[Flame]

Tengel Rainforest. By default, the creature which now stalked these lands liked most forests: They provided shade and an escape from the midday sun, and there was always plenty of prey running rampant through the undergrowth. She had grown up in and around the forests near her home cave, and thus, had garnered a familiarity with them...or at least, so she thought. Well, here was the exception to her apparently false assumption. Hot, humid, wet, and muddy. These attributes all added up to be a disaster in the making; after all, no one had ever bothered to take the time to tell her that forests could differ from the temperate, deciduous woods she was used to, and she was currently in the middle of a crash-course in getting to know your different forests. Hands-on. So far, things were adding up to be a less-than-wonderful day. She supposed that the blame was partially (alright, mostly) hers, for finally deciding to get out of the house and take a look around Evelon, but really, of all the places she could have ended up, this would not have been among her chosen locations. Trudging through the undergrowth, no other creature had yet to find the courage to cross her - then again, a huge, black dragon-like beast tended to have that effect upon lesser creatures, and personally, she was okay with the current solitude.

Pausing in her tracks to take a breather and perhaps try to get her bearings, all eight gold eyes surveyed their surroundings, although to no avail. Everything looked the same down here...Green, green, a splash of brown, and more green. She huffed a sigh of quiet frustration. If the canopy cover hadn’t been so darned thick, she would have been out of here hours ago, but she had yet to find a breach in the emerald blanket which formed the roof of this muggy terrain. Worse, she was beginning to feel dehydrated, which only made her all the more irritable. One would think that in so humid a place, it would be easy to find water, but all of the moisture seemed to be in the air, and there wasn’t a river or stream anywhere in sight or within hearing. She found herself beginning to wish that everything wouldn’t be so terrified of her, for once, if only so that she could get directions out of here, or even to the nearest source of water. Well, being an outcast had both its ups and downs, but this certainly had to be lumped in with the latter of the two. Making a mental note to herself never to leave the estate again without a reliable map, she sighed resignedly, rustling glittering black wings before settling them against her sides and continuing her fruitless wandering through the forest.

[Mojave]

Full of shade? Tengel certainly was, though it did nothing to assuage the heat and humidity. Oh, and it was also always raining, though it was to complain about that when your body needed moisture in order to breathe. As for full of food... that largely depended on how big you were.

For example, if you were a large male paragon, built with well toned muscle and sturdy as an ancient mahogany, food in this part of the world was rather hard to find- or catch. Rengosetts were the largest game, and were hard to catch from their smaller forms fitting between the trees. However, his black skin marred only by white stripes and blue spots, blended in better than most would think in the thick foliage, he far from starved.

However, his hunt was far from fruitless today, though not what he considered edible. He watched the unfortunate female trudge her way uncertainly through the forest, helpless against the smirk that spread his reptilian lips from razor sharp fangs. However, he was aware of the dangers of outsiders being here unguarded.

Sighing, he shifted his wings and began to follow her. "Excuse me, but do you know where exactly you are?" His voice was deep, hissing around s-sounds, but only ever so slightly. He remained in the foliage, still closing the distance between them, though his green eyes glowed within the darkness, only to be lost within the green foliage. Two diamonds of pale green amid millions of hues.

[Flame]

As she all but trundled through the heavy forest, Vega considered perhaps acting a little less, well, noticeable. She was certain that the trees here must be pretty well inhabited, but there was no sign of any of the rainforest's residents - not even a stray Polly called amidst the treetops. She shrugged it off though: Whatever didn't run in the opposite direction would certainly be too petrified to acknowledge her with a coherent answer, if she were to ask for directions. Then again, how could you really give directions in the middle of this huge, amorphous mass of green? Her best bet at getting out of here was simply to continue walking in the direction in which she was headed. The forest had to end at some point, didn't it?

Her whip-like tail, tipped with its eternal silver flame, drifted a foot or two off the ground behind her. She was careful not to touch the brush with it...after all, it was already hot enough here; a forest fire would do no one good at the moment, short of burning the place down around her ears. She supposed that could be a last-resort, if she could find no possible escape route. Then again, everything seemed to be absolutely bogged down with this cursed humidity, it would be a miracle, if anything managed to catch anyways.

