Disclaimer: I don't own Chaotic

Takinom knocked on Nivenna's door but didn't wait for her to answer before going in. She almost immediately noticed that her daughter was crying.

"Nivenna, sweetie, what's wrong?" the doting mother forgot about her problems as soon as she saw her daughter in such distress. Most parents in the Underworld would have taught their children to deal with their own problems by this age, but Takinom valued a close bond between family.

Nivenna couldn't tell her mother what she was going through; it would destroy the trust Takinom had in her. Takinom had raised her and considered Nivenna to be her daughter. Nivenna was to scared of ruining that to be honest. "I don't want to talk about it." But the truth was that Nivenna did need to talk about it, and she knew that she couldn't keep it in forever.

"Do you miss the Underworld?" Takinom asked. Nivenna just sniffled as she tried hold everything in, but the deep emotions found their way out in the form of a short whimper. Her mother took it as a 'Yes'. "I do too." Takinom admitted "It's so much colder here, and the sun is so bright. Everyone is so social; it's like everybody knows everyone. They're all so talkative. Home is so much more quite. It's going to feel so good to get back."

"If Aivenna is supposed to be a warrior, why do you let her waste time with this?" Chaor sat in a seat next to Intress. Some other parents were there too, but they chose to sit on the other side of he room.

"Aivenna is very active." Intress explained "Dance lessons are another way to let her get exercise without training her for violence. Plus, it's a good chance for her to socialize."

"Why would you want her to socialize when she could be training?" Chaor was genuinely trying to understand their thought process, and Intress did her best to answer it in a way he could understand.

"Overworlders value trust and teamwork over raw strength. Plus, now that the wars are over, both sides have no need to obsess over preparing for war."

"I suppose." Chaor drawled out. He didn't sound too sure, and Intress gave him an unsure look. She didn't trust him or the way he said that, but questioning him about it would only seem accusing.

The tigress turned her attention back to her daughter. The intertribal was slightly out of step with the rest of the dancers, and Intress was sure Chaor being there had a lot to do with her lack of focus. She looked to Intress for reassurance. The loving mother smiled and nodded- everything was fine for now.

They were eventually asked to leave early. Apparently Aivenna started distracting the other dancers. Intress hadn't noticed it, but she didn't argue.

"I did horribly." Aivenna said as the three exited

"So what now?" Chaor was in a hurry to get this plan over with.

"All we can do now is wait for word to get out about the three of us being seen together." Intress said sadly. She too wanted this to all be over with.

"The best way to get people talking about something is to make sure a lot of creatures know about it." Aivenna said calmly, hoping for Chaor to hang out with them more. She was the only one who honestly thought they could be friends.

"Do you want me to scream it on the rooftops?" Chaor asked half seriously

"No!" Intress grew impatient as Aivenna laughed. As much as she loved seeing her daughter happy, Chaor was more obnoxious than Intress had ever imagined. Before the war ended she had seem him as nothing more than a tyrant who was mad all the time. She had never expected him to make a joke, but apparently he did have a sense of humor, and she did not find it amusing.

"How about we go to training facility and have a race?" Aivenna suggested

"Aivenna, I don't see how that's going to help." Intress told her "The facilities are heavily guarded. No one will see us."

"The guards will." Aivenna reminded her "Surely one of them will let it slip that Chaor was training with me."

Chaor looked surprised. "Smart kid."

"Only when she wants something." Intress said on impulse.

"That's not true." Aivenna tried to defend herself "It just comes and goes."

Chaor laughed at her. It wasn't long before she started laughing with him. Neither one noticed the worried look on Intress's face; Chaor and Aivenna bonding was not part of her plan.