognizable as Anton's could be heard from the distance, followed with the bark of wolf-form Ama. The hunter immediately hugged his son and examined him to make sure he was alright then... he slapped the boy, not violent, but hard enough to make an impression "You foolish, foolish boy! What did I tell you about the Woods? It is dangerous! If you keep acting like this, you will find you are alone one day with no one to help you!!" Anton then hugged the boy again and caressed his hair "I love you, my son. I don't want anything to happen to you, so please... listen to me from now on, alright?"

The panther strangely kept silent and watched the two humans. Nathan would probably be wondering on why Anton seemed to disregard the danger of a large panther standing just a few feet from them. "Now, please say thank you to Kala here." He gestured to the panther.

It hunched down and light swirled from it, a few ticks later, the panther was no more, replaced by a clothless middle-aged woman with back-length midnight black hair and equally black eyes. "It's alright, Sir Anton. It was the right thing to do." The woman identified as Kala then looked to her feet, Ama was curling up with her ears drooped down and eyes filled with regret. "Ama, what did I tell you about sneaking out? You are just as naughty as this boy here!"

Light swirled again and the spawning little girl immediately hugged the woman. "I-I'm sorry, Mama..." The little girl looked really sorry and on the verge of tears.

"*Sigh*... Childrens... right, Sir Anton?" A Kelvic pair of mother and daughter with a human pair of father and son, an interesting sight indeed.

[Nathaniel Deveraux]

Nate squeaked with fear when a large black panther bowled over the cougar that had been about to eat him. While he was certainly grateful for the assist, he didn't know if the panther was just saving Nate so it could eat him itself, or if it was genuinely trying to rescue him. In any case, the immediate danger had passed, and he could feel his entire body tremble with the effort of just staying upright. The panther roared once, making Nate wince with the volume and sending cold shivers down his spine. The cougar apparently decided that Nate was not a good enough meal to be worth fighting a panther over, and dashed off into the murk of the woods.

And now Nate was staring down a humongous black panther, whose black eyes were staring directly into his. He gulped and turned a little green, fear written all over his face. Where was Ama? Where was his father? Nate could hear the blood rushing past his ears as his heart beat wildly. Nate desperately wanted to run, but his feet just stubbornly refused to move. Later in life he would have learned that running from a panther wouldn't accomplish much other than to die tired, but Nate was too young to know that.

"NATHAN!!"

Nate almost collapsed with relief. His father was here! His father would save him! He almost didn't hear half of what his father was saying, even the slap felt like a gentle Spring breeze. All he knew was, his father had come to his rescue and everything was going to be alright. Tears streamed down Nate's face, mixing with the dirt he'd gotten on it as he blubbered his apologies over and over. Anton just hugged him close, telling his son that he loved him and to please listen to him next time. Nate just nodded mutely, his sobs eventually settling into muffled sniffs.

The panther had been strangely silent the whole time. In fact, Nate noticed that his dad almost didn't seem to notice the big animal standing right next to them. Didn't he realize it wanted to eat them?! Nate almost pointed it out when his father gestured at the panther and asked that Nate thank it, naming it "Kala". Nate's eyes widened. Did that mean she was a Kelvic too, like Ama?

A moment later, the panther confirmed Nate's theory, getting down on its haunches and with a swirl of lights transformed into a naked black-haired lady. Nate blushed again, this was the second time he'd seen a woman naked, but this Kala didn't seem to be at all bothered by her nudity. Neither did Anton, who pushed Nate forward a little, prompting him again to thank the Kelvic woman.

"Thanks," he sniffled. Anton frowned down at his son. Nate sighed and looked Kala in the eye and did a little bow. "Thank you, missus Kala," he tried again, a bit stiffly, trying to be as formal as his child-like brain allowed. Anton sighed. The boy needed to work on his manners.

