Namir

The coldest of days were passing by, but up in the highest reaches of the mountains, the frigidness of winter's grasp still held a tenacious grasp on the land. Namir didn't mind the chill so much in any case, being the hardy cougar that he was. But the coldest of the snowy months were his least favorite. The tawny brute was perched in a hunched position on the bough of a large sycamore tree. His tail had since fallen from its curled position around his paws and now dangled idly from the branch, with the tip flicking a mere three feet from the ground. From his height, the big cat had an easy leap to the ground, and a decent view of the land around him. A perfect place to catch a little nap away from the Temple, where so many were ill.

Velvet

Trekking into enemy territory alone generally wasn't a good idea. Velvet knew it well enough - it had gotten her brother Xuvan killed not too far from this very spot. Yet she also knew that to earn great achievements, one had to take a risk now and then. So she walked carefully along at first, sniffing delicately at the harshly bitter air, and turning her slightly slanted eyes about in an ever watchful gaze for enemies. In this slow, methodical procession through the rugged land, the lioness eventually came across the paw prints of Namir, and a sly little smile lit her whiskered face.

It didn't take long for her to trace his steps and discover where he was perched in the tree. 'this could be interesting.' Now a brief grin flashed onto her muzzle, and vanished only a second later. Taking a gamble, the lioness sat down in the snow, casually grooming herself and waiting for Namir to wake.

Namir

Beneath closed lids, his eyes fluttered and twitched with movement while he dreamed. The outside world was not entirely lost on him however, as his ears would rotate towards the slightest sounds, but it was never quite enough to raise him from his sleep. Not until smell reached his nose that he couldn't quite ignore. As suddenly as if he'd been pinched, Namir's eyes flashed open and he rumbled ominiously from the depths of his chest - he smelled lion, enemy lion. It didn't take more than a quick look about for him to spot the lioness grooming herself in plain sight near his tree. Namir's first instinct was to pounce and attack, even if she were larger than him. But on second thought... this had to be an ambush; the second he jumped down, her followers would jump out of hiding and nail him. Cursing the uncertain predicament, Namir did the only thing he could think of. "Hey, you." His words were delivered in a low, unsavory growl.

Velvet

While Namir was just waking up and looking around, Velvet had been keeping a sharp eye out for any Guardians that might be on patrol. When he called down to her, she didn't feign any surprise or alarm, even with the expected growl that accompanied his tones. Velvet tilted her tan-brown dial up at the brute and bobbed her head in a curt little greeting. "Hey yourself. Namir, isn't it?" She could see the uncertainty in him and banked on his fears to keep her safe from attack, at least until she could have something of a chat with him. "Calm down, kitten. I haven't come here to kill you. I actually have a proposal, if you'd be willing to listen." Contrary to the cougar, the African lion retained a calm demeanor - if not a rather blunt one.

Namir

Everything about this situation wreaked of danger to him and sent warning bells off in his head. She was an enemy, and if his memory served him right, she and a group of several others had defected from the Haunters. They had never officially made a treaty with them, and didn't know much of anything about what they stood for. Other than, rumor had it, they'd attacked the Haunters not too long ago. "And you're Velvet?" He responded shortly. Golden eyes turned upward for a short moment to scan the sky, hoping to catch sight of one of their raptors. Seeing none, he looked back down at the lion, "I'm not the leader of this joint. If you want to talk about a proposal, you can send a request to see Quaidah." His tail flashed to the side in increasing movement, highlighting typical feline aggression.

Velvet

She watched now as his eyes traveled upwards, and thanked her goddess that there were no falcons or eagles that might intrude on their conversation. "Yes, that is what they call me." So far hearing or seeing no enemies, the lioness was content to remain in a seated posture as she went on, "It's not Quaidah that I'm interested in. I have nothing against him, of course..." She lifted a large paw and idly examined it as she looked away from the cougar, "...this proposal has nothing to do with him, and everything to do with you." At the end of this, her dark sights turned up to him again, awaiting his reaction.

Namir

Her casual attitude irked him as much as it unnerved him, and he let that be known by levelling his rounded ears. What she said next caught him off guard, stealing his words for a moment or two. "...Me?" After composing himself and giving a cautiously drawn out reply, Namir narrowed his eyes and sat up a little more on the bough. "What would you want with me? I've got my friends and family here, and I seriously doubt there is anything you have to say that I'd be interested in listening to."

