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Chapter 7: Zenith's thoughts

I stood there for a few moments, just watching her walk away. I still couldn't believe how stubborn and infuriating she could be. All I had wanted was for her to teach me her fighting style. I had seen her use it many times in close combat and it has always amazed me how swiftly and accurate her movements come, as if it's as natural as breathing to her. As a warrior, that's something I wish to have for myself and so I thought it best to learn from the only master I knew of; Lia. But when I asked her to teach me, she acted as if I was violating something important to her.

What I couldn't imagine. I mean, it's not as if I were asking her to share my bed like Talceryn had been stupid enough to do or to tell me what it had been like for her when she was hurt back in Rancor. I had asked nothing like that, so there didn't seem to be reason for her actions. But then, you can never really tell what you're going to get with Lia. She always seems to change with each situation, good or bad, and rarely the same way twice.

That little spat she just had with Talceryn proved as much. He had bothered her before, mostly with insults and crude remarks. But that was only when he managed to catch up with her. Usually, Lia caught wind of Talceryn's coming long before he even showed up and was long gone by the time he did. How she does that, I'm not quite sure and I don't think Talceryn does either. Still, it's enough to keep her away from him and that much I can admire. At those times when he and his friends did manage to keep up, Lia only did one thing. She ignored them.

No matter what was said to her or how harsh the insult, she just stood there and acted as if she hadn't heard them. She could keep up this up for minutes at a time, just standing there and seeming as if her mind had long since left. I have to say that it was a very strange tactic, but a successful one at that. Each time she kept it up, Talceryn would eventually grow bored when he got no response from her and at that time he would leave in a huff.

Today, there had been no such luck for Lia. She never even had a chance to use her usual tactics, as Talceryn had other things on that twisted little mind of his and they didn't involve being ignored. That was something no one realized until it was almost too late, including me.

I had been on the other side of the main cavern when it happened. I had already been briefed by Kale and decided to take a rest after helping Kala and Zan load some crates onto a transport before calling it a day. After a bit, we had decided to take a break and were heading for the mess hall for something to eat. As we passed by, Zan noticed a crowd of Katrians gathering near the far corner. A little curious, since the ones here are hardly ever seen in more in than pairs or trios, he stopped Kala and myself, and directed our attention toward the spectacle.

At first, it was hard to make out who was who as they all had their backs to us. All that I could tell was that they were a group of Katrians like myself, males from their nearly identical heights. Except for the smallest two, these I mistook for females. That was when I realized who it was.

In all of Furlough, there are a total of fourteen Katrians that make their home here; five females and nine males. Four of the females were of average Katrian height, but the fifth and newest one, Lia, was not. She was smaller than the other females by several inches and was almost the shortest non-Neutrino here. The only other exception was Creva, a reddish little piece of work that was always found in the company of Talceryn. You could spot him anywhere because of that scarlet fur of his, a rare type among us Katrians, who are usually brown, gray, black and the like.

So when I saw his flash of fur in the group, I knew then that there was trouble. There always was where Talceryn and his bunch are concerned. They think that as long as they don't get caught, then they can get away with just about anything.

Unless they're bothering the kids or one of the elders, I normally don't bother with them. I think it's a waste of my time to associate with this type of crowd, who remind me so much of the bullies and brigands I grew up around. So I usually keep my distance and mind my own business.

But when I saw Talceryn leaning over Lia like that, acting as if he were already mated to her, something inside me snapped. I'm not entirely sure why that was. I mean, Lia and I aren't exactly very close personally, since the only real time we spend together is either on missions or work details, but I like her better than I do Talceryn. She has her own style of doing things and is extremely independent, for the most part never asking for help until it's almost too late. It's annoying when she does that sometimes but at least she can be counted on to help others when they need someone. That much can be said about her.

And that might have been part of the reason why I felt the sudden urge to rip Talceryn's throat out with my bare hands. I guessed what he was trying to do now, since he had done it before and it had gotten him into a lot of trouble with the other Katrians. He was trying to get Lia, who, like every female here, had a great dislike for Talceryn, to join with him. In short, to become his mate and lover.

