Part 3: The Coming Twilight

[Anu]

In all other situations during his life, Anu would have asked way more questions and wxplored the places he journeyd into far more deeply.

Homever at his current state, nothing or very little interested him, grude was his face and no emotion came out as he and the healer walked trough the sleeping Feraga tribes den.

Or MAINLY sleeping since there were many guards and nightwalkers near by. The fortress, as to Anu it seemed like one, was humble yet it wasnt anything like his homelands: things were much more based on the warmer climate and there were things like typical natural wilderness around him... that was more than unfamiliar.

They passed the gurds, as th healer spoke to them. Glares were bit harsh for the newcomer, but Anu neither care nor wouldnt have minded even if they forbade his passage.

[glow=red,2,300] Such was his sorrow that he felt nearly nothing and certainly nothing for others. [/glow]

[Pulsar]

(OOC: Guess there's no time like the present to join in ^ ^ Uhmmm sorry about the long introduction by the way, hope you guys don't get annoyed)

On this peaceful and silent night, where one could see the moon and stars so high up in the heavens, had made a perfect time for flying. The breeze was gentle and the weather perfect.
A short distance out from the den's of both prides and a fairly unusual distance in the sky, stood 2 dark shapes. They glided across the night sky as if they were apart of it themselves.
One figure was that of a winged lion, one with four wings, who would only flap them every so often to maintain his altitude. The second was that of a lion, who was perched onto a small floating mound of earth, this figure traveled alongside that of the winged lion, though its corse was a bit more erratic. Around the creature also hovered 7 little crystals which swayed around in the air in random patterns.
"Are we close yet? You know I dislike using my powers in this way, I don't feel safe..."
The voice of the lion on the floating mound broke the silence. It was a voice of a lioness.
"..... and why do we have to be so high?"
She continued her sentence, taking a brief look down at the ground far below.
"Because... you remember what happened last time we flew so low to the ground?"
The winged lion replied in a curious male voice.
"uhmmm...."
The female replied as she looked down in shame.
"... Let me refresh your memory then...."
He continued with a sigh as he kept his gaze forward.
"You lost balance of your platform and you fell off..."
The male said slightly annoyed from remembering the event.
"Oh yeah!"
The lioness replied as she giggled.
"You turned your head to check if i was ok, even though i only had a small fall! and then you..."
"And then I hit a tree.... Yes we all remember that..."
He grunted as cut her off in the middle of her sentence.
The female giggled and looked to a crystal hover around her shoulder.
"I thought it was funny, didn't you?"
She spoke as if addressing the crystal, which actually replied to the comment with a high pitched ring.
"See Pon-Pon agrees!"
The lioness smiled childishly as she looked back at the male who was now gazing downward at the ground.
"Well to be honest, I never did take a floating rocks opinion seriously..."
He replied with a voice as though he was busy thinking of something else.
"..... say... Pulsar, do you think everyone will be happy to see us back?...."
The Female said in a worried tone as she gazed over at him uncertain.
He took his attention from the ground and gazed at her, his yellow eyes sparkling in the moonlight.
"Sure..."
His sentence began as he smiled.
"We've been gone for a while on our patrol, I'm sure the General and leader will be happy to hear our report..."
He finished as he gazed back down as if keeping look out for something.
"bu-but we didn't end up finding any Burja..."
She replied to him.
"My point exactly Inlasta.... we were sent out ages back to make sure there weren't any Burja around our territory borders..."
Pulsar paused briefly.
"The fact we didn't find any would be considered good to them don't you think?"
He looked back up at her briefly then back down at the ground.
"yeah I guess...."
Inlasta replied as she looked over the edge of her platform.
The two continued trough the sky in silence for several more minutes, only the faint sound of the breeze blowing past their ears would break the silence.
"HEY! I think I see the den!"
Pulsar exclaimed.
"Really! is it our one?"
Inlasta said questioningly.
"I'm not sure..."
He replied back.
"Let's lower altitude for a better look...."
And with that he adjusted his two hind wings, allowing him to maintain speed but lower his height from the ground slowly. Inlasta followed accordingly.
"hmmmm...."
Pulsar couldn't quite make out if it was their prides den or not, they needed to be careful before landing, last thing they needed was for it to be the Burja Den after all...
But before they could get any closer a giant gust blew past them both. Pulsar knew that flying at such heights meant they would run into random spots of bad wind.
Suddenly he heard several high pitched chimes in one ear. Ears perked he turned his head around to see the 7 crystals zipping around one spot.
<What the?>
he thought as he glanced downward to see Inlasta had just slipped off her platform.
<No! The gust must have knocked her off!>
All this occurred in a split second and before he knew it a scream had reached his ears.
"PULSAR!!!"
Inlasta yelled as she fell backwards.
Without second though, He tucked all wings into his body and turned. This sent him into a spin but also drastically changed his direction, now sending him spiraling down after Inlasta.
Before he knew it he was loosing altitude at an alarming rate.
<Damn, I might not be able to recover from this dive!>
Inlasta held out her paw as Pulsar caught up with her, the crystals following a short distance behind him.
A soon as their paws met she dug her nails into his arm for a firm grip. Pulsar growled in pain but knew it was the only way to ensure she had a firm grip.
"Hold on, this is going to be an A class landing!"
With a whoosh, all four wings shot out at maximum length, causing the two to sort of bounce in mid air as their fall speed decreased dramatically.
But as Pulsar looked up he could see the tree line was getting too close.
<Damn, I didn't get it in time!>
"Hold on Inlasta!"
With that he flew into the tree line. First to go was one of his big wings which smacked a tree.
Pulsar roared as he heard his wing crack. But that wasn't enough, the impact sent them both into a spin.
As they fell farther to the ground they hit branches and more foliage.
Pulsar felt a tear in his arm, as he opened his eyes he seen that Inlasta's paw had been forcefully pulled from his arm. For you see Pulsar had landed on a thick branch. With a thud he felt a rib break as it sent him hurtling up and over the branch.
Inlasta was the first to hit the ground. A pile of dust rising up as she landed with force and then rolled a few feet. Pulsar landed only a few feet away. One of his wings cushioned his fall as it bent back and cracked. He rolled over and stopped lying on his stomach as his wings slowly fell to the ground, one of his bigger ones falling over the lower portion of Inlasta's body.
Everything had gone silent. The silence was a change from that of the noise made by the impact the two had made when they went crashing trough the tree line.
"Ugh.... arg.... huheg....."
Pulsar groanded as he opened one eye to see Inlasta lying motionless under his frontal left wing.
"I-Inlas...sta..."
He said faintly reaching out with one paw, before fainting, his paw dropping to the ground with a light thud.
The 7 crystals finally arrived on the scene and began hover around Inlasta, making faint chimes as they slowly flew into the master to try and budge or wake her up. But it was to no avail. The crystals fell silent, and slowly started floating around the empty patch in the frosty area their master had landed in.
Oddly enough the last though on Pulsar's mind before he passed out was if Inlasta was ok, he hoped she was... Because he didn't know where they had crashed, they could even be in Burja territory for all he knew....
he prayed they wouldn't be found by their enemy.

