Calvin wiped his sweaty palms on his legs. Today was the day of his mating ceremony and he was nervous as hell. Sure everyone said they found their perfect soulmate that way. It always worked because it was magic. and once the ceremony ended, the bond was stuck. That's what bothered him, because with his luck, something was going to go wrong.

The 20 year old leopard boy tucked a strand of wavy blonde hair behind his round furry ear. Calvin was sitting inside a small hut with only one room. Just as he was starting to wonder if he was going to sit here all night, an elder of the clan stepped into the hut. He motioned with one hand for Calvin to follow and then set off at a brisk pace for the an area set outside the clan's camp. Once they reached a clearing in the trees, the elder stopped and pointed to the center of the circle where a fire burned in a brazier of some sort.

"It is time to start the ceremony," The elder said before leaving. Calvin eyed the figures on the edge of the circle, all veiled from head to foot in black. Obviously all available women of the clan. Swallowing hard, he headed for the center of the circle, tail twitching in nervous excitement.

Sasha prowled through the bushes, in a way, this was her method of relaxing. The wolf woman had it rough the past night. She hated being an object to men and the thought of her being offered to the clan's leader's son was simply disgusting. Instead, she had ran away for the evening, looking for whatever mischief she could get herself into. This wasn't hard, especially since she was known to go wandering into other clan's precious soil.

Smoke was coming from near by and Sasha's curious nature got the better of her, her ears pointed twitching and bushy tail swishing as she crept up at what seemed to be a ceremony. She was very hard to spot due to her rather vertically impaired figure. She stood around 5'2" and her mischief was not only because of her clan's nature, but also because she was only about to turn 19. Perfect! She thought with a devious grin, her icy eyes scanning the surroundings. Figures, dressed from black head to toe. Maybe a ritual? She didn't know anything of the clan's rituals near by, but she really didn't give a damn at this point. She stood up and hid behind a hut, scurrying along to find something similar to the black outfits, whom who she had thought men were wearing. Finding something similar, she crept along back, dressed head to toe in black and snuck herself in between other black dressed figures.

It seemed as no one had noticed her and she was in the clear. Two male figures came out from a near by hut, a blonde male looking extremely nervous, "Hey," Sasha whispered over to a figure next to her, "Is this a sacrifice?" She questioned in a whisper that couldn't be distinguished as neither a man or woman. Without much luck, she didn't get a reply and had to wait to see what would happen. Hopefully, it was some sort of sacrificial ritual she would partake in. Oh, how the wolf loved those.

Calvin looked down at the fire in front of him. In the center of the brazier was a pole of some sort that wasn't burning. It took out about a foot from the fire and had a look like it had been gripped many times. The leopard man just stood there for a few good seconds. This would be so much easier if someone had told him what he was supposed to do. Instead, the clan was so secretive about their rituals. Until a child came of age on his or her twentieth birthday, they knew nothing of the ceremony.

Finally figuring there was nothing better to do, Calvin reached out and took hold of the pole. It was cool to the touch, but he barely had time to register that before a yellow flame leapt out and ran up the pole unlike any fire Calvin had ever seen. It singed his hand and he jumped back from the pole instantly, holding his hand to his chest. When he looked though, there was no mark on his hand. What the heck kind of ceremony was this!?

The little yellow flame wasn't done yet though. It jumped to the ground and made a blazing trail straight for one of the veiled figures whom Calvin was pretty sure was quite a bit shorter than the others. it appeared to leap into her hand for a second before disappearing.

With glowing eyes of excitement, Sasha peered at the pole in the center wanting to do nothing more than howl. Other clan's rituals were so strange, but intriguing. The wolf had never seen anything like this before. Why is he just standing there? She questioned, blinking as he took a hold of the pole and almost as quickly took his hand away. The flame that emitted from the pole was kind of cute, actually. So cute that the girl wanted to touch it! Her wish was granted a little sooner than she expected as she saw the blaze coming straight at her. Maybe it knew she wasn't apart of this clan?

Sasha took a few steps back to try and escape the flame, but it was too late. The small flame burned her hand for a split second, causing her to whimper, "Ow!" She yelped, blowing on her, what had seemed untouched hand. She had, had enough of adventure for one day. As the woman rubbed her hand, she barely noticed that the hood of her veiled self slipped off of her head, her pointed wolf ears hitting the cool breeze of the night. Sasha felt eyes on her, her ears pressing against the sides of her head as she stood there, petrified. She had never been caught before intruding on other clan's business nor did she wish to be beheaded or something crazy. Run, She thought to herself, but her short body still stood frozen in place, eyes wide and ears pressed sheepishly against her head.

A murmur swept through all present as the chosen girl's hood slipped off. Calvin blinked and stopped mid-lick of his hand. No matter how he peered at the girl, she was definitely someone strange. Other women were throwing off their veils and demanding questions. The elder had run off, presumable to tell someone about this. Calvin ignored all that though. He took a couple of steps toward the strange girl, tilting his head in curiosity.

"Hey you. What's your name? You're not a leopard right?" he asked softly. She looked ready to bolt, so full of confusion and fear. Calvin supposed he should be feeling some of that too since he was almost certain he was right in predicting something wrong would happen with his ceremony. Instead, he just felt curious. Maybe he was just too much cat.