Saulk & Zanarah

Zanarah and Saulk made it to temple before finally setting their precious cargo down. Both were panting from the exertion, but there was a glimmer of satisfaction in the wolf's dual-toned orbs, and once he'd caught his breath, he spoke, "Good work, Zanarah. These two will now be safe. I'll search for food once Leomar gets back from patrolling - he should be returning any time now."

The pale-coated ligeress smiled back at her leader and gave him a dainty nod of her striped head. "I'll make sure the young ones remain safe." Saying that, she laid down in front of the two, "You say your names are.. Zaphren, and Tophee, was it? Can you tell me about your mother, and where you live?"

Tophee & Zaphren

Tophee instantly squeezed in next to her brother when the two of them were set down. She gaped in awe at the strange, blocky 'cave' that rose up at their backs, flanked by much more normal looking mountain ridges. Well, they'd certainly made near the top of the mountain, but somehow the young feline didn't feel much excitement or accomplishment. She only nodded vaguely to Zanarah's question, and let her brother do the talking.

Zaphren puffed himself up, again trying to appear confident and brave, even if his heart was thumping a mile a minute beneath his plushy coat. "Her name is Faidanen, and we live down by the big lake." Gone was his reluctance to answer the big cat; she had just saved he and his sister, so she had to be trustworthy- right? "Our brother Keyvon and sister Zaphira live there too, but they stayed at the den today."

Saulk & Zanarah

"Faidanen?" Zanarah inquired softly, with a subtle glance to Saulk that asked. 'Sound familiar?'

Saulk caught the name and questioning gaze of his companion and tilted his head slightly to show his uncertainty. The name didn't ring a bell, but Cedarwood had reported on new members in the Makucha; could this be one of them? But then why would they be hanging around by Pike's Lake?

Zanarah kept up a patient, motherly smile, "I see, and what does your mother look like? So that we can tell our raptors who to look for?" This would help narrow down who this mystery female was, and what kind of action they would need to take next. "I didn't hear you mention a father...? Do you not live in a pride?"

Tophee & Zaphren

"She looks kinda like my sister. But her stripes aren't as dark as Tophee's." Zaphren explained with less hesitancy as Zanarah's gentle demeanor slowly melted his guard. When questioned about his sire, the cub shook his head and frowned in thought, "Not yet. Momma said we are going to meet him soon." And on the subject of prides, Zaph lit up with excitement, "No, um, not yet anyway. But momma said our aunt Fairali lives with a pride in the prairie, and we were going to meet them sometime!"

Tophee remained quiet, but she too was beginning to relax some in the calm presence of Zanarah and Saulk.

Saulk & Zanarah

Zanarah shared another look with Saulk when the 'pride in the prairie' was brought up, this exchange done blatantly and with a perfectly molded expression of dread. "The evil ones." She murmured sadly and pinned her ears back, then leaned her skull down to carass the top of Zaphren's head in a motherly way. "Your mother likely didn't know the dangers, but that pride... the Makucha... they are evil. They are the ones that almost caught you and your sister today." Not wanting to overwhelm the cubs, Zanarah planted these seeds carefully as she went about grooming Zaphren, waiting for their reaction before she'd continue to craft the story around them.

Saulk's expression turned bitter, and the quiet anger in his voice sounded very real when he spoke, "They killed my mother and brother, and many others in our pack despite us wanting peace. They are cruel." A low huff followed and he stood, "We will do our best to find your brother and sister, along with your mother, but it may be too late for them if the Makucha have decided to strike."

Tophee & Zaphren

"Evil?" Zaphren's ears melted back, "But... why? Momma said that's where our aunt Fairali lives. And she use to live there too. They aren't evil!" Yet despite his assertion, there was a questioning quality to his tones. Surely his mom wouldn't have taken them to meet a pride that was evil?

Tophee was conflicted too, with her little ears reclined and her tail coiled tightly against her side. Looking away from where her brother was being groomed by Zanarah, the cub gazed up at Saulk and shivered at his words.

Saulk & Zanarah

Zanarah reached a hefty paw forward to scoop around Tophee's side and draw her in closer to her and Zaphren. A tongue continued to run against Zaph, in part to console and calm the youngster... and to begin erasing his old scent and replace it with the Haunters' "I know your mother isn't evil, and I'm sure your aunt wasn't either. But these cats, they brainwash others. The poison their minds and hearts, and turn them against their own kin. If your aunt is living with them... I'm afraid her mind has been tainted."

