#stilesxoc

"I love you too," she hung up the phone and set it next to the bag. She turned to the sound of approaching footsteps to see Phil leading Kira and Malia towards her. "Bambi!" she exclaimed before Malia rushed over and tackled her in a hug.

"What are we doing today?" the werecoyote asked as she swayed them.

Ramsey pointed to the bag, "I want you to be a better tracker than the werewolves in this town. So I hid something in the forest and you will have an hour to find it."

Malia pulled back, "What do I get if I find it?"

The redhead grinned, "You'll get first pick from the deer I hunted last night."

Malia's eyes widened in excitement, "I want a whole leg."

Phil knelt next to the duffel bag and lifted a sheathed katana, "You make it sound like you two are eating a turkey." He passed a sealed bag to Ramsey.

Kira pointed to the sword in the Gorgon's hand, "You have a katana?"

He stood up as his snakes smiled at the kitsune, "It was a gift from a friend back in the Taisho period. It isn't a Hatorri Hanzo, but it should work just fine."

Kira nodded and held up her own katana, "Mom wanted you to look at mine. See if I need to make any changes to it."

He accepted the katana and removed the sheath, "Hm..." he maneuvered it around before he balanced it on his index finger, "It was made with excellent craftsmanship. The balance is spectacular. I wouldn't change a thing." He placed the sword back in the sheath before he handed it back to her, "Now I want you to stand over there and take a fighting stance." She did as she was told.

A few feet behind the sword-wielding pair, Ramsey opened the sealed bag and held it under Malia's nose. "Okay, that is the scent. Once you've got it, go find it." The werecoyote took a couple of quick sniffs before she took off into the woods. Ramsey approached Phil as she set the timer on her phone. She looked up to see the stance Kira had taken, "Widen your feet a little."

Kira looked at her in confusion before she looked at her feet, which were only a few inches apart, "What's wrong with how my feet are?"

Phil walked over to her and tapped her right foot with his left, "If your feet are too close your opponent could knock you off balance. Your feet should be shoulder width apart."

"Oh, okay," the kitsune said before she maneuvered herself into a better position, "How is that?"

The older man roughly shoved her shoulder, and she barely moved, "Much better. Now, I hope you don't take offense to this training. Your mother told me to train you like the soldiers I've trained in the past."

Kira shook her head, "No. Do what you have to do."

Ramsey chuckled, "Just be glad he isn't training you like a Spartan. That was the worst summer of my life."

Phil turned, and his snakes tilted their head to the side, "But you know how to fight now. So why are you complaining?"

"Because the training was torture," she deadpanned.

He chuckled, "Be glad we are not actually in Sparta. The heat makes the training worse."

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Ramsey sat on the ground with her back leaned against a tree as she watched Kira and Phil trade blows with their swords. Malia jogged over to her holding Scott's jacket, "I got it. I don't know why you made it Scott's jacket."

Ramsey stopped the timer on her phone with 15 minutes remaining, "It was the first thing I grabbed this morning. Next time I might add Derek or Peter's jacket to trick you."

The werecoyote sat next to her, "Do you talk to dad often?"

The redhead sighed, "Sometimes. Occasionally, he shows up for dinner on Fridays. But it makes Scott and Melissa a little uncomfortable."

"Do you think he'd want to see both of us?" Malia asked as she lay her head on Ramsey's shoulder.

"I can ask him. But he is usually off doing his own thing. Derek barely sees him."

"Speaking of the sourwolf, he asked if I wanted to join you and him for game night," she said as she wrapped one of Ramsey's curls around her finger.

The redhead snickered, "He just wants me to beat someone else at Monopoly. It's usually just Phil, Derek, and I on game nights. I'm glad he invited you, I didn't think you would be into that."

"Will there be snacks?"

Ramsey nodded, "Phil usually makes a full spread of finger foods and I always bring my own stuff."

"Then you should have invited me before," the werecoyote pulled on the curl, "I don't really remember how to play Monopoly though."

"That's fine, we can help you. Plus it makes it easier to bankrupt you," she said before Malia started to pinch her sides, "I'm joking!"

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After a couple more hours of training, Kira collapsed onto her back as she tried to catch her breath. Phil wiped the sweat from his brow, "You learn fast. I'll let our mother know how much you've progressed in such a short time."

Kira just held up a weak thumbs up. Ramsey looked over at the girl as she and Malia stood up. "I think you killed her," the redhead muttered.

Phil picked up the duffel bag after setting his sword inside, "She'll be fine after a bit. Why don't you and Malia head on back to the house? I'll drop Kira off once she catches her second wind."

"You got it daddy-o," Ramsey said with a finger fun, "I parked my car outside the preserve. Let's go get your deer leg."

~END~