[Kirsui]

Kirsui smiled at Ina when she greeted Spinger. She still felt.. odd about the fact that her leader was seriously considering making her - Kirsui - the next one. It was such an honour to her, especially when she was so new to the pride...

Pushing these thoughts aside for now, she turned at Spinger and was about to open her mouth when she caught a noise. Her ears perked up and she turned to scan the area. She was sure she had heard a crash and, since she officially was still in guard duty, she would need to investigate it.

Sighing slightly, she gave an apologising smile at Spinger before turning at Ina.
"I think I heard something" she said. "I'll go to check it out. I won't be gone long."
Bowing at Ina, and giving another smile at Spinger, the creamy lioness headed towards the source of the sound she had heard. This time she didn't create her fire to light the area. She really didn't need to be noticed now, especially if the cause of the sound had been because of intruders...

And so, she approached, finding herself from the small forest area near the Burja Den. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she glanced over her shoulder at the direction of her Den. She was putting herself in danger if she went there alone...

But then again, if she was to become the leader she really needed to learn doing things alone and take responsibility of her actions. Determined to continue she entered the forest, placing her steps carefully not to make any sound. She avoided the dry leaves and small twigs, keeping her senses alert for any danger there might be.

And after keeping this up a while she stopped. And she stared. She really, really couldn't believe what she was seeing, because those floating.. things... just couldn't be crystals... could they? What was more even more amazing was the two creatures at the ground. A lioness with horns and a lion with...

She gasped. A lion with four wings? She had never, never thought the tales about winged lions were real... She had certainly never seen one, and so seeing this one with four wings...

Snapping out of her amazement, she decided she needed light. Her pupils disappeared again as the blue flames came to life, floating above her head like so many times before when she needed to see better in dark. She walked closer to the two lions, circling around them as she tried to figure out what had happened. Apparently, they had fallen and were both unconscious, propably hurt too.

So... There were two unconscious, unknown lions at the Burja area, near the Den. She could either go back and inform her pride about them and leave these two here unprotected... Or she could remain and figure out who they were and then go back. but if she remained, it seemed she would need to help them. And that would weaken her.
"Great", she muttered with slight annoyance.
"Just my luck."

Deciding the lioness seemed to be in worse shape than the lion, she walked to her, watching the crystals suspiciously.
"Err..."
Gee, now she felt stupid! Talking to crystals?!
"I won't hurt her, ok?"
She rolled her eyes at herself. Why did she even bother... They were crystals, crystals! S-t-o-n-e-s! And she was talking to them!

Shaking her head, she carefully moved the lion's wing away from the lioness, seeing as how it was slightly on the way if she was about to help them. After having the wing moved a little she sat down, pressing her paws lightly on the lioness' side. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating to that pool of silvery water that lighted up the darkness of her mind. Silvery light appeared around her paws and flowed down to the lioness like water as she gave her own energy for her to speed up her healing.

Then she suddenly pulled away, the light disappearing. She opened her eyes and took another deep breath. If these two hadn't been unknown to her, she would have given more energy for the lioness... But, now she didn't dare.

Shaking her head again, she turned to the winged lion, repeating the process of giving away her energy. And again, she didn't dare to give too much of it away, unless she wanted to fall asleep with two strangers that could wake up at any moment. So, she backed away, lying down at the ground under one of the trees, her flames still above her head as she kept an eye on the two lions and the odd crystals that kept floating around.

[Pulsar]

<Wha... what is this feeling........>
Pulsar's voice echoed in his mind.
<It's warm and welcoming....>
His body had used a vast majority of the energy he had to keep him from dying. What ever it was that was making that warm feeling gave him enough energy to regain consciousness.
<This energy....>
He groaned and shifted from his unconscious state.
<It's not enough... But maybe it'll give me enough strength to....>
Blinking several times, Pulsar tried to see. His energy however was critically low, and it in turn effected his sight.
"Ene.... rgy..."
He grunted faintly as he put one paw forward and dragged his body a few inches before collapsing back flat again. His vision could make out a small plant no bigger then s mall rock, which had only started to pop out of the soil.
"I'm sorry my little friend.... But I need your help...."
He held out his paw, holding it slightly in the air above the plant. Closing his eyes he began to concentrate. Slowly but surely, the small plant started to sparkle, and as it began to sparkle more, the little glints of energy began flowing from the small plant into his paw.

This little spectacle sent the crystals into a frenzy. They all began chiming like crazy and zipping around the wounded lion.
Pulsar knew the sound to be Inlasta's crystals.
"Thanks guys..."
He said to them faintly as he smiled.
Closing his eyes he began to concentrate. As he did the crystals formed and floated in a circle just above him. Like the plant they too began sparkling and as before those small bits of energy began flowing down into Pulsar. As each second past the crystals glittered more and more, they spun around faster and faster.
A thump sound has heard as Pulsar firmly placed one paw on the ground.
"That's it guys...."
He said in a more reinforced voice.
"Lend me your strength!"
Slowly but surely the mighty lion started to rise to his feet. The energy the crystals were lending him, was being used to heal his body.

Slowly now the crystals stopped glittering and slowed down to a stop, as now Pulsar stood on all four legs. Though his wings were still broken, he could now at least take care of the rest by himself. The crystals rang out in cheer of his recovery! Knowing that once he was ready and had enough energy he could attend to their poor master.
With that the crystals went back to floating above their master silently.
"Thanks you guys... I really needed.... wha...?"
He stopped in the middle of his sentence as he turned his head only to see some random lioness just a few feet away from them.
<Oh no....>

[Deleted]

Ina heard the same noise Kirsui heard and watched as Kirsui ran off. Spinger started talking to Ina, but she wasn't really paying attention. After realising she was been spoken to, she simply nodded and mumbled a 'yeah.' Kirsui had been gone for about 5 minutes now, so something must have been going on. It would've only taken about 2 minutes to walk there, check things out and walk back. The white lioness smiled at Spinger.

"I'll be back in a moment aswell..."