She heard the thing before she saw, or even smelled him. Sensitive ears hidden by dark scales caught the faint rustling of leaves and branches as something, rather large - if she might add, approached her. Instantly, her senses were on the alert: She could make out the soft breathing, and could almost see the leaves fluttering in the warm breeze it created. Her slender, tapered head swiveled to face the source of the sound, all eight eyes focusing on one spot in the foliage. Paragon, a male. She could smell him. It was more of an instinctual thing, really, as he was the first of her species she had seen in…well, it seemed like centuries. He was different though, she could tell. He smelled, earthy, like the forest around her, as if this was the habitat he was built to survive in. Even as she stared, she saw nothing at first, until he shifted, and the form of his head (the rest of his body was still hidden in the undergrowth) materialized, peeking out at her.

"Excuse me, but do you know where exactly you are?"
Well, that was one way of greeting a stranger. Her tone, although serpentine and velvety in quality, had a certain crispness to it, and a dry cynicism as she replied.
”Location is all relative, really. It would depend on what exactly you meant by ‘exactly’.”
Indeed, she had a way with words, and seemed to find humor in twisting a line of thought until it was tangled beyond recognition. What she said did have a grain of truth to it though: Exactly could mean anything from exact coordinates to anything as expansive as a continent. She certainly wasn’t going to tell a total stranger that she was hopelessly lost in this maze of trees, although it was probably more than apparent even to those less-than-observant. In the back of her mind though, there was a grain of relief at the thought that there was at least someone else out here who didn’t try to act as if they didn’t exist until she had passed. Perhaps he could help her out of this unsavory predicament, although she would be the last to beg him for directions. She wasn’t quite that desperate. Yet.

Her gaze remained locked upon the spot amongst the leaves where she knew he was, waiting for him to reveal himself.
”Do you know exactly where you are?”

[Mojave]

He sneered back at her, catching her less than friendly air and tossing it right back at her. He wasn't too friendly to begin with, but was less so when shown even a hint of rudeness by an intruder. However, he let her stand in the silence a few moments, taking in as much information as he could garner from just looking at her. She certainly wasn't a weakling, and he could smell pine on her, though he didn't know what it was. He just knew it had an earthy, and overpowering smell to it, and he knew he didn't want to go to the source of it.

He also contemplated how to explain this to her, as he doubted anyone not native to the rainforest, an outsider, would understand or care about the rules of this jungle. They never did, they just cut it down for their own profit, leaving the ecosystem damaged, sometimes destroyed.

The flickering of her tail alerted him, and the spines upon his read rose while his throat spines flared as well, the blue folds of skin bright in the twilight of the forest, the green triangles almost glowing. Worried she would set his home aflame, he moved from his hiding place, coming to block her advance, neck curled around and down so his head was level with hers. He moved his tail around, the upright blades shimmering green- a visible warning not to move. He hissed, eyes keeping both her and that tail in sight, and chose now to explain the answer to his question and to answer hers as well.

"I am in my home, dealing with an unwelcome and threatening trespasser. My prey and the other wildlife chased into hiding for fear of being eaten or burned alive, will not re-surface until the morrow and now I must go empty-bellied during the night, lest I feel I can compete with the Taigras that hunt at night here. Which, I assure you, I cannot." His eyes were glittering furiously now as he continued, "And you are the center of it all. That is exactly where you are, with every other outsider when they enter Tengel with ignorance."

He paused a moment, breathing heavily as he wanted nothing more than to force her out. However, he knew it would do no good, and he had a sneaking suspicion that she was lost. He ceased his rant, sure she wanted to defend herself, to claim she was here to study it, to take samples, or to give some other dishonest excuse before she attacked, took what she wanted, and left without a care in the world what it would do to the forest to take whatever it was.

