"I can say that doubts would be normal for you," Triana said, seeming to read his mind. "But it's not our way to let the males meddle with how we raise our cubs. That's not what's important, anyway. You've wedged your foot in the door with her. She trusts you, cub. That's something I didn't think she'd ever do. The best I ever hoped for her was that she could find a way to be friends with some of us, even if the friendships were wary, the way her relationship works with Kimmie."

"I had a long talk with her about that last night," he said as she approached him. "I think she'll be more open with Kimmie now."

"I know she will," she said. "You did something that nobody else could do, cub. I'm proud of you for that."

Tarrin blushed, and shyly looked away from Triana's eyes. "I didn't do it for you, mother. I did it for Mist."

"And that's why I'm so proud of you. I know it wasn't easy on you to do that. Well, maybe it was," she grinned. "Jesmind told me that you're not shy at all once you commit to-"

"I know," he said quickly, cutting her off.

"All of that aside, it was exactly what Mist needed. I think she'll be just fine now."

"That's really all that matters. I just hope she'll let me see the baby."

"Boy," Triana said. "It's a boy. And she won't keep him away from you, Tarrin. Males don't get involved with raising cubs, but we don't deny them from seeing them either. Besides, Mist would walk through fire if you asked her to."

"Well, she doesn't have to do that," he said dismissively.

"Anyway, come down to breakfast, then we'll start on your lessons again. We're running out of time."

Downstairs, he felt very uncomfortable. They all stared at him. Rahnee just stared at him, Singer tried to stare but was trying to be discreet, and Shirazi had a slight smile on her face. They wouldn't say anything. All three of them just stared at him. He really didn't ever know what to say to them anyway. They were kin, his kind, but they were… strangers. He didn't fear them as he did humans, because they were his kind, but it didn't change the fact that he didn't know them. He never knew quite what to say in the face of Rahnee's blatant sexual interest, or Shirazi's predatory bent. Singer was a complete mystery to him. He was their kind, but then again… he wasn't. He was turned, had once been human, and that meant that his mindset and basic personality was somewhat different from theirs. His upbringing marked him as different, and it was a different set of morals and beliefs than theirs. Looking at them, he realized that that one fact made them treat him differently.

"Well, we heard what happened with Mist," Singer finally said. "That was sweet of you, cub."

"And you thought he was too weak," Rahnee snorted at Triana. "I think this means I have the right to court him now."

"Mist was a special case," Triana shot back at the sharp-featured Were-cat. "Besides, it's moot. Laren will be here with Shayle and Thean around noon. You can wait for him."

"Who are Shayle and Thean?" Tarrin asked.

"Shayle is my daughter," she replied. "I have five children, cub. Jesmind you know. There's also Shayle, the next oldest, Laren, my first son, Nikki, my youngest daughter, and you. Think of the others as step-siblings. Thean is another male, one of the older ones."

" Three males in one place?" Shirazi said in surprise. "That's not very common."

"How did you know they're coming?"

"I'm a Druid, cub," she said plainly. "You keep forgetting that. Thean has enough talent to be able to use the spells of sending. I got a message from him this morning."

"Oh," he said. "What are they like?"

"Shayle is rather mellow," Triana answered. "Laren is-"

"A disappointment," Rahnee said with a snort. "I've never met such a vain, self-centered-"

"He has a few faults, but he's still my son, Rahnee," Triana said in a cool voice, a voice that instantly cowed the sharp-featured Rahnee.

"You should have beaten that out of him as a cub, Triana," Shirazi said calmly.

"He picked that up after I set him loose," Triana grunted. "If he acted like he does now back when he was under my care, I would have killed him."

"I think it's just a form of rebellion, Triana," Singer said. "He's always felt a little overshadowed by you and his older sisters. I think it's just his way of getting attention."

"It better be," she said bluntly.

"Anyway, Thean is one of the older males. He can tell you all about your side of our society. He has alot of experience."

"I'll say," Rahnee said with mischief in her eyes.

"As you've seen, Tarrin, Rahnee has something of a one-track mind," Singer said with a wink.

"You keep your track, I'll keep mine," Rahnee shot back. "So I like males. Deal with it."

"Rahnee is the oversexed tart among us, Tarrin," Shirazi added, giving Rahnee a cherubic grin. Seeing humor out of Shirazi was something new.

"I'm no tart, and there's no such thing as oversexed," Rahnee huffed in reply.

"This from the Were-cat who wants to be human so she can be a prostitute," Singer teased.

"I can't think of a better way to make a living," Rahnee shrugged. If it was meant to be an insult, it had no effect on the blunt, daring Rahnee. She seemed to have little shame.

"Why don't both of you drop it," Triana said. "Tarrin isn't used to that from us yet."

"I can deal with it, mother," Tarrin said cooly, giving Rahnee a challenging stare. Jesmind had warned him about Were-cat females. He had a good idea that if he admitted they were embarassing him, they would just try harder. "At least that will be a problem I won't have."

"What problem?" Triana asked.

"Finding a date," he said, staring right at Rahnee. "You probably scare them off. You really should say hello before you start trying to undress them."

The other three laughed, but Rahnee's ears almost laid back, and she gave him a hostile look. "We're all adults here, cub," she finally managed to say. "This is what adults do. You'd better get used to it."

"Rahnee, you have the mentality of a human teenager in puberty," he told her. "You were supposed to outgrow the period where you think of nothing but what's under a man's trousers."

Shirazi laughed so hard she almost fell out of her chair.

Rahnee shot Shirazi a venemous look, but then her face turned calm. "Just wait til your wound heals, cub, and I'll show you why that's a good thing," she promised him. "No male forgets a night with Rahnee."

"Why? Because it was that good, or because some things are too horrible to forget?"

Shirazi fell over backwards with her chair. Her feet and tail were standing straight up, her toes flexing and the tip of her tail shuddering as she tried in vain to speak, but then just gave up. "I think… I broke… my tail!" she finally managed to wheeze.

"You better put your tail down, before Rahnee sees it and starts getting the wrong idea," Tarrin suggested lightly. That sent Shirazi back into gales of helpless laughter.

Rahnee gave him a withering look, standing up abruptly. "I don't have to sit here and stand for this," she declared in an indignant tone.

"I was so hoping that you'd stand here and sit for this instead," he replied with a steady gaze.

Rahnee stormed out in a seething fury, and that made Shirazi only laugh harder. Singer had her face on the table, on her paw, as the other pounded against the table as her shoulders heaved with mirth. Triana was even laughing, putting a paw on Tarrin's shoulder and patting it.

"That was masterful, cub," she said with another chuckle. "I haven't seen anyone dress Rahnee down like that in a while."

"At least… he wasn't… undressing her down!" Shirazi gasped from the floor.

"I hope she's not too mad," Tarrin grunted.

"She'll get over it," Triana promised. "She'll probably respect you for standing up to her like that."