And with that she trotted off after Kirsui. When she reached the edge of the trees she started walking slowly and quietly until she saw Kirsui laying down with two others, one being a lion with wings. She had only ever met one of them. But it couldn't have been the same one. She stood there quietly in the shadows, watching in case something happened.

[KanuTGL]

Sumai showed no emotion, but on the inside, he was deeply grateful for Mwezi's words. Strength was just what they needed, and he knew that the cheetah-lioness had it. Then the lion sighed, knowing well what he would have to do next.

A few minutes later, the leader had given her whatever information she might need on the ongoing conflict. How it all started, the losing and conquering of the den, Sitama, Chaza, Xena... "And now no one knows what is up ahead. Knowing their sort, my guess was that they would strike back quickly, but as we can see..." Sumai was obviously puzzled over this and his words faded away. "As we can see, nothing has happened... " The old lion gazed out over the lands yet again, in a mixed feeling of admiration for its beauty, and concern for its coming. Closing his eyes, he remembered what it used to be like... Calm and quiet. At least most of the time. That draught two summers ago had almost thrown the prides into a simliar war; there had been a couple of clashes then, yes, but nothing like this... It had ended in peace then. Oh, yes, peace; that was a word he had never thought of much before, old Sumai. He had never alone been responsible for the future of so many and so much before - only had to followed orders. Responsibility had always been for someone else, but now... The general looked up into the sky, sighing yet again, as if the pale white dots up there that was supposed to look like stars would give him an answer to all his problems. "Oh, Xena..." he thought. "Why did this, all of this, have to happen..." Complicated. So complicated. He turned back to Mwezi.

"As it looks like now, they won't come to us. If that is indeed the case, then we will come to them." Sumai's gaze hardened. "And I will make sure that they never threaten the safety of this kingdom again. These lands aren't--" The lion interrupted himself and looked over his shoulder. That newcomer, the lynx, had stepped out of the cave and stood only a few steps away. Sumai gave him an almost involutary glare, since he had interrupted him, but then nodded at the smaller cat as a quiet greeting. Anu, as he was usually called, had shown up not too long ago and joined the pride... Sumai, however, still wasn't sure what to think of him. He seemed... odd. Like no one the old lion had ever met before. Therefore he also didn't know where to place him, that Anuójat. And talking too much in the presence of someone he barely knew was a little too risky in times like these.

"Anyhow..." the old general continued, still talking to Mwezi. "I will be getting myself some sleep. It won't be too long until I'm on guard duty, and it's best to get some rest before then... Sumai yawned and got to his paws, stretching slightly and shook his head. The thin ebony black mane waved a little in the feeble breeze before falling back in place and the lion turned around, heading to his usual sleeping spot right by the cave entrance. "As I said, if you are hungry, Mwezi, feel free to help yourself to the leftovers of today's kill. Good night." It probably would be another night of little sleep, since so many things that needed his attention were moving around these days, and he needed to be informed of anything new. But it couldn't hurt to try.

[Kirsui]

Mwezi bowed her head in respect to Sumai when he informed he would rest before his guard duty.
"Good night, M'Lord."
When she spoke to Sumai, she spoke with all the respect she held towards this lion. The cheelion watched him go, her mind working on what he had told her of the recent events. She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes for a brief moment.

Food... Perhaps she could use some of that. The moonlight was helpful with her regaining her strength, but it wasn't enough to keep her completely alive. That way she was like everyone else, she had to feed.

Opening her eyes, she gave a quick glance at the area... her area as well as those who belonged to Feraga pride. A proud smile rose to her muzzle, and it turned to a deep frown when she thought about the Burja. They would pay... She would make sure they did..!

But now, it was not time to act, but time to get oneself comfortable after a long journey. Getting up from her sitting position she turned towards where she remembered the left overs of the food usually had been kept so long ago when she had been a cub in this pride. But before she could do anything to begin her way towards the food, she noticed the small feline again.

She smiled on a friendly way as she approached the odd feline. She had never seen one such as him before. She stopped a few feet away from him, nodding her head slightly as a greeting before she spoke.
"Hello there", she said.
"I haven't seen you around before, since I was on a long trip and you must have joined Feraga while I was away..."
She smiled, looking down at the smaller feline with slight curiosity.
"I am Mwezi", she introduced herself with a smile.
"And.. do excuse my curiosity, but... who and err.. what exactly are you? I don't mean to sound rude but.. I have never seen a feline like you before..."
She chuckled slightly, shaking her head at herself.
"...Though... I doubt you have seen a feline like me before either... I am a.. 'cheelion'"
She said that word with slight disgust.
"Half lion, half cheetah, though if you could, think of me as a lioness..."

---

Now that... was unexpected. Kirsui remained silent and completely still during the whole time that the winged lion showed signs of waking up, during the whole time he regained his strength back from... the plants and those odd crystals? She shivered at the realization that if she had not stopped giving her energy away earlier, it might aswell be that there would be no energy left in her.

She snapped out of this when the winged lion noticed her. She cursed herself in her mind of being so careless. She no way had the advantage now, not after the winged lion had regained his strength so well. SO... what she could do now was either stay where she was, completely silent... or speak out.

Mentally she sighed, turning her attention momentarily at the ball of flames that was still giving light to the area. It came lower, floating at her side. She reached out her right front paw and touched the flames, the freezing fire having no other than a calming effect on her. It gave her strength to speak out, to confront this stranger.

"I'm curious..." she spoke out quietly, yet loud enough to be heard clearly.
"I'd like to know why are you here?"
She turned her gaze at the winged lion, tilting her head slightly as she waited for him to speak out. There was no way she would say she was from Burja before she knew if these two were merely wanderers or lions from Feraga.

[Tamber]

There was no urge to sleep tonight. Timbre thought less and less about this conflict he had heard of, the blood he had smelled, the rumors others had told him. He hadn't made a stop to spend time with a pride in a while. The wish to be with others was slowly starting to return to him, but still, at the same time, he felt that being a loner was becoming more and more a part of himself.

"Then again," he thought to himself, "pride hopping was so nice. It was great to be able to meet new people all the time, showing them what I could do and sometimes making them smile. I'd have my times to myself, then some times to party and have a good time socializing. I don't know if I'll ever be able to break my occassional need for socialization and attention."

But the other sides of the issue pressed upon him, as well. "But I'm almost losing prides to hang out with. Perhaps I could revisit some that enjoyed my company. I wonder what they thought when I left. Surely there is at least one that would enjoy having me as their own...no. I could never join a pride. I enjoy alone time too much. If I were to join a pride...well...maybe it would be nice. I would have those I could depend on, and maybe even some I could love. But being a loner is my life. It's how it's always been. I mean...what would it be like to actually have someone love me? Hmm...weird."

