A lifes lesson (Ric/ Dame/ Iva)

Asric stood on the edge of the grounds looking across the lake, with Ghost by his side. It was time for his apprentice to finally become a hunter. It had been made known that he was worthy of such a title when his own daemon had fell pregnant.

He took a deep breath, Ghost doing the exact same thing beside him and took in the view. His apprentice should arrive any minute, but until then he'd made do with the sight before him.

Damian made his way across the grounds quickly. It was still a bit chill out, though nowhere near what it had been. He was actually looking forward to seeing his mentor. It was probably the first time all year he would be meeting with the man when he wasn't in trouble or had embarrassing questions to ask.

"Hello, sir," the boy greeted breathlessly. "Hi, Ghost. How is Little Asric?"

He turned his head slightly at the sound of his apprentices voice. He knew he was there of course. He'd heard him as soon as he left the castle but it was out of habit to look normal that he did it. No one could find out about his extra gifts. He turned, his face looking drawn and tired as he gave the boy a ghost of a smile.

"He is amazing thank you." He smiled rubbing his forehead as a headache broke out. "Right, its come to the time to make you a real hunter. To do this you will have to take an oath and take a daemon as your own." He said placing a hand on Ghosts head.

"Do you feel you are ready Damian? Once it's been taken there's no going back."

Damian's heart lurched in excitement. Three years... It had been three years, and now the moment he'd been waiting for had come.

"Yes, sir!" Damian exclaimed, voice a bit louder than strictly necessary. He had no doubts. This was what he wanted. This was what he had been looking forward to since before he had started at Hogwarts. It didn't worry him that there was no turning back; Damian would have no desire to.

"I'm ready."

He nodded. "Good then we shall begin." He said looking down at his watch. "As soon as they arrive. Ar yes here she comes now!" He said looking across the field as Iva arrived.

Iva trotted down the hill towards the men, robes tied loosely around her. It was still a bit cold, but Iva had already switch to her summer robes; the English winters never got very cold.

"I am sorry I am late!" she called, coming to a stop near Damian. She gave him a nervous smile, unsure why she was actually here. "I lost track of the time,"

Damian's brow furrowed in momentary confusion, before his eyes went wide, a smile beginning to pull at his lips. "You found a replacement, then?" he asked. That meant the other pup wouldn't die. The boy turned towards the footsteps he'd heard approaching...

... and then he stopped, expression going blank, though his heart stopped at least a beat or two. He stared at Iva for a long moment before his lips set in a firm line and he turned back towards his master.

"No," Damian said. "Not her." Please, please, not her...

"Not at all!" He smiled before it fell off his face at Damians words. "Im afraid you don't have a say in the matter. If the cub accepts her then its a done deal. Are you going to stop her?" He asked raising his eyebrows.

"Ghost has singled her out and i trust her judgement."

Damian shot a look at Iva, his expression betraying far more than he would have liked. He stepped closer to his mentor, craning his head back to look up at the man. Anguish, terror, anger, hurt - it was all visible in his ever-expressive eyes.

"She's mine," he hissed, tone quiet enough that it would have impossible for Iva to make out the words. Damian began to tremble with the emotions surging through him. "She's mine, and you shouldn't have chosen her without asking me! If she... if something were to... Master, please," Damian's voice dropped to a volume that was a bare whisper even to sensitive ears. "Anyone else - just please not her. I can't... I don't want to... Not her."

He growled, a low rumble coming up right from the bottom of his stomach and up into his throat. The sound causing Ghost to follow his actions. "Oh im sorry i didn't realise you owned her!" He spat through clenched teeth so only Damian could hear. "Do you think you own her Damian? Is she a possession that you get to keep because she's yours? She is a human being and she get to chose her own path!" He said through gritted teeth. He was weaken yes, but that wasn't going to stop him. No one treated women like they were possessions. No one! Certainly not his apprentice.

"I can chose who i like Damian and you know why? I own YOU! If you want to start talking about possessions ill treat you like one. From now on if you want to do something you ask me. Any future parties... yes i know about the spin the bottle parties, you ask me. Do i make myself clear?" He said before walking over to Iva with a smile.

