Arietta's heart sped fast. Too fast. She held a hand up, one finger raised. "Watch," she told Talia.

"Naya." The dark leopard cub in front of her looked up, curiosity in her big yellow-green eyes. The cubling's gaze followed Arietta's finger back and forth—a second behind.

When Arietta held her finger still, Naya wiggled her little tail and batted a paw at Arietta's hand. Love mixed with concern, forming a toxic cocktail in her stomach.

Talia scooped Naya up and looked at her claws before checking her heartbeat. Head tilted to the side, she then listened to the youngling's breathing. "Everything else seems normal."

"Except her response time," Arietta confirmed.

"Hmm," Talia frowned at the cubling, checking in Naya's ears.

Naya gave a small mew.

"You don't think it has something to do with the serum?" Arietta asked.

When Naya's mother, Sarai, was held captive after an attack on the Southern Shifter Territory, she'd been pregnant when Reison and Governor Quinn used her and the other shifters for their experiments. Naya had been exposed to the serum and the experiments in the womb, which made her different from the other younglings.

This morning was the first time Arietta noticed something off about the little one. It had been enough to make her go running to the infirmary and to Talia to help her figure out what was wrong.

"I have no way to confirm the specific symptoms or side effects of the serum," Talia said, brushing a palm over Naya's head. "As it is, the side effects you experienced may vary with what Naya may experience because of the difference in both magic and biology."

Arietta chewed at her bottom lip. She crouched down in front of the exam table they had Naya on. The little cubling was hardly longer than the length of her forearm, though her paws were clearly growing. Arietta imagined it wouldn't be too long before the little one had a growth spurt.

And she would be here to see it.

The thought made her chest swell. She would get to be here as Naya grew. It was a gift.

That was why it was imperative she figure out what was happening with Naya and settle it. She could not live with herself if...

All of her efforts, everything she had done with the shifters up to today, had all been for this cubling and the promise she'd made to Naya's mother. She would do whatever was necessary to keep Naya safe, just as she promised Sarai.

Just as her own mother had done for her.

"The little ones," Arietta half turned to look up at Talia. "How does their magic usually manifest?"

Talia gestured to Naya. "You're already witnessing it. The magic and connection to the shifter are from birth. A shifter child starts as their animal side, then after a few years, they'll have their first shift to their human side."

Arietta's brain raced ahead. "Wielder children don't usually manifest their ability until anywhere from six to eight years of age."

"Is it possible the serum can cause her to manifest early?" Talia mused.

Arietta did not know. "It's possible, right? If the magic was introduced to her early on, could it have affected Naya's natural timeline?"

"There are too many variables to tell," Talia said.

Worry churned Arietta's gut. She scratched under the cubling's chin. "We'll need to keep an eye on her."

"Agreed."

"If..." she hated to even think about it, but if it was about Naya, she wanted to be as prepared and keep the cubling as safe as possible. "If she has magical fluctuations, I should be able to dampen any effects." If the effects were indeed magical.

"I'll put word out to the nursery as well to monitor her." Talia said.

And then, the weirdest thing happened. Talia reached down and squeezed Arietta's shoulder.

A gesture of comfort. From Talia.

Arietta swallowed back the sudden surge of emotions. Then, nodding to Talia, she gathered Naya into her arms and held the youngling tight.

***

Cael stumbled his way through the brush, the entrance to his aerie close.

Just a few strides. He told himself.

His hawk had taken him all the way up towards the northwest side of the territory. Past the mountains and up towards the Western Shifter Territory's border. By the time he came back to himself, his hawk was exhausted, as if he'd made laps of the territory.

Just what had his animal side been thinking?

Thank Galetta he wasn't on patrol today, though maybe that was what his animal side decided to do today.

Exhaustion was a heavy weight on his muscles. His animal side had decided to run him past his normal daily exercise and put him right into burnout territory.

Each step up the aerie ladder felt like a journey. He gripped the sides of the wood in a desperate grip, praying to Galetta he'd have the strength to get up into his bed before he embarrassed himself in front of his people by collapsing right there in front of his own aerie.

Pushing up on the entry door above, he practically crawled the last few steps into the small aerie kitchen.

