Carring the young liger cub gently under one arm, Greg made his way along a low mountain path. With the shop closed for today, the older teen had nothing else to do besides a bit of exploring. Who knew, maybe he'd find a new plant for the Greenhouse? If anything, he'd let little Innuo get some exercise.

After a half hour of climbing, the liger cub began to squeak and complain, fussing against Greg's clutch.

"Hungry?" The teen questioned aloud, easing down against a boulder as he slid his backpack off. "Hang on a sec, Innuo." Setting the cub on the ground, Greg mixted up a bit of formula with some bottled water. After giving the mixture a vigorous shake, he scooped up the cub and began to feed him.

He was being as quiet as he could. For a pup, it wasn't that bad. His head was down, searching for the silvery thing he had found yesterday. A spike that a hiker had left behind. Or that an animal hadn't eaten. His pup tail was wagging, and he was so intent on finding the spike, he didn't even notive Greg until he walked right into him. With a grunt and a puppy yip, he looked up expecting to see Wasteland or one of the other larger cats. Instead, it was a human. He'd never seen one, nor had anyone explained what they were. So, being him he said I'm Hellsong. What are you? Then he looked at Innuo. Cool! You have a kid like me! Then he pounced on the liger cub, playfully growling at him.

As Innuo greedily clutched at the bottle and drank, he failed to hear the approaching cub. Likewise, Greg was watching the kitten with fascination and also didn't notice the pup. It was with a startled gasp that the teen jumped slightly, feeling something bump unexpectedly into him. The bottle flew from his hands, but he had enough sense to keep a hold of the liger.

"Hey!" Innuo piped up, watching his lunch go twirling through the air. Just then, something collided with him and he gave muffled yowl. This was something he had been use to with his sister, so he responded with a playful swat of his own.

Greg was in awe of the strange sight that played out before him. First a liger cub, and now a wolf pup? "Where did you come from? You seem awfully friendly..." He pointed out with a laugh, as Hellsong pounced on Innuo. Reaching a hand forward, the teen tried to pet Hellsong, just to see if he was use to human touch. "I think you'd make a great friend for Innuo, wouldn't you?"

Bob migrated out of the Temple to get away from the crowd of wild canines and big cats. Lily didn't seem to mind the predators, though Bob knew better. He had no idea that his children had returned to the Temple. He looked around and noticed something that wasn't supposed to be there - a human. Did humans really come up here? It didn't seem like a human could stand the cold, but it didn't seem like an oryx could either. He watched from a distance, though still close enough to be seen by the human.

As Innuo tried to wrap his big paws around Hellsong and give the pup a good play-bite, Greg's attention shifted. Hazel eyes darted up as movement was spotted a short distance away.

Although the older teen wasn't completely sure what kind of creature this was, he did know that it belonged in Africa; not the mountains out here. As surprised as he was, rumors and spottings of such creatures had been increasing in the past few years, so it wasn't a total shock to see Bob. Still, it was very unexpected. Greg's sights landed on Bob's impressive horns. Feeling a bit nervous, he began to ease back against the boulder, keeping a hand near Innuo, just in case he needed to scoop up the cub and make a dash for it.

Suddenly, there was a bat swinging at him. As the cubs paw collided with his head, he emitted a 'deadly' growl and pounced. No fair! Your paws are bigger! Then a hand was on him. He jumped and leapt back, uncertain of what to do. He'd never experienced humans, and knew not what they were. Then his eyes lifted, and he saw Bob. Hey! Bob! Look! Some new pack members! He shouted. He looked extatic, and was yipping and barking with puppy joy. Then he looked to the liger cub. Wanna come meet my friend? He asked. Before waiting for a reply, he bolted towards the oryx, and leapt upon his hoof. Come on, Bob! Come meet them!

Bob looked nervously at the human. He had always been cautious, especially after losing his mate and coming close to death himself. It was humans who had killed Samantha, and it was humans who broke Lily's heart. Still, he knew that not everyone was the same. "I...I'm not so sure..." He said, swishing his tail. "He could be a poacher, for all we know." But his curiosity was overwhelming, and he had to give in. As long as Greg didn't challenge Bob, everything would be fine. He looked at the Liger. "Is that a lion?! Lions eat oryxes, you know..." But then he paused and narrowed his eyes. "But if the lion tries anything, he'll be skewered on my horns." He thought that Innuo looked odd for a lion, but he still looked perfectly capable if killing an oryx when he was older.