[Flame]

Oh, ho, ho…someone seemed a little touchy today. Vega bit back a snort of derision at this visibly aggressive male, who seemed determined to show her that he was the boss around these parts. And they told her that she was anti-social. It was true that all of this heat and humidity had put her in somewhat of a foul mood herself, but although she had been less than quiet in her wanderings, she hadn’t actually done any damage to the forest around her, and if she had, the harm was negligible. The reason was both because she had no reason to actually wreak havoc upon the forest itself (she was just very grumpy with the weather and climate), but also because it would have been far too much effort to crash through all those trees and foliage. Yes, she had probably scared the wildlife here into hiding for the next few hours, but honestly, the guy was a lizard…how often did he really need to hunt?

Her tail curled, tensing in preparation to strike as the male emerged from his leafy hiding spot, ready to defend herself should the need arise. Her grip on her power tightened and she felt all the shadows around her seem to quiver slightly with anticipation, ready to jump to her bidding. Every movement he made radiated aggression and defensiveness, and for the time being, she treated him as one would a coiled cobra: With caution. She had to give it to him, his bright array of colors was quite impressive, but the only indication she gave that she had seen it was a quick once-over as her eyes drifted over his larger frame, sizing him up. If it came down to a fight, she knew that it would definitely get very ugly, very fast. He was bulkier than her, but her smaller size and agility might give her an advantage in this densely forested area. From what she could tell, his behavior was namely territorial, and his next comment confirmed her suspicions.

”Well excuse me for not having seen a giant sign or scent markings advertising that this wonderful square of real estate, which looks identical to the rest of the miles and miles of forest around us, is currently taken,” she snapped back at him, her patience (short, as it already was) wearing dangerously thin. ”From my experience, your prey will have completely forgotten my passing within a few hours, and unless you haven’t eaten in days or weeks, you won’t starve any time soon, unfortunately.” All eight gold eyes glared back at him, daring him to challenge her statement. ”After all, what harm would my passing through do?” She really could not see what the big problem was here. Maybe it was just a male thing. ”How do you expect to take me on if you don’t even dare to defend your territory from Taigras?” A genuine note of puzzled curiosity crept into her voice as she voiced her inquiry. How could a Paragon of his stature survive out here if he could not assert his authority over the smaller predators that also prowled this forest?

[Mojave]

Had he known how she interpreted his response, he would have laughed. 'A male thing' it certainly was not, and she would have cemented herself as an idiot in his mind. Dominant displays were only during mating season, and she certainly didn't look like someone he would even think of contesting for. She was rather creepy, and then when she opened that awful mouth of hers.. well, he could have lived to never know what her voice sounded like or gotten a dose of her attitude.

He noticed her own posture tense, though he missed the pulsing of the shadows, thinking it only the foliage ruffling in some breeze from the canopy. He felt confident though, that should a fight arise, they would be equal matches. Her smaller size would allow her to move more easily than he, however he knew this neck of the forest as his territory spanned several miles in either direction.

”Well excuse me for not having seen a giant sign or scent markings advertising that this wonderful square of real estate, which looks identical to the rest of the miles and miles of forest around us, is currently taken. ... From my experience, your prey will have completely forgotten my passing within a few hours, and unless you haven’t eaten in days or weeks, you won’t starve any time soon, unfortunately. ...After all, what harm would my passing through do? ...How do you expect to take me on if you don’t even dare to defend your territory from Taigras?”

"Firstly, there are scent markings, along with scratched out signs. I'm sorry outsiders are completely ignorant of what smells and signs to look for." He smiled here, blinking and shaking his head, though the movement was infinitesimal. "Also, you have no experience with this wildlife. From the manner in which you travel here, and your ignorance, I would say you've only recently learned of Tengel. Or wished to visit it for the first time. The prey here know that a dragon on the hunt is infinitely patient and that it is hard to see me. They are only used to me, and a second of our genus in this forest is sure to keep them in hiding longer than a few hours. Which is how long they wait after I have fed. As for the damage your 'passing through' does, I have explained half of it. The other half is made up of very small changes that, via a snowball method, becomes bigger changes. And I'd rather not waste my time trying to make an outsider understand something she doesn't give two rattegans about anyway." Here his voice became a snarl, though he reigned in his temper before he could do more. "And if you think you can compete with Tengel taigras, by all means. Stay for the night and try your claws against them. Perhaps your flesh won't prove too soft." With that, he moved as if to leave her, exhausted of being around her. He had several more miles of territory he could hunt in, after all.