"Hello Iva. You're probably wondering why you are here. I will explain it all in a minute, first i need to make sure what im doing is right. You can wait another minute or two to find out right?" He asked slowly backing up to return to ghost.

Damian's temper flared. He whirled after the man.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" the boy shouted, the volume painfully loud in contrast to what it was previously. He didn't care if Iva heard him; she could hate him, so long as she was safe.

"Of course, I don't own her - if you knew anything about her, you'd know that isn't even possible!" Tears stung his eyes as they often did when his emotions got worked up. Again, he didn't care. "She's mine because I love her! I love her, and you would drag her into something that could get her killed.

"You have no right to be angry with me! What if it was Sophia? Hm? Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same!"

Iva raised an eyebrow, sick of their squabbling.

"Can you both just shut up a little bit?" she said, politely as she could. She touched Dame's arm softly, a smile working up to her face.

"Damian does not own me- If anything, I own him," she gave a shrug, ignoring the rest of what was said. She was used to arguments around her house, so the older man didn't affect her so much.

"I would like to know what we are yelling over, actually,"

"I suggest you keep you voice down son, Im not in the mood for tantrums." He said rubbing his forehead. The voices in his head was enough without him shouting as well. His head felt like it could split open at any minute.

"Please don't question my ability to do my research Damian. I probably know more about her than you do. People don't come to me asking for something because i do a half job. It is a great honor to be chosen for the White Knights! If Sophia was chosen there would be nothing i could do about it if she agreed." He explained before turning to look at Iva in surprise. Deciding to pass it off just this once he nodded and stepped back from them both.

"You're right. I will be right back." He said disappearing on the spot and returning 2 minutes later with two small cubs. "These cubs were born last night. One belongs to you Damian and the other... well we shall see." He said placing the two cubs on the floor.

"Do you feel anything towards either of them?" He asked them both.

(OOC The cubs )

Iva watched the man disappear, reaching out to hold Damian's hand. She gave a soft smile, tilting her head softly before whispering,

"What are we even talking about? What are the White Knights?" She squeezed his hand softly, trying to cheer the boy up. She didn't want to upset him, really. She just wanted to understand.

When the Headmaster reappeared with the adorable balls of fluff, Iva let out a gasp and let go of Damian's hand. She dropped to her knees and reached for the gray one, smiling brightly.

"Puppies!" she exclaimed excitedly. She normally didn't like animals, (too messy), but this one was... so cute and tidy. Glancing up at the two men, she pulled it closer, adding, "It is so small!"

Damian finally shut his mouth. He leaned his head against Iva's shoulder as the girl took his hand. Of course, he wouldn't stop her - not really. She was brave and stronger than she often realized. Damian knew this. The boy also trusted Asric and Ghost, for that matter.

That didn't mean the idea didn't scare the hell out of him. He'd already lost his sister; if he lost Iva, too...

He let out a small sound that was somewhere between anguish and concession, squeezing her hand back tightly. "Master Chaos will explain," Damian whispered hoarsely, nuzzling his nose against the side of her neck.

Damian straightened as Iva pulled away, dropping to her knees to take up one of Ghost's cubs.

His gaze was only for the little brown cub, however. The boy crouched down, reaching out a tentative hand, as though fearful that touching the young wolf might cause it to break.

Asric had said something, but Damian hadn't heard his words. His fingers gently brushed the cub's soft fur.

"She's beautiful," he breathed reverently.

He smiled as he watched the interaction with the wolves. It had turned out better than he had hoped. "Simul ut!" He said clearly which enabled him to see through Ghosts eyes. Once the spell had been said they instantly became one with sight and mind which helped him get a better look at what he was seeing.

"It seems i was right." He smirked patting Ghost on the head as he pulled out of the spell. "These are your Daemons. They are now a part of you so take care of them just as they will take care of you." He said glancing over to the forest.

"If your Daemon dies a part of you dies with her. If you die..." He said looking down at Ghost who then nuzzled her head against his hand in encouragement to go on. "... she dies along side you. The last thing you will hear is her howl." He said taking a minute to blink back the tears.

Iva looked up from the cub, which had began to wiggle and yap from within her arms. Daemons? She wrinkled her brow in confusion.

"What is a Daemon?" she asked. She wasn't complaining, of course. If she was really one with this pup, she had to love it and keep it, but that wasn't an issue. She had already bega to love the tiny thing in her arms.

