Shadowhunter in the Apocalypse

The training hall was wide open, lined with racks of weapons and dummies cut to ribbons from years of use. Reed walked in behind Hale, letting the older man set the pace. Hale's presence alone was enough to straighten the trainees, they automatically lined up with a salute.

Hale's voice rang out with authority "At ease Shadow cadets."

There were easily 50 cadets in the room all who went at ease except for their eyes, all looking at Reed with such intensity he almost sighed openly.

Sometimes he felt life would be so much better if he wasn't so popular, but the House of Black was adamant on showing all their Hunters achievements…well not all of them, he was often sent on missions that had a little sprinkle of *Plausible deniability*.

They obeyed and he continued, "Everyone excluding Mia Hale should vacate the hall immediately until further notice."

All of them did as commanded but not before shooting a beautiful girl standing at the right corner a quick look, Reed knew they would no doubt gossip about this, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

He took one look at Little Mia who was NOT so little anymore.

The absolutely stunning girl that remained had short blonde hair that stopped at her neck, bright green eyes that showed how strong willed she was and she chose the skimpier leather armor reserved for females, something he was sure her dad didn't approve of.

Another thing that was clear was how decorated she was with tattoos that seemed to add to her rebellious aura, her body was what he would classify as fit and he could see she took the path of most shadow hunter girls and trained in a way that prioritizes flexibility and speed rather than strength, so she wasn't muscular and only had the faintest outline of abs, she was beautifully feminine…..very much to his dismay because he could already feel a headache coming.

Hale's tone softened only slightly but continued in his commanding tone no doubt to keep up appearances. "Hunter Reed this is Shadow Cadet Mia Hale, with a shadow endurance of five minutes twelve seconds she has mastered the shadow cat form. Weapons preferred are blades and arrows and she has been reliably tested to be excellent in close quarters and long-range combat. Her supervisor's note included that she is an adaptive fighter but with a stubborn streak."

Mia broke her posture, stepping half a pace forward. "With all due respect Hunter Reed, I'm afraid the report is not current."

Hale's jaw tightened. "Mia…"

She cut her father a glance, then turned deliberately to Reed. "I've pushed past that. I've mastered another form, but he doesn't want to let me show it."

Reed raised a brow. His was amused at the tone of her voice, was she looking to impress him at the risk of spiting her dad? No wonder the note added that she had a stubborn streak.

He gave her a disarming smile "And what is this form?"

Her lips curved in the faintest smirk. "Shadow Jaguar."

Hale exhaled through his nose, it was obvious he was embarrassed at her disrespectful display, but Reed waved it off. "Relax Old man, no one is here but us. If she says she has, let her prove it."

He didn't say anything but from the glare he shot Mia, he was sure Hale…no Commander Hale wasn't going to let this go without some punishment, it didn't look like his daughter cared though.

Mia drew a breath, and her body unraveled into a thick shadow and sunk to the ground.

The black mass surged outward, lengthening, reshaping with practiced precision. A jaguar took shape from the black, paws slamming against the ground, shoulders rolling with predatory power. Its head whipped out last.

Reed timed it mentally, 5 seconds, impressive but she needed to get that to less than 2 if she wanted to really become a professional, but they would work on that.

He realized too late that he was already considering teaching her.

Meanwhile, Mia had completed her transformation and stood still for his appraisal.

For a moment, it was impressive, and he was just about to say that too.

But then the form buckled. The beast's flanks rippled and collapsed, its body collapsing inward like smoke pulled by wind. The jaguar's snarl cut off into a soundless gasp as Mia was forced back into human shape.

Naked.

Reed didn't allow that to last for long though, in less than a second a thick shadow wrapped around her.

Her dad smiled thankfully at him; he had been about to do the same thing but had hesitated as one usually felt things that the shadow they controlled touched.

Mia turned into a normal shadow which took far less concentration and slipped into her clothes and materialized again in her human form.

Reed smiled at the stubborn beauty, "That was good, really good actually, but at least now you know why Commander Hale advised you not to show this form yet."

Mia's eyes met his, she was trying not to blush at what had just happened but she at least looked more vulnerable and willing to listen now, that was good.

It showed she was still teachable.

"Yes Hunter Reed"