Duty and Progress

Sacha stood at the center of the amphitheater, the majestic arena rising around him. He stared into the distance, paying more attention to his other senses than his sight, at the moment. If he were honest, the man would have much preferred to remain in his office, buried into paperwork, or one of his other business tasks.

But the man had made a commitment, and if there was one thing Sacha would always follow through on, it was duty.

Turning his face into the breeze, he waited for Miss Whelan to join him.

Receiving the summons from the Highmaster hadn't been a surprise to Ciar. She had been going to approach him but hadn't found the ideal time to yet. She made her way down the towards the man, her lengthy strides bringing her easily from seat to seat, having ignored the sloping path between the sections. Her dragon hide boots scuffed lightly on the stone as her forest green robe flowed around her ankles.

"Professor," she greeted as she stepped down off the final row of seats. The teen walked over to the Highmaster and stood with her hands behind her back, feet apart slightly, her head bowed slightly in respect for her master. He seemed different this term from the little she had seen of him. Ciar would see if her instincts served her well in her first interaction of the year with the man.

The man turned cool, grey eyes upon the girl, expression a placid mask. "Miss Whelan," he returned. "I trust that you had a pleasant summer. Tell me, how goes the meditation? What have you been able to discover about yourself?"

He gazed at her intently, as was his wont, though as usual, whatever he happened to glean from such study remained unspoken. The girl had a tongue and a mind of her own; let her speak. It saved himself the trouble of making deductions.

"The meditation goes swiftly, sir," Ciar responded shifting slightly. "My summer was pleasant if lonely but that was to be expected with one of my status. I found it much easier to tune into my inner fur bearer when it was quiet and I didn't have to worry about anything." She hid the slight uneasiness in her eyes. The Highmaster's demeanor was unsettling and something just wasn't sitting right with her newly heightened instinctual sense.

"I was able to see a glimpse of my animal during my meditations," the teen continued. "I couldn't see much of it, just enough to tell that it's medium sized for an animal and it has black fur with a white swirl around it's left foreleg. I felt a strong instinctual pull from it. It's lone in it's thinking but also has a fairly strong pack mentality." Ciar directed her gaze up to the professor's holding back a flinch at the intensity of his gaze. "Is that adequate, sir? I can try and do better."

That the faint smile that touched Sacha's face showed in his eyes rather than on his lips made the expression seem more genuine than if he really had smiled.

"You have done marvelously well, Miss Whelan," he replied. "I daresay, you've exceeded my expectations. Well done.

"So, your furred alter-ego. Any guess as to what she is?" Sacha thought he had a good guess, but it was for the girl to discover. He was merely acting as her mentor in the process.

Her shoulders sagged slightly in relief. The man wasn't completely cold now. Something was still off about him but Ciar couldn't put her finger on it. The way his eyes shimmered with his smile made her feel more calm and she felt like she could trust him. It wasn't often she was praised and to have her efforts praised was like putting her up on a pedestal of gold.

"If I had to take a guess, sir, I would think some type of dog or other canid," the teen replied. "I know that since making the connection I've been having an increasing instinctual sense. I can tell when people are uneasy or afraid or even when something isn't quite the same as it was. I'm not consciously looking for it but I pick up on it anyways."

Sacha inclined his head slightly. "Is that so?" he said quietly, grey eyes knowing.

"You have done very well, thus far," the man complimented. "I would like for you to start on some of the exercises from the book. If you run into any difficulties, feel free to ask me. You know where my office is.

"Now, did you have any questions or concerns? Anything you were like to go over?"