Shy Deer Steppes Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown

The Firebirds were just shy of five months old and though Wildfire would always be petite, even she could no longer be easily differentiated from the adults. This was her argument when she asked her parents if she could go on a brief trip beyond the pack's borders. Peregrine in particular had mentioned the plains directly to the east and Wildfire wanted to explore them. He was adamant in his refusal, until she insisted she would take @Magpie along. It was clear to her that he still didn't like the idea one bit (she knew he didn't think much of the Outrider trade, period) but, at last, he relented.

"Be back in no more than three hours. I'll be watching and waiting at the borders." These words echoed in her head as she and her young aunt ventured out toward Shy Deer Steppes. It was a hot, dry day. They stopped at a small creek for a drink, then found themselves at the edge of the sprawling prairie. Magpie's lemon-lime eyes immediately sought out the distant herd that gave this location its name, while Wildfire simply stood there, drinking in all the sights and smells of these foreign surroundings.

The lioness wandered around the Teekon Wilds with no true purpose. She had eaten a rabbit and that was enough to ease her prodding hunger. Now her golden pelt was melted within the dry setting. Green eyes burned into to mutt pelts. One had firey toned fur while the other had a darker coat. If the red one was alone, she would kill her without hesitation. But there were two. She would be a nice kitty this time.

She rose from the grasses and approached the pair. Her tail was down, a cat sign saying 'I mean no harm'. "Hello strangers."

When a shape suddenly emerged from the long grass due southeast of their position, Wildfire went rigid and squinted, unsure of what she was seeing. A feeling of horror then swept through her. "Wifi," she heard Magpie say calmly, an edge to her voice, "get behind me now." The pup obediently slunk closer to the yearling, never tearing her amber eyes off the large cat as it prowled nearer.

The young wolf knew nothing about feline body language, though even if she knew what a lowered tail meant, she would never trust a strange predator. When the mountain lion greeted them in a feminine voice, Magpie hunched close to the ground and Wildfire did the same. Were they about to be attacked? Was the cougar only pretending to be nice? Meanwhile, she was a little surprised that she could understand the cat.

"We mean no harm. Please let us leave," Magpie said, which triggered an internal reaction from Wildfire. If they went back to the caldera this quickly and told Peregrine what had happened, he would never let her leave again! She couldn't decide which was more frightening: the idea of being clawed to death by this deadly cat or being chained to the caldera for the rest of her life.

"Is this your territory? We didn't mean to trespass. We'll go over there," she suddenly said, standing up a bit taller as she pointed at the waterfall off in the distance. She kept her golden gaze riveted on the feline's face while she internally summoned up all of her Warrior courage.

She internally smiled as she saw the two wolves slunk back. Such power she had. One sight of the large cat and wolves go running. She sat down in front of the pair and curled her tail around her massive paws. The larger one said they mean no harm. "I know," was the wildcat's simple answer.

She grunted at the younger one's answer. "If it was, I would have attacked a long time ago. I haven't found a place to claim yet." She needed to find a place soon. The sooner she marked her territory, the sooner she would not be pestered by puny wolves.

The lioness settled onto her haunches, looking rather calm. Neither wolf relaxed much, though. Wildfire swallowed when the cat pointed out that she would have already attacked if that had been her intent. Perhaps it was true that she didn't have any desire to harm them right now, though the young Warrior didn't trust that the feline's attitude might change at any moment.

The cat seemed to want to make conversation, though Magpie remained tight-lipped. Wildfire guessed that her young aunt was trying to work out a way to make a safe escape. The pup tried to catch the yearling's eye and shake her head. If they did leave, she didn't want to head right back to the caldera. Sure, they would be safer there but she was still worried that Peregrine would never let either of them out of his sight ever again.

"We'll go over there," Wildfire repeated, once more pointing her smudged snout at the waterfall pooling into a small lake below, "unless you don't want us there either." She was being very careful to avoid saying or doing anything that might trigger the cougar's predatory urges. Wildfire still didn't trust that she wasn't on some sort of hair trigger that might go off any second without warning.

*materializes*

Magpie's chartreuse eyes blinked slowly, her jaw firmly shut, before she shook her head and gazed pensively at the mountain lion, then gave Wildfire a sidelong look. Her niece was intent on evacuating, not a bad instinct— and one that Magpie reluctantly agreed with, mainly because Peregrine would eat her alive (and so would Fox, for that matter) if she allowed her niece to be harmed. Still, Magpie didn't want to return to the caldera any time soon, either— she received that silent message loud and clear.

"We're just taking a look around," she said carefully, casually— with a slight shrug for good measure. With a turn, she mouthed, "GO!" to Wildfire outside of the lioness' view, urging the youth to lead the way (so Magpie could take the brunt of any attack). She paused, her head turning back over her shoulder, "We'll make sure to stay out of your way."

