Chapter 3: Laura and Berus

The bell rang throughout the city, and all the children in school came running out, their parents waiting. Among them were a little girl, age eight, and a boy, age five. The girl’s hair was long, brownish blonde, with piercing blue eyes, while the boy’s was short and messy, bluish black, with crimson eyes. Both had wolf-like ears atop their heads, the boy’s being a little shorter and feline. But that is where the similarities stopped; aside from the ears, the girl looked mostly like a normal human. The boy, however, from his forearms and knees down, had blueish black fur with sharp claws at the ends of his fingers and toes. He had a tail with the same fur color, which was long and like a cat's. He was an odd mixture of pather and wolf.

As they ran out of the school entrance, they looked around until the girl locked onto Ferral staring back at her, a smile on his face while he waved. The girl’s face lit up, “PAPA!” She shouted, bolting toward Ferral. The boy turned around while his sister ran off, his face lighting up when he saw Ferral. “PAPA!” He shouted as well. Ferral and the girl raised their arms as she jumped into him, the two embracing. “You’re getting pretty strong, Laura. Almost knocked the wind out of me.” Ferral laughed. The boy caught up with them, Ferral placing his hand on the boy’s head. “Hiya, Berus!” Ferral greeted. “HI PAPA!” The boy responded joyously. “Why are you here, Papa?” Laura asked, curious. “What? I can’t come and pick up my little pups?” “But you rarely come to pick us up.” “Yeah,” Berus chimed in, “We’ve heard some of the other parents calling you a 'deadbeat.’ Whatever that means.” Ferral’s face looked dead and embarrassed, “I see….” He let out a small laugh, “Well, your papa is often too busy. Keeping their sorry butts alive.” He muttered that last sentence.

“Papa! Look what drew today!” Berus reached into his backpack and took out a drawing of a flock of birds. He handed it to Ferral, “Wow, this is pretty good! You’re really becoming a little Picasso, aren’t you?” “Papa! Since you’re here, do you wanna train like you promised?” Laura asked. “That’s exactly why I’m here, kiddo.” She jumped in excitement, “YES!” Berus tugged at Ferra’s pants, “Can I join too?” Ferral nodded, “Yep, you’re both gonna train with me.” “YAY!” The three made their way through the village, and Ferral’s kids told him about their day. Berus was top of his class, even potentially being moved up two grades. He was very smart for his age, able to understand everything thrown at him quickly. Even in the training the children did, he was able to evolve quickly, just like his father. Laura, however, while smart, struggled to keep up with the others during their training. She was the lowest in that class, too slow, too weak, but she never gave up.

They left far out of the village, stopping at little training grounds that Ferral would use to train them. It had standard equipment, like weights, pull-up bars, and a small track. In the middle, multiple wooden poles stuck in the ground, spread out far enough to make gaps where a person could fall through. Ferral took off his armor, dropping it on the ground, and hopped onto one of the poles. “Alright, kids, whenever you’re ready.” They threw off their bags. “Hold on,” Laura said, “I need to wrap my hands and feet.” She took out a roll of bandages, but Berus jumped up onto another pole and rushed at Ferral. “H-HEY!” She shouted. Berus went for a punch, but Ferral easily blocked it, his son going completely on the offensive while Ferral dodged. “You’ve gotten a lot faster, bud!” Ferral complimented, but Berus was distracted, looking down at the poles, making sure not to make a wrong step. “Hmph! But too distracted!” Ferral went to knee Berus in the face, but the boy managed to react fast enough to block it, still getting knocked back from the sheer force of the attack.

Landing on another pole, Berus looked up at Ferral with a smile. “I’m not that distracted, Papa!” Ferral looked rather surprised, “That’s my boy! Now let's see more of your defense!” Ferral bolted forward, going for a kick, which Berus dodged. He blocked and dodged each attack, his eyes rapidly looking up and down, trying not to fall while also seeing where Ferral would attack. Laura finally hopped atop a pole and skipped across each one, going for an attack behind Ferral. She leaped into the air, ready to strike, but was instantly stopped once Ferral rammed his elbow into her stomach. He turned his head, “You’ll have to do a little better than that to get the drop on me, sweetie.” He whipped his right fist back and knocked her away; it was too fast for her to block. She flew back, hitting one of the poles, and fell to the ground. Berus took the opportunity to attack Ferral, going for a kick, but was blocked effortlessly. Berus went back on the attack. He changed up his fighting style; Ferral was surprised to even see this. “This is Muay Thai. Pretty advanced style, son. Where’d you learn this?” “I read one of your fighting books.” Ferral chuckled, “Going through my stuff, huh? But, you need to work on it more!” He grabbed one of Berus’s fists, spun him around, and threw him, his body bouncing against a pole before falling through one of the gaps.

Laura jumped out from the ground and went for another surprise attack on Ferral. She went for a kick, actually managing to connect it against the side of his head. She smiled with joy, but then looked with confusion as Ferral grabbed her ankle. He turned his head, “C’mon, you didn’t think it was that easy, did you?” He threw her forward; Laura fell to the ground again. Berus shot up from the ground, swiping his left hand up. Ferral was actually surprised by how fast it was, getting a cut against his left cheek. Ferral’s face became serious, quickly grabbing his son’s collar and pulling him to his face. He yelped, scared, before Ferral’s face turned into a smile, and he laughed. “Good job, son.” “Papa, don’t scare me!” Ferral lowered Berus and set him down on another pole. “Gotta keep you on your toes, ya know? I think that’s enough training for today.” Laura jumped back up, panting. “WHAT?! But we can’t be done yet! I still wanna keep going!” She tried to move forward, stumbling a little, but just before she collapsed, Ferral, in a flash, caught her.

“Easy, kiddo,” He said, “You’ve just come out of school, you’re body’s already tired. No point in pushing any further.” “But….I’m not….done.” She huffed. “I know, but let’s not overdo it.” She groaned with annoyance, and they all hopped back onto the ground. “Berus, why don’t you go do a few laps around the track with the weights?” He nodded, “Okay!” He ran off, leaving Ferral and Laura alone. Laura sighed, resting against one of the poles, Ferral sitting down next to her.

“Why am I so weak, Papa?” She asked, her face staring at the ground. “You’re not weak, sweetie.” Ferral responded. “But I am. I’m always last in all the physical training we do at school. I can’t do what the other kids do; I can’t even transform fully. What’s wrong with me?” Ferral placed his hand on her head, “Laura Amber Clare, you’re perfect. Just a little…..different.” “I’m weak, that’s what’s different.” Ferral sighed, “I know you have a harder time keeping up with the other kids, keeping up with even your brother, but I assure you, that doesn’t make you weak in the slightest. You’re way stronger than you think.” “Then why is it so much harder to keep up with the rest?” She threw her fist against a pole, putting a large crack in it. “You’re just…special. You’re not like the other kids. You’ll struggle a little more, but you’ll be fine. You’re my daughter, after all. It’s in your blood.” She smiled a little, “Thanks, Papa.” Ferral grinned and rubbed her head, “Of course, my little pup. Now, what say the three of us go grab some food?” “Yeah!” They got up and started walking. “Berus! C’mon, we’re leaving!” Berus slid his heels against the ground, stopping himself. “OKAY, PAPA!” He took off the weights on his ankles and ran over to the two, and they went off to have lunch.