The sun rose over a majestic garden and promised a beautiful day to all that would listen. Grandfather had requested my presence for sunrise breakfast and so I stood, nervous but excited for this day to begin.
I heard the whisper of robes that announced his arrival. Werecats were really quiet even in their human form! He was dressed in all white this time, his skin color looking all the more bronzed. His silver hair looked almost white as well in the morning light. He stood so straight and tall, I felt proud to be his grandchild.
"Are you the king? I asked. Everyone treated him as one but no one had spoken his name or title in front of me.
His eyes lit up with amusement. "My dear, no, I am not a black panther, only a black panther can be royalty. I am the alpha of our pride, however, and my feline form is a lion."
"May I meet your lion?" I questioned, always curious.
"Yes, you will meet, but not now. I have many things to teach you and not nearly enough time. Your mother says that you like to read?" He questioned.
"I love it, I wish I could read in my sleep." I giggled feeling like a little girl at the moment.
Good, I am sending you home with a lot of history books that you can't get in the human schools. I will need you to read them quickly and be ready to discuss. We will have daily video conferences and your mother will keep me aware of your progress." He looked like a teacher now.
"Will you be my new homeschool teacher?" I asked.
"No, and as a matter of fact, you will not be homeschooled anymore. You will need to go back to traditional school with the humans and learn to acclimate to their ways. I will be sending a few families that have young werecats to help guard you. You will not live together, but you will train together." He said matter of factly.
"Train? Are they gymnasts too?" I asked, completely oblivious still.
Poor Grandfather looked at me like I was clueless. "No, Katalea, you may keep up your gymnastics but you will need to find time to learn many other things. We will start with the ancient art of Tahtib."
"Tahtib? Was I hearing him right?"
"What is that Grandfather?" I asked, suddenly aware of two men, dressed as ancient Egyptian soldiers, fighting with sticks in the air on what appeared to be a floating television. Grandfather had conjured up a visual aid. I really needed to pay attention.
'"It is an ancient martial art that can be disguised as a dance. With the right training it can be quite lethal. One of the families that I am sending home with you hails from a long line of Tahtib masters and will begin your training immediately. We do not know what danger we are facing and we do not know when it will come, but we will prepare as if everyday is our last chance to train." Grandfather sat back as our breakfast was served.
Mounds of eggs were placed in front of us. A heavenly tuna smell mixed with the platter of eggs wafted up to my nose. There was toast and fruit, beautifully arranged, but I only had eyes for those eggs. As I scooped spoonful after spoonful into my mouth I almost wept with pleasure. Momma was going to have to make this!
Speaking of Momma, I suddenly caught a whiff of her scent. Something like flowers with just a hint of soil had always been the scent that bought me comfort. As I was thinking this, she swept into the room with a beautiful emerald top and full skirt that flowed almost down to her ankles. She looked so beautiful with her beaded necklace and bracelets shining like green diamonds in the morning light.
"Good morning Father, Katalea," she sang, rushing over to give her father a kiss on the cheek and nuzzle.
He beamed. "A father's heart is full when he can share breakfast with two beautiful women that he adores." he winked at me.
At this, Grandmother walked in as well. She also was dressed all in white and her eyes shone like emerald gemstones.
As soon as he saw her his eyes brightened. "Let me go to my grave instantly as I will never be as happy as I am at this moment." He laughed as he said this, and Grandmother came to his side and stroked his head.
"It is a foolish man who gives up his life so easily." She teased.
More trays of food were brought in and it was quiet while we all gorged on the feast. I did not know that fish was a breakfast food, but after this morning I don't think I can start my day with anything else.
I ate till I could eat no more, and then sat back and watched the others interact. They seemed so happy to be in each other's company that it made my young heart happy. Every time Momma or Grandmother spoke to one another they would touch, obviously trying to make up for lost time. I turned to Momma, " Did you know that others like us are going to move to California?"
Sensing my excitement Momma smiled, "Yes, your Grandparents and I were up half the night thinking through the best way to teach you all you need to know from our home and not here." Mom said.
I hadn't considered this possibility. A trickle of fear ran down my spine. "You almost had me move here? Away from you?" I swallowed nervously hoping that this idea was off the table. I had told everyone that I wanted to learn and serve, but being separated from Mom and Dad was a bit too much.
"Breathe, Katalea, you will be coming home with me." Hearing Momma say this put me at ease right away.
At this Grandmother chimed in, "We did not feel like you were ready to be on your own just yet, so we are sending the best teachers we have to you! You will have the Kalb family to teach you Tahtib, the Antar family will see to you learning Egyption, and the Nazari and Toma families will help you hone and strengthen your powers. All of these families have children about your age, they will to help protect you while you are at school."
This all sounded too good to be true. One thing had me curious though, "Protect me, why would I need protecting?"
Momma stiffened visibly at this and Grandfather spoke, "Many beings felt you shift last night, and while werecats everywhere celebrated and rejoiced, there were plenty of our enemies that know the ancient prophecies. They will come for you to destroy you before you have the chance to grow up and destroy them."
I stared at him. Was he crazy? Was this real? They all looked like this was just an ordinary breakfast conversation, yet we were discussing my destruction!
"Why do people want to destroy us?" I asked. Why couldn't we just live our lives without drama.
"Not people, sweetheart," Grandfather said patiently. "Other creatures such as vampires, trolls, and most of the other were's out there. The weredragons would especially like to see us go extinct. At one point they had proposed a merging of our people, but we rejected their offer when a secret plot to destroy us was discovered. There has never been peace between us since.
"Can I meet all these people before we go?" I said, trying to change the conversation. I was hoping to meet the kids before going back into school. Imagine me, having friends...
"Of course, our fist interview with the Kalb family is in about an hour. Why don't we get cleaned up and changed and meet in the training yard. I am sure Katalea will want to see what she has to learn." He said.
I was really intrigued with all the things Grandfather says I must learn. Do I really have powers?
"After a brief rest and lunch, the Antar family will be stopping by. I have scheduled a few hours by the pool for Mr. Antar to assess how fast you pick up languages and get started on a lesson plan. You will get a chance to meet his children and lounge by the pool for the afternoon." Grandfather looked ecstatic, I think he is very excited for me to learn Egyptian.
"Lastly, we will be joined at dinner by the Nazzari and Toma families. They promised a demonstration of their powers that should delight and entertain us."
"We will spend time tonight practicing shifting as I am sure your panther wants to run again. What is her name? Does she talk to you? He asks.
"Her name is Kaya. I haven't really talked to her, but I feel what she wants. Is that the same thing?" Now I want her to talk to me.
"I am sure she will talk to you soon, when you run tonight it is possible that you will have companions on your run tonight, as many locals want to meet you, as well as your security squad," he chuckled.
"Speaking of locals, I think we should have a grand party to introduce our Katalea to our Pride." Grandmother's voice took on a wistful tone as she started making notes in her notebook. "Oh yes, a grand party is just what we need!"