I froze, skin prickling as my fur stood on end and my ears plastered themselves to my skull. Adrenalin surged through me, urging me to do something, but before any of us could act, the alarms silenced.

What was going on? Security alarms were rare, especially near the Heart. They indicated immediate danger, so why had DESS issued one then almost immediately cancelled it? I couldn’t let my guard down. Some of that was the adrenaline talking, my limbs almost shaking with the need to act or stay perfectly still, but part of it was experience. If there was danger, the worst thing to do would be to relax right now.

I chanced a quick glance around and saw both Kine and Sheba in similar poses. They had also shifted into a very prominent Warrior Form, a wise decision and one I should have thought of. Though I had been practicing using my new Forms, they still didn’t come instinctually to me yet. I’d barley spent much time in my Feline Form, finding it the hardest to settle in to, but I was familiar enough with my Warrior Form now that I shouldn’t have made the mistake of staying in my Resting Form when danger presented itself.

I was debating with myself whether or not to shift now. The circumstances were unclear and it may save my life. Ignoring the potential embarrassment of a delayed shift and the prolonged silence as we still waited for an explanation, I seamlessly slipped into my Warrior Form, my height increasing as my legs thickened with muscle and shifted to be digitigrade. My knapp grew into fur and covered more of my body, my fingernails sharpened into retractable claws and my face took on a slightly more muzzle-like shape to accommodate my lengthening fangs, though I deliberately kept it as subtle as I could. I hadn’t quite mastered coherent speech with a muzzle yet. My torso became more streamlined with muscle and my clothes strained at the sudden change in shape.

All of my many senses sharpened and the sudden sound of Kine and Sheba’s heartbeats drew my attention. To my enhanced sight, they looked patient and tense, ready to act but calm, yet my hearing told me how on edge they were. I realised that if I wished to hide my true feelings among the Icanthie, I’d have to work hard on controlling any and every aspect of my body I could. It wasn’t just a matter of body language and facial expression anymore. I’d have to control my very heartbeat to hide from prying eyes here, if that was even possible. I was distracted by a sudden feeling of being adrift as the thought prompted me to consider what future I wanted.

Before I could get lost in fruitless thought, DESS finally decided to inform us and Cassie of the alarms.

“Threat detect in Primary Residence. Threat neutralised and source tracked. Sending report.”

DESS was another of BOADs branches that was far less interactive than, say MACC, preferring to take action or wait for orders than have a conversation. It made sense being a defence and security system. Dealing with danger called for decisive action and clear instructions. Kine must have received the report DESS sent as he took out his personal screen and began to read. I watched him and saw the surprise flash across his face immediately followed by a frown. That couldn’t be good…

Kine continued reading before tapping a few commands into his screen. The sound of clunks and clicks signified that the security lockdown had been lifted. The doors flew open and Thane marched in with a contingent of Royal Warriors, al of them looking stern and a little angry. They proceeded to check every corner of the room before setting up a defensive perimeter around the three of us. Their Kings’ mansion had been threatened and they were not happy.

I desperately wanted to know what had happened but I held back, partly because of the tetchiness of the Warriors and partly because I was a little reticent around Sheba. It appeared she did not feel the same way because while I was watching Kine for any sign of news, Sheba had moved up next to me and decided to groom me. She started by wrapping me in a sideways hug, her grip considerable, and licked my ear, working her way methodically down to my face.

I froze in complete bafflement at such a familiar social interact with someone I hardly knew, before sputtering my shock and trying to escape. I tried to lift at least one arm up, managing to slip it from her grip and resting my hand on her shoulder, trying to get leverage to get away. But Sheba obviously had a lot of experience wrangling reluctant cubs because she countered my every move. I didn’t stop trying though. She may be kin, even close kin seeing as she was my aunt, but I was not ready for this. My struggles seemed to amuse some of the Warriors, for I caught little grins and stifled chuckles but it had the benefit of realising some of the tension in the room. It also attracted the attention of Kine, even though he never took his eyes off the report.

“Mother, did you ask Sierra if she wished to engage in social grooming?” Kine asked, his voice dry. “Because her struggles suggest she is not receptive right now…” the hint clear in his tone.

Sheba stopped mid-lick, her tongue poking out and she guiltily glanced from Kine to me and back. Slowly she released her grip on me and her tongue disappeared before she shrugged off her embarrassment and decided to groom herself instead. Kine raised an eyebrow at her antics, obviously waiting for an answer, but Sheba kept grooming until she was satisfied.

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“Well, no dear, I just couldn’t resist. I’m sorry Sierra.” Sheba finally answered, turning to me with a smile as she apologised.

I straightened up, a little ruffled from my struggle to escape, and looked back at her. She was a sweet individual and I suspect her antics were part calculated and part genuine affect. Either way, I sensed no malice or manipulation from her so I smiled warily back at her.

“Thank you for the gesture Aunt Sheba. I’m just not used to it…” I trailed off, looking to Kine for help. I was really not sure show to deal with this.

Kine didn't get the chance to help me as Shea took my apology as an opportunity to hug me again.

