Mercure sat and stared at the hunting cat in front of him. Why had he chosen to breed her with Shihon's male? Nevermind, he knew why; the she-cat's partner wanted her bred for a certain trait and the only male with that trait available for stud at the time belonged to the Seeker. The wolv shook his head; he shouldn't have left her in the pan-thar's care. No, it wouldn't have been strange for him to stay to monitor the breeding, but part of his job as a Breeder was to please both hunting cats' partners, and that was what Shihon had asked.
He had been thrilled it was discovered that he had the rare affinity with the bred cats that made a good Breeder. Most Breeders were wolvs; if a hunting cat went into season, and her partner wanted her bred, he or she would take her to a Breeder, tell them what traits, if any, that he would like to see, and the Breeder would take care of everything. Finding the right male, of the ones available and whose partners were willing to breed, taking care of the pregnant females, and ensuring the health of the mother and cubs until they were weaned. This cat's partner wanted to breed for the rare blotch pattern, and while a few of the males had the pattern, the only one available for stud at the right time was in Shihon's care.
The she-cat, having finished bathing her young cubs, looked up at the wolv. She could sense his apprehension, and nudged his leg. He reached down and stroked her cheek.
"It's not your fault, you didn't ask him to tamper with your cubs. I should have known better than to leave you there with him, after the rumors about him tinkering with some of the other cats." A few rumors had been floating around, that he was splicing genes to make the cats stronger or faster, but as these were hard to prove, nothing had come of the talk. Now, there was proof that Shihon and his mate had been tinkering with the hunting cats genes. Bira, the hunting cat he was currently caring for, had five cubs. While two had the normal tawny yellow with little black spots and one had the target yellow with black blotches, the other two colors hadn't been seen before. At least, not in their recorded history; according to the records, there were unconfirmed reports of similar colors, but none proven. The female was a pale white grey with steel grey spots, and the male was the target blotch pattern, but in cream with red blotches.
Bira's partner was not pleased that his female had been experimented on, and at first blamed Mercure. Once it was determined that he had merely been deceived by Shihon, the pan-thar pair was brought in for questioning. After their "trial", they were forbidden to practice their skills, and their hunting cat was taken from them. Soon after, they left the tribe, and were seen heading for the shuttle launch field. The elders, not pleased that one of their most promising Breeders had been compromised, decided he would also be tried, but that it would wait until the cubs were weaned. It was not a good idea to disturb a nursing hunting cat by changing her caretaker.
The silver-coated wolv reached down and picked up one of the cubs. Even if a couple were oddly colored, they all seemed completely healthy. Hopefully that would work in his favor at his trial. Running a finger down the cub's spine, he smiled. Bira kept these cubs fed well, unlike a few of the other first time mothers he had dealt with recently. He replaced the red-blotched cub, then picked up each of the others in turn, to check their growth.
They all seemed to be gaining weight at about the same rate, so he was pleased. If they were growing at the normal rate, as they seemed to be, their eyes should open within a week. He placed the final cub back next to its mother, patted the patient she-cat on the shoulder, and headed out to find himself some dinner.
"I'll bring some back for you in a little while," he called back to the cat. As he walked out of his tent, he thought briefly about what might happen at his trial. He knew he could lose his rank; it didn't happen often, but it had been used as punishment before. He could also be suspended, not allowed to breed any hunting cats for a length of time. He doubted he would be banished; even Shihon hadn't recieved that punishment, though he and his mate left anyway.
He was sure there were other possiblities, but he couldn't think of anything that might be worse, and he refused to think of the one thing that would hurt him the most. It hovered in the back of his mind, though; the possibility that he would be forbidden to handle the hunting cats at all. He shook off the dour thoughts and made his way to the meat tent. After recieving the steaks and leg shank that he requested, he took the steaks to the fire and staked them over the flames. Running back to his tent, he gave the shank to Bira and dashed back to the fire to make sure his steaks didn't get over-cooked.

*****

Within a week all five cubs' eyes had opened, the first being the odd grey female, who appeared to have unusual bright green eyes. The other four followed quickly, the three "normal" colored ones showing the usual shades of brown, and the cream male sporting deep blue-green. Their personalities began to show, and aside from the unusual colors, they all seemed to have the correct temperament. Bira's partner, having gotten over his anger, often came to see how the cubs were progressing. He was thrilled with the black-blotched male, and was prepared to keep him, as long as no problems showed up before he was weaned.
One of the elders, who had been tasked with keeping an eye on the cubs' development, had even taken a shine to the grey female. If color was the only thing altered, he was considering taking her as his own pet. He was less than pleased by the method the new colors had been introduced, but he wasn't against a little more diversity, especially if the colors had been in the breed before. Mercure was hopeful that the elder would say only good things about his care of the cat and her cubs, and that the judges would take his love for the cats into consideration.
After the cubs could see, time seemed to fly. The weeks sped by as the five grew strong and fast, each gaining some small aspect over the others. The yellow male with blotches grew the fastest and was soon the largest of the group, while one of his yellow sisters was the fastest. The other yellow female was the boldest, and the grey was the friendliest. The cream male was the quietest; not in the shy and hiding way, though, but in a way that allowed him to sneak up on anyone he chose. He also seemed to latch on to Mercure in a way the others didn't, though they all spent large amounts of time fighting for his attention.
Before he knew it, Bira was beginning to wean the cubs and it was time for his trial. He was brought before the council of elders and the chief, and told his side of the story. The elder that had observed him came in and told his observations. The other elders conferred for a few moments, then the spokesman stepped forward.
"After hearing your testimony and the observations of our peer, we have decided your punishment. As you were simply decieved, and did not knowingly subject your charge to the tampering of the Seeker, we shall not hold that particular aspect against you. However, you did show bad judgement, and a less than desireable breeding practice. We have decided on a suspension, of sorts. You will not be allowed to breed any hunting cats for a period of one year. This includes handling a stud or caring for a bred or nursing cat, for any reason. Now this by itself does not provide a lesson in responsibility, so we have decided that you do not have to stay here. While it is not actually part of the punishment, we would like you to consider travelling to one of the bonding places and apply to bond a young dragon."
Now the chief spoke up. "I know you have enjoyed your work with the hunting cats, and you will be loath to leave them. But you will always be welcome back here if you do choose to try the bonding. Once the year is over, you will be eligible to breed any hunting cat whose owner wishes to use you. You have shown remarkable maturity in dealing with this dificult situation and we do not wish to punish you for it. Since the cubs have begun to be weaned, Bira's partner will be by tomorrow to pick her up and whichever cub he has chosen to keep and train himself. One of the elders will come by later to pick up the rest of the cubs and place them in the nursery, where they will stay until they are old enough to begin hunter training. The elder will also take whatever decision you have made to the council records." He looked at the wolv. "Do you find this judgement to be fair?"
"I do, sir. More than fair, given the circumstances. Thank you all." He bowed his head in the direction of the elders and walked from the room.
Outside the tent, he broke into a run; he had not been forbidden to deal with the cats! And being advised to go on a journey to one of the bonding places! When he had been ranked as a Breeder, he had been thrilled, as that was what he had always wanted, but a tiny part of him had been disappointed at not being a Seeker. Being a Seeker would have allowed him to go offworld and see the dragons the other Seekers sometimes spoke of. Occasionally, one bonded one of the dragons and didn't return; but he had been given permission to not only attempt to bond, but to return, and be welcome, if he did!
The only downside to the whole thing, other than the year of not breeding, was that if he left, it would probably also mean a full year without hunting cats at all. He hurried back to his tent to check on Bira and the cubs.

Mercure's Stats

Continued...