Velvet

"You know, assuming is bad for you." Velvet chuckled back at him. Still she sat, calmly as could be, "I realize you probably hate me, Namir. But do you really know me?" Velvet challenged lightly, now standing and directing her full attention on the tawny brute, "I come to you as a fellow feline, nothing more. I am not a Guaridan, a Haunter, or a Lurker... none of those. I only ask a minute of your time, and I'll be on my way." She was banking on Namir not knowing too much about her yet, though depending on what he did know, it could work in her advantage too.

Namir

His gut told him to leave and not hear her out. He honestly didn't know a whole lot about this particular lion, except that she was a former Haunter, and apparently co-led some new group with a wolf named Bandit. The fact that she was a former Haunter, however, was reason enough to be wary of her. On the other hand... Namir growled to himself in frustration, but in the end, decided he didn't have any other choice but to hear her out. In any case, it should buy more time, in which other Guardians might show up. "Fine." His tail jerked again, snapping to the side, "What do you have to say?"

Velvet

Ah, well this was a bit encouraging to at least. She'd been lucky enough to come across a big cat in the first place and now she had a captive audience, albeit an unhappy one. "As you may or may not know, I'm no longer affiliated with the Haunters. Several of my friends and family have decided to start our own group. Before you say anything - I'm not going to ask you to join us. I merely want to invite you to join us on an up coming hunt and get-together, where we get to know each other, and our ideas of where the Valley is heading." The words sent puffs of frosted breath into the air, "The invitation is extended to you and any of your kin. Feline kin."

Namir

"A get-together?" Skepticism was written all over his face and hinted heavily in his tenure. One thing was for sure, he didn't plan on doing this alone, if he did it at all. Hell, he didn't trust talking to her right now, as it was! But... No! The cougar tried to snap his thoughts away from the idea that just maybe, this other feline wasn't quite the enemy he assumed she was. "Just where will this hunt take place, and what sort of ideals does your group hold. Allies, enemies?" His agitated tail slowed down again and went idle, moving away from an imminent sense of danger, and despite himself, letting a touch of curiosity egg at him. Maybe she was being sincere? No... he wouldn't let himself get naive with this lion.

Velvet

She bobbed her head at his first question and patiently heard him out as he guardedly implored for more information. "The Ashen Domes. We don't plan on it being a huge event, just something small where we can get to know each other on neutral grounds. It'll be... mostly feline, as I said. And if you are considering joining us on this outing, there is only one thing to bear in mind - there should be no prey among you. This is strictly a carnivore ordeal." Personally, she detested the way that the Guardians and Haunters both mingled with their food, treating them like equals and companions. "It will be at dawn tomorrow."

Namir

Without even realizing it fully at first, Namir found himself listening in with some interest, though he never once dropped his guard or let himself get wrapped up in her words. He didn't like her, yet a part of him was yearning for an end to the war and a chance at peace. And the more that he tried to find a reason to hate and mistrust this particular feline, the more he realized that he had no bad memories of her; she had never been a front-line warrior of the Haunters, at least not one that he'd ever run into. Perhaps this was the step in the right direction, towards an end to the fighting...? "Alright, I'll be there." 'No! What did you just say?!' A flash of regret hit him. He countered that with some quick reasoning though, figuring that he could bring a good contingent of his family along as well as a handful of raptors to scout the sky. If this was some sort of trick, he'd have the advantage of eyes in the air; and if they were going to the Domes, the land was wide, flat, and had very little space for enemies to hide in from the eyes of the falcons.

Velvet

She smiled faintly, "Good. There were reports of musk oxen in the area earlier. There should be plenty of food to go around." This had turned out better than she had anticipated. It was hard to read into much of the cougar's thoughts, aside from his obvious uncertainty about her and her motives, but she enjoyed it. It kept him guessing and on edge, and her with the slight upper hand. "We'll be meeting in the low fields at the edge of the blue basin at dawn." She gave him a more pinpoint area to rendezvous, describing a prominent pool of green-blue sulfur water on the outskirts of the area, and repeated the time of the hunt to be sure he caught it.