Blacktail Deer Plateau somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond

✹☾❂

 

it wasn’t that she didn’t like the hushed willows, because she did. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the faeries, because she did — a lot. 

It was the ghosts.

The willows were full of spectres, from even far beyond Elysium’s days. The seraphim were not the first family to perish there, and they wouldn’t be the last. Eleuthera supposed it was like that on every inch of the face of the planet, really. Perhaps she was striding atop the bones of something long-dead at this very moment, with miles between her own animated body and theirs...

jesus, what was with her these days?

Eleuthera chalked it up to her close soul tether to the willows, but she heard the ghosts here more than anywhere else, chattering away at their endless laments. In reality, she hadn’t ever known the dead to speak before — and that’s what Scarab had told her too, but the gilded harbinger had been wrong.

As much as she loved the willows, she loathed them. It was impossible to scry the voices of her departed loved ones from those who meant nothing to her. They were all the same — had all lived, loved, and died — and all their earthly achievements mattered for naught. Sometimes, the mere thought of it made her queasy.

So Eleuthera found that she was inclined to take walks outside of the willows quite often, to calm and still her mind. It was not uncommon for these walks to be several hours long, and she’d travel far before snapping out of her fugue state and turning to head back home. Sometimes she would even pass the night out there, in some unclaimed pocket of the universe — as was the case this night.

Not incidentally, these nights were also the nights where she experienced the most restful sleep.  

As the evening began to swiftly fade into darkness, Eleuthera began to seek a fine sleeping place. There were not many trees here, and she was rather high up on the plateau around the coastal termination of the mountain range, so she felt relatively safe. A soft bed of grass would suit her just fine.

one depress-o, coming right up!
literally anyone welcome

All that you were, all that you are,
together here and from afar,
the sea calls us home,
ey-oh-ley, — oof, no.

Umi grimaced, annoyed at her inability to finish the poem. She often forgot the good parts if she stopped before things were finished. This had resulted in most of the songs she had tried to write having only melodies, or lyrics that didn’t make any sense. Perhaps she was no good at this after all.

The cat’s journey had continued beyond the coastal sands. She had stayed on them for some time due to their familiarity, but the need to find a permanent home had left her wandering. Early on, she knew that wolves had followed her trail, likely to ward her off from lands that they believed belonged only to them. Canines and felines alike were rude in this way, incapable of sharing and impossible to change.

Umi had failed at two deer hunts that day. She was lamenting her empty stomach as she moved through the plateau, prowling soundlessly over the grassy earth. Her sensitive nose picked up a faint trail of another deer. They were certainly still active, though Umi was beginning to grow tired.

Following this scent, she did not notice the wolf until she was mere yards away. Worried that the wolf was here to scout her or hurt her, Umi’s tail fluffed up like a brush, but she stood her ground, seeing only one. Are.. are you here to hurt me? Her voice, child-like in its wording but wispy, carried over the breeze easily.

✹☾❂

 

The very moment that the mountain lion stepped onto the scene, Eleuthera was aware of it. The realization was immediate, as soon as the wind turned and the feline scent drifted past her nose. Immediately, all intention of finding a bed for the night was abandoned; tossed to the very same wind, an abruptly replaced with a sense of alert-ness.

Then, when she turned tightly on her heels and saw the fluffed up tail and predatory gaze, stalking her amongst the grasses, all that drained from her body and panic rushed to fill her. Leu’s pale, lavender eyes grew wide and her mouth fell slack. All she had ever known was that mountain lions were killers who destroyed senselessly — or simply because of their interminable bad moods. If a bear could destroy the entirety of Elysium, then she was nothing against this car’s teeth and claws.

Eleuthera was mentally steeling herself, preparing to dart away and give chase, but the cat’s words not only stopped her, but almost completely disarmed her. "Are.. are you here to hurt me?" Eleuthera regarded the cat, not certain if such an innocent display could be trusted. “I —" the lilac woman started, but her voiced cracked. Her wariness completely audible in her shaky tone, she managed to continue. “I could ask you the same question." and then she waited, feet on fire, to see what would happen next.

The cougar's ears had turned backward fearfully; she was not sure if the wolves from the coast had tracked her all the way here. It seemed unlikely, but Umi knew that faced with a pack of wolves, she was no match. Now, more than ever, she wished that her mother had let her stay in their home territory. Alas, it was the lion way to push children out on their own eventually to find their own turf.

The cat didn't know anyone here. She had no friends, and her brother were probably in far off places. She was lonely.

