The older male went inside then, and Shreya shook Kv'var-de'luar-ke to try to wake him up. When she lightly started to smack his face, his eyes slowly opened and he sat up. She threw her arms around his neck. She didn't know what was going to happen now. She worried that the owner of the house would try to keep Kv'var-de'luar-ke away from her.

Her arms tightened around him, and she started to sniffle, trying her best not to cry again. Kv'var-de'luar-ke's chest vibrated with a steady purr, calming her some. She took a deep breath, loosened her grip on him, and leaned away. Shreya gave him a weak smile, trying not to loose hope. Somehow, things would be ok.

Kv'var-de'luar-ke kissed her jaw, her neck, and skimmed the tusks on his mandibles over her collar bone. Then he breathed, "Don't loose faith in me just yet."

He hopped up and she watched him climb a tree to the wall, then dissapear. He'd lost, but did not seem discouraged whatever. Shreya went and sat in the hammock, knowing he had some sort of backup plan. Her lips curved into a slow smile. Maybe he had something of value to trade for her?

Kv'var-de'luar-ke returned within a matter of hours, hauled three other yautjas over the wall with rope, and she suddenly understood his plan. He couldn't challenge the male again, but others could. The only requirement was that they be of lower rank then the owner of the house. Kv'var-de'luar-ke briefly introduced them to her-one was a friend from class, one was an old buddy of his, and the other male was one of his older brothers. They all took their turns challenging the owner of the house.

His friends were defeated fairly quickly, but the older male was getting worn out. It was considered bad sport to gang up on someone with challenge after challenge, but it wasn't against any rules. Kv'var-de'luar-ke's older brother was of a higher rank then his friends, but still lower then the other male. If he didn't win, Kv'var-de'luar-ke would just go round up more buddies. Someone would defeat the male eventually.

That didn't prove to be necessary though. His older brother had good defense tactics, and let the other male wear himself out more. Then, he grabbed his opponent by his head, and thrust his knee up into to his face. Blood gushed from his broken teeth, and the male staggered backwards then fell. His older brother circled the male, ready to strike again, but the owner of the house sharply turned his face away-yielding.

Before she could react, the winner ran and grabbed a hold of her. She let out a shriek as he hauled her above his head like a weight lifting bar. His older brother let out a proud roar that made her cringe, her ears ringing, but he had won her freedom. When the older male retreated into the house, he dumped her into Kv'var-de'luar-ke's arms. They all trilled as she stretched up to kiss him.

Shreya started helping teach a training class of young pups, and with the money, Kv'var-de'luar-ke and her were able to get their own place together. Watching other people's kids learn and grow only gave her a slight heartache. Teaching was what she always wanted to do though, and it made her happy to have a place in the society, instead of feeling useless. Yautja pups, like any kids, were difficult to keep in line though. The main teacher was a yautja female, and she had to keep smacking kids to get them to participate in what Shreya was trying to teach.

She wasn't used to coaching such young kids, but hoped to inspire them, "Physical movements are just one of eight main components of yoga. I'm going to teach you good habits, and how to avoid bad habits. I'll teach you meditation, concentration, breathing techniques, and more...Now, I know that may sound boring, but I promise yoga will help you become the best of hunters. Breathing techniques can help you hold your breath longer under water, a valuable skill. Physical movements can improve your balance and increase strength."

One of the pups in the front row stood up and walked up to her. He barely had dreds yet, they were only a few inches long. His skin was very light in color, with less blotching. The yautja female surged forward to shove the pup back in line, but Shreya held her palms up to tell her to stop. She was confident that she could handle the pup on her own.

Shreya crouched down to be eye level with the child, "Do you have a question?"

The pup didn't answer, but she could see its eyes looking over her skin. She held her hand out, "Are you looking at the henna designs? It's a type of dye that-Oww!"

The pup suddenly leaned forward and bit her. The child didn't have the tusks on its mandibles yet, but it did have sharp teeth in its jaws. Blood swelled from the wound and dripped on the floor. All of the pups jumped up, curious about her red blood. Shreya quickly headed to the bathroom, her hand throbbing with pain. The yautja female let out a deafening roar that had the pups scrambling backwards.

"Class is dismissed! All of you get out of my sight!" They all bolted, but she caught the pups wrist that had bit Shreya, "Your bearer will be hearing from me about your behavior. I suggest you go home and beg her for mercy before I even tell her what you did." She let the pup run home scared.

Shreya ran her hand under the cold water, waiting for it to stop bleeding. She had two big puncture holes on the top of her hand, then four smaller holes through her palm. The pup was likely to leave her with a scars. The tall yautja female came in after a minute and set a small medical kit on the edge of the sink.

"Thanks."

Shreya started to fiddle with the jars, but opening them with only one had was difficult. It pained her to use the other hand, and it still wouldn't stop bleeding all over the place. The yautja female jumped in to help. Shreya suspected she did this for many pups, because she worked so quickly. She applied a gel that stopped the bleeding instantly, then second coat of something orange dried into a sort of rubber bandage.

It was too bad yautjas didn't normally use painkillers. As she flexed her hand, it still throbbed, but she said, "Thank you."

"Don't let the pups push you around. If they think your soft, they'll never listen to your teachings."

Shreya nodded, but said,"I didn't expect him to bite, that completely took me off guard."

The female let out a snort, like she had seen it coming, "Well, at least this is good practice until you have pups of your own."

She had never told anyone but Kv'var-de'luar-ke about what that other male had done to her. But, she knew that if she didn't start telling the truth, she'd never let herself get close to anyone enough to make friends. The yautja female and her were going to be working together every day. It hurt to talk about it, but she told the female about the male who owned the garden.