XD Lion King reference

She enjoyed the two mutts reactions. Overly so. She threw any intentions of being nice out the window. After all it was only two wolves right? A crooked grin spread across her face as she walked forward. "What's the hurry? I'd love for you to stay around for dinner" She circled around so now she was face to face with the smaller one.

Magpie tried to usher her ahead. Wildfire hesitated, them attempted to obey, only for the large feline to step into her path. I knew it, she thought. She had been right not to trust the cougar all along. She could trust her instincts, which were currently telling her to either fight or flee. She knew the wiser of the two choices but the cat was now effectively blocking her path. The pup assumed she could easily leap to cut them off no matter where they turned.

What choice did they have, then, besides intimidating the mountain lion? Even though Wildfire knew it could be hopeless, she suddenly stood up to her fullest height (which wasn't tall at all), fur bristling to make her look larger. Her lips wrinkled back from her teeth and her ears slicked backward, disappearing as they flattened against her skull. She arched her back like a cat, her yellow eyes glaring and her tail stiffening behind her. Nothing about her stance betrayed the fear that made her heart flutter like a bird in her chest.

"Let us go," Wildfire said quietly, "or we'll call for the whole pack. They're right over there. There's twenty of us," the youngster fibbed, eyes flicking very briefly to the distant caldera before latching onto the cat's face. Although she quailed inwardly, she forced herself to look the feline full in the face, challenging her.

The younger one rose her stance, which surprised the big wildcat. Did she want to be killed? Her words didn't phase Ki too much. "Twenty of you? Impressive. Well there will soon be nineteen if you don't choose your actions wisely." She sneered at the young who dare stand up to her. Well she could do a little intimidation as well.

She arched her back so she became larger and let teeth slip from her maw. "Five seconds..., she snickered.

"Five."

"Four."

Oh forget counting. "One!" She swiped a paw close to the girl's red face. If they didn't run now they would face her fury.

I'd appreciate it if we could stick to a posting order— Magpie would have moved to protect Wildfire after Kat's last post, but I didn't get the chance... sorry for the slight power-play as a result.

Magpie bristled at the sudden change in the cat's demeanor, and she couldn't help but to release a low growl, growing more and more agitated as the creature circled to stand in front of Wildfire. She was already moving as the cat spewed more threats, and her speed increased as the lioness began to count. It was obvious that the creature could not be trusted, and as the feline counted "four", Magpie roughly shouldered Wildfire out of the way— and in the next second, the lioness counted "one".

Before a snarl could even escape the yearling, the cat's paw swiped in front of them. While it was aimed to barely miss the younger wolf, Magpie was larger— and the black-and-white wolf yelped as it connected with the side of her muzzle. Whether or not the cat's claws were out, the force alone hurt. "RUN," she commanded of her niece, though her green eyes never left the lioness' form.

Her posture was defensive, and she was ready to lay down her life if the lioness decided to go after Wildfire.

Edit (08/23): I'm going to edit a conclusion since both Kira and Magpie are inactive. :)

The wildcat openly threatened her life, which made Wildfire feel a bit like vomiting. Much as she tried to maintain her stance, she shrank when Kira arched her own back and bared her teeth. She began to creep backward, only for Magpie to suddenly and jarringly shove her to the side, out of the way of the cat's swiping paw. Wildfire gave a little cry when she heard the cat strike her young aunt instead, though Magpie wasn't damaged too badly to tell her to, "RUN."

Warriors didn't run from a fight, especially not when it meant leaving a pack mate in mortal danger. However, Wildfire was an obedient pup. She began to slink further from the scene, though she didn't truly retreat. She couldn't turn her back on Magpie, no matter if it meant defying a direct order. Wildfire would feel like the worst kind of traitor if the yearling lost her life because of her.

What she lacked in size and strength, Wildfire made up for in some quick thinking. "Rattlesnake!" she shrieked suddenly, pointing a paw behind the large feline. She hoped Kira would jump or, at the very least, turn her attention toward the possible (and totally nonexistent) threat, giving Magpie and herself a chance to flee.

Without actually waiting to see how Kira would react to the perceived threat, Wildfire made for a run for it. She knew Magpie would do the same. No sharp teeth or claws fell upon their backs as they ran, though neither of them so much as slowed until they ran all the way home. As promised, Peregrine was waiting there for them, surprised and concerned about their hasty return.

"Cougar," Wildfire panted a bit reluctantly. Would he try to ban her from going out ever again? Would the two of them be in some sort of trouble? "We outsmarted and outran her," the pup added, which seemed to mollify the Alpha male a bit. He did have a look on his face like he wanted to permanently chain them both to the caldera, though Wildfire knew that proving their ability to escape a sticky situation would at least counterbalance the threats of danger out there.