A Stronger Beast [training/solo]

Lexiara was wandered with Leonitus on one side of her and Onyx on the other. She had been working recently on honing her ability to connect with animals and Leo had seemed pleased at her efforts, but she could not tell if that was because he wanted to feel more in touch with his mother figure or because her efforts generally resulted in her bringing dinner home. The tiger was growing more each day, no longer the pup she had rescued but now a lanky, grumbling young adult. He had not yet filled out to his full length or width yet, but he was gradually putting on weight. His paws were now each the size of Lexi’s head. He was gaining a great deal of heft and was slowly trying to learn how to use that to better help Lexi and Onyx in their travels. The more he watched his mother train, the more he became aware that she was often open for being attacked and his natural instinct was to defend members of his pack. Up to this point in his life, he had simply been too small to try and defend his family and Lexi had often gotten hurt trying to keep him from getting hit.

Lexi could sense the more protective nature of her adopted child and thought of ways to help make him stronger. She began working with him to try and help him understand more complex commands and then spent hours helping him to train his body. She had him run and leap, building up his powerful hindquarters. Onyx twined a rope, tying it to a large branch and played tug with the tiger. Lexi had to help to keep Onyx from getting thrown as Leo was much stronger than he. The tiger loved playing tug and seeing his mother and her brother being dragged along the ground. When they were lucky enough to be in a rocky terrain, the tiger would practice leaping from one crag to the next, his muscles rippling and working to lighten his landing.

About two weeks into his training, they had camped near the edge of the woods and settled in for the evening, the tiger gnawing on the hind leg of a deer, his jaws crunching at the bone before the sound of howls came from all around. Leo immediately stopped chewing, his muscles tensing as he raised from his reclined position. When the first wolf came charging out of the woods and jumped towards Lexi, Leo leaped forward, meeting the wolf in midair and knocking it to the ground, their bodies rolling across the ground before Leo found his feet. A growl played in his throat before he lunged forward and locked his jaws around the wolf’s throat.

Meanwhile, Lexi was wasting no time in burying arrows in the rest of the pack. Leo joined once he was sure the first wolf was dead, chasing down the starving wolves and using tooth and claw to tear them apart, intercepting any that attempted to target his mother. Finally, the wolves were destroyed and Lexi immediately moved over to check Leo over for wounds. It was the first time she had seen him block attacks intended for her and she was worried, but as she parted his fur to look for injuries, she found none. She hugged him tightly, worrying over him before he shook her off and returned to his dinner. Lexi chuckled before moving back to the fire, frowning at her bow. It was lacking the impact she was hoping for. She was becoming stronger and the string was becoming too easy to draw, she needed to find something sturdier.

[500+/500 Leo training from D to C]