"Do I get to name her?" she asked, hoisting the wolf into the air. The cub yapped, annoyed by the action and Iva automatically lowered it to the ground again, "They are so beautiful. Your wolf has wonderful babies, yes?"

"They're like familiars, but... more," Damian tried to explain to Iva, though his attention remained on his own cub - his own daemon. "You don't form a bond with them, they're already a part of you. You just didn't know it was missing." The last part was whispered reverently, a realization on the boy's own part.

He finally picked up the little cub, his actions timid and cautious. She was so little; her eyes weren't even open. But she recognized him - Damian could sense it. She recognized him, just as he recognized her. Damian glanced up at Iva, a small smile on his face as he watched her a moment, wondering if she felt the same.

"A Daemon is an extention of you, or your soul if you like. They need you alive in order to live. Their entire life source depends on you. They age as you do, they weaken when you do. The bond you two share can not be described or compared because there is nothing truly like it." He said rubbing his hands together.

He nodded. "You can call them whatever you like. In time you will be able to become insync with each other and if your bond truly is strong you will be able to take on her sight." He said looking at Ghost before muttering. "Simul ut! This ables me to see you in her eyes." He said turning to look at them with his borrowed yellow eyes.

Iva touched noses with the wolf, staring intently at it as if they were having some sort of debate. Iva gave a soft nod, realizing what Damian said was true. As she nodded, the cub careened it's neck and gently nipped at her nose, just hard enough to surprise the girl.

Jumping back, Iva rubbed her nose and glanced at her boyfriend sheepishly. The pup didn't mean harm, she knew; it barely had its eyes open. It was just reaching out to the girl and maybe even reflecting her own moody nature.

"We are going to be best friends," she declared, "Perfectly in sync!"

He paused, leaned over to be near the pup again. "Her name is Zoya. It's the Russian form of Zoey,"

Ducking his head to hide his smile, Damian let his laugh out as a quiet exhale. He peeked up at Iva again, a grin still teasing his lips. She was so cute, sometimes.

His attention turned back to his daemon, who he held cradled against his chest. "Hey, there, Lynne," the boy murmured softly to the little wolf. There was no other choice, really. Only two girls had meant much to the boy. One was Iva. The other was his sister, Theolynne - someone he would hold in highest regard the rest of his life. It made sense that his daemon should be named after her; it was an honor to them both.

"What next, sir?" Damian asked quietly, looking up to meet the man's (presently) yellow eyes.

He nodded and just stood back to let them get to grips with each other. He remembered the first time he'd seen Ghost. He'd had no one, no family, no one to turn to but his brothers. Even then they weren't as close as they ended up. Ghost had been the end of that. He'd finally found someone he could talk too, that could talk back in her own way.

"Put them down and step back." He said keeping his eyes on the pups. "Now we wait!"

Iva kissed the pup's muzzle, then placed it on the ground nervously. The pup was so frail and small; she didn't want to let it go. Eyeing the headmaster with animosity, she placed a hand on Damian's leg.

"Whatever you say,"

Damian reluctantly put Lynne back down, watching her carefully. He took Iva's hand in hers, before standing up and tugging the girl up with him. The boy took a small step back, giving Iva a light pull.

He wanted to know what they were waiting for, but rather than ask, he simply kept his eyes on the cubs.

He stood, his eyes glued to the pups before them. He held up a hand to silence them both as he took a step closer and turned into his animagus form. He could see the pups clearer like this and it made his connection to Ghost stronger so he knew what she was feeling.

Without so much as a sound both Ric and Ghost moved to sit side by side and howled up to the sky. The sound filling the afternoon silence surrounding the grounds. Once the echo of their howl had ended both wolves rose to their feet and approached the pubs. Each giving a low bark in the face of the pub before swapping over to do the same to the other. Any minute now and it will happen, he thought as he back up and turned back human.

He held up his hand warning them not to speak as he concentrated on the pups, who now began to grow. A smile spread across his face as he looked at Ghost for their achievements.

"Your Daemon ages as you do. It lives whilst you do. Protect her the best you can and in return she will protect you with her life." He said patting Ghost on the fondly head. There were time when he didn't know what he'd do without her.