“Oh you’re such a good cub! I’m so looking forward to spending more time with you. You can help me in my garden and we can visit the jungle habitat together. I noticed you need a little more practice shifting between your Forms, you could have been in your Warrior Form a little quicker in this situation. It’s safer that way. But my what a beautiful Form you have and your shift was so smooth! I-“

“Mother, Sierra isn’t a cub, she’s gone through her Maturity. Let her go before you strangle her.” Kine interrupted, his tone one part exasperated, one part amused and one part concerned. I think, secretly, he was glad to have someone else take the brunt of his Aunt Sheba’s doting, but he still stuck up for me, so I’d forgive him his amusement. Not so much the Royal Warrior.

I sent Thane a warning glare, before turning my attention back to Kine as Sheba finally realised me. She was nothing like my mom had been yet her affection and kindness were familiar and all too evident. I think I could like her a lot. Time would tell.

Antics over, I glanced towards Kine, eager to get the details of DESS’s report, although I had practiced a lot, I was still a little taken aback with the power and grace of this Form. It really did feel like an effortless glide when I moved. Kine turned ever so subtly as I approached, angling towards me so I could peek at his screen. I scanned the report, looking for key words and was startled at what I saw.

“What!? Is that right Kine?” I asked, just about managing not to shout.

Kine nodded with a grim slant to his mouth. “An inorganic chemical weapon, commonly known as a bomb.” He announced to the surprise of the room.

“A bomb? That’s very old technology. Very, very old. I’ve only seen mention of it in the training materials” Thane commented, frowning as he took out his own screen to access the report.

Kine tapped on his screen allowing Thane access. This would be kept under the highest clearance. I had stopped reading the report on Kine’s screen, so stunned that I couldn't get my head to work. A bomb… the races were not ignorant or innocent of violence but we had always preferred our own natural weapon army. That, as well as the natural distaste for anything similar to human weapon art, meant that such a powerfully destructive device was almost a taboo. Almost.

“Do the Myath use them?” Kine asked quietly next to me, barely managing to pull me out of my own shock.

“Goodness no! Bombs are destructive, unstable and noisy. We’d never risk it. Besides, I know almost nothing about them except that they existed at some point and some descriptions of the after effects of detonation. I’m not even sure I’d recognise one for what it was if I saw it…”

“Something you actually don’t know Sierra?” Kine half-teased.

“I know a little bit about a lot of things, enough to survive. Sometimes I study more if I’m interested but I’m no expert on anything really. This… I have no reason to know about things like this.” I finished, trailing off as the seriousness of this began to sink in. Kine just nodded at me, understanding in every line of his body.

“Could it have been the humans?” Someone asked out of the blue, though I never saw who voiced it. She must be among the crowd of Warriors. They were all trusted by Kine but I was still a little uncomfortable with how many individuals were present and privy to the details.

“No. Unless the king has died in the last few moons, no human would ever risk having such a weapon. If they were found, the king would not only kill them but most of their community too. He’s paranoid about rebellion and does not tolerate any weapons in the hands of anyone but a precious few.” I commented, frowning at the odd move. Who would be so bold as to use something like this?

“You know a lot about the Humans…” Kine sent to me mentally. There was a long, pregnant pause. “You’re going to have to trust us at some point Sierra. You don’t have to do it all alone.”

I tried not to let our conversation show in my body language but suspected I just ended up freezing instead. I sighed and drooped, trying to relaxed my tensed muscle and breath out all the adrenaline and tiredness that was only now making itself known. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s difficult to break orbits of caution and secrecy but… I am trying…”

I waited for a response but was surprised when it came in the form of a gentle bump from Kine. I looked up and saw he was smiling down at me gently and I smiled back. Everything had been going well with Kine, our bond forming so quickly and easily, that I think I secretly felt like it was all going to fall apart. But he reminded me again and again that it was okay to take my time. Of course things weren’t going to work out immediately, but we had a good foundation to build on. It was okay to still struggle with how to treat them all. I’d figure it out eventually.

I turned back to the screen and scanned the report again. It seemed DESS had detected the components of the bomb and immediately shut down the mansion as a whole and sectioned off all of the key areas, both to prevent any collateral damage outside the mansions should the device detonate, and to try to contain the blast to the smallest area possible inside the mansion. Once the bomb had been deactivated with a remote drone, one of DESS’s many tools, DESS has set about scouring the visual feeds and bio-signals to try and determine who placed the bomb.

“It seems the device was placed there by one of the volunteers working this rotation.” Kine commented as he too read the report. “But it looks like they had no ideas what it was. The Bomb was hidden inside a container that arrived from outside the mansion early this rotation. Any of the volunteers working could have picked it up and delivered it according to the information on the container. Still, he will be questioned just to make sure.”

“So we need to track the source of the container.” Thane mused, playing with his own screen. I stretched my neck to get a look at his screen and saw images of the container, constantly rotating as Thane manipulated it, trying to find clues.

“Anything to go on?” I asked, just to fill the silence again. This mysterious package was starting to set off alarm bells in my mind, the more I learned about it. But I doubted myself. Was I seeing phantoms or letting my past impair my judgement? Could Red Claw really be so bold as to operate in the Capital? In the Kings Mansion…?