Chapter 25

-EDITED-

Ember looked up at Damian with a weird look as he held her arm. "Would you have rather been trampled?" He asked. Ember shook her head as he pulled her forward. "Well, follow me to the warm-up section." He grinned and Ember followed.

As they came upon the field filled with men, there was a small space above the rest where the general stood, overlooking the men. Ember swallowed as she walked to the back and took her place where Damian showed her. She stood with her hands behind her back as she stood up straight, trying to seem more intimidating than she really was.

"Listen here you failures!" General Dolion yelled, "We were told early this morning from someone from the Queen's court that we will take off in 1 month! By then I am expected to have you all battle-ready and her little pet ready to take down Suglion!" He yelled, "So I better see sweat coming from all of you pansies." He growled and swung a small bell he yelled out to gather up in groups of 6 and start running around the base.

Ember looked over at Damian. "Could I join your group?" She asked.

Damian laughed. "You can! Why wouldn't you?" He asked as he laughed. Ember chuckled before she heard footsteps come up from behind her and she turned around to see a tall male. That was a very bar to jump over considering her size for her species.

"Excuse me, but my group and I were wondering if you wanted to join us for the run?" The male asked.

"Uh, I would love to, but I don't even know your name." Ember laughed, trying to find an excuse to turn him down.

"Oh, I can tell you my name. My name is Azazel, pronounced Az-iel." He informed. "So, how about joining me and my group?" He asked.

Ember chuckled. "Could Damian come along? He's a good friend of mine and I would just feel so lonely without him. Perhaps you could make room for him for me?" Ember asked, using her puppy dog eyes.

"Of course!" He grinned. "I mean, sure." He coughed. Ember smiled and clapped.

"Isn't that great Damian, we can stick together?" She asked as she turned to speak to him.

"Oh yeah, that's perfect," Damian said with a big grin and Azazel swallowed.

The three of them walked over to the group that looked at each other when Ember was not the only recruit.

"Uh, guys, this is Ember and Damian. She asked for him to join so that way she didn't feel so lonely." Azazel said. The other males looked at each with a confused look before Ember spoke.

"I'm so glad they invited me to join your group! You all seem so welcoming and kind!" She smiled.

The males smiled at each other and spoke at once. "You're welcome." They grinned.

"We better get going before General gets onto us," Damian growled and took off with Ember following quickly behind him.

"Awe, are you going slowly for me?" Ember teased and Damian laughed.

"You wish, it's more for them." He said and pointed back to the guys who were struggling to catch up to them and Ember laughed.

"That's the only reason you joined, wasn't it? To go at a relaxing pace." She asked.

"You're smarter than you look. I don't mean you weren't smart but you-" He rambled.

"Don't worry about it, I get what you mean." Ember laughed.

"Oh, thank goodness. I have lost way too many friends by my stupid way of phrasing things."

"Their loss, my gain. You're a superb friend." Ember smiled.

"Be careful about talking. You haven't been doing this for a long time. You might get winded." He laughed.

"N-No I won't." She growled.

"Alright, retract your claws kitty. I am only joking." Damian grinned.

"Don't call me kitty unless you find the want to twin with the General." Ember hissed

Damian shuddered, from what he saw from the Generals cheek was not very pain-free. "Yeah, no thank you," he muttered.

"That's what I thought," Ember said with pride.

"Wha- how did you hear me?" He asked.

Ember pointed to her ears. "I don't know, maybe something with these things." Ember laughed. "You didn't notice?" She asked.

"It's not that I didn't. I just didn't think you would hear it as you're no different from the rest of us," Damian said.

Ember felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you." She said with a shaky voice.

"Why are you thanking me and about to cry? It's the truth." Damian said.

"It's making me cry because I'm so used to being the sore thumb, the outcast," Ember said, her chestnut hair blowing in the warm summer breeze.

"That's pretty said, you don't deserve that. You seem so nice and smart. I don't know why everyone would treat you differently." He said.

"I'm a Neko, it's natural for people to outcast me unless it's for some desire. You're the first-ever human to look at me like a normal person instead of some creature to gawk at." Ember explained.

"Wow, that's really sad. I can't believe that people are like that." He said, "The first human?" He asked, his brown hair flowing in the wind.

"The first human to not throw insults, lewd comments or to fox whistle at me." Ember said, "Or to insult me."

"Jeez, are that bad? Is that why those guys invited you in and you asked me to join?" he asked.

"Yeah, after... I don't want to take any chances." Ember explained, the sound of the gravel crunching underneath them filling her ears.

"That's completely rational. I give you prop to even want to talk to me. From what I've heard, it seems like that a lot of us are just big jerks." He growled.

"Don't worry. I've learned to deal with it." Ember shrugged. "It's just normal now."

"Just because that's the norm for you that doesn't make it right." Damian insisted.

"It's honestly fine. It just took me off guard when you saw me as something equal to you." Ember said.

"It's not fine though. You fear trusting humans, let alone the males. You can't trust them with anything because you're afraid that they'll hurt you." Damian said with anger in his stormy grey eyes, "It's never fine."

"It might seem messed up to you, but it's not to me. Its become a fact of life. I don't like that it is, but it just is." Ember sighed, "And there's nothing I can do about it." She admitted.

"But there is, not letting them kill your fiery spirit is one of the many ways to prove that you are so much more than what they tell you is," Damian said as they rounded a corner, their feet falling onto the grass.

"You're right, but I don't like that," Ember muttered with a pout.

Damian laughed. "You're hilarious, you know that?" he asked.

"I don't have enough social interaction to determine whether I am funny," Ember stated.

"Whoa, stop with that scientific analysis there Dirction." Damian laughed.

Ember faked a laugh. "You're so funny." She hissed.

"Hey, don't get angry with me if you just sounded like a scientific analysis of your social patterns." He said, pushing up imaginary glasses up.

"What was that?" Ember asked

"What was what? This?" he asked as he did the motion again.

"Yeah, that!" Ember said.

"It's called faking pushing up glasses. It's a good thing you don't do charades." He laughed.

"Charades?" Ember asked.

"Oh my gods, you are uncultured." He gasped. "It's a game where you have to act out what you are told you are and can't speak."

"Ooh, that game. I have seen people do that in the schoolyard." She smiled.

"Gods, you really were an outcast." He said with a somber look.

"Yeah, I told you." She said.

He shook his head, "You have a lot to learn." He said.

Throughout the day, they talked about all the things Ember had never gotten to do. They called her into the general's office.

Ember looked over at Damian with a worried look, silently pleading that he would save her as they directed her to the office. As she stepped into the office, she saw him sitting on top of his desk with a sadistic smile upon his face.

"I see you have no problem interacting with Officer Damian. So what makes me so different?" He asked with a fake hurt voice.

"You're different because you tried to assault me!" Ember accused.

"I did not, I was trying to help you get to your tent. That reminds me, how was your first night's sleep?" He asked.

"None of your business." She hissed, her fur fluffing up.

"You know, I did always like them with a little fight in them." Dolion grinned.

"W-what?" Ember asked, stepping back as he hopped off the top of his desk and stepped forward towards her.

"I said, I like it when they fight back." He smirked, about to take another step forward before the bell rang out. He growled in annoyance, "You're safe, this time Fulton." He hissed and Ember ran out of there as quickly as her legs could carry her.

Her throat seized up as the extremity of what just happened, or rather what would have happened if that bell hadn't rung. She struggled to breathe as all the ideas of what he could have done to her and no one would have stopped him or heard him. Ember swallowed as she collapsed onto the gravel, gasping for air as her panic attack swallowed her.