The above photo is what I imagine the Kilangar to look like. Enjoy!

"What do you have for me to learn today?" Kiela asked the second she arrived at the coast.

Pather smiled. "Today we will use the Kilangar." He lifted a round, disk like object from the rock before him and held it out for Kiela's inspection.

The Kilangar was flat on the top and bottom, with holes carved out of its face. There was a carved out inner circle to it, and a leather wrapped grip ran through this. The top half of the circle was rimmed with serrated spikes, and the bottom was sharpened to a fine edge.

Kiela reached out and attempted to lift it, and winced. It was much heavier than she expected.

"The Kilangar can be thrown or used in hand to hand combat. The holes here," He gestured to those in the face, "Are where ropes can be affixed if it is thrown. This is beneficial for easy retrieval. The outer edge can also be used as a grip and therefore two hands can also be used. As it is very dangerous and we have no guards, we shall practice on dummies."
Pather walked over to a straw-stuffed leather dummy that appeared to have been run over several times by a moose. He then went on to demonstrate the proper way if throwing the Kilangar, throwing it as though it weighed nothing. Kiela's arms almost fell off with one heave. They then affixed ropes to the holes, which Pather called triulin. The ropes through the triulinni helped guide the weapon while it was in the air, helping it hit a moving target. After they had practiced with the Kilangar or several hours thy strapped the guards to their limbs and practiced with the daggers until Lakra appeared for Kiela's archery lesson. It had been a few weeks since she had first begun shooting, and Kiela's progress had astounded both Lakra and herself. Pather had just laughed and said that he was not surprised.
"Today we will begin shooting a moving target." Lakra said without preamble.
Kiela frowned. "How are we going to do that? Are we going to hunt?"
"No," Lakra replied, " we aren't going to hunt."

"You are going to shoot me." Pather said. He placed a thin stone slab on the ground and shifted to his bird form.

Kiela gasped and sent a panicked look towards Lakra. "Pather!" she gasped.

"It's okay." Lakra said. "I already know. I guess that you're a shifter too?"

"Was." Kiela replied. "Jarnvôsk stripped me of my wolf form."

"He did not strip you." Lakra replied sternly. "He only hid what was always there. Anyways, Pather will fly and you will make an attempt I hit him. The stone will shield him from your arrows."

Kiela nodded and took up her stance. With a beating of wings Pather laboriously took flight, lifting the plate until it covered his entire body.

Kiela aimed an arrow at his chest and released, but it landed a few feet away from the stone plate.

"Aim where he will be, not where he is." Lakra said.

Kilea aimed in front of the plate and was rewarded by a pinging sound as the arrow hit the stone and bounced off.

"I did it!" She shouted.

"That you did." Pather replied, drifting down to the ground again in human form.

"You must learn to do it every time." Lakra chided her. "Again."

Once more she took aim at the target, letting the arrow cut through the clear air.

***

The day had been gruelling. As her training progressed her so did the difficulty of the tasks that she was asked to preform. Both Lakra and Pather strove for perfection, and would not let her slack. By nightfall Kiela's limbs were coated in sweat, and her breaths heaved in her chest. Eventually Pather called the practice to a halt.

"I will see you tomorrow." he said simply, before the night absorbed him like a shadow.

"Come." Lakra told her, turning away. "I will show you a place where you may wash the grime from your skin." She led Kiela through the forest, following the line of the cliff. The trees here seemingly grew out of the rock, and their view of the ocean was often obscured by tough bushes and scraggly shrub. Eventually they reached a point in which the cliff leading down to the ocean was visible. There was an opening in the rock that seemingly led to a cave. Lakra gestured for Kiela to descend.

"This is where we come to bathe." she said. The black rock walls framed the tunnel that they found themselves in, and steam rose from the deep. As they ventured down into the tunnel the temperature climbed and the humidity rose. Eventually Kilea stepped further and her toes splashed into a puddle of water. She withdrew immediately for she did not wish to get we moccasins wet.
"I will leave you here," Lakra said. "Walk along the coast and you will reach the path that leads back to Kithnae.