The strange big cat pondered all of this as he walked along the African plain under the black night. As he walked along he had lost the scent of lions that had come from the last pride. The air had been clear for a while, but beore long, Timbre began to smell similar life again.

[Lorien]

((Sorry it's taken me so long to post o.O School's been a bit hectic for me as well.))

Lorien's eyes shot wide when Chaza said that Xena was dead. The pride would definitely want to know about this. Looking back at the direction her den resided, she continued to listen to him. The rest of his words, while directed at her, seemed to not be so much for her to hear as it was for him to say. Still, she listened intently, but stared off into the distance, thinking of what could befall the lands that she, for her entire life, had called home.

When Chaza had finished, she turned to him, getting up from the cool grass and took a few steps toward him. Opening her mouth to speak, she finally took notice of the other lion that had been approaching them for a while now and she quickly went to stand beside Chaza. Peeking out at this lion, she listened to his words.

"How...how do you know about the war?" Lorien was confused. How could this stranger know about what was going on in her land? Had word spread that fast to the surrounding territories? She looked up at Chaza, hoping that he would do the majority of the talking to this strange newcomer. She wasn't sure what it was...but something about this new lion didn't settle right with her...there was something different about him.

[Katari]

Chaza nearly smiled at Lorien's reaction to the news of Xena's death. That would surely come as a source of comfort to her, and to the rest of her pridemates, when they learned of it. She was probably eager to be off and share the good tidings, leaving him at the end of the day in the same place he'd begun: alone. That was probably better for him, and it was certainly better for her.

But now a new variable had been added into the situation: a pale figure -- a lion, at second glance -- approaching them from out of the twilight. So that was the noise Chaza had heard. He didn't much like the look of this newcomer. There was something...different about him. The stranger stared back at him with strange red eyes from atop an outcrop of stone. A wind swirled around them in the silence, reminding Chaza of his own ability to use wind, a power he might well need if this lion proved to be hostile.

He listened as Lorien, who had drawn closer to him, presumably for safety, queried the pale watcher about his knowledge of the war. Their war. The one he had started, in a way, though the underlying causes had run much deeper than one rogue. Glancing at Lorien and hoping to reassure her, he stiffened and addressed the lion directly. "Yes," he began, referring to Lorien's question. Then, "Who are you, and what are you doing in these lands?" The answers to the three questions would decide how he was to proceed with this meeting; and if the newcomer did turn out to be unfriendly, well...it had been a while since Chaza last sunk in claws into something bigger than a gazelle.

[Judas]

The vampire halted in his tracks as the lions replied, though they didn't really answer his question they instead questioned him. Well deciding to be polite the male trailed his crimson-eyed gaze over the felines. "Somebody called me Vincent, and what I do here is simple.." the vampire paused as he had decided to answer the male's questions first as they required less explanation. "I live here, that is what I do here." Vincent's voice was lined with subtle irritation, did these mortals think that they owned all this lands for themselves, such arrogance no wonder wars break out!

Vincent turned his attention to the female, "Rumors travels fast, m'lady" the vampire smiled gently, the canine teeth of this vampire wasn't much different from that of mortal lions, just that they where slightly longer. "Did you honestly think that wars go unnoticed? The surrounding territories are doomed to know about it sooner or later, and many would most likely have a political gain in the feuds that ravage these lands." the smile on Vincent's face faded. "I am simply yearning for news, how the prides stand in the conflict. I am simply worried for future of my home, that is all.." the vampire said his voice had a solemn tone to it, he lived here and he needed to know of this war would see any conclusion soon, or if the feuds continue and how that would affect the lands themselves.

[Anu]

Anu saw the healer leave him, she said something about 'the wound should be closing fully in few days' but Anu barely heard her for someone else was poking at him.

A lioness, or so she seemed to be, walked towards him.
"Hello there, I haven't seen you around before, since I was on a long trip and you must have joined Feraga while I was away..." It said.

Anu merely turned his tired head towards the lioness, resting his ill leg by sitting on the side of an orange rock wall.

"I am Mwezi" She continued. "And.. do excuse my curiosity, but... who and err.. what exactly are you? I don't mean to sound rude but.. I have never seen a feline like you before..."

Anu stayed silent for saw that she hadnt finished.

"...Though... I doubt you have seen a feline like me before either... I am a.. 'cheelion'"
She said that word with slight disgust.
"Half lion, half cheetah, though if you could, think of me as a lioness..."

Raising his paw, Anu made her stop speaking. And only after a sligh while, ded he reply.

"I see." His sound still carried the bitterness fresh and open. "I apprciate you... Greeting, Mwezi. But i am sure youd have lots of other things in your mind tonight. And believe me; much more important than me. Oh? Whats that, cheelion? Ive seen your kind loads back from where i come from and so also other here..."

Anu tilted his head towards left right and behind him, simply pointing out several members presence.

"So thats that." Anu said blankly. "I, am Anuójat, you should call me Anu nevertheless."

Anu was silent again for moment. He gave and sigh and yawned.

"I am half-breed as well; A lion and a lynx, but mostly lynx, as you might notice from my not so lion head & ears."

Mwezi stood in front of him still lisening. "So thats that. Now, go all you need to know of me is there. The rest is less valuable and more of a timewasting than you may fathom."

Anu spoke no more and tilted to lick the place where his wound had once flowed with death deep cut. But not deep as had been the depth of his voices hollow emotionless echo...

[Zorayda]

Reicheru focused upon the heavy boulder once more, her green eyes glassy with the concentration.

The boulder vibrated subtly at first, then shot into the air.

Oops, she thought sheepishly.

Several lions around her perked up their ears confusedly.

Oh yeah, don't send your thoughts into everybody's head... right...
The Burja Pride had treated her well--she hadn't been that involved in the current battle, but now she was tired of being on the back burner.

She was now going to train her mind and hone her telepathic and telekinetic skills.


The wind ruffled the tuft of hair between her pointed ears, making her pale yellow fur stand up with goosebumps. The purple swirl on her forehead glowed once more with power as she concentrated on a different object.

Try again...

[Pulsar]

Pulsar stood there shocked. Still not sure what to do about the lioness who now stood before him... well maybe not stood so much as sitting down.
As she put her paw in an odd looking ball of what could only be described as a blueish flame... thing.....