The wolf regarded the feline carefully, and her voice broke as she spoke. Umi listened, rather appalled. Oh no, definitely not, she said, shaking her head with a wide swing. I'm just looking for deer, she admitted. I'm Umi. A smile spread across her face; it had a warmth to it as though she were greeting a friend she had known for years. Her tail wiggled a little: a sign of her curiosity. Who're you?

✹☾❂

 

Umi seemed friendly enough, but Eleuthera wasn’t entirely convinced. She had never known cougars, or bears, or wolverines — hell even squirrels — any animal that was in direct competition with wolves to be overly friendly. In fact, the stories she had heard in her travels of large predators devastating packs and killing wolves were heard more often than Eleuthera really felt comfortable with. She had only met a few animals other than wolves in her lifetime, so Eleuthera knew there was a good chance she was being biased. 

Eleuthera did not respond for a moment, letting the feline’s words hang adrift in a suspicious silence. She regarded the sandy, short-furred woman hotly — but only for a moment. The lady of lilacs was an intuitive creature, and she did not read this particular cougar as a threat. Maybe others, but not this one. Eleuthera allowed herself to soften, shook her pelt as if ridding herself of the tension, and broke the silence.

“Well," she gave an offhanded explanation, explaining why a wolf might be afraid of a cat as large as she. They, seemingly, attacked at random. “It wouldn’t have been the first time."

For some reason, it was difficult for Eleuthera to put down the idea that this cat was a bad creature, despite presenting herself entirely as the contrary. Eleuthera knew it was only her memory working against her and tried to swallow it all once more. She immediately felt bad about her little quip — but Leu had heard of cougars senselessly attacking wolfkind, but never the other way around. 

“I’m Eleuthera," she returned. Then, almost instinctively, she inquired “Deer—?" Eleuthera had scented the herd but hadn’t even considered them to be a potential meal. In fact, she hadn’t realized how hungry she was until that very moment.

The suave wolf's response triggered a mild frown in the cat. Umi looked away for a moment, unsure of what the comment meant. She was naive enough that she did not fully understand the use of sarcasm. This had been something that her brother Sunanoko had been very fond of teasing his sister with. Umi had never really been a person to question things that others said to her; she took almost everything at face value.

The young lioness's question too had hung in the air for too long to be comfortable. She stood there, feeling the wind removed from already tattered sails. Though she didn't realize it, these new territories were quickly killing her good nature. Mistrust and toxic souls bled through otherwise decent lands, leaking into her idealistic illusion.

At last, Umi got a name. And a followup. It was a nice name, but Umi continued. Oh, yes, there were several that passed by here and I was following their trail, she clarified, not knowing that wolves could track equally or better than she could by smell alone. They're quite delectable when caught, she explained, as though Eleuthera had never tasted venison in her life. Umi hadn't exactly thought her description through.

✹☾❂

 

What an interesting experience she was having. Eleuthera, having not met many other predators despite her lengthy travels, was slightly in awe of this occurrence — now that Eleuthera swayed strongly to the side of trusting this mysterious, wondrous Umi, she allowed herself to feel amazed by it. Her sweetness did not seem feigned, and Eleuthera immediately chalked it up to the fact that the personalities of lions must be equally as varied as that of wolves.

Well, apparently there were deer nearby. Eleuthera hadn’t scented them — hadn’t tried to, given her nearly catatonic traveling state. Eleuthera gave a puzzled look and lifted her nose to the wind, hoping to hone in on the ungulate herd. The scent was faint, but it was there. Eleuthera pulled back and reframed the gilded Umi in the center of her gaze. The way she was talking, it was as if she was suggesting that Leu had never tasted deer. What a strange cat, indeed. Was she in need of help?

“I’ve had deer before, but…" the lilac woman explained, shifting her weight from paw to paw. “I could never have taken one down by myself. " In fact, the idea that a single animal, even one as strong and powerful as a mountain lion, could take down a deer solo amazed her. To Leu, that was reserved for only the biggest and the strongest and the most deserving of an entire deer to themselves. Generally, though, it was not the wolf way.

It would have been obvious to an onlooker that Umi knew very little about wolves and their everyday lives. Her mother had taught her only that they should generally be avoided, particularly when in numbers. They lived among one another in small groups, and they howled whenever they felt like it. The cat had never thought about what they ate, how they hunted, or why they should be avoided.

The wolf before her of course had eaten deer before, at which Umi nodded quickly, as though she of course knew that. The next statement, however, gave her pause.

