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The sword swiped through the air. Elest nimbly side stepped to the side and let it hit the ground. Almost as soon as it had struck, however, the sword came up from the ground and Elest jumped back letting the blade swipe past him just inches from his face. "Woah!"

He had been in the sparring ring for only a day, but they were already using bladed weapons against him. They had said that he would learn faster if there was actually a threat to his life, and it was probably true. But, it was still psychotic; they could still kill him right now if they felt like it. Elest thrust his sword forward and tried to pierce the man attacking him; his blade hit nothing but air. I used to be an official! He thought to himself. And now I'm sword fighting! He had only picked a weapon up this morning.

Another slice followed by a stab came his way. He jumped out of the way and swung his own sword blindly only to feel it make contact with something and ring. As soon as his senses came back he found that his sword had hit the man's chest but hadn't cut through the armor.

"Good Job! Well done!" He heard from outside the ring. "You're a natural at fighting."

Elest pulled his sword back and let the tip fall to the ground. "Thank you." He said, not being able to think of anything else. The man he had 'beat' sunk back under the shade and sat down letting someone help him take off the armor. It wasn't anything special. Only a chest piece and a couple arm and leg pieces made of some crudely forged iron backed with leather, nothing for the head at all and no shield. Nevertheless, it's what the Human army was going to march to war in. Fulien climbed over the fence and came to his young general.

"That was magnificent! I've never seen anyone pick it up so fast." There was a tone in his voice that seemed fake, but Elest took the complement.

"Thanks again sir."

"But Lycans are not going to be fighting with swords."

"Then why did I practice all day with them?" Elest argued.

"Well, you're going to use one. But Lycans don't; they are uncivilized. They'll use just their damned claws to rip you to shreds." Fulien drew his fingers up Elest's chest and rested them on his throat. "The precision they have is remarkable." He pushed his finger nails into his throat and forced Elest to take a step back.

"Doesn't sound like we have the advantage."Elest said looking at his sword.

"Oh but we do!" Fulien explained like a Politician putting spin on a speech. "Hold out your hand with your sword fully extended."

Elest did as he was told and held it out for as long as he could before the heavy sword made his arm shake from the exertion. Fulien stood at the tip and held out his arm in front of him. It only made it to Elest's hand.

"See, our swords will kill them before they can even get close enough to attack. But just to be sure I'll train you a little with the way Lycans fight."

Now a man came out, completely free of armor except on his arms. He was incredibly large standing almost a full foot higher than Elest. His fingers had sharp, forged points like claws and he curled them in the same fashion. Without warning the man jumped toward Elest, who just barely had a chance to move out of the way before the claws dug into the ground where he had been standing.

The speed that the man possessed was astonishing. How could a man that big move so fast? Elest wondered.

Before he could manage a counterattack with his sword the man swung around and clipped Elest's shoulder. Blood dribbled from the cuts and beaded on the end of the sharp points of the makeshift claws. Elest finally took his chance and thrust his blade forward but the man side stepped like him and used his fist to knock him to the ground. Elest hit the ground hard and dropped his sword, the claws not far behind him. He rolled out of the way and scrambled to get up.

"This man will kill me!" He huffed as he scurried around the ring with the man in short pursuit. One of his eyes was always trained on his sword still lying on the ground. Elest took a sharp turn and picked up his sword, turning to face the man.

He took a horizontal swing but was blocked by the metal guards on the man's wrists. The man jabbed his claws forward and Elest just barely jumped back out of the way. He took more steps back as the man advanced. Elest tried to get a couple blows in here and there but he could not find an opining, the man was too fast. Suddenly his foot hit a root and Elest tumbled to the ground and like before the man lunged at him. But this time he had no time to roll.

He closed his eyes and squeezed them shut waiting for death, but a voice interrupted it.

"Plenty different from a Human huh?"

It was Fulien! He had stopped the fight and saved his life. Of course it was a fake fight but the wounds on his shoulder were sure real.

"They are not fair fighters. They'll take any chance they get to kill you. That's all they're after. Remember, they're savage beasts."

Elest nodded, this seemed more and more like a wholesale noble cause and he couldn't wait to get out and kill some of these things. He just hoped that they wouldn't do the same to him first.

