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I wanted to say I started this morning well rested and eager to continue my training. Instead, I didn't start this morning at all. I'd been going since the previous night walking in those god forsaken circles over and over. I haven't eaten yet either, every time I get closer to that magical one hundred turns mark, I spill a touch of the water and have to start counting over again. Two monks sat near the edge of the circle, keeping count and keeping me company.

"74...75...7...shit"

"Start again, Tanthis, It's almost time for breakfast. You may make a meal yet" One of the two feline monks mentioned to me.

I grumbled a little at the felines before starting again, each circle only took me about a minute or so to walk completely around. The trick was to keep the water from spilling out of the buckets as I walked around and around. To help pass the time, I'd taken to speaking with the monks while walking.

"So, what is this supposed to help me develop again? Blisters on my feet?"

"Balance, fortitude, patience, and a little bit of humility." Was my reply in chorus.

"56...57...How long did it take you two to pass this part of the test?"

"Two days." The feline to the right mentioned, looking to the one on the left

"One day, But I grew up around the monks here." The other replied, smiling just a moment.

"81...82...So what do we do after this?"

"We'll get you fed, washed, and rested. Then we'll look to our elders to see what you need to do next" The feline on the right mentioned.

"91...92...93...Breakfast, a bath, and sleep, do sound good." I mentioned with a slight smile. "I'm starting to miss Jes too"

"I'm afraid you'll need to get used to that while you're here. Most trainings here are student and teacher only, no company."

"100...101...102...I understand, just hope she does." I grumbled a little, continuing to walk my circles with the buckets of water hanging on each end of the quarterstaff.

"How are you feeling Tanthis, not too sore?" The feline to the left asked, a knowing smile on his face.

"I'm alright I think for a little longer, should be able to fi...hey!" I stopped mid stride, looking at the two felines. "That's more than one hundred."

"We know, Just seeing how far you'd go before realizing it." The feline to the right comment, chuckling just slightly. "Come, eat, then rest"

I sat down with the two, and they handed me a small bowl of rice, still slightly warm. We ate quietly, the monks barely touching theres while my bowl of rice was gone in moments. I looked up a bit, chuckling to myself. "Apparently I was hungrier than I thought."

They handed me a second bowl, nodding, "Get your strength up for later." I devoured the second bowl almost as quickly as the first. Setting it with the other empty bowl before standing. "Could you show me to where to wash up and sleep?"

"I think I can handle that" Jes chimed from behind me, her paws finding my shoulders. I smiled up to her and chuckled, "Well hello there stranger."

Jes gently eased me up to my feet and guided me back to the guest quarters that we'd shared two nights ago. "I thought you said I wouldn't be allowed in here again?"

"Well normally no, but, you're staying with me, and I am" Jes teased, gently shoving me back into the bed. "Now lay on your stomach and relax, let me get those shoulders taken care of before you cool down too much and they tighten up."

With a grunt as I bounced into the bed, I grumbled and rolled over. Sleep sounded much better, but I'd settle for some relaxation first. Jes slipped up atop me and gently straddled my hips, leaning over my back to start rubbing firmly into my shoulders. She hummed quietly, tail wagging side to side and brushing along my legs as she worked.

"Ergph, careful there. I need those muscles for tomorrow sweety. So, what did you do while I was busy walking in circles for almost two days?" I groaned up to her as her small paws pressed quite firmly in against my shoulder and upper back muscles.

"Well, remember that Ornmi's camp and Granh's as well had some of their clansmen taken? Turns out that a feline traders caravan was found a few days ago without a soul in sight. All the goods were there, but not a single living person. No bodies either, they were just gone."

I grumbled back up my reply, too tired to say much. I'm not sure how much longer I stayed awake to be honest. The rough treatment of my back only kept me up for a short while before I passed out and let deep sleep claim me.

I don't know how long I slept, It felt like an eternity and an instant all at once. I didn't get much time to ponder that odd thought as a vixen gently petted and stroked along my face, mrrring cutely at me. "Wakie wakie, time to eat real quick before we get to work"

"Can I sleep this one out?" I whined, slowly working back up to my feet and stumbling over to the wash basin to clean up a bit.

