Lesson one. Think before you speak.

The next day began with some amount of excitement. Through use of a messenger Leartes and Kostenlos knew the latter gladiator had been accepted to join the Assassins. Kostenlos stored away his chain necklace and gold-plated anklets in exchange for his battle armor, and alongside his remade friend Leartes, they had walked to Fire Empire. During most of the journey, Taze explained to Kos what the training was like and what to expect his first few days. The first day was the worst but it got easier from there. The key was to not give up. Be resilient. And always end whatever you said with "domina Andromeda". Kostenlos kept it in mind, but he had already met Andromeda before. She had been a calm and understanding leader. Surely as their mentor she wouldn't be so terribly different?

---

"Did you hear from my mouth that you had my permission to stay with my empire? To walk on my grass? What makes you think you can just join the Assassins whenever you damned like, Shadow scum?" The older cat hissed, circling him. She'd used similar insults to the other Shadow and Fire assassins while they were still new. "You weren't here from the beginning. You know none of these cats like they know each other. You're weaker and less trained. We'd have to slow our training for you to catch up. What use are you to this team?" My eyes were wide with fear as the frightening female snarled at me. I didn't expect this. 

"I...I..."

"SPEAK CLEARLY." 

I gulped. My heart was pounding so hard I could have sworn it made by body tremble. Or was that just me? No, I was definitely trembling. How could I not?

"I want to help the empires any way I can!" I finally managed to blurt out.

"Who the hell do you think you're speaking to? The air? Because I KNOW I HAVE A NAME." 

I want to help the empires any way I can, domina Andromeda!" I corrected myself. Great. I already made a mistake. 

The snow leopard rounded around me again with a false chuckle. She put her face to mine so we were nose to nose and stared me dead in the eye.

"Simply wanting change doesn't make it fall into your lap, cub." She said harshly. "It takes action. That is why you've come here, is it not?" 

"Y...yes-"

"QUIT YOUR STAMMERING, BOY. IF YOU CAN'T SAY WHAT YOU MEAN TO SAY THE FIRST TIME THAN DON'T SPEAK AT ALL. THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK." First lesson. Got it. My words caught in my throat and I shrunk back slightly. I wasn't expecting this. 

"Stand up straight, you filthy coward!" She snarled angrily as she circled me tightly. Her breath grazed my ear, the rumbling sound ringing in my ears and I forced myself out of my shrunken state. "If you want to be an Assassin you'd better show some damned pride! IF that's why you've come here. I'm still waiting for your answer!" Her eyes were narrowed, eyebrows seeming to be permanently furrowed in a furious expression. I felt like she was going to slap me with a paw full of claws at any moment if I made another wrong move. 

I took a ragged deep breath before speaking again, letting the air refresh my mind and organize my thoughts into potential words and sentences. 

"TODAY, CUB!" My thoughts.... wasn't ready!

"I've come to your Empire to request your permission to join the Assassin Squad, domina Andromeda!" I blurted out the first tangible sentence I could think of. Thankfully it made sense. 

"And who sent you?" She demanded.

"Domius Evander, domina Andromeda!" I figured it might be best to give him the formal title as well. Just in case. 

"And where is he now?" She questioned without hesitation. I opened my mouth, about to stammer again, but stopped myself short. Think before you speak.

"Home at camp, domi-"

"Who's camp? Mine? Because I just came from there and I'm sure as hell I was the ONLY DAMNED LEADER THERE!" 

"Shadow Empire's camp, domina Andromeda!" I informed. She knew all this. Why was she badgering me like this? Like I was the bad guy? 

"Why should I believe your word? I don't know you!" 

I was quiet for a moment, my mind frantically searching for an answer to her words but- there was none. There was no reason she should believe me or the messenger that informed her of my arrival. For all she knew, I asked that cat to relay the messages for me, without Evander's consent. She looked as if she was about to yell again, so quickly I answered. 

"You have no reason to trust my word, domina Andromeda, but...I ask that you do." My ears flattened against my head. That sounded like the dumbest thing ever, and I was suddenly very glad none of the other Assassins were here today. They'd gotten the day off in light of my arrival. Andromeda's gaze seemed to lighten for a moment. Maybe I said the right thing? Then she drew her lips back in a snarl. 

"Run." 

"...domina..?" 

"RUN. To the river! Until I tell you to stop!" The snarled furiously, her maw snapping towards me to coax me to move my tail. And I did. I wasn't even sure which direction the river was, but...I ran. As I stretched my limbs I realized just how tense I had been while I had been sitting there being screamed at. It felt good to run. 

...That is until I realized the leader was on my heels. 

"Faster!" She ordered. "You don't think Hunters can move faster than this snail's pace?" Somehow, she managed to pull up beside me until we were neck and neck, and she glanced over at me, teeth bared. The fear her neon eyes put in me was enough to force my legs to desperately move quicker and I stared straight ahead, pelting through the trees until they suddenly vanished. 

"HALT." 

"Wha-" I breathed, too low for her to have heard over the sound of my thudding paws. She had vanished from my side, and I slid to a stop, nearly toppling over, and looked back. She was standing at the treeline. 

"Fall in!" She commanded. Crap, what did that command mean again? I tried to remember what Taze had told me. Most of them involved being in front of the leader, so...As fast as I could and already breathing hard, I loped back toward the leader, stopping directly in front of her and standing perfectly still like Taze had told me to do. I really hope he didn't steer me wrong...

"Glad to see your friends have already educated you." She commented evenly. The run had barely affected her. Meanwhile, I was breathing hard, my sides heaving. Her expression had lost its terrifying anger, but still held a serious and stern look that told me it could come back out at any moment. Her eyes alone were like knives grazing the soft spots of my very being. And through the rest of that day's training, those knives didn't become any less sharp. This wasn't going to be easy. I should have expected this. 

---

At last, as the day's light was left burning out on the horizon, the snow leopard lead me to her camp. Our training for the day was over. As soon as we entered the clearing she split off from me and headed directly for a dark den on the other side of a huge rock in the center of camp. I had to guess that's where her cubs were waiting. She'd told me my comrades would be around to help me settle in, so I glanced around to find- 

"So how was your first day?" Leartes was trotting up to me with a smile, an amused look on his face. I probably looked like hell. It was weird seeing him in another camp's camp and greeting me like we weren't enemies just the day before. 

"I felt like a piece of prey about to have my throat ripped out!" I blurted out, my eyes wide. "Is that what everyone else went through?" Leartes chuckled. 

"Yup, and that was only one day of it for you. She might continue to treat you that way for a while yet until you're caught up with us, but I don't know. She never tells us what the plans are. We're nearly always left in the dark about the goings on behind the scenes but..." Leartes must have seen the motivation falter in my eyes. "...But it does get easier if you stick it out. Once you're caught up with the rest of us, she'll answer any questions you have- without yelling at you." He smiled, and turned to show me to the freshkill pile. It was larger than the average pile. "She's a tough mentor, but it'll make us all tough. And she's not so bad once you get to know her." Somehow, I had my doubts, but I didn't voice them. It was clear that Leartes probably felt some loyalty to Andromeda. Maybe all of the assassins did. And now I was the new guy. And I don't know what to expect.