Tve was the second largest Lycan town smaller than only Amita. No one bothered to count how many Lycans inhabited it; they just knew it was big. Leith sat alone near a fire. Darkness had already fallen around him and the only light available was from the fire. Their party had made it to Tve earlier in the day after about a three days march from Amita. The large group made the usual day and night commute longer. Everybody had been eagerly awaiting response from the other towns, and they were expecting Kamit soon. This is what Leith dwelled on, among them, he knew, would be Kalah. He wanted nothing in the world more to see her but something still called him to this human. He threw another log into the fire and the flames licked up causing a couple embers to flare up and drift into the sky. There was another thing on his mind though.

You don't find out that you're half human everyday and this was really the first time Leith got some time alone to think about it. It made a lot of sense but what else did it do to him? Did it make him attracted to the Human woman? It certainly looked that way. But then why was my Lycan parent attracted to my Human parent? Is what he ended up with, just making his head throb with an abundance of more questions.

"What are you thinking about?"

Leith jumped, his fur and ears standing up. "Nothing! Just nothing."

"Really, nothing?"

He realized it was Luna as she came into the light of the fire and sat next to Leith, close enough to let his fur rub against her.

"Yeah, nothing." This was unexpected. He thought that she went to bed long ago. Was she up all this time? Well, what ever happened, she was here and Leith didn't exactly think it was a bad thing. He liked her company.

"Really now, absolutely nothing?"

"Are all Humans this pushy?" Leith sneered only to have Luna shrug and rely back with a nod. He took a sigh though his black nose. "Truth be told, I was thinking about my parents. Who they were, what they were like, why they were attracted to one another and why they had me. I just have never heard of a Lycan having an affection for a human or, as far as I know, the other way around."

Luna let her eyes drift to the side. "Yeah. So you never knew your mother and father?" Leith replied with a shake of his head. Luna forced a little smile. "Well, we are alike in that. I never knew mine either."

Leith cocked his head. "Really? I did read in a human book that Human love can change. Is that what happened?"

Luna didn't exactly understand the question. "Are you saying my father or mother left each other for another lover?"

"Another mate, yes."

"No!" Leith pulled back a bit, she had taken it as a bit of an offense. "No, they...they well, they died. Before I had a chance to remember their faces."

Leith saw his mistake and expressed his condolences. "I am sorry." He drew in close to her face and licked her cheek. Luna blushed at the gesture and looked the other way to hide her face. It was the second time he had licked her. "Don't be. You know what it's like. Besides I had my brother."

Leith nodded and sat back" I had Luyet." She still had her back turned to him.

"Leith, I...I need to get to bed. I'm in that hut over there." Leith followed her finger to a dwelling on the opposite side of town. "Just in case you wanted to know."

Leith was struck, he knew what she was portraying to and he couldn't believe it. Should he? Suddenly she turned around and licked him on his face. It wasn't the same as a Lycans lick because of her short, thick tongue, but the feeling was still there. She immediately stood up and ran back to her shelter. Leith brought his paw up and felt the area where she had licked, it was damp. Behind him, his tail was wagging and he stood up. He slowly made his way toward Luna's hut and was about to enter. He stood outside and watched through some cracks in the wood work. She undressed and got into her bed, a woven piece of fabric. He could see her eyes keep checking the doorway to see if he had shown up.

Leith took a step back and reached out to move away the animal hide that was used as a door. But his paw stopped right as he was going to.

What am I doing? Do I want to mate with her? Well, yes I do. His thoughts froze, the fact that he could admit that he wanted to meant that this was more than something little. His paw inched a little further, but stopped again. Inside his thoughts argued between if he should mate with her and if he should wait for Kalah. The fact that he was still a young Lycan, ready for a commitment, didn't help at all. Here was a girl, ready for that commitment, ready to lay with him but he couldn't. Leith took a look through the cracks again, her eyes were growing heavy but she still waited.

I...I...I can't

Leith turned away and made his way back to the fire, tending to it a little before heading off to his own bedding.

Leith sat eagerly awaiting the militia that are to come from the other Lycan towns. Word had arrived via messenger that all towns were for the taking back of the Tempest valley. Now it was only a matter of time before they will all show up and Leith knew who would be first, Kamit. Among them, he hoped, would be Kalah. Logic told him that Kalah would have joined the fighting force, but he still worried...and waited. His ears perched erect atop his head were twitching at the slightest sound and his tail was wagging behind him.

"Arrrrroooooooo!"

"What?" Leith stood up, there it was! They were here!

"Arrrooooooo!"

The howl was triumphant, signaling pride and fulfillment. They were here to help. Leith drew in a breath and thrust his muzzle into the air and let out a long response howl, welcoming the newcomers.

His ears twitched for a response, a lone howl returned. One he knew personally, one that he wanted to hear. He smiled and he said the name without even realizing it. "Kalah."

