Aaliyah watched Imperia warily. She eyed their claws, suddenly very unsure about this. Were they going to hurt her again? Why? What did she do this time? As the claws scraped against her, she yowled. Why?! Why did Imperia do that? She walked away from her, ears lowered and blood beginning to seep out as she whimpered. "W-why? What did I do?" she whined. The scratch stung and she longed to lick it, but she didn't want to keep her eyes off of Imperia. What if they did something like that again? To her other side? Would they do this whenever they wanted, no matter what she did?

Imperia They'll call our crimes a work of art

Imperia grinned. "There. Now you look more intimidating." They nodded slightly. When Aaliyah didn't move, their eyes narrowed. "Well, go on! Lick it. Clean it. I don't need you bleeding all over your fur. I won't hurt you again, don't worry," they grumbled. "For now, anyway."

"Now, onto the next part. With the way you are, you could use this to your advantage. While you may look intimidating, you could also show a bit of a soft side. Shouldn't be too hard for you. When going up to your enemies, strike up a conversation. Talk to them, get them to trust you. Then go in for the kill. Attack them. Make them wish they had never met you!" Imperia's eyes practically glowed. Yes. This would be perfect for her. For now, anyway. As she got older, she'd become more well known as a fighter. A killer.

But that was far in the future. They had to teach what could be done now.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

Aaliyah let out a squeak and quickly began to lick the scratch. She let out a whimper. When it had stopped bleeding, she looked up at Imperia and listened. Talk to someone? Could she do that? She wasn't even sure. It couldn't hurt to try though, right? Besides, who knows when she'll see someone else? She just had to go with what they said for now. So she nodded. She'd do whatever she had to to make them happy. It didn't matter what.

Imperia They'll call our crimes a work of art

Imperia nodded as Aaliyah began to lick her fur. "Alright. One day, we'll work on talking to others. For now, I'll just tell you what to do. When you talk to someone, show your soft side. I know you've got it. You may not have it later, but for now, you do. You need to use it to your advantage. Talk to them. Be nice, kind. Show absolutely no hints of your real self. Sure, you've got scars. If anyone asks about them, just lie. Say you've run into a few mean gembounds. Say that you're a nice one, that you didn't want to fight, but they didn't listen." Imperia began to ramble, hoping that she was listening. She had better be listening.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

Aaliyah listened with rapt attention, wanting to learn how to approach others. What to do, what to say. If she did what Imperia is saying now, would they be happy? She hoped so. She wanted Imperia to be happy. She wanted Imperia to be proud of her. But would it ever happen? She wasn't sure. How could she make them proud of her?

Imperia They'll call our crimes a work of art

"When your enemy least expects it, that's when you attack. In the moments leading up to that, you can drop hints to what you're going to do. But dont flat out give it away. When they don't expect it, suddenly leap on them and slash them, bite them, whatever! Injure them! Use your spell! Just injure them somehow!" Imperia stared down at Aaliyah, her eyes practically glowing once more.

"Go ahead and try your spell one more time. It never hurts to have lots of practice." Well, maybe it would hurt. Imperia had burnt their paws from overuse of their spell, after all. Oh well. She'd get used to it, just as they had.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

Aaliyah nodded to Imperia's words. They could do that, surely. It even seemed kind of fun! Dropping little hints...She felt a trill of excitement. When Imperia told her to try her spell again, she nodded with enthusiasm and began to focus on her spell. She closed her eyes and tried to draw it out.

She took a deep breath, and, aiming away from Imperia, let it all out. She could feel the heat as it came out of her mouth. When it ended, she looked up at Imperia, her eyes shining. Would she get praise?

Imperia They'll call our crimes a work of art

Imperia watched as Aaliyah attempted their spell. When she succeeded, they simply nodded, not saying a word. They didn't want to praise her too much, after all. Perhaps a nod would satisfy her. "Alright. I'm going to do the same spell you did. Let's see if I can do it any better." Imperia hoped they would. Otherwise, this wouldnt turn out too good.

Imperia took a deep breath and then let it out. Immediately, they could tell the difference. It wasnt as strong as Aaliyah's. In fact, it was barely even there! Oh well. Maybe Aaliyah wouldnt notice.

"Listen to me."

table by lisa

Aaliyah felt dejected when Imperia simply nodded. Surely they would have more than just a nod? She sighed. At least it was better than nothing. When the caracal began their spell, she watched. Immediately she noticed that it was...different. It seemed a lot weaker. She pretended not to notice, though. It might make them mad, after all. "Nice!" Her eyes shown as she looked over at Imperia.

Imperia They'll call our crimes a work of art

Imperia grunted. Aaliyah was either stupid or saying that for their sake. Their tail flicked. "Alright, that's enough for now. Come on, it's time we got to other places. I want you to know every place here, both the tunnels and caves. So come. We should rest before then." They began to turn around and walk away, without even bothering to check that Aaliyah was following.

-exit Imperia-

"Listen to me."

table by lisa