Ama seemed to be curled at Kala's feet, and Nate wondered if she knew this woman. It didn't click in his head that Kala might be Ama's mother, since he didn't know anything whatsoever about Kelvics in general, but then Ama turned back into a girl and apologized to her mother, and Nate's eyes grew wide. Really? Ama's mom was a Kelvic too? Was her whole family Kelvics? He had a million questions he wanted to ask, but Anton's firm hand on his shoulder told him that he was expected to behave.

Anton returned Kala's sigh with one of his own, rubbing his temple with his free hand. "Well, at least they're both safe," he tried, giving Kala a tired smile. Turning to Nate, he looked his son sternly in the face. "Now, Nathan, since you've gotten yourself into this mess, we might as well make this a learning experience for you."

Indicating the forest around them, Anton asked, "So, Nathaniel, how would you get home from here?"

Nate looked up wildly into his father's eyes. Get home? From here? He didn't even know where "here" was! How was he supposed to know the answer to that? "I-I don't know..." he stammered out, bottom lip trembling with the effort to not cry. Then a thought struck him. The tears fled his eyes and he bounded over to where Ama was.

"I'd ask Ama!" he cried happily, taking her hand and bouncing. To his young mind, there was absolutely nothing wrong with that answer.

Anton groaned. "Nathaniel, what have I said about relying on her? She won't always be there! You have to learn..." Anton cut himself off with another sigh. It was like herding cats. Nate just puffed, grinning with child-like confidence that his new-found friend would always be around to find him if anything went wrong. He just didn't understand that things changed, that people changed...

"Children, indeed," Anton groused to Kala, with a tired but wry smile. "I just hope the girls won't become as much of a handful as little Nathan here, or I'm going to be in a lot of trouble."

Deciding that the lesson was, for the most part, over, Anton held out his hand. "Come on, Nathaniel, we should go home."

But Nate stubbornly refused to let go of Ama's hand. He just met her! Why'd they have to go now? "Can't we play just a little bit longer?" he whined and begged, eyes pleading. Anton made to shake his head, but then heaved a heavy sigh, looking up at Kala helplessly.

"What do you think?" he asked her wearily. Truthfully, with Syna's light nearly gone, at most a few bells, and, they really should just head back to Syliras. If the forest was dangerous during the day, it was doubly so at night. But perhaps they could let the children have thirty or so chimes to have fun. After all, one was only young once.

[Radiant]

"You're welcome, young man." The boy looked really shaken, well it was expected, he was not prepared to face one of the large predators of the Woods. If she arrived a tick too late, Anton would probably lose a son.

Kala looked at the adorable, puppy-dog, eyes of her daughter. She always do that when she did something wrong, but this was enough. She needed to be taught a lesson. The woman crouched down and whispered to her ear. "Wait till your father knows about this... oh wait, he already knew." That brought a yelp from the little girl and she immediately hugged her mother, trembling and quivering.

The woman watched as the duo of father and son conversed, the father trying to smack some sense into the boy. Feeling cornered, Nate asked for her daughter's help, but Ama was not in the mood for it, she was too afraid on her father's reactions. The wolf Kelvic just stammered and let herself be pulled, muttering something unintelligible under her short gasps of breath.

"Oh, you have daughters as well, Sir Anton?" Kala curiously smiled. "Well, I only have Ama here. Also, did you notice that her animal form is uh... much larger than she should be? I mean, at her age, she should be pup-sized." The panther Kelvic also wondered about her daughter's size as a wolf, though she got one possible explanation. "She might be a Talderian Kelvic." Kala herself was not Talderian, she had the size of a normal female adult panther.

"I think it's best we head home now, Sir Anton. They can talk on our way home." Killing two birds with one stone, they could return to the safety of the Citadel while the children could play on the way, though Ama was clearly not interested in playing anymore.

Kala called her daughter back, expecting Anton would do the same for his son. Ama gently released her hand from Nathan, muttering an apology before she ran back to her mother.

"Let's go home." She motioned for Anton to take the lead, giving him the chance to teach his son about land navigation. Kala and Ama would follow closely behind.