He was wrenched from sleep by the sharp sting of wood striking his skull.  Before he had time to try and sort out what was happening, his whole body was pressed into the bed as the weight of an adult body climbed atop him.  Opening his mouth to cry out, he was rewarded with a hand suddenly clapped over his mouth and a wooden pole pressed against his neck.  Hunter’s raspy, slithering words filled the darkness of his room.  “Tomorrow, you will not cry out.  If you choose to waste your energy on childish actions, then you will lose every fight you have.”

Rage filled him and he fought to get free from his tutor's heavy grasp, but he found little purchase no matter how he thrashed.  "Typical."  Hunter’s voice slithered through the pitch once more as his weight seemed to evaporate off of Tekor.  Ripping his blankets off, Tekor drew his dagger from under his pillow and the darkness chuckled softly in response.  "That can't help you now.  You're already dead."  Hunter’s disembodied voice seemed to come from all around him and he had difficulty pinpointing just where the older man was.  "Training starts after you've eaten.  Don't eat too much.  Less to clean up that way."  

And then Tekor was alone.  He couldn't see but, he could feel that Hunter’s presence was gone.  Making his way to the curtains, he drew them open and let the moonlight spill into his room.  The door was shut but the window was wide open.  Outside, not far from his window, he could see Hunter making his way around the building and towards his mother's gardens.  The spot on his forehead where he had been hit throbbed and he grit his teeth.  Such a rude way to be awakened.

Despite the pain, he was looking forward to learning about hunting.  These methods of education were another discussion entirely.  He was the heir and deserved respect.  He was not to be beaten into awakening.  There were clearly rules about decorum that Hunter had never received.  For a fleeting moment, he thought about telling his father but knew that would only make him appear weak.

Walking over to the small desk in his room, he stabbed the dagger a few inches into the top of it.  The anger he felt ebbed slightly at the sight of it.  Though he had felt himself getting stronger, this was new.  This was proof to him, plain and clear, that he was chosen to lead.  Why else would he be gifted with such strength so soon?  Rage sufficiently quelled, he wandered over to his wardrobe and pulled out what he would wear for the day.  It didn't take him long to choose.  There was a tunic that was embroidered with forest lions that his mother had given him.  The plain trousers were secured with a leather belt imprinted with a diamond design like that of a snake’s scales.  Though he had thick and sturdy formal boots, he went with his lighter, much more informal day-boots.  Perhaps with his added strength, he could surprise his teacher and maybe get back at him for that stunt he pulled this morning.  

Now fully dressed, he stood there a moment and pressed a hand to his forehead.  The throbbing had returned and it left him swaying slightly.  Once more he doubted the true intentions of why his father had hired such a man.  As far as he could see, this was all a diversion to damage him in one fashion or another.  His gaze moved to the dagger still stuck in the desk.  At least Hunter had given him that.  He should find a way to use it on more than a table soon.  Provided, of course, that Hunter taught him something of worth.

Closing the wardrobe, he left the room in its current state of dishevelment; someone else’s mess.  Once more the guards of the halls paid him no mind as he ghosted down to the dining room.  The appearance of both his mother and his father openly surprised him.  Moving towards his chair, he glanced over to the empty part of the large table where Sasha used to sit.  Her chair was gone and no place had been set.  She had always been the one to get up with the sunset, like a nightlark. 

His father's voice filled the room and pulled him from his thoughts.  “Starting today, you are our only child.  Take your seat.”  His voice was stern and left no room for discussion.

Sliding into his chair, Tekor tore his eyes from the empty place setting and looked to his parents.  His mother sat in one of her long cream-colored dresses with red embroidered lions and deers dancing across it.  Her goblet, still full and apparently untouched, sat before her on the table.  His father held his goblet casually, rim tilted away from him slightly as though trying to protect the leather tunic he wore from the contents.  Some glimmer of happiness lit in his chest as he realized he would have their undivided attention going forward.  And, with Hunter’s instruction, he would be able to finally have the revenge he deserved against Sasha.  

“Your lessons yesterday, how did they go?”  It was his mother who spoke this time, her honeyed voice sounded patient and warm.  “Well, I hope.”

Despite how it sounded, he felt her concern was fake and forced, and it grated on his nerves.  

“It was fine.”  Tekor said flatly, knowing decorum demanded that he respond.

His father cleared his throat and locked eyes with him.  

With a sigh, Tekor continued.  “My tutor seems keen to teach me the ways of a hunter.  I’m grateful to you both for the opportunity to further my lessons and become a better heir for this family.”  It was practiced and devoid of any true emotional depth.