To the young lionness, hunting was always a solo venture. Even when her mother had brought her brothers and her along to watch, they had always been instructed never under any circumstances to intervene. Sometimes, that had proven quite difficult, as animals under distress made her want to give chase more than anything in the entire world, but in the end staying silent and hidden had always paid off.

Really? It's not too hard once you get used to it, she said, as though talking to a cub. Umi had no concept of what wolf hunting techniques looked like, and thus assumed that Eleuthera had only eaten deer that had been caught by others. It's all about getting your ambush set up correctly, and from there it's merely patience, she explained.

✹☾❂

 

The ideas that Umi was impressing upon her were baffling. Did this cat not see what a tiny thing she was, incapable of using her weight and teeth to take the life of anything larger than a raccoon? If Eleuthera could take down a creature like a deer all by herself, there would likely be no need for her ever to shelter in a pack! Perhaps that was why mountain lions lived such sad, solitary lives — as she saw it — and why Eleuthera had tons of friends. She would take teamwork, any day. 

Still, Eleuthera was easily warming up to the strange creature. This was not the type of cougar that she had heard myths and stories about, in her travels. She was friendly, and easy to talk to — and though Eleuthera’s jocularity seemed to pass right over her head, it seemed to come from a place of innocence, and that was something that Eleuthera almost envied. “Easy for you to say,” she began, unable to hide the smile that finally edged across the entirety of her fine-boned maw.

“You are so strong.” Eleuthera upturned an eyebrow at the cat’s body of rippling muscle, accentuated by her field of short, golden furs. “I am weak, I need my pack." it was a universal truth that she now trusted Umi not to take advantage of.

Umi remembered how hard it had been at first to hunt. Deer were quick creatures, and had sprinting power and agility that was often far beyond her own energy. It was exceptionally rare, perhaps twice that she remembered, that she had caught a deer after giving chase. Generally, all of the venison she had ever eaten was caught with the ambush and quick-kill method that her mother had taught her. The cat wondered if the fine-framed wolf had had a mother to teach her how to hunt. How exactly did wolves survive in such great numbers?

Umi looked at herself, or at least, tried to, straining her neck to look at her backside. She had certainly grown considerably from her childhood. She could feel her shoulder muscles tense with each subtle movement. Mostly, though, she recalled her mother, and how formidable she looked. Umi wondered if she might look the same to this little wolf.

Oh, she said, rather taken aback. You don't look weak to me, she said, and it was true. You're a whole lot bigger than a fox or a coyote even. The cat gestured up and down at Eleuthera's greatness. She seemed perfectly tuned for running and leaping. We're just different, she added. Though it was an obvious statement, it was rather fitting for the situation. She sat, grinning, pleased with herself.

✹☾❂

 

Eleuthera couldn’t hold back her smile as the young lion continued to talk. Chatty, this one was! It pleased her, because usually she was the chatty one and needed to work at a conversation in order to get the other to open up. Umi was an open book, and Eleuthera was far more than willing to peruse the pages.

“You know," the lilac woman commented after the cat was done showering her with compliments and stroking her ego. “I’m beginning to really like you"

Eleuthera let the bounce in her voice die off, then perked her ears forward as an idea came to her. Her tail was held high from the sheer thrill of the idea. “Maybe you can show me? Take one down together?" Eleuthera had never been one to shy away from a challenge, and hey, it was a double win: she got to learn the secrets of hunting solitarily, like a cat, as well as the added benefit of working with a partner. And the idea that they could, afterwards, share a nice meal together was the cherry on top.

Once more, the feline beamed, quite delighted at such a positive encounter. Eleuthera was simply lovely; they were having themselves quite the odd little tea party. Umi wanted to say "yay" or some other childish-sounding thing, but she didn't want to overshow her exuberance. Instead, she nodded very quickly, her cheeks bright, struggling to keep herself looking adult-like.

The shadowy little wolf's tail raised, at which Umi's whiskers twitched. In cat world, this was a signal for "I am comfortable with you here," and so she was quite pleased. At the suggestion of a joint hunt, the cougar blinked, making a squished face, thinking. She had never tried to hunt with anyone else before, ever. Hmm, escaped from her lips, and she tried to picture what this would look like. I don't know how to do it together, but we should try! What on earth this would look like, she had no idea. She was an ambush predator and completely unpracticed in coordinating attacks with other people, to the point where she wasn't even sure what "coordination" with others was.