The first of them started to materialize out of the trees and Leith's fur started to stand on end as he got excited. His eyes squinted and he started to recognize people that he knew. As they drew closer he gave each of them a little nuzzle signifying welcome. As he was doing this he didn't realize that Kalah had come out of the forest and already made it across the meadow.

"Leith."

Leith drew in a deep breath and turned around and there she was, standing in all of her power. Leith opened his arms and welcomed her with a lick to her nose. She nestled her muzzle in his neck and sighed. "It is good to see you again."

"It has not been that long Kalah," Leith said letting her rub against his body, a touch that he missed. Fur against fur, he had been used to the Humans skin. "Only a couple cycles."

Her eyes stared at the ground as she backed away, keeping her paws on him. "Yes, plenty has happened in your absence though."

Kalah lifted her muzzle and smiled warmly. She felt as though she could breath again, his arms were so comforting, so strong and able.

"Plenty?" He asked taking her paws in his own.

"My father died; I am the leader of Kamit."

Leith was not expecting news like this. The old leader, Kalah's father was older yes, but he still had life in him,or so he thought. Now she was in charge of all of Kamit, a huge responsibility. Not only did it require being strong and able survive just about anything, but it also required you to have a good head on your shoulders. You had to be smart. Leith knew that Kalah was pretty intelligent but this battle here was to prove her worth. It was almost like an unwritten ritual or passage, it was a requirement to prove yourself.

"Kalah your father lead with as much wisdom as Arita and with as much force as Sumitar. I know that you will lead with the same rigor. May the God's welcome him to the meadow with open arms."

Kalah hugged him again. "Thank you, I hope this battle will provide enough proof of my capabilities."

Leith chuckled. "I will prove it myself if they do not think so."

Kalah responded with a simple lick to his nose just as Leith had done earlier.

"I have much to tell too, and some explaining but that will have to wait. I have someone you should meet."

Kalah felt a little tug in her chest the second he said 'someone.' Is it possible that he met someone? It didn't add up with this big welcome. All she could do was ask.

"Who is this person?"

She noticed that Leith was searching his head for an answer. "She is different."

He didn't add another word, but it still worried Kalah.

The evening came upon them, more of the towns had shown up and the Elder had planned a big feast for the force. During the day hunters, including Leith, had gone out and brought in the food. When he came back with the catch over his shoulder he was beaming with pride. He had it brought to the fires to be properly prepared for the night, along with the rest of the hunters.

The night fell and the amber glow of the fires reflected on all of the Lycans faces. There were over a dozen circles each with at least 20 Lycans sitting around them. Two large animals were present in each circle to share amongst them. Kalah had found a spot in the circle she knew Leith would be in but he wasn't there yet. The smell of the meat was tantalizing, her muzzle started to drip and her stomach growled of hunger. Kalah tried to hold back but her hunger got the better of her and she grabbed a leg portion if a Orur and started to devour it with her jaws. Her dripping saliva was replaced with dark red blood. It's flavor flushed through her as she chewed through bone, muscle, meat, and tendons.

"Here Luna, you can sit here."

That is Leith's voice!

Kalah thought and turned to meet him, but her eyes held a sight she thought she would never see here, a human.

"Leith! T...that is a human!" When she had told him to go she never imagined that something like this would spawn out of it. "What is it doing here!" Leith kept his calm composure. "This is who I wanted you to meet. Kalah. This is Luna."

Luna tried to seem pleasant and courteous but she only got a low growl from deep within Kalah.

"Can she understands us?"

Leith gave a nod. "Every whisper."

She snarled and turned back to her blood soaked food. Luna observed her eating and all the other Lycans around her. Their jaws tore huge pieces of meat and crunched them to a size they could swallow. Which was still much bigger then any human. Blood formed little streams that seemed to flow into the fire and the glow. The fire reflected off the thick liquid giving the Lycans a glowing aspect around their muzzles.

Leith sat in between Kalah and Luna almost as some sort of mediator to their thoughts. Luna felt threatened by Kalah, she could see in Leiths eyes that he liked her but she tried what she could to change the subject.

"Leith, what is this food?" She asked picking up a portion of the animals ribs. Her gut reaction already was to gag.

"That is an Oupurru." He said. It still didn't answer her question she had to look over at the carcass to try and distinguish what it was. To her it looked like a wild pig.

"We were blessed by Sumitar to find them in the numbers we did. Usually we are unable to find more then two at any one time." Leith eyed her holding the meat by two fingers. "Go ahead, it's much better than that squirrel."