Saulk stood suddenly, his grim facade quickly being replaced by one of attentiveness as a large African lion sauntered into view from the slopes below. "Leomar! What news do you have?"

The big lion's jaws were agape and he was breathing heavily. Burs and bits of twig decorated his shaggy mane, and he walked with a noticeable limp. Dark red stained parts of his tan fur. Saulk was genuinely concerned at first.. until he caught the look of excitement in the brute's eyes, and a whiff of... was that rabbit? Quietly realizing what the old male had done, Saulk upheld his look of attentive worry as Leomar went on to weave his tale, "Got ambushed by one of those bastards. They were following your guys' trail, talking about 'eating cubs tonight'." He snorted, and Saulk was sure he spotted a tiny tuft of rabbit hare stuck between two teeth. "It was a close call, but I managed to wrestle them down and stop them in the end."

Tophee & Zaphren

Tophee actively pressed in closer to Zanarah. She may be a stranger still, but faced with the news of cub-eating evil cats, the ligeress was her only sort of meager comfort in this moment.

"D-did you.. kill them?" Zaphren managed to squeak out, projecting his tiny voice to be heard as he gazed in awe and fear alike at the shaggy beast.

Saulk, Zanarah, & Leomar

"Sure did." Leomar answered back with a smug grin, "It was a little dicey at first, but I managed to gain the upper claw against them. Held one down with this paw-" The lion slammed a bloody paw against the stone ground with a ringing 'thwak!', claws unsheathed in all their crimson glory, "-and managed to grab the other one by the skull! I bit down-"

"Ahem." Zanarah cleared her throat to catch Leomar's attention, and when he paused to look up at her with annoyance for interrupting his story, he saw the raised-eye look he was getting in return. "You can recount your tale after these two have gotten a proper rest and some food in their bellies. They've been through a lot today." Saying this, she rose and nudged the two cubs, "Come along, dears. I'll make you a nest in our den, and you can get some sleep while we look for your mother and siblings. How's that sound?"

Saulk used this distraction to lower his voice and murmured to his lion companion, "Easy on the details, Leo." And when the African cat looked a little crestfallen, Saulk smirked and tacked on, "But great work overall; the rabbit blood sold it pretty well, I think."

Tophee & Zaphren

The two might have been enthralled by the story if they weren't so shell-shocked by the event of the day, and so worried about their mother and siblings. They failed to pick up on the little messages that were being delivered between the lines among the three Haunters, and with no mother to look up to in this moment, the pair were quickly falling under Zanarah's sway. Even more readily than before, Tophee and Zaphren followed the big cat's orders and allowed her to shepherd them away towards the stone temple.

Saulk, Zanarah, & Leomar

Zanarah led her new charges in through the squared doorway and along a darkened hall. A few dozen yards down she turned into a small room, lit by a single, small window big enough only for a falcon to pass through. There was already a pile of dried vegetation in one of the corners, and her scent hung heavy with it - this was the liger's usual resting place. "Here now, you two can rest with me." She circled once before sitting down and waiting for the cubs to cluster in. "By the time you wake up, the others should have food brought back, and news on your family. Don't worry darlings, you'll be safe here in the meantime."

Leomar raised his head up, "I lucked across that hare, but yeah, I'd say it turned out pretty well." He raised his paw and spent a moment observing it, and admiring the drying blood that he'd decorated himself with. Still looking at his handiwork, the big male went on, "What about the cubs' mom?"

Saulk sat back on his haunches, "We'll wait for the raptors' report before we do anything. If we're lucky, the mom will stray into our jaws... if not, well, we'll go from there." The grizzled wolf eased down on his belly, though his dial remained up, and his eye vigilant on the slope that led up to their domain. "Like I said, for now we wait until we have better information - take a quick nap Leo, we may need your claws again this evening."

Tophee & Zaphren

"Okay." Zaphren murmured and wasted no time curling up in the warmth of Zanarah's belly fur. Gone was the bold, naive cub of the early afternoon; the ear and uncertainty of the 'attack' had collapsed his bravado and left him shaken. He tucked his face beneath a paw and snuggled in, and eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

Tophee wasn't far behind her brother in that regard, though the sister had remained quieter than her larger sibling. She too nestled into the liger's plush coat, finding a spot to crowd in against Zana's chest and beneath one forearm.