She rose, her own tail raising with a wiggle at this exciting new prospect. Her senses kicked in as she sniffed at the air around her, wondering if the trail of the deer she had been following was still fresh. It was hard to detect, but it was there; her ears flipped forward. Not sure if that deer is still around. We should find it if it is.. She looked to Eleuthera expectently, wondering how this experiment was going to work.

✹☾❂

 

Like Umi, Eleuthera was having a very fine time. It almost seemed natural for her to suggest a hunt, after all, that’s what wolves did to conspire in conviviality, and bond, and luxuriate in the simpleness of being with one another. Umi seemed hesitant, but not unwilling. The lilac woman found herself grinning endearingly, wondering if a wolf-cougar cohunt had ever been conceived of before, none the less attempted. If no one else, why not they?

The mechanics of it, Eleuthera knew, needed to be talked about beforehand. Umi was used to hunting solitarily, so Leu would have to take the reigns on this one. “Perhaps I could chase it towards you, circumvent all the stalking and waiting" the lilac huntress suggested, knowing it to be a tried and true wolf tactic. However, she wouldn't need at least several canids in order to take it down — she had one big, strong mountain lion. “Then you attack it and — I can watch. Help, if you need it." she didn’t mean to sound lazy, but Umi sounded very confident in her ability to do this on her own, and Eleuthera wished to see a show. If the golden lion needed her, Eleuthera would be right there, but it was doubtful.

Eleuthera shrugged a shoulder, suggesting that “We both win, no?" and raised her nose to the wind, drinking in the air like a fine wine, and holding it there. Smiling, the wolf returned back to her friend; this was something else she could offer. Her clearly superior sense of smell. “I can track it, too.  They’re right over there." Eleuthera commented, gesturing down a hill to the left and through a thicket of trees. 

Eleuthera was quick to talk tactics, which was an entirely new world to young Umi. The cat, of course, strategized well, but only ever on her own. She had never needed to worry about the coordination and timing of another hunter with her. Still, she was a smart cookie at least when it came to taking down game. She was pleased that her new friend was so ready and willing to come up with a plan on her own.

Umi nodded over and over as the plan was revealed. Often, she attacked from trees, but in this case she likely only needed tall grass and sure footing to make sure the plan went smoothly. Most hunts ended in failure for most predators, but even if they didn't succeed, it would be a story certainly worth telling. Perhaps one day she could tell her cubs of the time she hunted alongside a canine. If you can get it close enough to me, that should be enough, she agreed. By close, she meant very close. For though she was a lioness, she was no African lion and was not built for running for long after prey. The ambush and positioning were everything.

Wow, impressive! She said. Cats, like their canid counterparts, had excellent senses of smell. Umi's however was poorly tuned for long distance tracking. She relied more on knowing territories well and taking advantage of areas she knew prey was likely to travel. Having no room range currently, that made her lucky indeed to have a wolf on her side.

The gesture was all that was needed for Umi, and she quickly began moving toward the thicket, stopping after only a few yards and creeping into a very slow stalk, sleuthing for sounds that might tell her a better idea of positioning. I will follow you until you think are close enough, she whispered. They would need a flanking maneuver in order for Eleuthera to drive a deer toward the cougar, but she was too inexperienced to know at what distance that would work or how they would decide what the ambush spot would be.

✹☾❂

 

Umi didn’t have a lot of other things to add other than to bring it close, but she was all ears and smiles, so Eleuthera had not expected a lot of pushback to begin with. The two were quite similar, Eleuthera realized the more they interacted, and though they both would like a nice meal she was certain that the golden lion would settle for a fun, communal experience just as willingly as the wolf would. 

They are both eager to start out, and Eleuthera trotted behind a slinking Umi towards the direction she had gestured in. They weren’t especially close to their target — the small herd of deer was also on the move, so to overtake them, the unlikely duo needed to travel at a relatively quick pace as to reach them and not allow then to wander outside of her grasp. The silence between them was comfortable as well as necessary. They both understood that deer were perceptive creatures, and they would likely hear any unnecessary chatter and be altered to the strange duo in their midsts, similarly thirsting for blood.

Umi seemed lighter than air compared to Eleuthera who, although she was a lightweight as far as wolves go, felt so clunky walking next to this fine, elegant creature. 

It wasn’t long before the small herd, comprised of 3 does and 2 late-summer young adults, was near enough to warrant extra stealth. Before the got too close, they needed to get clear on the strategy. “I’ll stay here," Eleuthera whispered, certain that if she traipsed any closer, she would prematurely begin the process of hedging the deer towards (what Eleuthera believed to be a) fine hiding spot behind the herd. 