"ughmm....."
He stuttered as what to say to the lioness.
<With any luck she's not a Burja....>
Slowly turning he faced the lioness that was sitting down. The crystals still hovered over Inlasta waiting for her recovery.
Pulsar gazed over at Inlasta and sighed while lowering his head.
<What the hell happened.... How did we end up in such a bad situation...>
"Well.... You pose a very interesting question m'lady..."
He said finally as he addressed her in a polite voice as he did with most lions.
"As you can see...."
Lifting one paw he gestured at the oh so obvious point of entry through which he came crashing through the tree tops at.
"Not my best landing ever....hehe..."
Scratching the back of his neck he blushed slightly. How would that look to his flying skills, having crashed through a tree line...
Pausing as he looked back up at the lioness, he couldn't help but wonder.

<I've got nothing to loose.... With any luck she's no Burja.... If she is she'd no doubt find out before I can recover and also heal Inlasta....>
Frowning slightly, the lion stood upright, noble and proud. His posture tried to portray that which his battered and broken wings contradicted.

He flinched from the pain off the wings which started to slowly creep back. The adrenaline which had numbed the pain to great degrees was fading, if he didn't start healing his wings soon, he would become overpowered from the sheer pain they'll give him once the adrenaline is gone....
"Please allow me to introduce myself..."
He said nodding his head politely. Despite the pain, he wouldn't let his manners be effected, especially to a lioness who he can only guess helped him recover....
"My name is Pulsar.... Sergeant of Feraga Boarder Patrol Group Alpha....."
If this lioness was Burja, he had effectively given himself and Inlasta a death sentence. But while the art of deception was a useful tool. Pulsar was a noble fighter and he would not use such a sneaky trick, even in his and Inlasta's current state.
The Prides may have been on and off with war and skirmishes, but even then despite the atrocities that happened, he liked to believe he had some self pride left...
"....Inlasta..."
He continued as he motioned his head to the lioness on the ground.
"Is part of my 2 lion group...."
<Well Pulsar, you are now damned if you do and damned if you don't.... do anything that is... but with any luck.... huh.......>
"We were returning from a very long boarder patrol and we experienced an accident... resulting in our current situation...."
He collapsed on the ground as more of the pain from his wings kicked in.
"argh... blasted...."
Panting slightly, he lifted his head back up.
"Please.... We mean you no harm.... Me and my friend only wish to go back home to our pride....."
Looking down at the ground he couldn't help but wonder if it was the end for them both....
"And we never even got to see home one more time..."
He whispered ever so lightly to himself.

Despite everything, it was possible he was probably jumping the gun thinking the lioness was Burja but if she was it was well worth getting his story out and pleading for mercy.... if she wasn't Burja then there would be no harm done... He hoped...

[voluptuous♥penguin]

Milo saw the strange feline's nose twitch and knew he had been scented. He was thinking about being nonchalant, then thought better of it. This feline could possibly kill him, to tell by his size, which was atleast bigger than Milo. He knew when he was outmatched.

He sped up until even with the feline then spoke, "Name's Milo."

[Deleted]

Ina smirked at herself when she heard the winged lions reply. She knew she'd seen him somewhere, ages ago, she had come across him when she was on duty one day, him being on duty too. But yet, she still did not move. The white lioness waited to see what Kirsui would do. This was the perfect test to see if Kirsui was really ready to take up the role as leader.

[Kirsui]

Mwezi lifted an eyebrow at the smaller feline's reply. Anu, huh? She had never heard of lynxes before, had never even seen one, not until she saw him. She tilted her head slightly to the side. Indeed, he did have some lion in him...

But... instead of walking away from him, the dark cheelion merely sat down, curling her long tail around her legs. She didn't quite believe he had seen more of her kind before, for she herself hadn't seen or even heard of others like her before...

But then again, world was big.

"You are an interesting creature, Anu", she said, a faint smile playing on her muzzle.
"And you assumed wrong, I do not have other more interesting things to do tonight. I only now got back from my travels, and I need to meet other pride members and memorize their looks and scents."
She sighed, turning to gaze at the moon for a moment.
"The only ones I remember... Xena is dead, Sumai has become the leader... There are some others, but I do not remember their names, only faces."

She glanced down at Anu from her eye corner.
"Are you hungry?"
She turned to the... lynx completely and rose to her feet again with a graceful movement that only a cheetah could make.
"I would not mind having company. And, as I said, I have nothing to do tonight as I am recovering from my trip."
She smiled at Anu, then turned to walk where she knew the leftover foods from the days hunt were kept. She looked back at the lynx over her shoulder as she walked, lifting an eyebrow as if asking him if he was coming or not.

---

Kirsui kept her gaze at the winged lion, waiting for him to reply. She was slightly surprised at how polite he was, she had expected him to tell her it was not her bussiness to know what they were doing here...

"Not my best landing ever....hehe..."

She chuckled, nodding her head as a sign of agreement, an amused smirk coming to her muzzle. What he said next, though, whiped the smirk away. Feraga... She cursed her bad luck in her mind, though didn't let it show. She tilted her head to the side slightly, examining this Pulsar closely. He said he was from Feraga, and so perhaps he didn't know she was from Burja...?

Then Pulsar suddenly fell. Apparently he was suffering more than she had assumed from the injuries he had. She flattened her ears and slowly stood up.
"Maybe you don't mean any harm to me", she said quietly.
"But your pride does. I don't have good experiences from Feragas, since myself and my traveling companions were attacked by your pride a few days ago."
She sighed, trying to figure out how to continue from here. She pitied these two, but her duty to her pride kept her from helping them more than she already had.

"I'd say it's nice to meet you, Pulsar, if the situation was different."
She shook her head, sighing again as she stared at the ground. She thought of Ina, wondering what her gentle leader would do if she was here instead of her.
'Well...' she thought. 'He did give me their names...'
"I'm Kirsui and, at the moment, one of the Guards of Burja Den."

She lifted her head to look at Pulsar. He didn't need to know about the possibility that she was perhaps going to be the next leader. No, that would not be good to be let out in front of this Feraga lion.
"You've come far from your lands, especially so if you were only doing boder patrolling. You're almost at our Den, and so as I was on guard duty I came to check things out."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Unfortunately, you two have to leave this area. I'm letting you go since you are injured from the fall, and I'm not able to bring myself to attack you in such a state."

Kirsui let her ball of flames die and disappear, causing the pupils to return to her eyes. The area became darker right away, and she had to blink her eyes momentarily as she tried to let her eyes get used to the sudden darkness.
"I'll give you your chance to see your home again", she said quietly.
"I warn you, though. It's obvious you don't know of the recent events, and so you might not want to stay here any longer than necessary. Many Burjas wouldn't let any Feraga no matter how badly injured wandering on our territory to leave without further harm, no matter how badly injured they already were."
She took a deep breath, letting the air out slowly as a long sigh.
"Now... Go, before I change my mind or any of the bloodthirstier Burjas appears around."