Kiela listened to her footsteps fading away before she slipped her dress over her head and stepped into the water. Surprisingly, it was warm, almost hot. Kiela spotted a glow and began to wade towards it, curious. She rounded a corner and the cave brightened. In front of her was a large pool of water. On the far cave wall ran a steady stream of water, and Kiela found it warm to the touch. The water, she discovered, came from a pool that ran through the rock near the ceiling. Underneath that, separated by a layer of stone was a slit that led to a cave filled with torches. These provided light and heated the water. Kiela let the water run over her head. So the stone carvers are not relegated to making weapons, she thought to herself. She enjoyed cleaning herself for the first time since she had left her home.

***

"And she told me that you said...!"
"Miranah I have already told you that I did nothing of that sort. Shiibah is no friend of mine and I have not gone around insulting you to her. Now please, let me eat!" Miranah huffed and backed away, returning to the good table. Kiela sat down heavily between Lee and Kym, placing her head on the table.
"More drama?" Lee asked sympathetically.
"You know it." Kiela replied. "This whole this is getting ridiculous."
"Can I help?" Kym asked.
"Honestly," Kiela replied. "I just need a distraction. Tell me a story."
"What story?" Kym asked.
"You mentioned on my first day that your totem was Shwamrek, the rabbit. Tell me the story about him."
"Her." Fip corrected. "She's also my totem. Don't go hopping around insulting her."
"Okay." Kym gave in. "This is the story of Shwarmrek the rabbit.

"Shwamrek was the daughter of. Arabelle the deer and Ragwan the snake. He had three mortal siblings, and was the only one who could join her parents in the heavens. When Shwamrek was but a small child her mother and father had a falling out, and her mother banished him from her tent. Rawgran attempted to remain a part of her life as she was growing, but as a father he failed miserably. Shwamrek grew into a beautiful woman with satin hair and dark eyes. She fell in love with a young man an for a time they were happy. The man went to Rawgran to ask his daughter's hand in marriage, but Rawgran bitterly refused. He turned to drinking and foolishly challenged his rival Garam to a duel, which in our culture is always to the death. When he realized what he had done Rawgran ran away, leaving his family behind. Garam seemed out Shwamrek and threatened to kill her lover if she did not pay the blood price that her father owed. Shwamrek's beauty transfixed him and he hoped to have her as his own. Garam said that if she lost he would kill a member of her family, one that she chose, and if she won she could kill him. Shwamrek had no choice but to agree. She fought bravely, and managed to knock the dagger from Garam's hand. He drew another from his sleeve without her notice and this won the duel. The next day Garam arrived at her door and demanded to know her choice of who he was to kill. He had worn his golden breastplate and polished his helmet to perfection to gain her admiration. As soon as she saw him Shwamrek fell to her knees and pretended to be overcome by his handsomeness. She immediately asked him to marry her, and Garam immediately agreed. He never suspected that she had an ulterior motive. Shwamrek asked if she could make her choice after their wedding day as she did not wish to spoil the event with such an unpleasant task, and Garam was so enraptured that he have his assent.
"The whole village came to see them wed and Garam was beyond happy. That night he asked her which family member she had chosen. She batted her eyelashes and asked. 'Garam, are we not married?'
Startled, he said 'Yes.'
'And are we not now family?'
His eyes shifted and his Adam's apple bobbed. 'Yes.' he replied, 'We are.'
'Then I choose you!' She shouted with an ugly snarl, and thrust her dagger into his hand. Garam was forced by the magic compulsion of the oath that he gave to kill himself, and Shwamrek's family was saved.

"As she is totem, I am protective towards my family. Shwamrek was willing to pay the blood price, but Garam cheated and she ended his life with her cunning. She is one to be envied."

Kiela nodded, but she believed that Shwamrek had been cruel as well to play upon Garam's emotions. There is no such thing as black and white, she thought to herself as she leaned back in her chair. And people aren't colours.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE CHAPTER! PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE AND COMMENT, IT REALLY HELPS ME TO IMPROVE.