Seeing an oryx was one thing, but watching as the wolf pup went and pounced on the creature's hooves, and without harm... Greg took a moment to rub his eyes, but the scene was still before him. Was he hallucinating? No... at least he didn't think so...

Innuo giggled madly, batting his paws left and right at the pup, until he bounded away towards the giant horned creature. The liger gaped in awe at seeing Bob, until the hooved creature spoke. "Ahpoacher? I heard others call him Greg, at least I think that's what they said." Innuo recalled, missunderstanding what Bob was talking about. "Oh no, I'm not a lion. I'm a Liger. My momma says ligers are the biggest cats in the world!" Innuo corrected proudly, wiggling his stubby kitten tail as he scrambled up onto Greg's lap, "And I like milk, although Greg doesn't make milk as good as Momma does, but I like his voice. But... he doesn't know how to talk right." At this, Innuo frowned and looked up at the teen.

The conversations went on deaf ears as Greg stared at the oryx, completely oblivious that he was being talked about. First he found a liger, then a wolf pup comes out of no where to play, and now an african animal is up in the mountains? Maybe all those stories he had heard were true! "Where in the world did you come from? And who else lives up here?" The teen wondered aloud, brown-green eyes trained on Hellsong and Bob.

Oh, poor Greg, He knew little of what went on in these mountains. For it was not only the Oryx and the Wolf cub. Oh, no. There were so many animals in the Temple above him, all living and working under one roof.

Two of these animals had done what Bob had, and taken time out to travel down the mountain to escape the bustle of the Ancient Guardians HQ.

The first on the scene was Arctic, slinking casually along the mountain ledge that the new gathering now took place. The cat only saw Bob and Hellsong at first and grinned as she spotted the pup jump on the oryx. She was about to call out when she heard another voice. Her head snapped round to face it, and there was a two-legger, cradling a feline cub. It seemed to be a mix of some kind, not resembling but having some characteristics of both a Lion and a Tiger. Confused, and slightly anxious at the presence of a human, Arctic began to edge towards her two 'pack' mates, keeping herself facing Greg.

Placing a paw protectively on the pup's back, the snow leopard hissed to Bob, "What is it doing here?" Her tail swayed gently in a display of slight aggression, but more in a way of protection of both the hooved animal and the young wolf. "Vulcan, Come here, There's a human..."

Approaching the group was a mass of tiger power, Vulcan, the 800 pound Siberian Tiger padded towards them, eyes narrowed at the news of a human. Once the bright orange and black cat stopped, and took in the boy, his muscles relaxed slightly, but sill held some tension. "He's young, I don't think he'll try anything..." He paused, dipping his head slightly as he advanced towards Greg and Innuo. His ears were forward as he spoke to the Liger cub. "Hey, little one. A Liger, huh? Well you'll grow up big and strong like me! My name's Vulcan, Why's your friend here?"

Innuo perked up even more when the tigers arrived. "Hey, you two look the same as my momma! Except different!" The liger looked excitedly to Greg, but the teen didn't seem to share the same thrill. "I'm Innuo, I think. That's what Greg calls me, anyway. And I keep asking him what we're doing here, but he doesn't know how to talk yet. He just makes a bunch of funny noises all the time." The cub replied with a frustrated snort, looking from Vulcan, back to Greg.

Greg's face paled dramatically, and he pressed tighter against the rock as the Siberian moved in closer. He had originally thought Innuo was a cougar, although the array of spots and stripes had made him wonder. Now, he wondered if this was actually a tiger cub, and these were the parents. Too frightened to question why Bob wasn't alarmed by the predators, Greg worried about his own safety. The stories of wolf and cat related fatalities began to swirl in the teen's mind, and he feared he was about to become another statistic. "Oh God, please don't eat me..." Greg breathed out in shaken words, holding himself so tense that he barely breathed.

The secretary bird soon migrated out of the Temple, observing the strange sights. "What is the human doing here?!" He exclaimed. All he cared about right now was his sister's safety, after nearly losing her to the Haunters.

