Ansel tried to keep his breathing steady as he trotted through the northern forest, his beast-form eating up the miles between him and Akelara. Snaediss was shadowing him, he knew, at Shonakasen's request, though he'd like to think that Snaediss would have done so anyway, since he had spent so much of his childhood out here.

There really wasn't a point of this. At least, not in the traditional respect. He'd been given no goal to explore, no area to mentally map and report back on, nothing to search for and find. No, this was about endurance and survival, two very key aspects of the explorer's task that few thought on. If he couldn't keep a good pace, couldn't survive if separated from his team, then he was a liability, and Shonakasen tolerated no liabilities.

::Off to your left, what do you sense:: Snaediss' voice came soft as a whisper into his mind.

Ansel obediently directed his senses to the left, finally becoming aware of what his instincts had been telling him for a while: a small herd of deer was nearby, probably browsing in one of the little clearings that dotted the forest. He didn't need to glance at the sky to know that little more than half a day had passed, his internal clock told him that much. His stomach was hollow from yesterday's meal, and while he could easily push on, one of the things Snaediss had been drilling in his head was never pass up an opportunity to eat.

That was all it took to convince him. Swift as he could, he scaled a nearby tree and began his stalking path towards the deer. White fur meant he was easily spotted while on the ground, but his fossa-like body let him ascend into the trees to hunt, as Snaediss had pointed out one summer afternoon, years ago.

Of course, I need to be careful, these days, Ansel thought wryly as he leapt from one tree and landed in another. I'm a bit heavier than I was back then. No sign that I'm going to get any larger, though.

The deer were exactly where his instincts had told him they would be, three of them browsing contentedly in a small clearing, ignoring his approach. Now, unfortunately, it was time to wait.

With patience he had cultivated through years of hunting at Snaediss' side, Ansel crouched in his tree, observing the deer and waiting for his opportunity. The sun crawled by overhead. The deer shifted about below him. A fly buzzed in his ear.

Truth to tell, he reveled in the chance to rest, even if it came at the expense of losing time. What mattered was that he made it back in one piece, not that he made it back in record time. Snaediss was lending him a bit more aid than she probably should be, but he was getting better, listening to his instincts more, learning to feel the world about him as a beast did. Out here, he felt less burdened by his beast-form, more burdened by his human form. It was a strange reversal.

One of the deer wandered close, bent its head to graze, ignorant of the predator in the tree nearby.

Ansel took the chance. His hind legs gathered under him, his eyes fixed on his prey, and he leapt. Soaring through the air, jaws open to clamp down on soft flesh, Ansel made no sound, let no roar pass his throat. A hunter hunted in silence.

The deer bucked and reared in surprise as Ansel's weight came down on it, before it collapsed, one of its hind legs giving way with a sickening snap. He dug his claws deep into the deer's back, clinging to it with all his might against its frantic struggles as he leaned forward and bit down on its throat. Jaws locked at a point designed to cut off its air, he waited for the deer's life to depart, then waited a bit longer as the body stopped struggling, just in case.

::A fine kill.:: Snaediss congratulated him. ::You're better than you were before this started.::

Ansel felt a warm glow start deep in his chest that had nothing to do with the meat he was gulping down to fill his empty belly. He'd looked to Snaediss for lessons in everything from hunting to 'human' nature; he'd turned to her when his age mates had teased him about being a dumb beast while the sun was in the sky; he'd entrusted her with his childish secrets. She'd been the one to teach him to use his limited telepathy, so that he could speak while in his beast-form, and she'd been the one to encourage him to approach Shonakasen as soon as he came of age, instead of waiting for the Passing Gather to come around.

::Thank you, Dis,:: Ansel sent back. ::It was a fine kill because I've had a fine mentor.::

Snaediss chuckled softly in his mind, but otherwise didn't respond. She never did when he praised her.

