The border of the Sagtannets seemed faded, even dead. Taikon's nose was bent to the base of the mountain, inhaling its scent, concerned. He had not properly visited the territory in some time. He had not been ready to face the possibility of others while he had resided in and near the mountains. He had never ventured anywhere near pack territories in the Sunspires until one day, he noticed that a particular marker just outside the boundaries of the Sagtannets had become old and never renewed.
The prince had no real knowledge of who they were apart from @Takiyok's stories. He cared much more about her story and what had happened to her than what might have happened to her pack.
And so the prince of nothing entered the Sawtooth Spire, knowing well that it had once belonged to wolves that had saved his friend from certain death. He ventured further up the slopes to find the remnants of food caches, and even a den site that had not been used since the prior season. The whole time, he looked about him, searching for some sign of where they might have gone.
He knew that it was likely, given the proximity, the Saints had forced them out.

Cat.
The smell was unmistakeable. Taikon's hackles rose. His body tightened. He ignited into a beast on the defensive. The animal had slunk down from a ridge he had not seen. Expertly, the creature had sat upwind of him and the prince had not detected it. His lips went to lift, and then..
A voice like a confused teenager hit him, deep and goofy. The wolf's posture relaxed some. He stood strong. Actually I was looking for a pack of wolves that lived here until recently, he explained, staring directly at the snake-eyed animal's gaze. Do you know where they went?

The cat's voice once more seemed to relax Taikon, who had never met an animal who behaved in this way. The lion was a powerful beast, yet he seemed quite nonchalant about the whole thing. When Taikon had been ready for a battle, the cat merely explained that he had no idea where the missing pack had gone. The prince figured it likely didn't matter much to him.
Right, he said, wanting to be annoyed that the feline didn't know what had happened, but still nervous that the wrong move would end in disaster. Taikon didn't know what he was supposed to say to the animal. He took a breath, standing tall and firm. I was looking for a friend; I was hoping she was still here. The explanation was mostly him voicing it aloud. The lion, after all, had asked why he'd been sniffing about.

The predator was aloof and uncaring. He seemed to be altogether through with the encounter, and at some point Taikon felt it might be right to leave. However, the feline seemed not done with him yet. After his lingering and unconstructive talk, the cat continued with something more useful. A question. Simple.

She looks a bit like me, actually. If I remember right she was a little smaller than me, and her eyes were more reddish. You know, orange-y, he described. Really, Takiyok could easily have been his sister, so similar were they. Taikon blamed this at least partially on the strong push toward overbreeding that the Farukan royal family had had for so many generations. He thought it unlikely the strange cat had spotted his friend, but it was worth a shot.

While Taikon was glad to have found that the mountain lion was willing to cooperate, the entire encounter was unexpected and strange to him. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to act. What should he say?
Thanks, he said carefully, gold eyes flashing toward the cat's curious snake-like gaze. He was a formidable critter, but the idea that others that met him might not listen caught Taikon. He blinked. He realized at once that in fact he had been on the defensive, and this relaxed him further. He knew that this beast would not hurt him, probably. He seemed easy going. He seemed, oddly, like a person.
You uh, Taikon said, I appreciate that. The sentence felt awkward. He didn't like it. He felt awkward. The prince was in front of an animal that could kill him, but didn't.

As quickly as the mountain lion had changed Taikon's mind, he decided that he was off. The pallid prince wondered if this was a common occurrence; the cat must have often encountered those like him that didn't understand the cats as thinking and feeling creatures. By comparison, Tai must have seemed quite brutish.
The prince nodded slowly. He regarded the beast differently now. Where before he treated cougars as something like killing machines, now he thought that maybe he was wrong in general. This surprised him. The Farukans had long prided themselves in knowledge, and part of that was knowing as much about their native flora and fauna as possible. Taikon had learned only about the cats' appearance and diet. He knew little of what their behaviour. He felt humbled to have learned something new.
As the lion took his leave, Taikon blinked, feeling almost disoriented. If he had been wrong about mountain lions, what else was he carrying that was untrue?