New Recruits

From: Alpha Fentrik

To: Lead Huntress and Dragon Rider, Siltek

Dearest niece,

I trust you are feeling well. Though there has been little contact between us, I send this letter to you now with great importance. As a Lead Huntress of the Black Rose clan, you are required to train at least two apprentices sometime in your life. Since leaving to become a dragon rider, I feel you have grown stronger in your skills and are the best chosen for this duty. Thus, I send you these two aspiring guards to train until you feel they are worthy of Huntress rank.

Pride and health,

Fentrik

Siltek read the note over once, twice, three times and frowned deeply. She was throughily confused as to why the Alpha was sending her apprentices NOW instead of waiting for her to Impress. True, she had been at the Warren for quite a few years with candidate status, but her chosen clutch just wasn't coming. While Mystic and Myrah'Care fretting that the grand silver may never clutch, Siltek waited impatient for the time when she finally DID.

Velvety black ears flicked back and forth, ringing and clinking with the sound of her nine golden earrings. A long, black tail swished behind her strong, feline legs. She stood upright, as she always did, with one paw holding the note before her and the other placed on her well formed hip.

"Siltek," The soft purr of her husband's voice seemed off as the Tigra/man strode into the room. His ice blue eyes shone with a mixture of confusion and concern. Something was going to upset her. "The... uh... apprentices are here."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?" She growled low in her throat, a sign of dry sarcasism. Moonshadow smirked weakly, his white-ish blue hair shining in the stray light seeping in through the windows. Shrugging, she placed the note on a table beside her and covered the distance to the door in three, long steps. A curious glance at Moonshadow did nothing to relieve her suspicions.

"They're out in the flight fields, entertaining Dracoth and Merlinth." The last two names uttered by her husband finalized her concerns. Those two blues, especially Merlinth, were everything she hated about carefree living. Siltek was a woman of rules and order. She took pride in her skills and held her honour in her clan very highly. Most Lirons were like that. But not these two.

"Ooooh! He's so cute!" A high pitched squeal set Siltek's nerves on edge. As the black Lironess, one of the few royal bloods left in the world, emerged into the sunlight, her sights fell on two tan Lironesses, doting attention on the two stunt dragons.

Both had long, flowing locks of tan-copper hair, very unusual on a Lironess. Both wore skimpy skirts and shirts that revealed more then neccessary. Siltek normally wore shorts unless attending some important ball or feast. Even then, her skirt was long with a slit up the side to allow movement. These two looked like they could barely breath in those.... strips of cloth. They turned simontaniously and bright, girlish grins spread across their feline faces.

"Hi!" One called, waving a manicured paw at Siltek. "I'm Rill and this is Ra'al."

"We're your charges." They spoke at the same time in the same, cheerleader-happy voice. Siltek groaned.

"I'm beginning to think my uncle doesn't like me anymore." She growled under her breath. Behind her, Moonshadow smiled sympathetically.

* * *

A few minutes later, Siltek, Moonshadow, Rill and Ra'al had all gathered in the couple's shared den. All four of them sat around a low coffee table, four drinks between them. Siltek sipped from a mug of a special Liron brew that had all the potiency of terpentine. The foul smell permiated the room, though all felinoids had grown used to it long ago, though not all of them liked it. Moonshadow, in his human form still, drank from a steaming mug filled with black coffee and spiced with dried orange peel shavings, his favourite. Rill and Ra'al shared the same drink; a glass of sugar water. They claimed it helped them keep their figures. Siltek said it was the only thing their selves could cope with.

Sipping slowly from her mug, Siltek thought over the information her two charges had given her so far. She was comforted slightly by the burning sensation racing through her veins as the liquid emptied into her stomach. Rill and Ra'al were not related, though they acted like twins. They were, in fact, best friends and had been so literally since birth. Though raised with the clan, they had grown quite differently and now resembled normal, teenaged, empty headed human girls. Siltek hated dumb blondes.

"How old are you two?" Siltek asked dryly, setting her half finished mug on the table before them.

"Twenty!" Rill replied energetically. Both of her slender, tannish paws held her glass on the arm rest of her chair, untouched except for a token sip.

"Both of you?" Siltek pressed.

"Uh-huh!" Ra'al chimed in. "We were born only a few minutes apart."

"Right beside each other!" The girls dissolved into giggles and Siltek looked at her husband despairingly. She couldn't refuse the training, but it would certainly be... difficult to deal with these two day... after day... after day.

"How did you..." Siltek waved vaguely at their hair. In normal Liron society, such long, wavy locks would be looked down upon. They hindered vision and were un-neccessary for Huntresses. Yet it seemed to match their... lack of clothing. Rill in bright pink and Ra'al in bright blue. Tight fitting shirts that seemed no more then painted on and skirts so short, they seemed almost useless.

"We take very good care of our bodies." Rill supplied with an enthusiastic nod.

"I see..." Siltek breathed, standing leisurely, though more quickly then usual. "Well, if you are to stay here, I must see Mystic to get you rooms."

"Oh!" Rill grinned and giggled in that shrill, annoying voice. "We've already done that."

"Great." Siltek drooped, her voice sounding about as energtic as a corpse. "I guess we should get to your training then."

