In Kenrir's private quarters, the two parties were working on Alena's training.
"A prime example," Kenrir insinuated as he held up a short piece of yarn and wiggled it in front of Alena. Immediately upon seeing this tantalizing piece of yarn, Alena's pupils constricted into their sharp, feral cat eyes as her instincts kicked in.
"Huah!" she gasped in interest. Her tail began to wiggle as her ears drooped down.
As Kenrir moved the dangling yarn from side to side, Alena's face followed it intently as her paws gradually rose up, readying herself to grab it. When Kenrir hid the strand of yarn behind his back, Alena stood still as her pupils dilated back to their normal shape. She pulled her head back slightly as she gave an expression of shock to Kenrir. She looked around herself, wondering if there was perhaps a different piece of yarn elsewhere.
Elijah, who had been huddled up in the corner of the room since Alena changed, was bobbing his tail as he lay contently. His head was raised as he had observed the beginning of Alena's training, but his eyes were weighing heavy as he used his ears to listen in.
"Do you see?" Kenrir asked Alena.
Alena was slightly frustrated by the gesture. "Hey, not fair! Why do you have to tempt me like that?" she asks him, as she stomped her foot down.
Closing his eyes, Kenrir shook his head at Alena. "This is all a part of your training. As mentioned, we can't have you losing control and throwing yourself into trouble. Your mind needs to be stronger the instincts that bind you," he explained.
"But, I want it!" Alena exclaimed. "Please let me have it," she cried, pouting over the yarn.
Kenrir shook his head at her again.
"You have to be better than that. Yarn, you see, is but a child's toy," he insisted.
"But I am a child," Alena cried quietly.
"And now it is time for you to grow," Kenrir countered.
Alena harumphed in frustration, stomping her foot once again. She was not used to such treatment, and it showed. The path of discipline would seem to prove a long one.
"Now then, don't pout," Kenrir instructed her. "Do you believe it is better for someone such as yourself to rely solely on instinct in the real world?" he asked.
"Well it's part of me. My instincts are who I am!" Alena exclaimed, flicking her poofy bob tail in frustration.
"Is that what you believe?" Kenrir asked her. "If that's the case, then you've got a long way to go indeed. Now then, let's see what your instincts can do for you here."
As Kenrir pulled out the bit of yarn again, Alena's eyes once again constricted, as she began to leap for the string of yarn. Kenrir of course movied it away with ease, and Alena lept for it again, swinging her paw out to grab it. Each time Alena lept for the yarn, Kenrir simply moved it away like child's play. Alena tried swiping at the yarn more quickly, as the temptations and drive inside her grew.
"Give me that lively, beautiful yarn!" she cried out. It was a surprise to Kenrir that she was coherent enough to use words in this state. As such, a smirk appeared upon his face, having measured up some sense of control, though is wasn't enough to pass his little test.
Alena cried out as her jabs at the yarn became even faster. Her desire to get ahold of it pushed her beyond any pace of action she had ever performed before.
Kenrir's movements formed into that of a repetitive dance, as he shifted his body repeatedly to prevent Alena from getting ahold of the string of yarn. As her speed increased, Kenrir began to smile. He found this aspect of Alena's training quite amusing. Before long however, Alena had stopped as she panted rapidly like that of an animal. Her eyes remained sharp while her heart beat more rapidly in her chest. Every beat of her heart could be heard by Kenrir's strong ears.
"You show promise, but you're going to need more than instinct if you want to take this from my hands," he stated tauntingly.
Alena lowered her center of gravity, spreading her arms out as her eyes became dense. "I will get it!" she proclaimed, fueled with an unusual determination. Growling, Alena thrusted out both her paws one after the other in a most rapid, clutching at the air around Kenrir.
He continued to move the string of yarn without breaking a sweat, while Alena's eyes were rapidly shifting around as she tried to predict where Kenrir would move the string to next. Kenrir very quickly picked up on this, but he was still much too fast for Alena to keep up. Her heart was racing.
"Impressive, but it's still not enough!" Kenrir shouted as he took an opening to thrust out the string right in front of Alena's eyes. Alena shrieked, as she hadn't expected Kenrir to retaliate amongst her consecutive flurry, and she fell back, feeling as through his enclosed hand had come too close.
She swore she had felt a breeze on her face, as she rubbed a tickle off of it. At that moment, the yarn Kenrir had been holding had seemingly vanished from his person. Alena seeing this, batted her eyes repeatedly as they dilated back to normal again.
"What? Where'd it go?" she asked.
Kenrir put on a smile to her alarmed response, for he was happier with the outcome than he initially thought.
"You will do well. I can see that in you," he told Alena in praise, "Don't let that get to your head though; your training has only begun!"
Outside the temple gates, the girls Tika and Maulana were crossing over to the student's dorms, which was an extension of the temple grounds built just outside the property walls. As they approached the dormitory doors, a young woman could be seen guarding the entrance. She sat on the ground by the door. Her head was tilted down, with her eyes closed, and a large, oversized hood rested over her.
The large, hooded garment was baggy, and with black as the main color, there was gold embroidery along each cuff and hem, even around the rim of the hood itself. She wore matching bottoms that were equally baggy. What few details could be seen of her, were that of a Chartreux cat.
She was sitting with her knee propped up, and a leg wrapped around her footing. Sitting there, she held a staff which she had standing up. The staff was white in color, and at the top of the staff was a paddle-like design which was similar to that of the temple's inner, decorative walls. Her medium-length hair was a blue coat, and when she opened her eyes to see the approaching girls, they were a brilliant copper, almost to that of amber. She wore no shoes and her human-like hands had thick nails coming to a point, and had a thick, muscular tail which was divided into four parts.
"You're back early," she said to the two girls in her deep, strong-willed voice.
"Oh hi Variann! Yes, we wanted to get ahead on our studies," Tika greeted.
Maulana in agreement, blinked to Variann with a nod. Variann closed her eyes and sighed.
"Very well," she permitted them, as she remained still to continue guarding the dorms.
Variann was a nekomata who was very resilient in her duties and acted as security for the temple grounds.
"Just stay out of trouble," she grumbled.
"We will!" Tika swore ecstatically.
As they walked by, Maulana gave Variann an expressionless wave.
"So what do you think we should study first?" Tika asked Maulana as they walked through the dorm door.
Variann slowly cracked her eyes open, as she appeared to be deep in thought.