Paws that should've shaken the ground with thunder instead moved softly through the terra as soft as a whisper. The great tiger slipped silently through the woods as he moved north, tongue panting in the heat of the summer. While many of Sk?lingr's fellows were tropical cats he was not. He was a beast of snow and ice. Slipping from the forest and into the tall grasses Sk? continued his travel, his stripes melting into the grasses. Sighing heavily the great cat's nose wrinkled in disgust. Wolves again. While his kind had been all but killed off by humans and continued to dwindle. Wolves thrived and grew both in numbers and physical size like rampant pests and it irritated him that in all his wandering he'd yet to see another feline. Yet to see one of his noble race. Sk?lingr felt his bitterness settle in the pit of his stomach. He'd heard talk of other cats, whispers even though they were never of a tiger. Could he, by some sick twist of fate, be the last of his kind? No, surely he was not the last but how much longer would he take himself to roaming? Weary he settled down in the grass, tail curving around him as he rested his head on his paws, jade green eyes watching ants scurry across the land in mock amusement.

So warm. How could it be this warm? Was it always so hot here or had she accidentally happened upon a new area that was experiencing an unusual heatwave? Whatever the case it had made her lazy, taking shelter beneath the intertwined branches of what she supposed was an oversized shrub. It was much large than what used to grow back home. Home. It was so strange to think that she was so far away from there, lost within this crazily warm territory. No, I'm not lost. That was right. How could Laila possibly be lost when she had no idea where she was going to begin with?

She was more than content to nap away until nightfall, to wait until the air cooled as much as it would before rising and beginning to find herself a quick meal to get her through the night. Amber eyes were half lidded as she flexed her claws restlessly, peering through the vegetation listlessly. Rounded ears turned, stopped, suddenly fixing upon a sound. Was that... Was something nearby? The lithe huntress's body tensed slightly even from where she lay, turning her head and staring as she tried to identify what it was that she had heard. Whatever it was scrounging around and rustling about was sure persistent. Quietly, each move made with care, the cougar pulled herself to a standing position, dark tail tip flickering slightly with anticipation. If it could be possible to find a quick meal so easily, she would have been a fool to pass it up.

Mindful of her movements, Laila crept forward, listening and watching and inching closer to the sound. Just a little further... Lowering her body, she sprang forward into a sprint, hearing the sound of scrambling little paws as well as spotting fragmented views of grey fur as the prey ran, swerving and racing...and running right into the path of another predator. Laila spotted the incredibly large cat before she could get close enough to endanger herself, and instantly her heart, which had been racing already from exertion, was racing from fright. Claws raking the ground, the startled cat drew to a swift, skidding stop. Her back end lowered and a paw raised defensively, her eyes narrowing as she bared her fangs with a noise somewhere between a growl and a hiss. "Stay back!" Goodness, if that was not the largest cat she had ever seen! Hastily, the shaken cougar retreated back a few steps, not daring to take her gaze from the large striped cat or allow her guard to slip. "I don't want trouble," she stated, tone still hard and defensive but mostly from fright. She did not know the intent of this cat here, and considering the incredible size difference she would have hated to get on his bad side.

Sk?linger was lost in dreams of darkened paths and moon-kissed fur that stood illuminated against the building storm. There was heat and there was fire. The visions danced lightly across his eyes as he continued to dream, whiskers twitching as the intensity rose. He saw the cloudy, storm-filled eyes of his brother in arms? of his Lyric as the male turned and left him drowning. And Leshia? Where was she? Where was everyone and why was it so dark? Something was coming towards him. Even in his fitful dream state he knew there was movement. Eyes flung open and the great cat leapt to his feet, tail lashing wildly to keep his balance, fur on end and ears back he stared at what had awoken him and found himself staring at another cat! Blessed saints alive. Another of his own kind! Well? not specifically but Sk?lingr was in no mood to be choosy about company after a year of seeing nothing but canines and the occasional bear. The cougar warned him to keep his distance, a paw held up as if she might strike but all he could do was smile as his fur began to fall flat again. "Stay back? You're the one that barreled in here like a startled grouse. As for trouble? Goodness no! It is a joy to see you young feline. You are the first cat I have seen in over a year." Yawning loudly, massive canines glinting in the sun, Sk?linger licked his lips before flopping lazily onto his side. Oh?. we was tired. "Where are you off to in such a hurry anyway? Oh? allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sk?lingr."

She was quite positive her heart could beat right out of her chest at any moment. Never before had she ever had to worry this much over a single creature. Sure, bears were a fright when there were cubs on hand, but even they paled in comparison to this striped beast. Or...at least they would if the cat were not presently just standing there looking quite dumbstruck. Why was he not moving, or at least reacting to her more defensively? Did she really look like that much of a pushover compared to him?

Yes. It appeared she did. His answer was casual, perhaps a little confused because of her defensive behavior, but in no way aggressive as she had been. And the smile upon his face was of no help. Her rounded ears folded against her head in a mixture of self-depreciation and embarrassment. At least his tone was not patronizing. If anything he sounded quite friendly, maybe even chipper. Or was that smugness that she detected? Either way, he was quick to welcome her company and showed it by promptly flopping onto his side upon the ground. Yep. No threat at all.

