The cougar prowled in with Austin close behind. Neither of them looked very happy. In fact, they looked like they could shoot daggers out of their eyes. Dakota stood tall and called out to anyone within hearing range. "Adulthi, Trillium, Mirepaw and Purple Haze! Come here now!" She roared. She had gotten word that four of her members had betrayed her and come here.

Kiki stood beside Austin. She missed her kittens.

With what happened last time, Adulthi and the others had been ordered to stay within a few minutes sprint of the Temple at all times. The kittens had been assaigned guards, and security was kept tight.

Ikenal was the first to spot the three. The massive eagle gave Namir the head's up, and led him on before Dakota had even began to shout out for her wayward members. The eagle perched himself on a branch high above the group while Namir stalked closer from below.

"Dakota." The cougar said evenly, making his appearance as he moved down a steep embankment and came to stand in front of them. He remained calm but tense, ready for whatever reaction this encounter would provoke.

Dakota narrowed her eyes at Namir. "Your sister has betrayed me twice now. You do know the punishment for two betrayals, don't you?" She snarled. "What do you have against us? We're only cats. Cats have to eat, in case your mother never taught you."

Austin shook his head. "Why should we be punished for doing what our instincts tell us to? If we don't hunt, we don't eat. If we don't eat, we die. Then we go extinct and the whole ecosystem crashes. All hell will break loose and you're standing by to watch us fall." He growled, his tail twitching angrily.

The cougar's eyes narrowed just slightly as he stared unblinkingly at Dakota. Under the orders of Quaidah, he was to remain as nuetral as possible in a situation, and attack only as a last result. "I have nothing against you, Dakota." He flinched slightly at her words, for they had hit a nerve. In all actuallity, her accussations were true. His mother had never taught him, because she had been killed by hunters. If not for Vevisca, Cortinarri, Kanan, Amber, and Charcoal, he would have starved to death like his littermate if they hadn't found him in the nick of time.

Namir pushed the past memories out of his mind and raised his head slightly, "The Ancient Guardians have no grudges against you. We would like to be allies, if at all possible." The cougar went on, still tense and ready, "But I want what is best for my daughter, and she has agreed that it would be safer for her to stay here. She has almost died once already, and I don't want to risk that again."

From above, Ikenal shifted in his perch, looking down sternly at the Sombra Cazadores. He hoped that things would settle down, but was prepared to defend Namir if worse came to worse.

Dakota made her fangs visible when Namir replied. "She almost died because she was a traitor." The cougar retorted, her tail twitching angrily. "Fine. We are allies then. But don't think I'm merciful." Austin tried to step forward, but Dakota pushed him back. "Here are the rules. You must not expect us to help you attack any of our other allies. You must not attack us. If you want one of my members for yourself, ask me first." She smirked, lifting her head in an arrogant manner. "All of this could have been avoided by you asking me if you could take Adulthi, or Adulthi asking if she could leave. I would have let her go. Next time, pluck up and face me."

After hearing news from passing creatures that the pack at the Croal's had become active once more, but under new leadership, the three ex-guardians had come back to re-join their pack. The strange 'pride' of felines came forward as a unit, Vulcan leading, with Venus and Arctic fanning out to each side. Obsidian had been lost to a rogue bear.

Vulcan, the 800 pound Siberian Tiger, picked his way up the mountain with surprising ease. After living here for so long, he and his fellow cats had learned how best make their way across the terrain of the mountains. His amber eyes first caught sight of two cats in what appeared to be a face off, the tension could be picked up even from where he was standing. Glancing back to his companions, Vulcan came forth to stand a few feet behind Namir, and simply watched Dakota, with Venus and Arctic coming to stand beside him. They wouldn't get involved just yet, but if it got nasty they wouldn't hestitate to join in; Namir had the scent of the new Guardian pack, and Vulcan knew that to appease the leader, it would probably be best to enter the temple with one of the members.

Having heard that the Ancient Guardians were back, Phoenix and Saguaro found themselves checking them out. The cougar was about to enter the Temple when she saw Namir, Dakota and the others. She slid up beside Namir and looked at him. "Is she giving you any trouble?" She asked. She figured that the male was with the Guardians, as he shared their scent.

"Of course, we won't expect anything of you, other than to be civil around our memebers." Namir replied, thankful that this situation was now contained. A flutter from above caught his attention, making the cougar shift his eyes momentarily to Ikenal. The raptor gave a few subtle upward flicks of his beak, and that was it.

Namir understood this as 'we have company'. Sure enough, Phoenix was soon padding up beside him. "No, we were just having a discussion." The male replied, "But thank you." Like the cougaress, he recognized her as a Guardian by scent, and so didn't question her.