Bob looked at Tuari. "I have no idea. I don't know if he is a threat or not." He replied.

"Maybe he'll take us to a zoo! Or maybe he'll kill us and take our hide and eat our meat! I bet the cat is his hunting companion!" The tall bird cried.

Penny heard her brother's voice, and he seemed distressed. She walked out of the Temple, limping. Her legs were crooked and she felt pain with every step. "What is going...Why is that thing here?! He's a hunter! Maybe he's a Shadow Haunter! He's coming back for me!"

Tuari looked back at Penny. "Pen, I'll make sure he won't hurt you." He said softly, though he felt that there wasn't much he could do.

"Yeah, right. He'll have your head before you can look back at him." Penny warned. Tuari gasped and looked back at Greg, then down at Innuo. "Tell your human friend to stay away from my sister and I. Got it?"

The liger suddenly took up the defensive, as it began to dawn on him that these others didn't think so highly of his Greg. "Hey, Greg is nice! He's my daddy! Be nice to him!" Innuo narrowed his little eyes and growled as fiercely as he could; which wasn't much at all.

Things just kept getting crazier and crazier; two more afticans showed up, these ones he recoginzed as Secretary Birds. The longer he sat here, Greg realized, the more creatures would show up. His mind was reeling with the same questions as their's; where they dangerous? Then came an idea he had learned from various tv programs.

Scooping Innuo up, Greg stood suddenly and waved his free hand in the air, shouting loudly as he began to back up. He didn't know if it would work or not, but he hoped to 'intimidate' the crowd of anmals he was sure was going to try and kill him. The only thing was, he forgot about that stupid rock that he had previously been leaning against. With a gasp, he tripped and fell flat on his back.

Tuari listened to the cat. "Well, then tell your 'daddy' to leave before he loses an eye." He said aggressively. He watched in confusion as the human waved his hands in the air.

Bob took this as a challenge, as when an oryx want to challenge another, he waves his horns in the air. "So, you want to fight, do you?!" He snorted, charging at Greg.

Penny gasped. "That's it. I'm getting Jack." She said, before flying back into the Temple.

"Daddy can't talk though!" Innuo shot back in frustration, growling a bit as he was jostled around. "Hey, wait... AHHH!" The liger cried out as Bob charged.

Greg was just picking himself up as the oryx charged. Eyes flaring wide, he grabbed Innuo and dropped to the ground, holding the liger protectively under him. Unable to outrun the creature, Greg prepared to take the blow as he hunched against the ground, head covered with one hand...

Beneath the teen, Innuo struggled and mumbled out some words that were muffled. Try as he might, he couldn't escape Greg's protective hold.

"What?! Why's he shouting? I..." Vulcan shuffled nervously, his muscles tensing in defence. The sudden movement and noise angered and unnerved the tiger and obviously had the same effect on the others. As uproar ensued, and Bob attacked Vulcan's eyes widenend. "No, Wait, STOP!" The tiger threw himself across the path of Bob, using his body to try and deflect the attack of the Oryx. "They don't mean any harm! We're suppose to be keeping peace, not fighting innocent things!"

Jack followed Penny out of the Temple, only to see the oryx beating up on the human. "Hey! HEY! Guys! Please!" He exclaimed, running to Bob. "So what is going on. What is making you attack the human?"

Bob snorted, swishing his tail and shaking his head aggressively. "The human entered my territory, and then he challenged me!" He exclaimed, ready to attack again if Greg should try anything.

Penny nodded. "It's true! I saw him! He's going to eat us all!" She cried. Tuari glared at the human. "I say again. Leave now, or leave never."

Jack looked at each of them, then at the liger cub. "Little liger, run down the mountain if you and your friend want to make it out alive. I'm sure the human will follow you." He instructed, speaking in a calm voice. "And never let the human come back, and never come back yourself."

That. Is. Enough. Like a phantom, he did so move. His foot steps were light, so very light and his head was down but his tail raised high. A look of anger and utter frustration was on his face. What in the hell do you think your doing? Hes a human. He does not understand. Bird, Shut up. HE hissed at PEnny. Then his eyes flicked towards Greg. They weren't normal eyes, Baphomets. Seemingly split in half with color, one side red the other side silver. His black body moved closer to the male, and he placed a paw onto gregs chest. They never understand.

