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perhaps?”
    Sarai raised her brows; she had no idea what he was
talking about. Well, she knew what the words meant, but what exactly was he
insinuating?
    The rest of the meal went without hitch. By the end
Sarai was dragged away from the table because she tried to help clean up.
    “We have servants for that.”
    “You have servants?”
    “The Omegas of the group. They can raise their status through training and servitude. But until they do,
they remain our servants.”
    “That seems harsh,” Sarai mumbled.
    “That is pack life.”
    “I thought only wolves lived in packs. As a matter of
fact, I thought leopards are solitary creatures?”
    “Is that how you think of us, how you think of me- as
a creature?”
    Sarai resisted the urge to roll her eyes, “No, Conri,
it was just the most applicable word at the time. I meant no disrespect.”
    He was quiet for a time. “Usually, that is true, but
since we are as much human as we are ‘creatures’ we prefer to live in a group.”
    “Fair enough. So where are
you taking me today?”
    Conri smiled mischievously and in inclined his head to
the direction he wanted to go.

 

CHAPTER NINE

 
 
    Sarai’s eyes widened as she watched the two people in
front of her go at each other with relentless ferocity. The mat was bloody,
their bodies cutup like a thanksgiving turkey. Four short swords lay discarded
and forgotten at the corners of the mat as the two men went at each other with
fist and feet.
    “What’s going on?”
    “Training.” Conri sounded
proud.
    “Training?” Sarai didn’t mean
to squeak but she was both shocked and appalled.
    Conri glared at her, “Our enemies will not go easy on
us in the heat of battle. We heal faster than normal, by the end of the day
their wounds will be nothing but scratches. If they do not want to be cut, they
will need to learn to fight better. If they do not want to be beaten, they
should learn to punch harder. Everything means something Sarai.”
    She didn’t look at him; instead she watched the two
men fight. The attacks looked brutal and Sarai couldn’t help but think that
just under one of those punches she would be lights out; probably for good.
    “Are you judging them? Are you judging me?”
    Sarai looked up at Conri, “No. I was just thinking- ”   She looked back at
the fight. One of the men had gotten the upper hand and the loser was
conceding. The proctor pulled a black flag and threw it at the ground in front
of the failure. He tied the flag around his neck, glowering. “If I were to be
hit by just one of those punches, I would be road kill.”
    Sarai glanced up just as Conri closed his mouth. But
what he was trying to hide, the flash of his fangs, she most certainly saw.
“That will not happen.” Conri responded coldly.
    “Why does the victor get a green flag and the defeated
get a black one?”
    “The defeated, as you so well said, is dead. He would
have been killed thus he wears black for his shame. The victor, also aptly put,
wears green for his triumph. All will know that he won a spar.” Sarai turned
when Conri put his hand on her shoulder. “Winning in a spar is just as crucial
as winning in a real batter. Every skill you master gives you another chance at
surviving.”
    “Maybe someday I could learn? I mean obviously I will
not ever be as apt as your warriors, but I still need to learn to protect
myself. Especially since I will have to go back into the real
world.” Sarai wanted to react to what she saw in Conri’s eyes. It was
pain, sorrow and maybe a touch of fear. But she felt if she reacted she may
never see such gentleness again.
    “Our fighting methods are not for the faint. You must
be on the track for a warrior to even take the classes. Well the advanced
classes at least. Everyone takes the basics. We can’t all rely on someone else
to protect us- but…”
    “Then I will take the basics!” Sarai interrupted.
Conri chomped on his lower lip, his elongated k-nines flashing for a