tread carefully

Shuriken knew nothing else but the early training her parents put her through, that she learned from Plague or gleaned from Sirius. She always felt challenged but never overburdened. This lesson would be the hardest of all. She already had trouble in the mud, as her sire so plainly could see. That was the whole reason he had led her out here. He intended on challenging her to her limits. Hattori requested her fighting stance, but she had a feeling that she would do better to not refuse. She tried to use her talons to dig into the harder clay mud as her joints bent and she tucked her chin. Kiyohime looked up to her father, falling into her stance like an old pro. Staying in her fighting stance was the test.

Her father stepped closer, still somehow impervious to the mud, and lifted his massive paw to her shoulder. By now Ike was challenging his height but he was still far bigger. She withstood the first test with ease, her smaller frame holding up and bouncing back against the little tap. Of course Hattori was not finished yet, and again his paw was a bit harder. Ike was much better at staying upright while she was stationary, it was moving that really got her paws caught underneath her and she lost her balance.

Kiyohime stood steadfast against her father’s touch so far, impressing even herself. The girl grinned up at her father, finding more confidence in herself instead of less as he went on and warned her not to overthink this task.

"Kiyohime Shuriken Ōritsu Abraxas"