"Daddy!"

Shu'karr smiled even as the excited shrill pierced his ears when he stepped through the portal of his family apartment, dropping his gear to be able to snatch up his exuberant daughter as she barrelled into his arms in a whirl of fluff, and casually kicking the door shut behind him as he stabilised.  Coming home while Mya'le was awake was by far the highlight of his days, which were currently short given that it was winter and training was a bit more gruelling than usual due to festive season.

"You're up late," he commented, switching her into a carrying position as he scooped up his bag with his tail, transferring it to his free hand.

"We have to hang our baubles tonight Daddy," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh, that's right!" He hadn't forgotten of course, she had only been excitedly banging on about it since the school had started all their Christmas shenanigans.  "You and Mama got the baubles ready?"

Thud.  Rattle rattle.  Thud thud thud.  Rattle rattle.

Shu'karr glanced at the time on his comm, wondering how long his triad leader had been here already.  Tsa'run always made it a point to be at least fifteen minutes early to meets.  Shu'karr had rocked up half an hour earlier than their appointed time, and from the sounds of things Tsa'run was well settled in.  Shu'karr quietly shut his bag into a locker and walked to the doorway to the training room.

He only just saw the familiar form of Tsa'run in the mirrors that lined the training hall, in his favourite corner that was difficult to spot from the doorway unless one knew where to look.  He had that intense look about him that made him so intimidating to watch and even more to face off against, and while it seemed like he was concentrating on beating the stuffing out of the wooden dummy he had chosen, Shu'karr had no doubt that his presence had been noted.