He shook his head, resisting the laughter that threatened to erupt. He could have offered to lead her out of here, but after her display of foul mood, he figured a night lost in the forest would do her some good. So long as she didn't destroy anything... He groaned under his breath, pausing in his passage. She seemed rash enough to actually raze the forest, perhaps leaving her completely unattended wouldn't be wise. He would just have to hunt tomorrow- she was right in that he didn't have to eat every day.

[Flame]

Vega cocked her head jauntily at him as he spoke, her interest in what he had to say almost mocking in manner. Oh, any half-wit could have been able to tell that she wasn’t a native of Tengel, and she currently wasn’t in any mood to be lectured to like some disobedient hatchling. This male acted as if she were an imbecile, but she knew that his confidence was rooted in his familiarity with his surroundings, as she was not. If he were in her home forests right now, she was more than certain that he would be singing a very different tune. His condescending monologue irritated her to the point where she seriously considered throttling him on the spot, despite the apparent danger to her own health. Oh, anything just to get him to stop talking! She swore, some people spoke, just to hear their own voices.

”My friend,” she finally cut in, her voice very dry, ”I didn’t come here to be preached to by some overgrown lizard about his personal problems.” Here, she paused. ”I can assure you, I have more than enough of my own, and I could live without having to hear yours as well.” Had she been in less of a temper, she might have laughed at how this stranger was riling himself up, working himself into a neat little fury. ”Have you ever considered, if prey is so flighty out here, perhaps moving? After all, I can guarantee that I won’t be the last ‘intruder’ to trespass on your territory.” She wanted to say more, but against her will, decided to bite her tongue and shut up. Not something that she did often – she generally tried as hard as possible to drive strangers away – but she figured that the situation she was in was bad enough already, without a larger male Paragon going for her throat.

She snorted disdainfully and with a small touch of triumph (she had to indulge her pride sometimes) as she watched him make off, back towards the depths of the forest from whence he came.  She knew that she’d likely kick herself for it later, as she had let someone familiar with the lay of the land slip from between her claws, but for now, her dignity was satisfied. When he halted again though, a mix of emotions, both irritated and relieved, flooded her mind. She could almost taste the unease which hovered about him like an invisible aura. Yes, perhaps she did have the upper hand here: This was his home, and although he was more familiar with it and had a good chance at besting her in combat, she knew that she too could wreck havoc upon his home, even if she fought a losing battle. She could do damage that could take decades, or even centuries to repair itself, and it was a risk he certainly recognized.

Grinning, a full, daunting set of glimmering white fangs flashed in the half-light. ”I might just take you up on that…invitation,” she replied to his last statement, the smile on her features only widening.”Perhaps I can fare better than yourself in your home habitat.” The mockery in her voice was hardly veiled, and she found herself wondering how quick his comeback would be. The truth was though, both of them were stuck with each other: He because he was worried about what she might do to his home, and she because he was the only live thing around for miles that even had the slightest chance of helping her.

[Mojave]

The circumstances were plain to Rezoxu too; she needed to get out and he was the only one able to help her and he wanted her out. Slowly, he turned his head inward and down on his neck, turning his chin almost sideways to his chest as he hissed in aggravation. But shaking it as he straightened up and turned, his expression turned to a small smirk.

"So it seems we're at a draw, lady. You want out of my home and I want dinner. So how about this, you get us food for the night, and I'll get you safely out of here by the morning. And best yet, neither of us has to speak to the other for the rest of our little predicament. How does that sound to you?"