"I'm afraid not, but cheer up, today you have a partner." She cooed at me. Once my eyes could focus a bit more I could see she was dressed and ready to go, holding two wooden quarterstaves. "You're kidding me right? I can't fight you Jes"

"You never know who you'll have to fight Tan, if you can fight me, you can fight anyone. Hurry up and get dressed. I want to do this." She teased, wagging her tail back and forth excitedly.

I growled back at her playfully before drying my face and slipping back into my kilt. She tossed one of the staves to me and then handed me a small rice ball with some pieces of dried fish inside. "When we're done here. I'll treat you to some real food, Promise." Jes teased again, yipping softly once while guiding me through the cave complex.

"How long did you train here Jes? You seem to really know your way around." I asked, following close behind.

"A number of years this was home, so I did a lot of growing up here with some training while I stayed" She replied a little sadly. Jes yipped back at me and pointed ahead to a circle divided in half by a line. "Stand on the far side, that's yours. Mine is this side."

An elderly feline male stood aside the edge of the circle. His face was old but kind except for his eyes, his eyes told of many years experience and hardship. "The rules are simple, I will claim who wins each round. If I tell you to do something, you do it or you leave this place."

I nodded to him softly, facing Jeseia with a worried expression. She on the other hand seemed honestly eager to bring the fight to me. "Why are you so excited over there? I might hurt you Jes" I called over.

"Maybe, but it's fun to find out." She bowed to me slightly and though it wasn't visible to the elder, I could feel her reaching out into the elements around us.

I set my practice staff aside and instead picked up my usual walking stick, using my tokens embedded in one end to draw some of the elemental forces to me as well. While Jes seemed to be focusing on drawing in Air and Water, I found that all four of the basic elements came rushing to me in a moments notice while spirit channeled them, keeping everything in unison.

Jeseia came at me in an instant, admittedly she seemed to be taking it a little easy to start as she was moving slow enough that I could easily enough guess where she was striking. First a low sweep, easy enough to hop over, then a higher swing to throw me off balance. I nudged just the tip of my staff up to stop it, smiling over to the vixen. "Try again sweety, that's too easy."

Apparently I touched a nerve with the vixen, she growled just a little and quirked a smirk at me before releasing her staff from her paws. My eyes followed the wooden fighting tool...and not the now freed paw coming up behind my shoulder and neck, clipping me firmly and knocking me down to one knee.

"Jeseia, this round is yours. Tanthis, the weapon is not the weapon. The person is the weapon and the staff is but an extension of it."

I slowly stood and walked back to my circle, Jeseia smiling at me and wagging. "Come on now, we're just getting started." She chimed, giggling.

I nodded and again drew upon the elements, calming my mind and focusing myself. This time I made the first move, charging forward with the staff in a thrusting motion. She easily rolled aside to deflect it, bringing her own practice weapon around at the same time to clip me in the back of the head. This time I was the one more clever and dove down, gripping a vixen ankle at the same time and giving it a yank.

Jeseia yelped and fell back with a laugh, holding her paws up in defeat. I slowly stood, helping her back up to her feet in the process.

"Jeseia wins this round. You can not expose your back to your opponent like that Tanthis. Had she a dagger, you'd be dead."

I thought to argue, but, not my rules. I returned to my side and gripped my staff again. Rather than pull upon the elements again, this time I drew upon the darkness in my mind. I fell deep into the pool of blackness that was the back of my mind, void of thoughts and even the influences of the elements around me. Now, I walked calmly to the center line, breathed deep and waited.

Jeseia watched me curiously before coming in again, starting with her same routine as before, A low sweep followed by a higher strike. I simply planted my staff firmly on the ground, letting it catch the sweep low and the strike high at the same time. She spun around, dragging an ankle low to try and trip me up, I calmly lifted my foot safely from harms way and pushed ever so slightly with my hand to leave her off balance.

With Jes tilted back ever so slightly, I stepped a foot closer, forcing myself close to her frame. She rolled backwards to widen the distance between us.

