Earth ended up being a failure.

Amneris went there while everyone was sleeping. She hovered above the planet, allowing her power to flow over it. Nothing supernatural stood out. Well, not including the usual supernaturals the Humans thought to be 'just a myth'. She doubted anyone would've noticed her show of power, but it wasn't impossible. Amneris decided she would check back later to see if any new conspiracy theories had appeared.

The message light on her phone was flashing once she got home. Amneris opened it, finding a rather long message from her daughter. It seemed that she thought one of her friends, Dex, was the one who poisoned her. Amneris frowned at the name. She'd met her daughter's friends but that name she didn't recognise. She was about to call Hathor before realising she would be asleep at this hour. Probably. The call could wait for tomorrow.

Amneris stopped at the door to her room, hand hovering over the doorknob. She had every intention to go to bed, knew Colt would bite her arse off for not sleeping if she didn't, but wasn't tired. And while laying with her boyfriend sounded like a good way to take her mind off the failure that was Earth, Amneris knew she would only spend the night staring at a wall. Drinking that open bottle of wine on the kitchen bench didn't sound like a good way to spend the night either, so she zapped to the Palace.

The training room was empty at this hour, much to Amneris' relief. She was half-expecting to find a Nightwalker or two, but none were there. Perhaps they were out on the town tonight. That was a good thing. She wasn't in the mood to share the room tonight. Bandaging her fists, Amneris looked over the weapons rack. There were a large variety of choices but she was immediately drawn to the wooden staff. It was, after all, her preferred weapon.

She ran her hand along the polished wood, a small smile appearing at the familiarity of it. Amneris hadn't used her staff in a while. Apparently it was not appropriate for covert missions. She missed the feel of it. The stability that came with it. Amneris twisted the staff between her hands, starting slow but quickly moving until even her eyes struggled to keep up with the speed.

"Helia."

Amneris yelped, turning on her heel, the polished wood stopping just shy of Lvaane's face. "Fuck!" she breathed, lowering the staff. "How do you do that?"

"I may be old," her father said, taking the staff from her with a half-smile, "but I am in no way incompetent." He knocked her leg lightly with the butt of the staff. "Care for a match?"

Grinning, Amneris grabbed the other staff and jumped into one of the rings. She held the staff in one hand, taking up her usual defensive position, and waved her hand in a 'come at me' motion. Lvaane appeared in front of her, his own position similar to hers.

Lvaane struck first. With one strike, he'd brought the staff down upon her. She blocked from above. He moved again, slower this time, but aiming for her side. Once again, she blocked. He feigned to the right. She saw it coming, blocking effortlessly and giving her adoptive father a flat look. Something in his sapphire eyes glimmered. Lvaane took a step back.

In a blur of motion, he attacked. Left, right, middle, left, top, right, left, top, right. Each move came faster than the next. Amneris struggled to keep up. But she was able to do so. Lvaane swung the staff toward her head. She ducked, sweeping a leg beneath his feet. He jumped. She rolled behind, throwing an attack from above. He spun, the strike blocked. Less than a second later, the wood of his staff was slammed into her side. She stumbled, growled, and countered.

It was clear Lvaane was expecting a front on attack. It was her original plan. Instead of doing so, Amneris slid between his legs, jumping to her feet behind him at sweeping the staff beneath his feet. Lvaane fell to the ground with a thud. He recovered quickly, flipping upright to block the jab Amneris made with the butt of the stuff. She spun, attacking to his left, spinning again to the right before aiming between the legs. Lvaane avoided the strike with a one-handed backflip.

Amneris blew golden strands of hair from her face. "Show-off."

She dashed forward again, about to make another strike-

Her form flickered. No!

Seconds later, Amneris' staff was knocked from her hand and she was flipped to the ground. Lvaane held the butt of his own staff at her throat. Sighing, Amneris raised her hands in surrender.

She huffed as he pulled her to her feet. "Lucky strike," Amneris muttered, picking up her staff. She took the one her father was holding and placed them both on the rack.

Wordlessly, she opened the small fridge next to the rack, pulling out two bottles of water. One she tossed over her shoulder to Lvaane. The other she opened and took a long drink from before pouring the rest of its contents over her face. For a moment, Amneris stood there, dripping. She tossed the now-empty bottle into the bin.

"Thanks for the match," she said, unwrapping her hands as she made her way to the stairs.

"Helia."

She stopped.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

Amneris glanced over her shoulder, forcing a smile. "It's nothing. Really."

"You are a bad liar and we both know it." Lvaane placed his half-empty bottle on top of the fridge. He took a step toward her and held his arms out. "Come here."

Sighing, Amneris walked to her father. She pressed her brow against his chest, arms hanging limply as he hugged her. She didn't know how long it took to muster the strength to return the motion. It felt like forever.

"I'm scared to shift," she eventually said. "I'm scared that, if I do, I'll lose control again. I don't want that to happen."

She felt Lvaane smile. "This explains why you only train alone. In the middle of the night." That last part was pointed enough that Amneris flinched involuntarily.

"You challenged me," she muttered, hitting his back lightly.

"I think I can tell when my own daughter needs to - what's the phrase? - let off steam."

She smiled.

He kissed her hair. "On a more serious note, Helia, you will have to shift. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not this year. The day will come, though."

"I know." Amneris looked up at him. "Can you help me?"

"Of course."

"Now?"

Lvaane tipped his head back and laughed. "No. Not now." He glanced out the window. "Sunrise is only hours away and you need sleep."

"We need sleep," she corrected. "Actually, no. You need sleep. I'm fine."

Her father would have none of that. Keeping an arm around her waist, he led Amneris from the training room, up the stairs, and to the door of her room. She had taken a step inside when he said, "And I expect to see you at breakfast in the morning."

Amneris shook her head with a smile. "Goodnight."