Luna stuck her tongue out and gave the blood soaked meat a lick and to her surprise it didn't taste that bad. There was something definitely on it. Something that masked the other flavor.

"What's on this? It doesn't taste like the raw meat I had the other day?"

Kalah gave a scoff but Leith chuckled. "I thought you would think that. It is laced with herbs from the forest."

Luna took another lick, a bigger one this time. "I thought Lycans don't cook things? It destroys the meal."

"It is not cooked." Leith said taking a large bite out of his portion. "We just add things from the forest. What you call cooking," He said, having trouble saying the human word. "Is from this very ritual."

Kalah growled a bit. "You Humans stole our ideas, what else can you take from us."

Luna took the plunge and tore a substantial chunk off the bone and chewed it before swallowing it. Leith was right, it was different from that squirrel. The consistency of the meat was divine to her. It was still chewy because of it being raw but she could still teare it off the bone easily. It's taste was similar to the cooked meat she was used to. The herbs they used must have been the same ones that Humans use to decorate their own meat. She began to dig in, eating directly from the bone. Before she knew it all the meat from the bone was gone and her hands were covered in the animal's blood.

Leith knew something was wrong with Kalah, and he had a guess to what it was. "Kalah, I need to speak with you." Her ears twitched and she ripped some meat off of a bone.

"Why? When you have that Human to talk to."

Leith licked the blood off of his muzzle and sighed, he didn't really know how to break the news to Kalah. But he had to do it sometime, it would probably be better to do it now then right before the battle.

"Kalah, there is something I have to tell you!" His muzzle went back to the ground as if he was ashamed of it now. The female Lycan could tell the urgency in his voice and pricked up her ears. "Kalah, I found out in Amita. My mother was Human."

Kalah froze for a second. She always knew that he was a bit different, that was part of the reason why she was attracted to him. This did explain a lot, well it explained everything. She really didn't know what to say to that though. Her tongue licked the bone she had white and then she stood up. Leith followed her with his eyes. "Where are you going?"

All she did was give a little sign with her paw telling him to follow her. He turned to Luna. "Stay here."

Luna watched him get up and follow the other female into the surrounding forest. She turned around and looked around the circle of other Lycans. She gave a nervous smile.

Leith followed Kalah deep into the forest until he lost sight of her. He continued following the path until he found her in the middle of a small meadow. "Kalah, what is this?"

She sighed. "This meadow reminds me of the one in Kamit, where we spent the last time together. Do you remember that?"

He walked up to her and touched her along the side. "Of course I remember that. I could not forget it."

A small smile appeared on her muzzle and she looked to the sky. "Well, that day I thought something and I am sure that you did too. But how realistic is it now?"

Leith felt torn inside. How would he answer this?

"I mean you are part Human now right? Do you like this Human girl? This R..R...Runa?" She had a hard time saying the Human name just as Leith did. He thought it was a weird thing to jump right to, the first thing he thought she would do was fall on the ground, or be in denial or something.

"Kalah I do like her, but I believe that the human part does. But the Lycan in me likes you. I really do not know how this is going to play out. I like you, I really do. But I also do like this Human girl." Leith threw back his head and stared at the many stars that dotted the sky. Each one glistened with bright intensity that was unrivaled. Inside him, a battle raged between his Human and Lycan urges.

"Kalah. I think the reason why I never felt this before is because I did not know what it was and now after spending time with Luna, this Human, I can put a name on it. I am Lycan, but I'm also Human."

Leith brought his eyes back to her.

"But what does that mean for us! I was supposed to be your mate! We were supposed to mate and spend our lives together." Her voice was a combination of both anger and sadness.

"Kalah! This does not mean that it will not be that way."

Both of the Lycans stood in silence and the wind picked up around them. The trees rustled and the sounds filled their ears.

"Kalah." She looked up at him still a little angry at him, Leith sighed. "Kalah, I do not think any Human society would accept me."

Her tail started to pick up and wag a bit. "Are you saying?"

"I do like this Human, but her kind would not accept me. I need to be Lycan, plus I have known you since we were cubs." He nestled his nose with hers. "I cannot do anything until after the battle. But I will tell Luna of my decision."

Kalah jumped into his arms and hugged Leith tightly. "I knew it Leith. I knew we were destined for each other." She licked his nose and let him go. "We should get back to the feast. We are going to cross the mountains tomorrow."

Leith thought about what he just committed to,Kalah was going to be his mate. He was extremely happy but on the other hand he felt a tug of remorse. His Human side didn't agree with it.