He does that every time a new female comes along. When he finds a chance to be alone with them, he corners them and starts talking to her while his friends stand guard. He tries to convince the female that she doesn't belong on the battlefield or wherever she works and that she would do much better to wait in the bed for him, her so-called champion.

So far as I can tell, he's been refused each time. Not only by the female, but also by her brother, male relative or current mate as well when they found out. When that happened, Talceryn knew that he could welcome a bit of trouble his way. Like the females, most of the males here aren't overly fond of him and want him to stay away from their mates and sisters.

After he tried going after Sallow, one-eyed Pariah's younger sister, we all made this perfectly clear by threatening to go to Kale and have him removed from Furlough permanently if they heard of him pulling this again. For awhile, it seemed to keep him in line, since the latest female to come along was Lia and he hadn't done more than taunt her for the past seven months. Seeing him like this meant that he was up to his old tricks again and that Lia could be in danger.

Unlike the other females, she had no male relatives to back her up if she refused the offer. She had only herself to rely on and against a group of four males, where most of whom towered over her, that wouldn't do her much good.

Unless I did something. She may be a pain at times, but even Lia didn't deserve to be pressured into something by a creep like Talceryn. She had the right to choose who she allowed to be her mate and when, as do all females, and I wasn't going to let that be taken away from her.

It was at about that moment that it looked like Lia had refused him and was trying to get away. Something that he didn't take too kindly to, as Talceryn grabbed her arm and they spoke for a moment, then he threw her against a wall. Seeing that, I almost dashed across the cavern then and there to do what should have been done months ago.

At the same instant, I learned that there was no reason for me to bother. Lia may have been down, but she was far from out. As she demonstrated when Talceryn approached her a second time.

As he leaned toward her, her fist shot out and caught him square in the face. It wasn't too hard to see that the move had caught Talceryn by surprise, since we all were. No one had ever fought back against Talceryn like that before and so at first, no one was exactly sure what Lia was doing.

She didn't take the time to bother with formalities however. While Talceryn went into shock over what I now presumed to be a broken nose, Lia followed through with a quick jab in the stomach that sent him doubling over. Her final movement, one that sent Talceryn flying, went for the kill and ended the one-sided fight.

Lia then made certain that Talceryn would never bother her again. Even where I was, I could hear her saying that if he came near her again, she promised that she would do far worse to him next time. That done, she withdrew, making her way through the crowd that had gathered and went on her way.

That was when I went after her and what brings me to where I am now. I had watched that whole scene in a mixture of surprise and admiration. After all the times I had seen her take on Stone Warriors, it had never once occurred to me that Lia was capable of handling someone twice her size. I had always thought that her size would be a disadvantage against another Katrian. Guess I know better now, we all do. Of course, it's one of the only exact things we know about Lia.

From the beginning, Lia has always been a mystery to the rest of us, especially me. She just appeared out of nowhere one day, speaking a strange language and bearing a name unlike any I had ever heard before. Even now, no one knows where she came from or who her tribe is. The only certain thing that anyone knows is that she's not from around these parts.

Her true name is the first clue that she's not from any known parts of Dimension X. It's an alien name that I have never been able to pronounce, even though it's still imprinted on my mind as if I had just heard it for the first time. Magnolia, that was it. I'm not exactly sure what it means, if it even has one, but it's from this that Lia gets the name that everyone knows her by.

I'm not sure if anyone else knows her real name or if it's just me she's told. If they do, no one's ever mentioned it. Can't say that I would really be able to blame them on that, since it is a very strange name. When I think about it, I sometimes wonder why in the world Lia's parents would name her something so alien and bizarre.

But maybe it's a weirdness that fits Lia more than I think. I mean, she's not exactly the typical Katrian female. She's stubborn to the core, always argues with those who know better, and never asks for help when she should. Just the type of female could drive any sane male like me crazy.

And yet, at the same time, it's the very thing that I find intriguing. There's so much that I don't understand about Lia. One moment, she can seem ready to obey meekly and the next, she's fighting tooth and claw to keep you away. A strange and enigmatic combination really, and one that I hope to someday solve. If she will give ever give me the chance.