Sorry this took awhile. Exams and all that jazz. Hope you enjoy this one! This directly follows Part 2. It hopefully should let me write stuff that's happening now that we're already in-season.

---
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” quipped Julia.

“Hm?” Cliff looked up, looking at Julia, who came out of the girls’ locker room, fresh and fragrant in a flowery motif jacket.

“Snap out of it, Cliff!” the kinkajou giggled. “Did the cat get your tongue?”

The lynx chuckled. “Nah. I feel like a kid being called to the principal’s office. Mr. Svenlocke wanted to see me after practice,” he muttered, confused. He looked down the corridors which lead further into the stadium and back to the boys locker room, a hesitant earflick accompanied a nervous purr.

“Oh, he asked to see me yesterday,” Kasa drifted out of the girls room, her small figure making quiet steps that echoed the hallway. “He just wants to meet everyone; you’re likely the last one since you came back to Alaska late.” Her Russian accent was thick, but her voice soft.

Cliff sighed in relief, his eyes lingering on the snow leopard’s swishing tail before Julia snapped her fingers.

“Hm?” the lynx blinked, turning back to her.

“Just checking to see if you were still asleep. Maybe you still are,” Julia grinned, which only made Cliff feel more lost.

“I’m…I’m awake,” he meekly replied, though he wasn’t sure why he felt that he had to affirm that to himself.

“Feres is a great guy, he called me into his office before practice,” the kinkajou explained. “Don’t worry about the whole thing; just remember my advice.”

“Chill. Right.” Cliff nodded, purring amusedly.

---

The two lynxes sat, facing each other in silence, blinking as they stared eye to eye for a moment. Compared to Cliff’s brown-to-silver fur, Feres’ was shades of grey and silver. Shorter and more lithe, the silver lynx’s countenance was also much more dynamic.

Feres was the first to smile and speak, extending his hand with a motion that Cliff could only describe as flair. “A pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Matthiews.” His brown eyes were warm and inviting, and his smile genuine.

Cliff smiled back and nervously chuckled, but his tilted ears told Feres that he didn’t know why he said ‘again’.

“I shook your hand at the event in Montreal.” He reminded him, his smile still sincere. “Which, I might add was a great day to enjoy. I have to say the WCF has great talent for finding the perfect catering, and the people of Montreal are such great cooks,” he added, and Cliff could see his tail swishing wildly with excitement.

“O-oh! Yes,” Cliff’s ears flattened in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, It was all such a blur when people everywhere came to meet me.”

“Understandable,” the silver lynx casually laid back on his chair. “I’ve seen it so many times.” He emphasized, rubbing his chin. “Felidae Nutraceutical? You can’t imagine how many scientists and business people I have to shake hands with, and they expect me to memorize them all!” he shrugged with his arms thrown up in the air.

Cliff broke out laughing. “That reminds me of my dad,” he told him. “He tells me of all these people he has to know as chairman; I can barely handle it and I was just the event organizer.”

“Ahh yes, your father, I had a brief chat with him,” he quickly nodded, tapping his muzzle idly. “As far as I can tell F.N.’s had deals with WCF before I came into the company.”

Cliff nodded, earflicking to signal his acknowledgement when Feres
continued, same smile still on his face.

“I also came to realize then, too, that your father – Rowan Matthiews, is brother to the legendary Andrew Lambert, am I right?”

For a brief moment, Cliff could’ve sworn he saw a Cheshire grin from the silver lynx, which only made him shiver. “Y-yes.” He answered, suddenly feeling cold and heavy.

Feres paused, a thick silence permeated the room before he snapped his digits. “Ah, tea?”

The conversation was smoother from there, though Feres was clearly leading their discussion, often asking questions and taking Cliff’s answers over tea. That grin made the silver-brown lynx feel uneasy for the rest of the conversation although Feres was incredibly good at diffusing it. The topic of Andrew Lambert was avoided entirely, Cliff noticed, and he was glad. He couldn’t bear to hear his uncle’s name and Legendary in the same sentence, not when he remembered the state his uncle was in when he saw him sleeping on the couch.

---

The ride home was mellow and quiet, similar to the cold gloomy weather that draped itself over anchorage. Cliff unlocked the door with his spare key and entered; the day well past lunchtime. “I’m home,” he announced.

His uncle, the grey-muzzled Andrew stepped out to the hallway from the living room, looking at Cliff with a weak smile. “Welcome back, Cliff.”

There was a bit of warmth resurging in the younger feline; he couldn’t tell whether it was out of sympathy or it was out of hoping this was what he would see everytime he went through the doors.

“Nice to see you again,” Cliff swore that he was half-lying as he answered, coming forward to hug him. Beneath that distinct scent – one belonging to his uncle was that tinge that he associated with his drinking. He scrunched up his nose uncomfortably as he buried himself in Uncle’s shoulders, who returned the embrace affectionately, patting him on the back. Cliff swore that this hug was a half-lie too.

The younger lynx’s ears flattened themselves as they broke out of the hug. Andrew just looked proud of him, but staring at his uncle’s eyes Cliff felt a mixture of emotions he couldn’t place his paw on; both his own and his uncle’s.

“Welcome home.”

---
FBA ©  buckhopper
Alaska Arctics and characters ©  jtigerclaw, managed by  rainwhisker
Cliff Matthiews, Andrew Lambert, Feres Svenlocke ©  rainwhisker
Thumbnail ©  christaphorac