He was still ignorant of her power, and was skeptical about them having food. However, he wasn't about to offer his help for nothing in return and thought he could at least try to take advantage of her more resilient hide.

As for her other words, he decided to ignore them. For one, she would continue to lash back as he presumed she must have the last word or laugh. He wasn't interested in such useless arguments and let it slide. Also, she obviously hadn't noticed the scale-like pattern on his skin was just that- a pattern meant to deceive enemies into believing his skin was nigh impenetrable when it was in fact the opposite. He had many traits similar to the tiny poisonous frogs that lived in his home. And while his skin was soft enough to allow this femme to kill him, if she bit him, she would die also as the thin coating of slime covering every inch of his body was potent enough that two milligrams would kill a human in seconds.

Yet all this meant nothing when he fought the taigras. Past experience had taught him that they were smart enough not to bite him- they had learned from the frogs. Instead, they had turned their claws onto him and he had learned his lesson quickly. While he would not let this female die for nothing more than trespassing, he had noticed her skin was highly more protected thus she stood some chance against them. Thus, he felt confident in his request for her to face them. Nor did he feel any shame in doing so. If she could not defeat the great cats of Tengel, then she would know why he could not either.

[Flame]

So, it seemed that this male had more sense than she had been willing to concede that he had, and he seemed as interested in finding a compromise as she was, although he was considerably more adept at voicing it than herself. She had her pride, and it could be unbending…to a fault. Silently, she was glad that he had come up with a solution which would likely suit both negotiators (if they could be called such) quite well. With her experience and personal style, hunting should be no problem – as long as his oh-so-daunting Taigras didn’t prove as much of a challenge as he made them out to be. Vega certainly had had her fair share of battles in her life, and although she hadn’t won all of them, she had a pretty good sense of her capabilities as a fighter. The offer which the male made seemed just enough, and as long as he kept his end of it, she would do all within her power to keep her own. She might not be the most polite of creatures in the forest, but when it came to honor, she remained steadfast to her word.

”Fair enough,” she replied, her voice now considerably milder than its formerly astringent tone. She didn’t seemed worried at all about this stranger keeping his end of the deal: After all, he was the one with everything to lose. If he broke his word, it was his home that would burn – Vega preferred not to destroy everything in her path, but when worst came to worst, her own needs still came before this stranger’s. ”There’s no point in dawdling, then is there?” The shadows in the forest were growing darker by the minute – In this perpetual half-light, the femme hadn’t noticed the passage of time, and the coming of nightfall caught her by surprise. Well, it seemed that wandering hopelessly through the jungle really passed the time quickly, she thought wryly to herself. ”Where and what do you usually hunt?” She paused. ”Unless you really do believe that no prey within miles will emerge for tonight…” A small smirk spread across her features. ”In which case, have you ever wondered what Taigra flesh tastes like?” Yes, if what this male said was true, and that his usual prey was wise enough to remain hidden for the night, then the only other beasts to be prowling the forest tonight would be the equally ravenous Taigras of which he spoke. They certainly would not be happy to know that their prey had been chased off, and their stomachs certainly didn’t have the holding capacity of a Paragon, which meant famished, very incensed cats. Secretly, Vega rather relished this opportunity to see bloodshed, something she had refrained from for what seemed like a very, very long time. Now she had a perfect excuse to break that “fast”, and streak of good behavior. A little action would get her blood pumping again, and liven her up from what seemed like years of only half-living.

”So, will you be assisting in tonight’s hunt, or shall I be hunting solo?” Already, she was analyzing her surroundings, taking note of every detail from temperature and humidity to how much light she would have to work with while she hunted. ”By the way, do call me Vega. “Hey you!” and “lady” do wear on a person after a while.” With the thought of a kill on the horizon, her spirits seemed to have lifted out of the pit they had fallen into during the day, and there was a new glint in the femme’s eyes, anticipation written in each curve of her lithe frame. For all everyone back at home knew, what happened in Tengel, stayed in Tengel.