[Pulsar]

Pulsar gazed at the lioness who introduced herself as Kirsui. As she spoke he slowly began to frown. Out of all the times to run into Burja... Thankfully this one had some amount of mercy. But as she had said her other pride members might not be so inclined.
He blinked for a few seconds before realizing she had finished speaking.
Shocked slightly he then quickly bowed his head in respect to her.
"Thank you Kirsui.... Your mercy is greatly appreciated... by both me and my friend...."
<I Better make this quick....>
Forcing himself back to his feet, he fought the pain which was beginning to rush through his wings.

Forced to make a tactical decision, he choose to speed his healing process with the downside being that it will give away his position. But if Kirsui was the only guard nearby he could easily get away before any showed up. He would have to tend to Inlasta when they returned back at their own den.

"I'm am truly sorry for trespassing on your prides territory... I can assure you I had no intention of attacking, and had no clue that we were near the Burja Den.... It's been so long since we've been back in this area I have forgotten many landmarks I used to identify the dens from the sky..."
The lion said as he stood up strong.
"I'll do as you say and leave posthaste...."

With that said he closed his eyes, a look of deep concentration played on his face as he titled his head back.
Slowly but surely the entire area around them began to glitter just as the plant and crystals had once before. The immediate trees behind Kirsui even began to sparkle. This vast amount of light appearing began to light up the area, and as before, when all the trees and plants in the small area began to sparkle too much the little glints of energy broke away and began floating in a spiral pattern in toward Pulsar. The winged lion started to glow brighter and bright with every passing moment as the area light up more and more.
Until finally, with a huge flap of his wings, sending a gust of wing that shook all nearby plants, the light faded near instantly.

There now, stood a fully healed winged lion. Lowering his head he opened his eyes and looked at Kirsui.
"I will take Inlasta and take my leave now.... However before I go...."
Folding his wings in against his body, he slowly walked over to the lioness.
"I want you to have these...."
Stretching out one of his big frontal wings, he proceeded to pluck two feathers from it, both were rather big and as with all his feathers were white all the way up with a black tip at the end.
Holding out the two feathers he looked at her.
"Take these as a sign of my gratitude... One for sparing both me and my friends life...."
He said as he smiled faintly.
"As long as you hold these feathers I will return your kindness to us. Once, for each feather...."
In a certain respect it was his way of showing that he owed Kirsui twice for the marcy of him and Inlasta, what she choose to have him do to repay her was her choice.
Nodding to her respectfully he then turned and walked over to Inlasta. Knowing that the other Burja no doubt seen the light his little display made, he would have to make a quick exit.
"Common guys..."
He said address the crystals as he sat on his hind legs and picked Inlasta up with his two front paws.

With slow flaps of his mighty wings the lion and his passenger slowly rose into the air. He stopped as he reached a meter or so off the ground.
"Know this Kirsui.... While I appreciate and acknowledge your helping us, and will return the favor... It will not count for everything."
He spoke in a serious yet respectful tone.
"Should we meet on the field of battle, I will not hold back....."
The lion paused briefly in his sentence as if thinking.
"However, should I be victorious in battle, assuming you don't beat me, then I will return a life for a life.... as long as you still have at least one feather of mine...."
Pulsar felt that he didn't need to explain anymore to her.

"It was a pleasure meeting you m'lady, even if you were the enemy..."
Once more the male nodded with respect before turning completely around in one swoosh, and shooting out through the tree line up out into the open air....
"With any luck it'll be smooth sailing from here..."
His voice displayed a tone of relief. They had gotten away lucky that time....

"Don't worry Inlasta, I'll have you home and healed in no time... just hang on a little longer...."
And with that he gave a few more mighty flaps of his wing with a sort dive, as he began swooping at great speed to the Feraga Den. Now that he knew where he was it would be easy to locate the Feraga Den...

[Anu]

The cheelions words were calm and now; instead of healers lecturing speech, Anu had someones voice which didnt persist.

But, Anu felt indifferantly bored of what she said: Since where he came from, there were so many beings... so many and so extravigant that mere cheelion wasnt gonna make him feel supriced.

"I may come." Anu said as the cheelion was leaving.

She raised her eyebrown to Anus direction and waited until they both were on a walk trough the tribe halls, for the place where food was stored. Or so he, Anu, understood... And naturally soon would smell it, were it editable... that didnt much matter.

"So, such long time from your own people... thse and the ones where you orginated from." Anu said. "I wonder how do other who are not native here feel..."

"And also... another question to you, is of my curiosity: Why is your leader, Sumai as i gather his name was, so intense? Youve got your tribe back, why not just cease this pointless war, its total waste. And I KNOW exactly, what that means..."

A spark of an old shodow of pain, went across Anus face as they made another turn in the hallways. Mwezi seemed to tilt her face little towards Anus.

[Kirsui]

Mwezi walked in silence, side by side with the smaller lynx. After entering the caves, she felt her ability to regain energy from star and moon light weaken, and then stop working completely. So it was completely up to food now that she regained her full strength.

The scent of food reached her nose and she smiled, stepping inside one of the smaller caves. She nodded slightly at one lioness who she didn't know. As a reply she recieved a glare, just before the lioness walked away. Shrugging slightly, Mwezi went to the food. It had been a zebra. She licked her lips, then ripped a fairly large piece out of the carcass before backing away and lying down near the cave walls. She took a small bite and begun chewing.

After she swallowed, she returned her attention to Anu.
"You wish to know why Sumai is like he is?"
She took another bite, pondering her reply.
"You have not been here long enough to see everything", she said, a distant look in her eyes.
"This area would perhaps be large enough for two prides... If there were more food resources. The herds move around, crossing the two prides' territories and often it is that one of the prides falls under lack of food to hunt. This leads to conflicts. We simply can not stop now, our own survival depends on this war. Either we die on the hands of Burja, or in starvation."
She glanced at Anu.
"Which one would you choose...? I have seen my pride members starve to death, and it is not something I want to experience. I am more than glad to follow Sumai in this war."

She took another bite of her food and ate in silence for a while.
"Xena was a good leader", she whispered quietly.
"And I feel it is my duty as a Feraga to revenge her death. I assume Sumai feels this way too, as should everyone who is proud to belong to this pride."
She looked down, noticing she had finished her dinner. Shrugging, she stood, turning to walk outside once again to enjoy the night.
"I am not surprised if you do not understand the point of this war", she whispered.
"But I do. I grew up here, lived through different time periods of this battle and witnessed what Burja can do. If we will not fight, we are to disappear, and I am not ready to disappear."