"Are you alright Tan? I've never seen you like this. You're doing well, very well so far. It's like you're not even trying."

I could hear her voice but for some reason couldn't process it, my voice didn't want to respond. I simply strode forward and stood there on her half of the circle, waiting for her next attack.

Jeseia growled again softly and came with a rush, had I remained in contact with the elements I could have sensed she was up to something. Deep in my mind I was the only one there, no reassuring voices to guide me. She dropped the staff again to distract me, my eyes never left hers this time. A paw came low to punch at my stomach, I easily deflected it aside with a hand. I struck back with an elbow now that she was close, she in turn caught that elbow with her free hand.

Jeseia had channeled earth and fire this time, her eyes fierce as she shoved hard. The strength of earth did not fail her as she easily tossed my frame back several yards.

"Somethings not right Tan, don't make me do something I don't want to do."

I slowly regained my footing and charged forward, staff pointed again in a thrust as I moved. At the midpoint of the fighting ring was a blinding movement. The elder that had acted as score keeper had moved to the center with blinding speed and intervened. One paw gripped my staff and held it as though it was encased in stone. His other made a most subtle movement and pressed into my chest, blasting the air from my lungs and dropping me on the spot.

"Tanthis, you lose again."

Coughing, I slowly worked up to my feet again, I looked around as though born again. My mind slowly coming back from the darkness I'd plunged it into. "What, what happened?"

"All in time, now, again."

We spent the rest of the day sparring. Jeseia proved more capable than I'd thought, beating me just about every round. The monk offering tips. By evening we were both exhausted and the monk was commented less and less about what I was doing wrong.

"We are done for the evening, get some rest and we'll resume this tomorrow."

Jeseia nodded without question and came over to lean on me slightly, I in turn leaned on her as we made our way back to the room that she was offered. We used each other for support as our bruised and tired bodies complained the entire way back.

We collapsed together, snuggling close and passing into deep sleep in almost moments. I held the vixen close, slight concern from that morning kept me up for a bit before I joined her in sleep. Early the next day I snuck out, leaving Jeseia sleeping peacefully in the bed. I wandered around slightly until I found the old feline woman that had first worked with me in the cleansing pool.

"I need your help" I asked simply of her, looking past her towards the pool for a moment.

"I suspected you'd come back here. What is troubling you Tanthis?"

"I was sparring with Jes yesterday, I went to the place that I went to while here and the monk watching us had to intervene. What happened?"

The feline woman nodded slightly, knowing the answer readily. "When you were in the pool, where did you go?"

"No where, I just tuned out everything and meditated I suppose."

"Exactly. You tuned out everything, Just as you did when sparring. You tuned out distractions, motions not needed, and your emotions. All that was left was your goal. You left everything behind, a useful skill. But, you left yourself behind, the only thing you had was what you needed to do. Once that was done you would have come back. I suspect your goal was to defeat Jeseia. Do not worry about this, remember this lesson."

I nodded slightly, it made sense, but worried me more than anything. If I could forget Jeseia and what she meant to me in that moment, what could I have done?

Leaving the elder feline to her morning, I wandered back to the sparring ring to concentrate. Our teacher was there, sipping tea softly.

"You learned a tough lesson yesterday. It will serve you well when you need it most I assure you. Now, practice your forms and motions until your partner joins us." He stated simply, pointing towards the ring.

I nodded and slipped my mind into the darkness lurking deep for only a moment, to feel the clarity of purpose before slipping back. I drew upon the elemental forces slightly, guiding them about my hands and staff as I slowly made a few strikes and blocks. My feet glided naturally and easily along the floor in perfect balance thanks to the day or so of balancing I had to do.

Jeseia joined me after an hour or so, this time she was sporting a pair of daggers. "Lets kick this up a notch if you are ready?"

I nodded to her and smiled, bowing in respect before moving towards the far hemisphere of the circle in the ground. Jeseia took her place and we began to spar. She took it slow to let me grow used to the shortness of her reach and the danger of a bladed opponent. Gradually, we picked up the pace, earning myself a few nicks and cuts in the process but learning much in the process.

