Quamia, Railu, & Jais

The she-wolf leads the nearly grown pups through the central lands, feeling awkward about being in another's territory. She locates a thick stand of pine saplings. A wide ravine runs through the middle of them. Quamia leaps down into the ravine, and calls Jais and Railu down. "Stay quiet and still down here, and we'll be back for you soon." It was very muddy in the ravine, with the snow melting, and their once glistening coats were splattered with dark mud.

The she-wolf climbed out of the ravine, glanced back once, then sprinted off toward the den site again. Railu sat down wearily, tongue lolling out of his mouth. Jais, almost pure white in fur color, looked almost as dark as his black-hued brother with the mud clinging to him.

*Diavolo and Ferro*

The two cougar yearlings had been exploring, completely unaware that they were in another's territory. Diavolo moved first, his pelt noticeably lighter than his sister's. His pale ruby eyes gaze around for a moment, before they caught sight of the pups. Diavolo cocked his head, and began to draw closer. What were they? Ferro followed a little cautiously, her darker grayish pelt standing out against her brother's sandy brown. Diavolo smiled at the two pups. "Hello there." He said as Ferro stood beside him.

Jais & Railu

The sickly Railu cowered down with wide eyes. But Jais looked up at these creatures with interest as he replied with enthusiasm, "Hello! What are you two?" Jais shook his head, flinging dark mud from his coat.

Railu drew his ears back in fear. Not only did these cougars look intimidating to him, he knew they weren't suppose to make any noise until their parents got back. Jais completely forgot about that.

*Diavolo and Ferro*

Diavolo seemed a little surprised at the display of enthusiasm, but a smile played on his lips. "Fine, yourself?" Ferro looked at Railu. "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you."

Jais & Railu

Railu tried to stand up, but the thick mud was like a suction cup around his legs. He was weak from his disease, so he gave up and stayed where he was, keeping his lightly hued eyes on the cougars.

Jais tried to climb up the ravine side to get a better view of the felines, but he slid down the muddy slope, ending back where he originally was. Frustrated, he gave up this attempt, and spoke to Diavolo again, "Have you seen any bears around here? My family is going to fight them, but we are suppose to stay here and wait." Again Railu was worried that his brother might get them into trouble, "Jais, we're suppose to keep quiet..." Jais ignored his brother.

*Diavolo and Ferro*

Diavolo padded closer, curious of these two pups. "What's a bear?" He asked, not understanding the pup at all. As neither he nor Ferro had come into contact with anything but wolves and birds, they didn't quite know the dangers of the world yet. Ferro moved behind her brother, her soft brown eyes watching Railu struggle. Something didn't seem right about him.

Jais & Railu

It never occurred to Jais' young mind that they wouldn't know what a bear was. So, still enthusiastic, the large pup explained, "A bear is a very large creature. They are like..." he pauses, trying to think of some comparison, "... well, they are larger than 5 wolves put together! They have brown fur too. And they steal wolf pups." The young wolf added with certainty. "My family is fighting three bears. The bears took my other brother and sister... and they killed another sister." Jais frowned, he didn't have any memory of his sister that had died.

Railu gave up trying to keep his brother quiet. He only wished that his family would come soon and help get him out of this muddy ravine.

*Diavolo and Ferro*

Diavolo nodded. "Oh, I see. I've never seen a, what do you call them, oh right bears." He rolled the odd word off his tongue, smiling slightly. "I'm Diavolo, and that's my sister Ferro." Ferro nodded at the mention of her name, but she still kept her eyes on Railu. "You okay?" She asked softly.

Jais & Railu

"I'm Jais, and that's Railu." he said, then curiosity played across his face, "What do you call yourselves? I've never seen a creature like you before."

Railu glanced up at Ferro, then down at the mud. "I'm alright." the grown pup lied. He hunched his bony shoulders and ducked his head lower, still frightened by the large cats.

*Diavolo and Ferro*

Diavolo paused for a moment, before speaking. "I believe we're called 'cougars', some sort of large cat I guess." He shrugged his shoulder.

Ferro nodded to Railu, before replying. "You sure?"

Jais & Railu

"Cougar" Jais replied to himself. He didn't know what a cat was, he figured it was like comparing a wolf to a dog. Kind of the same, but having different sizes and colors. His mother told him about dogs.

Railu didn't look up, and only replied with a gruff, 'yeah'. Jais turned his head back to look down at his brother, then looked to Ferro, "He's sick, but when he's older, he'll be very strong." Jais said, recalling what Wind Caller had told them. Neither brothers knew that Railu was doomed to death in less than a year.

*Diavolo and Ferro*

Diavolo nodded. "Yah." He gazed around. "So why are you here of all places?"

Ferro sent Railu a curious look, before shrugging her shoulders. "Okay."

Jais & Railu

Jais thinks a moment, "I don't really know why they had us stay here, it's really muddy and smells funny." his muzzle wrinkles slightly in a frown. "I just wish they'd get back soon."

Quamia, Jais, & Railu

Quamia returned a while later, coming to the opposite side of the ravine than the cougars, so she didn't pick up their scent until she got close enough to see them. Instantly, her fur rose and her eyes widened in fear, then narrowed.

Jais turned his head back to look at her, "Hey! Can we get out of here now?" Quamia kept her eyes on the cougars, but didn't snarl or growl as she replied to Jais, "We need to get out of here..." Jais didn't object, he didn't like behind stuck in this muddy ravine. He struggles, and finally gets himself up. Railu can't get up though, so Jais gets hold of his scruff and pulls his brother out of the mud. It takes quite some effort, but they both manage to get out.

Quamia eyes the big cats warily, since she and her pack haven't had good relations with them in the past. "Follow me." she instructs to the partially grown pups. Jais looks back at Diavolo and Ferro, "It was nice meeting you!"

The three then leave the area.