Taylor watched every movement his companion made, from the way his feet shifted to adjust to the weights to the movement of the muscles and tendons in Mekoâ€™s arms. He cataloged every detail, making mental note at the way he held the blades, just as he expected more carnie than military, and the way his eyes honed in on the targets. It looked almost like the wolf inside peeked through for just that split instant. Meko reminded him a lot of himself and that was nearly enough to startle him. Nearly.<br/><br/>His eyeâ€™s had a little trouble following the blades when he first started throwing but then they adjusted to allow him to witness ever flip as the knives left the faeâ€™s hands until they embedded themselves into their target. With every hit his eyebrows lifted just a tad more in surprise. He had run through a lot of possibilities but that was not one of them.<br/><br/>Taylor stepped towards Meko and unstrapped the wrist weights and let them drop to the ground just an inch beside Mekoâ€™s foot. He had seen the accuracy and speed when it was limited and now wanted to see what it was like unhindered. Frankly, Taylor was starting to not mind that eventually his life may be in the hands of the boy. No, with the experience of hardship Meko had just shared he didnâ€™t deserve to be called a boy. He wasnâ€™t exactly a man but he was damn close enough to it. â€œI know what itâ€™s like to be the outcast.â€ He admitted reluctantly, he did not share much about himself to anybody. That meant they were getting close and if he was close to somebody he would hurt if he lost them.<br/><br/>â€œI was used for my curse when I was in the military. Sure, I was promoted and given the opportunity to become Spec Ops but I wasnâ€™t really one of them. Theyâ€™d listen in order to stay alive but when we werenâ€™t on missions I didnâ€™t have anybody. I was in a crowded room but completely alone.â€ Taylor cleared his throat and squeezed Mekoâ€™s shoulder a smirk sliding onto his lips to hide the pain and memories that had briefly been visible in his green eyes. â€œYou did great.â€ He paused for a minute before nodding towards the targets in a silent order to retrieve the blades. â€œLetâ€™s see it again.â€<br/><br/>He crouched down to retrieve the weights and the moment his fingers grazed them his entire body froze. Taylor tilted his head, closed his eyes, and slowed his breathing. The first two things he heard were his own heartbeat and the movements of his little warrior retrieving the blades. He focused a little harder and slowed his breathing a little more, his heart rate slowing and bringing to life the other sounds around him.<br/><br/>Taylor was almost sure that it was an animal approaching them but he wasnâ€™t willing to take the chance. Slowly his hand moved to unfasten his own weights and laid them softly onto the ground. After another moment his fingers curled around the hilt of two of his blades and launched them into the brush, never opening his eyes. He could hear the blades whistling through the air and finally he heard them embed themselves into flesh and bone.<br/><br/>Taylor just about jumped to his feet when he stood and moved towards whatever it was he had hit. He wasnâ€™t trying to kill whatever it was but he had intended on injuring it so it couldnâ€™t proceed closer or call a retreat. When he finally shoved the last limb away the tension in his shoulders dropped and he slowly went down to his knees. Paranoia was a dangerous thing to have, while it would undoubtedly keep them alive it could also cause moments like these.<br/><br/>He reached forward towards the injured animal and cooed soothing sounds. He would not ever admit he cooed, but he had a soft spot for animals. Timeâ€™s had changed so much in the past hundred years the wild cats had been shipped over as pets and most of them put down or released when the owners could no longer care for them. It took a special kind of person to control a wild anything, much less a cat or wolf.<br/><br/>â€œAlright, come on.â€ He whispered softly as he picked the baby panther up into his arms and stood. He could see the deep gash in the front right leg and he felt really horrible. Another nose echoed close to his feet and he looked down and almost laughed at the irony of this situation. â€œFine, be that way.â€ He picked up the other animal by the scruff of itâ€™s neck and settled it into his arms as well before returning to Meko. â€œTraining over for the day.â€ It was short and to the point as he beelined towards the secret tunnels. He needed to doctor the wound on the poor animal or else it could do permanent damage.