This is how we spent the next couple of weeks, breakfast in the morning and then sparring together until evening. We'd stumble back to the room, bandage each other up and cuddle together for deep sleep until the next day. The steady rhythm of eat, fight, sleep was somewhat mind numbing, but having Jes for a partner at least made it fun.

On the day exactly a month after when we'd arrived, Our instructor was no where to be found. We wandered around looking for him for at least an hour, finding only the circle of elders we'd first met in the complex, everyone else was gone.

"Where is everyone?" I asked rather bluntly of them.

"Why did you come here Tanthis?"

"I came to study, to defend those who can not defend themselves" I replied, simple and straight without a moments hesitation.

"Very well. Do you doubt our dedication to what we must do?"

"No sir, I think you'd walk along the ceiling if you told me you'd do so." I stated with a smirk

"Excellent."

The elders moved with blinding speed for being a bunch of old felines sitting in a circle. They grabbed Jeseia from me and vanished into the cave complex towards the cleansing pool. One remained, the speaker, to prevent me from following.

"What is this, what are you doing?" I asked, starting to grow very concerned.

"Jeseia will be surrounded by the circle and will be killed should you not fulfill your purpose."

I growled deep in my throat, gripping my staff tightly. Seems Jes was rubbing off on me, never used to make noises like that. My eyes narrowed and I stared daggers at this feline in my way.

"You either get out of my way, or I go through you."

"Jeseia can not defend herself now, but I can, I assure you."

I drew deep into myself, I knew the element calling out to me, and I let it in without a moments notice. Fire flooded into my body, boiling my blood. I moved to walk past the feline and found him squarely before me in a defensive stance.

I growled again deeply, drawing fire and earth up around us, cloaking us in flame. I charged forward swiftly, swinging not my staff at him but rather my left fist. I drew the strength of the earth making up this cave into myself and channeled it along my arm in motion. With only a slight movement to the side he avoided my strike and drove his own fist in a sharp strike against my side. With the rage of fire inside me, the pain was never felt.

Not knowing how long they'd wait to see if I showed up, I resolved to end this quickly. Drawing in air and water from around me, I tangled them together into a sharp mass, coiled and ready to spring forth. I tempered the rage in me a moment so I could see my next move clearly. I drew the earth apart from beneath the felines feet, letting it loosen like sand. He only smiled at me, remaining solid like the earth itself even as it shifted beneath his paws. Without another option I released the mass of lightning I'd built up, charging all the air around me into a sparking ball of destruction. The pain was quite impressive, dropping me to a knee. The feline wasn't so lucky, I figured he'd never been hit with something like it before while I had. He growled out and collapsed into a spasming mass before me.

Spirit now, I released all the anger and fire from me, instead letting the energy of life itself flow around me. There, in the sea of all living things around us I could see the island of the one I sought. Jeseia's spirit was as much a part of me as my own and easily found. With another draw from the powers of the world around me, I pulled in air and earth. Using the speed of air and the strength of the earth, I sprinted in great speed towards Jeseia. She was near the pool, decorations and rooms were a blur as I raced to her.

I found them standing squarely behind her, each holding a small dagger near her back. "Release her now, I will kill each of you if I must, but you will release her now."

"You came to defend one who could not defend herself. More than that, You came for the one you..." She left off the last part, nodding to the others in the group. They lowered the daggers slowly, one leaving quickly back to where I'd come from. I suppose he was heading to check on the feline elder that I'd fought.

"You've done what you came here to do, and passed our challenge." The feline woman stated again, handing something white to Jeseia before pointing her towards me. "Take these, they are yours to wear by right of accomplishment."

Jeseia came to me quickly, hugging close and genuinely disturbed. I held her close for several long moments before she relaxed enough to hand me the white item. It was a pair of the gloves like I wore now, only white and burned with gold patterns along the back and palms.

"The sign of a master trained by the feline monks." Jeseia quietly commented.

"Tanthis of man, you came to us a stranger, and now leave us as a friend. Go now, and defend those like you promised to do."