The Cadet - The Officers 1 #watty2015

Chapter 5 - Are you an idiot?

Monday morning was not something Holcum wanted to face. When they had gotten up he had found a scheduled meeting with the Admiral and he knew what it was going to be about. Frankly at this point he didn't care what happened to Williamson as long as he didn't have to deal with him again. Mila had been forced to calm his cat down briefly when he noticed the message. *Damn it Mila I don't want a reminder of what happened the day we arrived. I just want him to go away and never see him again.* Holcum rested his cheek on the top of her head.

Mila wrapped her arms around him and gave him a good hug and a light kiss. *Relax love and we will deal with this together. I understand how you feel but we have to face him.* She wasn't trying to reprimand him since he didn't need it. *This is the type of issues that the Pride Leader's face and deal with. Not on a daily basis but now that we are out to the public it is something we do have to deal with occasionally. You will do fine and I will be there with you and I will lend you my strength if needed. I don't expect to but we will deal with this together.* After one last light kiss she finished getting dressed.

Holcum returned the kissed and took a moment to rest his nose against her hair to catch her scent. When she stepped back he turned and finished getting dressed as well. *I know Mila, I really do but it was so out of the blue and both my cat and I are still worked up about it. I am not nearly as much as the first day but it is going to take a while to totally let go of my anger at the threats.* He rolled his neck as he pulled on his uniform and made sure everything looked good.

This week the group they were assigned to was in charge of the cleaning and once 0630 hit they chased everyone out of the facility. Since it had been cleaned the night before this was just a touch up which they hurried through. One thing they learned was after getting up at 0600 they had a half hour to brush and shave, for the males, and then the cleaning started. They had fifteen minutes to do the touch up and then they were formed up and marched out.

Mila was keeping a close eye on what was going on and was pleased since people were starting to get into the swing of things. The first week had been rough as most weren't used to the Academy and military requirements. Now they were starting to get used to it and it was showing. All of them had a long way to go but they were definitely getting the basics down. When 0645 hit everyone was formed up at the end of their bunks.

Sgt Miller came out and took a few minutes to ensure they were looking good. Once she was satisfied she formed them up and led them to the chow hall. Breakfast, as with all the meals, was hurried but not to the point where they weren't able to get enough food. In the case of Holcum and Mila they really didn't have the time to talk before eating. Every now and then one or two of the other Cadets had to stare at the quantity of food they ate.

~~~Flashback

One girl, the other day, had commented that she almost wished she was a shifter. She then moaned about just having to look at food and adding pounds. Mila snorted at her. "Just think of the food bill. To feed the Pride each month costs more than you really want to imagine." That reply was right after she had tossed down a sweet muffin with plenty of frosting to keep the midnight cravings away. "And waking up in the middle of the night craving a snack is annoying as well."

Holcum had to toss in his two cents worth in that conversation. "Tell me about it Mila, when I hit one or two growth spurts it felt like I couldn't get enough food inside me." He had shaken his head at her laugh.

She had watched him grow up and she knew how much he had eaten. "There were a few times I was concerned about the table, plates, and anything else that might be edible." She had grinned at him as she was speaking and ignored his grumble at her.