Then she let Nox take her.

Nox’s face lit up immediately.

"I knew it!"

She held Mel close, gently running her hand through her fur.

Mel didn’t resist.

She even leaned slightly into it.

But through the link..

Arthur felt it.

"...You like that."

Mel didn’t respond.

But the feeling was obvious.

Comfort.

Mixed with a bit of pride.

Arthur chuckled.

"Acting tough for no reason."

Nox looked at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He waved it off.

Nox went back to admiring Mel.

"She’s really soft..."

Mel stayed quiet, but didn’t pull away.

Arthur shook his head.

"...You switched up fast."

But it made sense.

Nox had tried to save her before.

That kind of thing stuck.

Arthur could feel it clearly now.

Respect.

Trust.

Not full.. but enough.

From the side, Selene muttered,

"She’s already picking favorites."

Arthur smirked.

"Seems like it."

Then..

A cough.

Everyone froze slightly.

Arthur didn’t need to look.

He already knew.

Commander Lyra.

She stepped forward, arms crossed.

Her gaze moved from Mel... to Arthur... then to the rest.

"...Enjoying yourselves?"

No one answered.

Arthur scratched his head lightly.

"A little."

Lyra’s eyes rested on him for a second.

Then...

A small smile formed.

Cold and sharp.

Arthur felt it immediately.

"...Yeah. Here it comes."

The others felt it too as the mood shifted quickly.

"That’s enough," Lyra said.

Her voice was calm.

Too calm.

"Since everyone is here..."

She took a step forward.

"We’ll begin."

Arthur straightened slightly.

"So what’s the plan?"

Lyra’s smile didn’t fade.

"I prepared something special."

Silence followed until Torren behind him whispered,

"...We’re dead."

Arthur almost laughed.

They had just come back from a mission.

And already..

Back to this.

Lyra’s gaze shifted again.

"To be clear..."

She paused.

"This includes the cub."

Nox froze.

"...Wait, what?"

She looked down at Mel.

Then back at Lyra.

"She’s still small."

Lyra didn’t react.

"She’s part of the squad now, isn’t she?"

Arthur spoke this time.

"...She is."

Lyra nodded.

"Then she trains."

Simple and direct with no room for argument.

Nox looked down at Mel again.

"...Sorry."

Mel blinked confusedly.

But Arthur stepped forward slightly.

"It’s fine."

He glanced at Mel then added,

"We’ll manage."

Through the link, he felt it. There was no fear or hesitation.

Just... readiness.

Arthur smiled faintly.

"...Good."

He looked back at Lyra.

"Alright."

"If you’re all done relaxing, we’ll begin."

The squad straightened almost at once. The earlier light mood faded, replaced with something more focused. No one joked now.

Arthur shifted slightly where he stood, his gaze fixed on her. Mel stayed on his shoulder, quiet, her attention lingering on the group.

Lyra glanced across all of them before she spoke again.

"This session is simple."

No one believed that.

"I’ll be assessing your growth since the last mission," she continued, "then we move into personal training."

Arthur folded his arms loosely.

"Straight to the point."

Lyra didn’t react, but her eyes flicked toward him for a second before moving on.

"I’ve already reviewed your performance."

A few of the squad members stiffened at that.

"I received a full report from Ryn."

Ryn, who had been leaning against the wall, gave a small shrug when a few eyes turned to him.

"Don’t look at me like that. You all knew I was noting it."

A low groan came from Torren.

"Yeah, but we didn’t think you’d report."

Ryn smirked.

"I report what matters."

That settled it.

Now they knew this wasn’t just general training. This was specific.

Detailed.

Every mistake, every hesitation... seen and noted.

Lyra continued.

"Your strengths. Your weaknesses. Where you were useful and where you weren’t."

Nox looked down slightly.

Selene noticed and nudged her lightly with her elbow.

"Hey."

Nox didn’t respond, but she straightened a bit.

Lyra’s voice didn’t soften, but it wasn’t harsh either.

"The goal is simple. You get better."

No long speech.

No extra words.

Just that.

Arthur nodded slightly.

"Fair enough."

But even with that, no one relaxed.

Because they all knew how Lyra trained people.

Intent or not... it was going to be tough.

Lyra looked at them one last time.

"We’ll start one by one."

A brief pause.

"Nox."

Nox flinched.

It was small, but everyone saw it.

Torren let out a quiet whistle.

"Tough start."

Nox shot him a look.

"Not helping."

Arthur smirked faintly but said nothing this time.

Nox stepped forward anyway.

Her usual energy wasn’t there yet.

She stood in front of Lyra, shoulders straight, but her eyes gave her away.

Still bothered.

Lyra studied her for a moment.

Then she spoke.

"Your scouting was good."

Nox blinked, clearly not expecting that.

"It’s one of the reasons you were selected."

Nox straightened a bit more.

"...Yes, ma’am."

"But," Lyra added, "that’s not your problem."

Nox froze slightly.

A few of them exchanged looks.

Lyra went on without pause.

"You can improve your scouting, yes. But that’s not where you lacked."

Nox’s expression shifted. Her hands clenched slightly at her sides.

She already knew.

Lyra’s voice stayed calm.

"In combat... your presence drops."

Silence.

Nox didn’t argue.

She couldn’t.

Because it was true.

Torren rubbed the back of his neck.

"...Yeah."

He didn’t say it loud, but it was enough.

Nox heard him.

Lyra stepped closer.

"You hesitate. Not out of fear, but because you don’t know what to do."

Nox’s jaw tightened.

"...Yes, ma’am."

Her voice was lower now. Honest.

Lyra didn’t press her further.

"That’s what we fix."

Nox looked up.

There was a pause.

Then she spoke, a bit faster this time.

"I... I know I wasn’t useful."

Selene frowned slightly.

"Nox.."

But Nox continued.

"When we got surrounded... I couldn’t do anything. I just ran around."

Her voice shook a little.

"And when the boss came... it still ended the same way."

Her hands clenched tighter.

"If I was better, maybe.."

"That’s enough."

Lyra cut her off.

Not harsh.

Just firm. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Nox went silent.

Lyra’s gaze didn’t change.

"You’re not carrying that."

Nox blinked.

Lyra continued,

"You did your role. You stayed alive. You supported where you could."