After saying this, the cheelion walked gracefully out of the caves and returned to the night. She took a deep breath of night air, closing her eyes momentarily before she sat down to where she previously had been sitting when Sumai told her of the recent events.

---

Kirsui stood there, holding the two large feathers in her paw and watching as the two Feraga lions disappeared to the night sky. She remained still for quite some time, just staring at the sky even though she couldn't see the two lions anymore.

She looked at the feathers. Life for life...

Kirsui smiled and carefully tied both feathers to her long hair. She would keep them safe. Perhaps it had been wise to let these two live through this day. One could never know what would happen, and atleast these two feathers gave her a faint feeling of safety.

But only a faint. As Pulsar had said, they were enemies.

"Kiiiiir!!!"

Kirsui snapped out of her thoughts. Her ears perked up and she quickly headed towards the source of the yelling.
'Figures', she thought. 'I was gone too long.'
It didn't take long before she found Spinger. She smied at her friend.
"Sorry", she apologised, already continuing her way towards the Den.
"Was nothing special. I'll need to tell Ina what I saw, though, and if ya want to know too, I suggest you come with me. Will be much easier to explain it only once instead of twice."

[Deleted]

Ina watched the whole scene happen. She was impressed by how Kirsui handled the whole thing. After the two flew off, Kirsui walked past her leader and out to Spinger who had just started yelling after Kirsui.

""Was nothing special. I'll need to tell Ina what I saw, though, and if ya want to know too, I suggest you come with me. Will be much easier to explain it only once instead of twice."

Ina stepped out of the bushes and followed the pair.
"There's no need for that, dear. I witnessed the whole thing."
She said as she caught up to them.
"I'm impressed. You handled the situation quite well. And those feathers good come in handy one day.."

[Tamber]

It took Timbre a minute or two to realize that what he was smelling was behind him, and probably following him. Someone ran right up to his side, with little warning, and Timbre wasn't sure what to say.

"Um...ok," he said to the stranger, who seemed to be intrducing himself for no reason. "Timbre," he replied reluctantly. Timbre looked Milo up and down, gazing at his curious colors and markings. Where was this guy from, and why was he talking to him? "So...what's your business around here, Milo?" he said in a hesitant tone.

[Anu]

Anu followed Mwezi to the said place; It was not much... for leftover. But Anu grabbed one tiny piece and swallowed it as a whole.

He sensed An odd powershift curling inside the cheelion; She obviously was wornout and her powers shifting within the... moonlight?

"Very interesting..." Anu thought. He had not used nor hadnt ever needed to empower his own powers; for while he too came tired and weary it was in entirely different manner.

Anu waited for Mwezi to end her replyies... and afterwards Anu looked at her more precisely:

A grim, not physically visual but in the soul, scar was there... She along with the rest had been living a war of food, water and bodys needs.

While sacrificing everything important... friends, family, love... and there was also a something else. But Anu led it stay put for now.

"So youve been FORCED to wage war on life threatening needs? Typical, very typical and unfortunate. Since you all could live in peace if only talk could have place instead of revenge. I see all this distrss in you and others. You may ask how? Because i was a slave, along with many others for many years. I know when life hangs in less than hairs string and friends become ash in your eyes..."

Anu tilted his head and took another slice of food.

"Its disgusting what it does, not only to your life and for the life those around you..." He srugged, painful words echoed now, and no word of Anus was without bitterness.

"It seeds hate and spite which will naturally vanish any though of peace. War anf hathred will continue in cycle of death."

"You say YOUR people die, but so do theirs. What does it matter what tribe is it; Death comes no matter who wins. And when ages have passed you cant even remember why you hate each other to and until damnation."

A tiny tear swepth on Anus face.

"I feel your pain. I know the fate such as much same." "In little time, have i stayed, i can see what drives the people here in this land for i have experienced the same and also heard told this."

Anu turned his face away from Mwezi. "One day, i may tell you how did i get to from the point of my slavery to the point of thse words spoken to you. One day, maybe."

Anu sat next to the wall, near where Mwexi was lying.
"All war is pointless. If that your tribe cant accept, then its your curse to bear." Anu showed no emotion anymore but fell silent and stayed still, cold hard stone once more.

[Pulsar]

After flying for a short while at great speed, Pulsar finally seen the Feraga Den in his sights.
<YES! God that big ugly rock has never looked so good in my entire life!>
The lion was extremely grateful to finally have reached home, which meant also now that he could heal Inlasta before her condition worsened and he could report his findings to the General and Leader...
He swooped down from the high altitude they had been flying at, and very roughly and abruptly slowed down as his body hung down.
Slowly, with Inlasta still in his front arms, Pulsar lowered them down as he flapped his wings in a slowly dumbing down rhythm as they got closer to the ground.

"Clear the way! Injured Lion coming through!"
He shouted at some lions that had been standing around.
As he got closer he noticed Mwezi, an old friend he and Inlasta knew before they went out on their long patrol and before she went out searching. With her sat an odd looking creature, but sadly Pulsar had no time to greet his old friend, nor did he to meet the obvious pride newcomer.
"Common, clear some room dammit, do I look like a small bird to you!? I need landing space!"
Pulsar's wings flapped separately now as he drew closer to the area where Mwezi was.
The big frontal wings flapped, then the smaller back wings flapped, then the front again.
First to touch down was his hind legs, the rest of his body followed suit as he finally touched down on the ground.
Spending no time in hesitation, he placed Inlasta on the ground and stood upright. He gazed over at Mwezi for only a split second then looked back at Inlasta.

"Ok, here we go...."
Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, he closed his eyes and tilted his head back.
The rock surface around him started to glitter and those sparks then flowed from the ground into him.
As a short time passed, small glowing orbs formed from thin air and started to float in random patterns around the winged lion. At this point Inlasta's crystals were floating around above her, waiting for her revival and recovery.
The ground stopped glittering as Pulsar opened his eyes.

He now had six orbs floating around him randomly.
"So far so good..."
Slowly taking a step closer to Inlasta, he held out his right arm and pointed it at her.
He frowned as if trying to aim something right. Slowly the orbs stopped floating and then began moving toward the end of his outright arm, to his paw. As each orb reached the end, his paw glowed brighter and brighter.
Finally a wave of light slowly shot out from his paw, washing itself over the horned lioness's body, making her fur glitter from the light.
When the energy was used up the wave stopped and Pulsar's paw returned to normal.
The Lion let out a sigh of relief as he sat down and closed his eyes.
Once again as before taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

Opening his eyes he looked up over at Mwezi and the new animal.
"Long time no see...."
He said as if addressing her as he smiled childishly at her.