[Mojave]

He remained silent at first, glad she had agreed without argument. To him, it was a sign that they would both make it out of this unscathed, if only with thoughts of never approaching each other again. Which also worked out, she was a bit too... uppity for his tastes, which meant a lot of things that he wasn't about to seriously think about.

However, at her questions- which came too close together for him to respond to each in kind- he perked up a little, though hating what he was about to say. "I usually hunt the deer-like creatures of the forest, sometimes birds.. whatever I can catch, really. I have wondered what the cats taste like, yes. As for joining you, no. I had hoped you would realize this on your own, but it seems my skin is highly deceiving to you. My skin is soft- so soft, that I am nigh useless against anything made of bone or anything harder. As to calling you Vega, I suppose that is more polite. I'm Rezoxu."

He hated admitting his weakness to other paragon- especially ones he tended to be hostile toward. It was just one more reason he had returned to his birthplace in Tengel- other Paragons could, and would, easily kill him.

[Flame]

She nodded as the male spoke, taking in the information which he gave her. Every scrap might turn out to be helpful in this strange, otherworldly place. After all, she was treading on unfamiliar ground, and gods know what might be thrown at her next. First muggy forests, then soft-skinned Paragon…what other surprises lie in store? She noted, with a measure of interest, that his skin was indeed unprotected by scales of any sort: An enigma to her. He was the first of this sort she had ever come across; She hadn’t noticed at first, as the semi-darkness, coupled with the cover the underbrush provided, had hidden that detail from her perception. She wondered how he survived out here on his own. Then again, seeing that he wasn’t exactly scrawny, she figured he managed pretty well.

”A pleasure to meet you,” she replied, although the glint in her eye indicated that she had certainly been in happier situations. She couldn’t complain though: An unwilling guide was always better than no guide. Ha, and that coming from the pessimist she was too. ”So, do these cats prefer to hunt alone or in groups?” A vital piece of information she would need when she went on the prowl tonight. As she spoke, she began to take stock of her surroundings: Drawing in a lungful of air, she assessed the scents which rode the nearly nonexistent breeze, deciphering individuals from the heavy, damp musk of the forest. All eyes scanned the trees around them, her ears pricked for movement. All the while, her tail flicked minutely in a motion much like a waiting cat’s, the flaming tip deftly avoiding contact with all surfaces as it moved. Rezoxu’s foreign scent, Rattegans, Matches, Cuniflare…ah hah: Taosig. Nicely sized prey, and definitely feisty, it would easily feed a Paragon. By the smell of it, there had been a small herd, although she would have to track their whereabouts, having scared them off with her approach. Trusting that either she would be able to trace him back here, or that he would follow her, if simply to watch from a distance, she turned without a word and vanished into the dark undergrowth with the smallest of rustles, her gait now stealthy as she slid along the leaf-littered forest floor, her dark scales effectively hiding her from sight.

[Mojave]

"They are solitary." He answered simply, sure she wouldn't be interested in a wildlife lesson. He noticed her survey of their surroundings, and he left her alone, his body shifting idly as he waited for her to proceed in any way.

The next moment, she was disappearing into the darkness, and he was left with little choice but to follow her. He wasn't sure why, but he had a bad feeling... which was never good, especially if you had an unwelcome guest with fire on her body.

((Sorry it's disgustingly short, but I've missed every opportunity to talk to you. xD; I'm thinking of having some form of excitement happen, but don't know if you want to prolong this or not.))

[Flame]

Vega’s senses remained fixed on her surroundings as she stalked through the undergrowth, surprisingly stealthy for a creature of her size and stature. She continued to follow the trail which led her deeper into the forest, now tracking mostly by scent. She was aware that Rezoxu was following her, although for what reason, she had no idea. She snorted to herself; Maybe he was worried that while she was off hunting, a very irate, food-deprived Taigra might come along and see him as being a better meal than having no meal. She paid him little attention as she ducked through the trees, trusting him to match her pace if he wanted to tag along.