"Yay!" The girls called in unison, jumping to their feet and scampering out the door. Somehow, while running excited, both managed to sway their hips and swing their arms at their sides in a manner that was most alluring towards men. Siltek trudged out behind them.

Left alone in the den, Moonshadow sat back and sighed, one hand holding the coffee mug half way to his lips. He had never seen his wife so depressed, nor two Lirons so... energetic. Now it was only a matter of waiting to see who's patience or energy broke first.

The Tigra shook his head sadly and spoke before taking a last swallow of his coffee. "They're gonna kill her."

* * *

1 month later...

"Rill, watch your spear. Rill... RILL!!!" Siltek bellowed as the absent-minded Lironess. They had been practicing sprear thrusts no more then five minutes when Rill had been distracted by the arrival of two dragons. The dragons were Merlinth and Dracoth and she had seen them many times, yet somehow, they always seemed to catch her attention. Siltek's bellow had barely come soon enough to stop the Lironess from scratching her friend with the sharp tip of the spear. As it was, she jumped back and, amazingly, took the correct defensive pose. Unfortunately, there was no enemy for her to face, only a jumpy nervous system. Siltek sighed heavily.

"Gee, sorry, Ra'al." Rill apologized sweetly. Ra'al smiled and held her spear at ease.

"No problem, Rill. I know it was an accident."

"How many times do I have to tell you to pay attention, Rill?" Siltek spoke the words as she had many times before, her voice fatigued and annoyed. "You see dragons every day. You can watch them later if you want to. <i>Now</i> we're praticing."

"She just wanted to look. There's no harm in that." Ra'al replied defensively. Both girls 'hrumphed' importantly and set down their spears. Ra'al comforting her pride injured friend, they walked away.

"How did I become the bad guy?!" Siltek asked in exasperated wonderment, left alone on the field. The black Lironess growled and angrily picked up both spears. Over the past month, her patience had grown even shorter then it's amazingly short fuse. It wasn't that they didn't try with their training, nor were they bad. In fact, they were both very skilled with a spear and hand-to-hand combat, as well as being far more adept at nighttime watch. Siltek wondered if she should move the lessons to after dark. What irked her was the fact that neither Rill or Ra'al seemed to hold any repect for the order and rules that Liron clans were built upon. They were so carefree and happy. Yet intelligent at the same time.

Uttering one more silent curse, Siltek began storming towards her den, tail flicking angrily behind her. She knew the girls had great potential as night guards, if only she could instill in them some responsibility. They needed something, something that required a great deal of care and attention. Something that would make them fall into a routine that didn't involve boys and sun bathing. Siltek froze as if struck by a brick wall.

"That's it..." She breathed, her black eyes widening with the suddenness of her thought. "Why didn't I damn well think of it before?" She cursed, changing her path for another den.

* * *

A few moments later, Siltek sat in the silence of Mystic's den, accepting patiently, the mage's calculating gaze. She lounged back in a high-backed chair, legs crossed leasurily and black eyes lidded to hide her plans. Mystic sat across from her, seated in the same, languid position as herself with her cunning, golden eyes cast into shadows by the fire's light. Here was a woman Siltek could understand. Mystic strove for the same organization and order that she did, though in a friendlier manner then the Lirons.

"How are you getting along with your charges?" Mystic asked suddenly over the soft crackle of the fire. A gentle, cunning smirk touched her small lips.

"Wonderfully." Siltek lied, flicking her wrist in emphasis of the statment. "They're quiet, obedient and quite serious about their training."

Mystic smiled and waited. "Really."

"No." Siltek leaned forward, placing her hands on her knees while her tail coiled around the chair leg in agitation. "They're air headed, prissy little children, chasing after boys. They don't listen to a thing I say and never take their studies seriously. It's only luck that they can swing a spear with any kind of skill."

The red mage chuckled softly, casting her friend a sympathetic glance. "I've been watching, Siltek. I understand that you're frustrated. But as a Huntress, it's your duty to care for these two until they reach a proper status in the clan."

"I know." Siltek sighed deeply, lowering her gaze. She had never felt so... helpless in her life.

"But there's a reason you came to me and it's not to vent anger." Mystic stated in that all-knowing tone of hers. Some people found it annoying that she could read minds, both with a glance and her strong telepathy.

"Yes..." Siltek paused, second checking her decision for faults. "I wanted to know if it was possible to have them Searched." Before Mystic could comment, Siltek continued with her explanation. "They need something to calm them down, teach them responsibilty. I think caring for a young dragon would do that."

"I know." Mystic chuckled, calling her golden staff to her side as she stood. Red robes flowed around her slender form like liquid, retaining that aura of mystery and power. "Penorith has already Searched them and I believe Firestone Weyr has the perfect clutch for them."

"How...?" Siltek stood with her, giving the mage a very confused look.

"You didn't exactly try to hide your thoughts earlier." Mystic chuckled again, motioning with an incline of her head towards the flight fields. "But now's the time you should be telling those two girls of their futures."

Siltek nodded her agreement, once again taking the proud pose of a high-ranking Huntress. Mentally, she prepared herself to tell Rill and Ra'al of their Searching; and dreaded the shrieks of joy it would elicit from them.