And stopped cold.

The doctor peered over at him from the table, a steaming cup in front of her. "Cael?"

It took everything in him to stand, and to school his expression into something other than blankness.

"Why are you still awake?" He asked gruffly.

Sophie's gaze traced down his bare torso to his bare feet. He'd at least had the strength and wherewithal to shuck on a pair of sweatpants from one of the hideaway holes they had tucked around the territory.

Sophie swallowed, her lips parted. For some reason, her gaze felt heavier than normal, though he couldn't distinguish what that expression was. Low eyelids, parted lips... was she shocked?

And why did her eyes keep trailing back to his torso? Cael glanced down, finding only his own muscles and skin.

"I-I couldn't sleep," Sophie finally told him. "I thought a cup of tea might help."

Cael grunted. This woman was drinking him out of tea. Unlike the others, he never drank that coffee shit. It was too bitter. He much preferred the calm heat that came with tea. Since the doctor arrived, he'd already had to restock his tea supply twice.

"Did it?" He asked, crossing the room and slumping into a chair. He was walking much like an elder—as if his joints and muscles ached with each movement. Which they did.

When an excessive amount of time passed with no answer, Cael looked over at the doctor. She had her eyebrows raised.

He knew that expression—surprise. "what?"

Sophie used her pointer finger to gesture a circle around his body. "What was that?"

"What?" He asked again.

"That. You look like you haven't slept in three days. Like you've just been run over by a truck."

"I would never let a truck run me over—I would just shift to get out of the way."

Sophie rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

Did he? He'd heard the expression once from a wielder radio show. Though they rarely used phrases like that around here.

He could gather enough—Sophie wanted to know why he was exhausted.

He did not owe her an answer... however, both he and his hawk were curious about what her expression would be if he told her.

So he did.

"I've spent the day patrolling the territory in hawk form." Not necessarily the truth, but not a complete lie, either.

"Does Gavriel know how taxing his patrols are for his people?" Sophie's eyebrows scrunched together. He found it both odd and fascinating, the way her head tilted slightly.

Cael tilted his own head in response. Mimicking Sophie's expression. That was one he might need to remember to use in the future.

"This was not a regular patrol," he lied. He would not go around sharing his secrets with everyone, let alone this doctor he'd only known for a few weeks.

Sophie clicked her tongue, lifting her mug of tea to her lips. Almost against his will, he found himself watching her closely as she took a sip. "I hope this is not the norm," she said. "It's unfair to ask you to run yourself ragged."

An ache bloomed in his chest. He rubbed at it. Was this woman... concerned? For him?

Sophie rounded the table. "What's wrong? Is your chest hurting? How does your left arm feel? Are you overly warm?"

Her hand was delicate but chilled as she placed her palm on his forehead. Shock had him rooted in place, blinking.

She was worried about him.

And why did that both ache and warm him at the same time?

"I'm fine." He told her. His tone was steel and stone.

She snatched her hand back.

Too harsh, Cael.

"I'm fine," he promised her again, this time softer. "Thank you for your concern."

She sat back stiffly in the small tree trunk serving as a chair at his table. Only then, as she moved back into the light, did Cael notice the dark grooves under her eyes.

She had been having trouble sleeping, and now she was here, catching him in a bad position and drinking the expanse of his tea supply. "Why can't you sleep?"

He hadn't expected a true reply—her demons were her demons, and if she was not yet ready to talk about them, and what kept her awake at night, it was her decision.

Instead of answering him, Sophie lifted and dropped her shoulders. But he had spent his whole life analyzing the expressions and mannerisms of others. He noted the tense lines along her mouth, the curve in her posture. And over the last few weeks, he saw the way she occasionally disappeared into herself, wrapping herself in a quiet, somber expression.

Something was bothering this human. A fact that, shockingly, made his hawk only want to focus on her more. To see if he could figure it out.

He should not be concerned about this woman. Her demons and monsters were her own to handle. It was not on him to insert himself into her life, or to provide her with any type of emotional support. Whatever problems she had, whatever gave her that occasional haunted look, she had to deal with it by herself.

So then...why did that thought make his stomach churn?