“You go somewhere over there," she suggested sotto voce, just assuming this vague instruction was good with Umi. Having never seen a cat hunt before, she figured Umi could figure where to place herself just fine.

The two predators seemed to understand that there would be no talking on the approach. This process always required care in step and manner, though in this instance they were lucky to be downwind. The herd was moving as it grazed, but Umi was quick to proceed with near silent paws. The wolf was almost equally nimble, though the cat could feel the movement of the ground as Eleuthera crept behind her. Canines were an interesting sort; they did not move the same way.

Despite this difference, the pair eventually closed much of the large distance from the herd. At that point, the cat also scouted their potential targets and counted all five just the same. Their pace slowed to a halt, hidden with quite an amount of foliage between them and their quarry.

Eleuthera whispered to her the strategy, and Umi looked toward the general location where she had gestured, careful to keep her head movements from knocking any nearby leaves or branches. In the distance, she could see trees to the side and behind the herd. Moving around to this spot would be difficult for her, but surely a manageable task. Umi nodded slowly, creeping off to the left to make a partial circle around the herd.

The problem, which Umi failed to realize, was that the wolf would have no way of knowing how quickly Umi moved and would be unlikely to spot her in the position they had picked. Within minutes, the cat had melted into the undergrowth soundlessly. She crept slowly, but confidently, behind a tree. Had the herd been farther, she would have crawled up it, but there was no time for that.

As she neared the chosen position, a finch in a tree behind her chirped. She stopped.
One of the does looked toward the sound, its large ears turning right at her. Umi didn't breathe. The edge of her tail wiggled, thankfully beyond the direct sightline of the ungulate. After nearly a minute, the doe resumed browsing, and Umi exhaled slowly.

She moved forward, even slower, stopping just before the position they had marked. One of the younger animals had moved during her stealthy positioning, and would have spotted her if she dared to take the spot exactly. The urge to strike was terrible, but thankfully, the animals were too far for her to chase from her spot, so she waited, like a wolf would.

✹☾❂

 

Eleuthera hunkered down as Umi crept to make her concealment on the far side of the herd of deer. The cat, once a distinct shape and moving form in front of her, seemed to take on the golden and green hue of the grasses around her — the shine of the earth indistinguishable from the shine of her pelt — and then she was gone, blended in completely with her surroundings. It was as if Umi had never existed.

Immediately, Eleuthera recognized the whole thing was at risk of imploding due to a severe lack of foresight on her behalf. She had no damn clue where Umi was. In her mind, Eleuthera figured that she would have some knowledge of in which direction she must herd the deer — but in reality, the cat was far too camouflaged for Eleuthera to have any clear idea. The lilac wolf just figured that she trusted Umi to be in the general direction in which she had gestured, and she hoped that she would not make a move a moment too early, or a moment too late.

Eleuthera lay, unmoving, in the same spot for many moments. She was watching the herd, then watching for any sign of the mountain lion. Of the latter, the wolf saw nothing — but of the former, the deer had continued to move in their grazing and threatened to move entirely out of her realm of direction. It was now, or never. The woman picked herself up and moved conspicuously into view of the herd, hoping that the sight of a single wolf would be enough to gently encourage them in the direction of the thicket in the back, and not incite panic. Eleuthera attempted to look as non-hungry and non-threatening as possible.

Her tactic failed. A mother deer caught eye of the wolf and instinctively bolted, causing the others to follow suit. Eleuthera stood frozen where she was, entirely frustrated by the whole thing. It was more than likely that the herd of deer might bound away, entirely untouched by a predator’s fangs, unless Umi was somehow in position and had anticipated the herd’s bolting. If not, well, Eleuthera really screwed the pooch on this one.

roll here, oopsies haha

roll here

Umi waited, watching in frustration as the herd was slowly moving away from the targeted area. The wolf and the cat were not in ideal positions at all, but the cougar watched still for signs of movement from where she had left her dark canine friend.

On paper it had seemed so basic and easy. The cat would be free to sit and wait while the wolf drove the herd to her. Easy, right? They hadn't been able to account for the movement and shifting of the herd during all this, nor Eleuthera's inability to spot Umi's camouflaged coat in the undergrowth. Nothing was going to plan.