Finally, Ansel rose up from his crouch and oriented himself once more. He had plenty of ground to cover still and, belly full, he needed to take the first few hours slower than he had taken this morning. Even so, he'd likely be back in Akelara by the time the sun set tomorrow. Holding that thought close, he set off again, settling into a steady pace that ate the miles away.

---

He had been right. It was a bare half hour before the sun completely vanished from the sky when Ansel loped through the gates and into the green courtyard around the Towers. He glanced around, ignoring the coming and going of humanoids and dragons who were preparing for night to begin, searching for the place that Shonakasen said she'd meet him.

Spotting it, along with Shonakasen and Deasa, Ansel bounded across the vast space and sat down with a soft sigh. His paws hurt, his legs hurt, his entire body hurt, muscles unaccustomed to such a long endurance match screaming in agony. But he had done it, and now he waited patiently for Shonakasen and Deasa to finish their conversation and turn their attention to him.

::I will admit to surprise,:: Shonakasen spoke after she had given him a once over. ::You did better than I expected. What say you, Deasa?::

"I say, give the boy his place, he passed with flying colors," Deasa said with amusement, as she leaned over and gave Ansel a 'gentle' nuzzle that still knocked him over. "If you don't want to train him, I will!"

Ansel scrambled back to his feet, tail lashing from side to side in excitement. He had done it! He had won himself a place on the Flare Team!

::Oh, you will be training him,:: Shonakasen said with a chuckle. ::Just like you've been teaching all of us those memory tricks of yours.::

He basked in the glow of accomplishment, as Deasa and Shonakasen exchanged friendly barbs about who would teach him what and when. He hoped one day to have that sort of easy camaraderie with the Team, and earning his place was the first step towards that.

"Yo, Ansel! Good to see you back, kiddo!"

Ansel jumped and spun about, his mane poofing up to nearly double its normal size. He'd been so absorbed in listening to Shonakasen and Deasa that he hadn't heard Vikktor (Flikk and Vikktor, Ansel corrected himself, as he spotted Flikk approaching as well) come up behind him.

::Would you two stop doing that?:: Ansel groused to the two mercenaries as he attempted to flatten his cursed mane again.

"Why?" Flikk asked, amusement in his gaze, "We're just keeping you on your toes."

::Har, har, har. I hate you, Flikk.::

"Hate me all you want. I know you'll be around instantly when Kirada decides to cook that stew you like so much," Flikk responded with a smile.

Ansel laid his ears flat as Vikktor reached down and ruffled the fur on his head. He swiped his paw at Vikktor's hand, only to have that paw trapped in a light grip and Vikktor's other hand still ruffling his fur.

::I will murder you in your sleep for that,:: Ansel threatened without heat, as he finally tugged his paw free and escaped from Vikktor.

"Ya keep threatening that, kid. One of these days I'll actually believe ya," Vikktor shot back with a grin.

::As amusing as this is,:: Shonakasen interrupted, ::I must ask. Are you simply here to bother my newest recruit, or are you here for something else?::

Flikk smiled faintly and made a calming gesture with one hand, "We were just out for a stroll when we saw Ansel come in. No ulterior motive, I promise you."

::Good, because all my people are resting, and I have no intention of sending a raw recruit out on a scouting mission.::

Ansel frowned and looked from Flikk to Shonakasen, noting the defensive posture the mercenary had taken and the way Shonakasen's wings were partially mantled. ::What's going on?::

"Nothing for you to--" Flikk began.

::He damn well better worry about it,:: Shonakasen broke in with a snort. She then turned to Ansel and addressed him directly, ::Akelara has no dedicated scouts, now that Yomiro is dead and Essanis is recovering from her wounds. It has hunters, which need to continue their duties in order to keep this place in food, a handful of solo explorers who only rarely report in, and then us Flares. Selverat and Kerkael have been helping as much as they can, but Revent and Yikaeri have been keeping them busy.::

::We've been playing scout.:: It suddenly made sense why Shonakasen had been hanging around the Clan so often of late. And of course Shonakasen and Flikk would be at odds. The Devyrs stood for the fighting half of the Clan, because no matter how many War Leaders the Clan had, no one had the experience that Flikk and Vikktor did. They might not be the ones ordering Shonakasen to put her team members deliberately in harms way, but they were the ones calling many of the shots.