Bob shook his head as Baphomet came near. "He is in the territory of the Ancient Guardians. Most humans know better than to enter territory that is not theirs." He replied, then looked back at the human.

Jack looked at the birds. "You two can come to my pack. Follow me." He said, walking down the mountainside, followed by Penny and Tuari.

Just when he thought he should feel something slamming into his side, nothing happened. Lifting his head and peeking to the side, he saw Vulcan leap in front of the charging oryx. Well, that little stunt of his obviously hadn't worked like he thought it would, so Greg wasn't about to make any more comotion. Slowly rolling over, the teen was yet again startled as a large wolf headed his way. Knowing not to repeat his little arm-waving-shouting stunt again, Greg remained perfectly still. Even when the paw was placed on his chest, he stiffled a gasp and didn't fight back. Besides, against the jaws of a wolf, he could do little.

Innuo sat next to Greg's shoulder, looking towards Vulcane first, "You saved my Daddy!" He exclaimed excitedly, before looking Bashomet, "Please don't hurt him! He's my dad! I don't know what he eats, but they're lying! Daddy doesn't even know how to talk!" The liger dropped his head down against the teen's neck, turning his eyes up sad-puppy-style to the adult wolf.

Greg scarecly dared to breath as he looked up at the canine staring down at him. The eyes were the thing that caught his attention, followed closely those fangs.

Once Baphomet had brung the commotion to an end, Vulcan turned his attention back to the teen and the Liger cub. Coming round the other side of Greg, but staying a few feet back, Vulcan watched the alpha stand almost protectively over the boy. The tiger looked down to Innuo with a smile, "Just helping those who deserve it, Little one." He said softly, before turning his yellow eyes to Baphomet. "I think we should leave them be, let them get on with whatever they want to do. I don't believe he was here to harm us, infact I don't even think he knew we we're here. That said, It's your call." Yawning, Vulcan lowered himself to the ground, tail figiting in the grass as he waited for Baphomet to speak.

He glared hard at Greg, his eyes full of arrogant confidence. He's free to go. Humans are free to pass through here, unless they have a weapon on their person. He turned those odd eyes to Innuo. We will be sending a spy, however, with this one. His eyes glanced up to Hellsong, who so far was the only one who didn't scare Greg. The pup shall go. Hellsongs eyes grew wide. But...But... He couldn't say no. Baphomet may have been a kind leader, but he didn't want to stick around. Something about the male kind of set him off balance. Ill do it. He murmered. He stood, and trotted towards Greg. BAphomet stepped off the human, and trotted back towards the temple.

Come on. He said to the liger cub. Hellsong began to decend down the mountain, but waited for Innuo and Greg.

Thanking his lucky stars that he was still alive, Greg very slowly eased himself up off the ground. He watched in awe as Baphomet departed, along with the oryx and the birds. Wide hazel eyes were shifted uneasily to Vulcan, who could kill him in a heartbeat.

Innuo grinned and wiggled his stubby ears, "You can be my friend, how about that?" The liger wouldn't soon forget the tiger's bravery. But as it was, his attention was fleeting at best for his age, and he looked to Hellsong with new curiousity, "Cool! Where're we going?"

Greg wasn't planning on moving any more until Vulcan left, but his plans changed when Innuo hopped out of his lap. Easing himself up from the ground, the teen began to follow after Hellsong and Innuo, while casting nervous glances back at the big tiger. Although frightened, it began to sink into his stunned mind that the tiger had... had tried to protect him? Impossible... right? A flicker of inspiration awoke in the young man's eyes, and like Innuo, he wouldn't forget about this big cat. Or of the big wolf, the birds, and the oryx.

With what would be thought of as a nod, Vulcan grinned at the Liger cub. "Sure. Goodbye, Little one." As the cub left with the pup, Vulcan turned those yellow eyes to Greg. A minute passed, and no movement happened, save for the ripple of wind that ruffled his coat. Then, with a dip of his head to the human, the tiger turned and followed the others back to the temple.