Inlasta was safe now.... However, while he had healed her, she would still be knocked out for a short amount of time, but some rest would do her good. She can always talk and meet everyone when she wakes back up.
Her crystals chimed out in cheer and began flying around Pulsar vigorously, before returning to a silent state and floating in random spots above Inlasta....

[Kirsui]

Kirsui's eyes widened slightly in surprise as Ina appeared to walk with her and Springer. The creamy lioness blushed faintly, glad that it couldn't be seen in the darkness.
"Thank you, Ina..." she said faintly.
She glanced at Spinger, wondering if she now should share with her friend what had just happened.

As they finally stepped out of the forest and arrived back at the Den area, the creamy lioness sighed in relief. She was indeed glad that she had walked out of that clearing in one piece, and that she had gained such a praise from Ina.
"Excuse me for a moment", Kir said to both Ina and Spinger, walking then ahead inside the Burja Den and poking one of the sleeping Burja lionesses.
"Wake up, your time to guard."
After waking the lioness who would free her from her guard duty, Kirsui walked out from the cave again and went back to Ina and Spinger.
"So umm... Spinger..."
She sat down and scratched the back of her head, carefully avoiding scratching the two feathers.
"Would you want to stick around for a while...?"

---

Mwezi didn't turn her head at Anu from the Feraga lands that she was looking at. The only thing to signal she had even heard the lynx's words was that her ear moved slightly to his direction, otherwise she sat perfectly still. But she did hear him, and she thought that maybe, maybe, there was more to this lynx than she had first thought.

"All war is pointless. If that your tribe cant accept, then its your curse to bear."

Hearing this, Mwezi turned her gaze at Anu, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Then it is a curse I shall bear with pride."
A sudden gust of wind caught the cheelion's attention. She stood up so fast that it was hard to say if she had been sitting at all just a moment ago. Her eyes narrowed at what she saw, but then a wide grin came to her face.

"Common, clear some room dammit, do I look like a small bird to you!? I need landing space!"

Mwezi couldn't help the slight laugh these words caused. She stood there, not moving a bit as Pulsar landed, healing his friend after this. Mwezi never grew tired at watching her friend do that trick with his ability. It was simply awesome.

Mwezi laughed again as Inlasta's crystals chimed and circled around before calming down again. The cheelion shook her head, walking then towards Pulsar with a slight grin.
"Long time no see indeed, Pulsar."
She stopped in front of him for a moment, then suddenly rushed forward and hugged her old friend, though carefully since she didn't want to harm his wings. As she let go, she glanced at the unconscious Inlasta.
"Care to tell what happened to Inlasta to cause such a condition?"

[Zorayda]

Reicheru watched as Ina walked back into the den from the inside, and she got to her feet. She appeared to be talking to two others... Kirsui and Spinger, if she wasn't mistaken.
Being careful not to appear rude, Reicheru stepped behind Ina.
"Ina... if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to speak to you..."

[voluptuous♥penguin]

"I didn't know I needed business. I'm a wanderer so I suppose that is my business." Milo said nonchalantly, his emo personal dripping from his pores. He saw the strange feline look him up and down, noting his markings. "I suppose you question my teal lightening bolt. Well its a birthmark. Ok? I don't want to talk about it."

He turned and looked back to see what the other felines were up to, uninterested he turned back. "So Timbre is it? What is your business here?"

[Katari]

Somebody called me Vincent.... What, Chaza wondered, was that supposed to mean? Didn't this lion -- if lion he was – know his own name? He eyed the stranger with suspicion; the crimson-tinted eyes of the other stared back at him. They made him uneasy, to say the least. He had also noticed the elongated teeth. Now, why did that strike him as familiar? He shook his head, willing himself back to the present.

“If you 'live here,'” why haven't you learned anything about the war until now?” He carefully noted the annoyance that he'd caught in Vincent's tone. That was one of his talents, to nettle. You could learn so much about another creature by how they responded to irritations. And, as he'd thought so many times before, knowing another's weaknesses was the key to gaining the advantage over them.

He glanced down at Lorien, who was quietly watching the proceedings, at least for the moment. Shrugging a bit, he lay down in the grass, head resting on his front paws. His other surroundings, the grass and the sky, were all lost on him for the moment, his mind centered on this encounter, overcoming all other thoughts. “And if it's news you're hungry for, why not go and ask your own? You are no rogue, or why would you call this or any other place a 'home'?” His mind was working quickly now, tail flipping lazily behind him to bely his concentration. “Which means you must have a pride...and, as you didn't know Lorien here,” -- he indicated the lioness with a nod of his head -- “you could only belong to Feraga. What else I am supposed to think?” He sneered.

Unless....

There was one other option. Chaza didn't like to think of it, and hadn't wanted to, at first, especially not with Lorien nearby. But, in watching the new lion with careful eyes, it seemed more and more logical. He nearly sighed. “...Or is the war merely a backdrop to whatever else is on a vampire's mind? I know the signs. I'm no fool. But you are one, if you think you can take my blood, or that of my friends.” He stood up, claws slowly extending, not hostile, not yet, but ready and able.

“Well, Vincent?"

[Tamber]

Timbre listened to the stranger's quick reply. This Milo seemed quite nonchalant and easy going, yet dark and deep at the same time. For some reason, Timbre was gaining a bit of respect for him. But Milo wasn't in the clear yet.

"Seems our business is similar," he replied to the lion's inquiry. "Yet I have a bit more of a mission than you seem to, though this is just what my eyes see."

It was the first time Timbre had come into friendly contact with another wanderer like himself. Normally the large feline would make his own way into prides, where he could socialize on a larger basis. But this time it was a loner, a loner who made the attempt to be cordial before Timbre had even seen him.

He thought he might as well get a better look at this guy in the light. He presented a round, blue illimination as he had done before and held it before the stranger's face. Milo looked even deeper and darker as light shown upon him, which was a bit ironic.

"You look like you've seen harder times," Timbre commented. "But I won't ask you to comment. I suppose it would be rude."

[voluptuous♥penguin]

Milo let slip a small smile, a rare sight for him. He spoke in his easygoing manner, "I suppose I have. Some would say I have not, but being an outcast gives you the look I have."

He turned and then turned back to see the strange blue light. It interested him, "So you also have powers. Mine are invisibility and forcefields. Those being the reason I left my pride. Too many stares and glares. Not to my taste. So what are yours? Well besides this light thingy."