::We have been playing scout.:: Shonakasen agreed.

"And you know my opinion on that!" Flikk growled, his wings flaring briefly, causing his cape to swirl about his ankles.

Shonakasen sighed and shook her head. ::I know. I know. Forgive me, Flikk. But you and I both know what would happen if I refused the services of my people.::

"We'd be fighting blind," Flikk acknowledged.

::Thus you see my conundrum. Keep my people doing what they want to and force Akelara to fight blind, or send them out as scouts and pray they come back in one piece.::

Ansel glanced over at Vikktor, who was hanging back from the conversation. The fact that Vikktor wasn't adding any of his smart-alack comments proved how deep the rift between the Flares and Devyrs was growing, and that terrified him. How many other rifts were growing, silent, unacknowledged, tearing into the foundation of the Clan?

::How bad is it?:: Ansel sent privately to Vikktor.

Vikktor glanced his way, then focused back on the conversation that was continuing between Flikk and Shonakasen, replying along the same private band, ::Not as bad as it was a few weeks ago. Flikk and Shonakasen have worked out most of their differences, but she still hates that her people are being used in such a way.::

::And the Clan itself?::

::You have grown in the week you were out there, kid. Not sure I really appreciate that.:: Vikktor hesitated before actually answering his question, but finally forged ahead, ::The Clan is... surviving. For now. The Myrsilk grumblers, at least, have shut up about all these strangers taking up their Clan Grounds. They know they'd not last a moment without all of us around.::

Ansel heaved a sigh and stared off into the distance. Surviving wasn't prospering, as Snaediss had beaten into his skull through the years.

A small twinge at the back of his skull made him look up at the sky in surprise. The last of the sunlight was disappearing, his beast was retreating for the night.

Ansel grunted as he fell forward onto the ground, unable to hold himself up on limbs suddenly as weak as jelly. He felt his bones grating against each other as they shifted position and length, but he didn't fight it, so no pain accompanied the shift. The feel of his tail rapidly shrinking and sinking into the base of his spine was disorienting, even more so than the feeling of the bones in his face reordering themselves, his jaw shrinking, teeth being absorbed into his bone only to sprout again as a human's dull set.

"No matter how many times I see that, or how many times I do similar myself, it still makes me question my sanity," Flikk was saying as he knelt next to Ansel to drape his cape over the boy.

::Didn't you have shifters on your home world?:: Shonakasen asked.

"Well, yeah, but they never, you know," Flikk gestured awkwardly to his own body, miming a snout squishing into a human face. "They just... changed."

Vikktor chuckled, "Admit it, what really bothers you is that shifters here don't get clothes."

Ansel grinned weakly as he sat up, watching as Flikk's cheeks turned bright violet at Vikktor's words. Muscles that had been merely protesting were now in agony, and Ansel wondered if he'd even be able to stand up. While he'd been out on his proving, he'd always found a place to hole up before sunset and hadn't gone anywhere after he shifted back to human.

Flikk, however, seemed to sense his difficulty, and mastered his embarrassment enough to ask, "Shonakasen, may I take your newest explorer back to his room?"

::You may. Ansel, take tomorrow off. The Passing Gather is then, and I am going to do my all to miss this one just like I have missed the rest. Besides, no one is going to be able to get anything done, with all the fuss and bother.::

"Thanks, Lead," Ansel said as Flikk carefully gathered him up and stood. He felt like a child in Flikk's arms, but figured that was better than trying to walk his slow way across the green and into the complex itself. Wrapped in Flikk's cape, supported by friendly arms, Ansel felt sleep creep up on him.

He didn't even recall when Flikk entered the complex itself.