Khala

"Layra! Tuini!" Khala's piercing voice called out from the rocks just above the mouth of the cavern. It had been several days since the exiling of Katara and her friends, and Khala had been doing double-duty scouting the lands around the Cavern and the Prairie. So far, the Shadow Haunters hadn't made any moves to attack, and Tuini wondered if Senka had actually been serious about their truce.

Today though, the falcon had flown a little further afield, and gleaned new information. Now she perched above the entrance to the main cave, waiting for one or both of her leaders.

Layra

Layra was wondering if Tuini really should of banished Katara. After all Layra herself actually likes to keep her word so she had stayed out of Tuini business. She looks up.Yes Khala?She asks.

Khala & Others

The shaggy-maned Tuini padded out of the cavern, yawning as he stepped, and squinting his eyes against the glare of the sun above. His leisurely pace suggested he was still trying to fully wake up from the nap Khala had interrupted, and once he was outside the den, Tuini turned and plopped down on his tan haunches to look up at the falcon. "Hnnn?"

Little Tuft was outside as well, resting against a rock wall where there was shade enough to cover him. The elder lion didn't stand up, or even lift his head from where it lay cushioned on a giant paw. Instead he flicked a single ear in the direction of Khala's voice.

The other soul in the area at the moment was Dusquei, who like Tuini, had been slumbering in the cool shade of their den. She didn't exit the cavern with her leader though; the big liger remained inside, auds perked as she listened.

"I spotted Katara just southeast of here, in the Sora Asiatic." Proximity aside, that alone didn't raise Tuini's concerns much, but what she said next certainly stirred his interest. "The other exiles are with her, as is Nemu and her cubs. I watched for a short while, and they don't seem to be on the move."

Tuini's whiskers twitched and he shifted a thoughtful frown from the raptor to his sister, "Think they're planning an ambush? Or settling territory?"

Layra

Layra listened. "I would assume settling if nemu brought her cubs plus nemu hadnt been exiled from the haunters. Atleast not at the same time as katara

Tuini & Others

"You think she really would have left the Shadow Haunters?" Tuini posed, his frown deepening the more he thought about it. Judging by the way she'd run off after the encounter, he knew she'd been upset, and wondered if that had been enough to push her out of the Haunters for good. "That's either good news for us, or worse. The Haunters have less members now... but if this is a new group they're forming, I wonder if they'll be allies with them."

"I could investigate." Dusquei's voice sounded from the cavern, and was soon followed up by the presence of the dark-tan cat as she stepped out into the light. She saw Tuini was opening his mouth to speak, ears going out at either side in blatant disapproval. The ligeress spoke before he could deny her request, “They won't attack me, at least I'm fairly certain of that. I don't know about those cats that are loyal to Katara, but I do know Nemu."

Tuini closed his mouth for a moment while he read Dusquei. It was rare for her to speak up like this, and he didn't fully trust their enemies. Nemu might not hurt her sister, but what about Katara and the others? He looked questioningly to Layra, wanting her opinion on the matter.

Layra

Layra paced.No I don't think Katara will. GoShe said.

Tuini & Others

Dusquei lowered her head in a dip, eyes switching to the white lioness. "I will be careful." Gaze flashed back to Tuini as she took a single step, now standing fully outside of the cavern. She could see that he was still concerned about the prospects of her mingling with an enemy, so she offered with an assuring tone, "Nemu wouldn't let them harm me." Behind that confidence gaze and wording, guilt hung like a weight around her neck. '...because she is better than I was.'

"Khala!" Tuini sided with his sister's wisdom, and made no objections with Dusquei's decision to go. But there would be a simple caveat. "Escort Dusquei, but don't let your presence be known. If things go south, report back to us."

The falcon nodded diligently, and swooped down to land on Dusquei's back. After flying all day, she would ride to the Soras, and take flight just before the entered the pride lands.

Dusquei gave her leaders a final nod before padding between them, flicking a tail against Tuini, and rubbing her chin against Layra as a sign of camaraderie. She then carried on, her path leading her towards the not so distance wetlands of the Sora Asiatic.