The herd suddenly bolted. Umi was ready for this, but they were running in the wrong direction. A mother doe led the charge as they swiftly ran at a diagonal to her. She launched into action and ran at one of the young adults from an angle. Had she been an African lioness, she might have had a sister for backup on the other side of this charge. Alas, she did not. For a moment, it looked like there might be a moment where the cat's powerful legs would let her chase down the creature. This didn't last, and after mere seconds Umi was exhausted, panting open-mouthed.

Damn! She shouted between gasps for air, turning around to look at Eleuthera, who was standing unmoving. She wasn't sure what had gone wrong, but it didn't matter. She was used to failure during any hunt. She frolicked back toward the dark she-wolf and laughed breathily, snickering. Well it almost worked, she grinned, smiling rather foolishly at the fail.

✹☾❂

 

It was over, the hunt had failed.

Eleuthera watched as the white tails of the deer sailed down the lilting incline and eventually out of sight, disappointment writ clear upon her face. Really, Eleuthera hadn’t entertained high hopes that they would have been successful. A wolf/cougar hunting partnership was something of an abomination, really — the two couldn’t be farther apart as far as hunting styles went, so it made sense that their efforts would be disjointed, at best. Still, Eleuthera had somewhat romanticized the idea of telling her future grandchildren about the day she hunted with a mountain lion, and now she would either have to make up a new end to the story, entirely.

Umi loped towards her, and the lilac shelf realized this was the first time she had seen the cat since they initially departed onto their botched experiment. Eleuthera marveled at the body of her feline friend; amazed at how large she was, yet so silent. How adept she was at melting into her background. How her razor sharp teeth and claws could rip prey limb from limb. It must be so nice to be agile like a cat, instead of a clumsy, ineffective wolf.

Eleuthera swallowed her tongue and masked her waning disappointment. “Wow," Leu commented once they rejoined together. “Yeah, we almost had them!" she lied.

Umi dipped her head for a moment, catching her breath. She swallowed and gave a great stretch, pulling her body to the front, then arching her back before letting loose a long and hefty sigh of relief. She let go of the tension from the hunt like a real expert, despite having only been in the game for a short time. Blegh, oh well, she smiled at the little wolf again, bright-eyed as ever.

I still had fun. Can we maybe try again one day? She sat down as she asked it, her long tail curling around her lithe body. Regardless of the outcome of the hunt, it had been a very valuable experience for Umi. She had never tried to do anything like that before. Cats as a rule were solitary hunters — she had never attempted a hunt with her siblings, even as youngsters. The lioness had hoped to see Eleuthera fully in action, wondering what the lovely wolf looked like at a full run. Perhaps there would be other chances.

How they would run into each other again, Umi was not sure.

✹☾❂

 

Umi was able to shake off the failed hunt, but Eleuthera could not. It was yet another thing that Eleuthera found she was quite jealous of this golden lion for — so she pressed her mouth in a line and tried to swallow her inner embarrassment to wallow in at another time. Sure she had screwed up their entire hunt, but Umi was forgiving enough about it. Were all big cats this nice?

Eleuthera couldn’t help but will herself into a better mood. She smiled at Umi, and it felt honest. “Yeah," she nodded earnestly. “I would like that!" Eleuthera looked back over the mountains — the mountains that she would have to begin ascending now, if she had any hope of making it back home before nightfall. She was already at risk of needed to find shelter amongst the heights for the night. She turned back to Umi, not sure if cougars kept territories or traveled around as she was wont to do. Well, not anymore — but used to. “You can always find me in the willows, just across the mountain." Lumiya was welcoming enough to wolves. Perhaps she’d interested in meeting this friendly feline, as well!

Eleuthera was disappointed, but smiled at Umi anyway. It would have been nice, and quite interesting, to be able to share a meal with her canine companion. Still, this was quite the experience even without a catch. The wolf agreed that they would try again in the future. Surely, with practice, Umi might actually be able to get this whole co-operative hunting thing down. While it was true that it went against the nature of cougars, she was hardly an ordinary lion.

As the wolf looked to the mountain, the cat listened closely for where to find her. The willows.. okay! Umi had never dared to cross the mountains. She was unsure of how to get past them without going around near the sea. After her last experience along the coast, she was in no hurry to venture that way. Perhaps eventually she would be able to get back to her roots and find a territory by the sea that was not claimed by wolves. I'll see you again 'Leuthera, the cat said brightly. With these dulcet words, she moved off to the south, looking back once more to her new unlikely friend. How lucky she felt to have met such a pleasant she-wolf.