After a few moments though, she had the unnerving feeling that they were being watched by something, or someone. She slowed her pace slightly, listening for any signs of life in their neck of the woods, but nothing gave away the presence of any living beings other than the two Paragon. Finally, she came to a complete halt, swinging her head in a sweeping gesture as she scanned all 360° of forest around them, all eight golden eyes alert for movement in the trees. A soft breeze rustled the leaves softly, but it only made her job harder as she tried to spot something in the near-darkness. ”I think we have some unwelcome company,” she murmured to her companion without turning to look at him. She could feel her scales prickle with anticipation. There was nothing in these woods that would so readily stalk a pair of full-grown Paragon…nothing other than the Taigras which her “to-be guide” seemed so worried about. She was quite certain that they were lurking in the shadows around them, and that eventually, they would bore of their stalking and make their move. Deciding that she wanted to hold the inevitable battle on her terms, Vega remained firmly planted where she was, waiting patiently for the skulking cats to make the first move.

[Mojave]

Rezoxu had fallen a little behind due his lack of scales to protect his softer flesh from the sharper flora around them. However, he arrived within earshot of her murmured warning just in time to catch it. Upon registering that indeed the jungle around them was muted and there was a tangible feeling of wrongness, he began to scan the dense undergrowth he had just been through and that around them. From the corner of his eye, he caught a darting movement- a silent darting movement and his frill instantly went up and his wings opened as far as the jungle allowed. "I think you're right.. I just saw something move. And I emphasize the lack of the word 'heard'." Scan the ground around you and see if you can distinguish any tracks; I don't want to look away from where that movement was." Indeed, his own pupils had expanded to allow him to see perfectly in the dark, though what good it did him he wondered. The Taigras in this part of the jungle tended to be black.. though the wild dusk taigras were highly more aggressive paired with even more difficult to see after sunset.

However, it was a dusk taigra.. one with cubs back in her den that hadn't eaten in several days. She was no longer in the spot the male paragon was watching, and though she didn't understand their speech, she knew this male. Knew his weaknesses, though she also knew his strengths. The female though... she could tell there were scales protecting her. But just how hard were they? She continued to wait, waiting for them to move into a more vulnerable pose- she needed to be sure she would land a killing blow rather than be foolish and risk the female being too much of a challenge. She had cubs to consider afterall...

[Flame]

Listening carefully to Rezoxu’s advice as he caught up, Vega nodded faintly to show that she had heard what he said. Scanning the ground to look for tracks, she was only met with frustration: Apparently, the Taigras stepped much lighter than they would have expected, therefore, leaving no discernible trail on the spongy forest floor. Suppressing a low growl, she continued to search the foliage around them for the lurking predators, now more than certain that they were waiting there, biding their time. ”Heeere, kittykittykitty,” she taunted in a sing-song voice, hoping to goad the cat, or cats, out of hiding. ”Come out, come out, wherever you are, my little cowardly kittens.” She couldn’t be sure whether the Taigras would actually understand what she was saying, but she was quite certain that they weren’t stupid enough to completely miss the mocking tone in her voice. Right now, Vega would take just about anything over waiting: She hated sitting here, feeling like a hunted rabbit as she waited for an attack. Her tail flicked lightly with irritation, quickly running out of patience as she stared into the darkness for something she couldn’t see.

During this period of time, yet another cat had slinked onto the scene, this one a regular Taigra of the black variant so commonly found here in Tengel. He was more than aware of the fact that it was this female Paragon who had scared off his prey, and he certainly wasn’t happy about it at all. Although he had eaten just a day or two ago, the fact that another predator had come into his territory and frightened off his prey didn’t sit too well with him, and he was determined to teach her a lesson that would keep her off his land from now on. He could sense the mother Taigra skulking in the shadows nearby, but paid her little attention. As long as she wasn’t interfering with his plans, he didn’t really care whether she stayed or left. He had the feeling that she was after the same thing he was though, and a partner to aid him in his retribution might not be a bad idea, considering how large their quarry was. Flicking his tail lightly, he crouched down, waiting for just the right moment to make his move.