His father downed the cup he held and stood.  “Better.”  He said curtly as he placed the goblet back upon the table.

Tekor could only watch as his father left him there with his mother.  A servant seemed to appear from thin air carrying a plate of droybat and a glass of blood.  He could feel his mother watching him as he took up a spoon and got to work consuming his breakfast.  The sooner he got out of the dining hall, the better.

“Tekor.”  His mother’s voice was soft and called his attention like a caress against his cheek.  “I know you’re angry but it is important for you to understand that there is more to this that you are not aware of.  El guides all of us onto paths that we are meant to lead.  You must not put your own personal feelings into your actions.  If you let your anger take you, there will be nothing your father or I can do to protect you.  Do you understand?”

Her words made his food bitter and drove his appetite away.  Pushing the plate away, he felt the anger, that she had so calmly talked about, bubble back to the surface and threaten to spill out.

"Yes, mother."  Tekor said as he stood, words lashing out like a caged lion.

He could feel his mother's eyes on him but he didn't care.  The ethereal servant appeared again to get the door for him.  Her lithe hands grasping the handle and pulling it open did not go unnoticed and it made him stop a moment and take in her appearance. 

She appeared to be in her late teens, maybe twenties, but her blue eyes caught the candle light and glowed like a powerful elder vampiress.  He took note of her soft features and lightly tanned skin.  He committed all he could see to memory and idly wished that he could see her hair as well.  But she, as other servants did, had her hair tucked tightly into a servant’s bonnet.  Swallowing hard, he tried to stand tall like his father before leaving the room to head to his lessons.  

Even in the halls though, the image of her eyes boring into his own sent a twinge through him.  None of the other servants had looked at him like that.  Of all these useless souls, there was finally one that actually saw him.  The twinge shot through him again and he tried to move his mind to other matters.  No doubt his lessons would help with that soon enough.

The guards did nothing as he pushed open the doors to the garden courtyard and once more Hunter stood there waiting for him.  Stepping out into the courtyard, he moved to join his tutor there over the mark of El.

"Did you have a good breakfast?"  Hunter said ambivalently, as though his mind were on matters elsewhere at the moment.

"Yes."  Tekor's words rang hollow.  

"You're a terrible liar."  Hunter's statement was terse as he gave Tekor his full attention.

It took everything in him not to take a step back away from the intense gaze.  A smile broke out across the Hunter’s face, fangs flashing.

"But that will improve with time.  Tonight, we will work on your hearing.  Maybe then, you will hear how bad you sound."  Hunter's remark came with a chuckle.  "Now, close your eyes and listen."

With a sigh, Tekor complied.  Though he didn't understand the point of this, he would listen to his tutor's directions for now.  Eyes closed, he stood there listening and hoped that Hunter would tell him what he was supposed to do next.  Silence descended upon the courtyard and he felt the night air press around him like the force of nature that it was.  Thick and sweet smelling, it wrapped around him tightly like a cloak.

"What do you hear?"  Hunter's words whispered in his right ear and sounded like sand crushed against stone.

"Nothing."  Tekor was quick to reply unsure what he wanted him to say.

"Nothing?"  Once more Hunter's voice whispered in his ear.

He strained trying to find what it was that he was meant to hear.  The air pressed against him once more and he assessed the sound of the night around him.  The foliage that caught the breeze hissed as they pressed and slid against one another.  The trees of the courtyard joined in the floral chorus on occasion.  In one of the trees a nightlark had awoken and was singing its song.  

"There's a bird?"  His young voice was filled with uncertain hesitation.

"Hear past the bird."  Hunter's command seemed louder than before.

Nodding, he tried to do as he was told.  The breeze came again, and pressed against him.  The bird was yelling, screeching now.  But it wasn't just the bird; there were other things beginning to come out of the night.  The trees were not only playing their leaves, they were groaning with each breath of the wind.  He became aware of the wind pressing not just against himself but against Hunter.  The other man's clothes whipped through a gust and he became aware of where the older man was in relation to himself.

"What do you hear?"  Hunter asked the question once more.  

"Everything."  Tekor still just as quick to reply but winced as his own loudness hurt his ears. "I hear the wind in the trees. I hear you and your cloak..."  Tekor's words were softer this time as he whispered like Hunter had been earlier.

"Good.  You have some talent with this then."   Hunter's words sounded calculated as he heard the man walk around to his front, slowly, as though assessing him.  "Now we will try something new.  You will focus on my voice.  Push all the other sounds out.  Ignore them."