Considering it a victory - since she really did not want to cause a stir - Laila slowly and tentatively reclined back into a seated position, still watching the tiger as if he would leap at her at any moment. "I was after something," she answered, "and I guess it didn't know you were here either." A small pause preceded her introduction as she surveyed the tiger, and at length she spoke her name, "I'm Laila." Very nearly the added the polite phrase nice to meet you, but considering the circumstances of their meeting she was not altogether sure that it held any grounds there. At least not until she felt more sure that he was not just biding his time with her and waiting for the perfect moment to take out more feline competition. Or could he really just be happy for company of his own kind?

She was reluctant to say more, but curiosity got the better of her. "You haven't seen any other cougars?" Wolves seemed to be the majority here, but surely cougars were a common cat to share territory with them. Or compete, as it seemed most often the case. Not that she was looking for any of her own kind, but she had suspected to at least come upon one eventually, to share boundaries with if nothing else. Being the only cat in a horde of wolves was far too uneasy living for her.

Sk?glinger's tail twitched as his bright jade eyes lingered over the form of the smaller cat. She still seemed quite wary of him but that was of litter concern to the tiger. He was more interested in just enjoying her company if brief and perhaps learning if she'd seen any other tigers about but? well he'd mostly given up hope on that front. Man had all but hunted his kind to extinction. Now that they were gone he'd hoped his kind might flourish again but it was likely now that there were too few of them to rekindle the population. The thought sickened him. Killed for body parts to "heal" sick men. Barbaric and ridiculous. Were men and animals not all made of the same substance? Were they not all made of meat and bones? How could they be healed by what made them up already? His tail lashed at the memory as his gaze shifted off across the land. Why they would not turn to the earth, to the ground and plants for their answers he would never know. Now Sk?lingr was one of the last of his kind if not the last. It confronted his very identity. He hoped hell would be given to those that killed his kind. That fed off of nature like parasites with no respect for the lives they stole to save their selfish aims. He turned back to face her as she introduced herself as Laila. She then asked a question akin to his own. Sk?linger's left ear flicked and he sighed. "No, you are the first cat I have run into since coming to Alacritis. I don't suppose you've seen any other tigers have you?" His stomach suddenly growled. Oh great now he was hungry? he wondered if there were any wild boar around here. "Ahh? I suppose I should get to hunting. Were you hunting just now? I am unfamiliar with the prey here."

Walk | Talk | Think

He had become momentarily distracted but as his gaze came back her way he seemed to reflect a little disappointingly upon his answer before he spoke. No other cougars. That was not the news she had been expecting to hear, and certainly it showed. Her golden amber eyes blinked and her wary expression blanked with surprise. "Oh," came her simple answer, her gaze drifting away from the large striped cat and downward as she considered what this meant for herself. No other cats with whom she could make friends with, no one to hold a sort of camaraderie against all the wolves who surrounded them. One of a kind.

If this was true, it was unsurprising that this poor cat - a tiger as he called himself - was also alone. She did not meet his green gaze as she answered, "No, I haven't," tone lowering apologetically, even guiltily though it was entirely out of her control. It was bad enough that she was completely alone, but now someone else had to share in that sense of estrangement as well. No wonder he had been so shockingly happy to see her.

A distracting noise from his middle drew her attention and he confirmed what she had suspected it was. The great beast was hungry, and if this weather was making things difficult on her then she could only imagine how it was affecting him. It was so tiring just catching a little snack let alone something big enough to pose as a good meal. "I was," she stated with a small nod of her head, "Though I didn't get to see exactly what it was. Probably a hare with how fast it was moving." Skimming her eyes across the large form of the tiger, she doubted something so little as a hare would make much of a meal for him. He would need something with more substance.

He could tell she was disappointed in his answer and in truth he couldn't blame her. He knew exactly what it was like to be told no? that no tigers had been seen. Another dead end, another search failed and he wondered if it was the same for the cougars now too. Had their population dwindled so drastically as well? She answered him as well. No? no tigers. He took a deep breath and sighed. "I see? well it was a shot in the dark anyway. It seems our kind, the felines, are dwindling. It saddens me to see our kind falter while the wolves, the canines, seem to flourish." She stated that she'd been stalking a hare and he nodded. " I do not suppose there are any water buffalo near by?" He laughed softly to himself and shook his head, no. No that was unlikely. But his ears perked up. "Surely though there are some deer we can stalk if you'd like to join me? Ha! I know it is a bizarre request indeed but I am a curious cat. I wonder how the wolves do it."

Walk | Talk | Think

The news regarding the tigers was taken in much the same way that Laila had taken hearing about the cougars. They were few, few enough that they had thus far not been seen by either of them, and Sk?lingr appeared quite disappointed because of it. By nature the big cats were solitary, choosing quiet lives alone as opposed to banding together the way wolves and canines did, but there was a profound loneliness to be felt in knowing there was a strong chance you were the last of your kind. Laila felt it too. She had not meant to as living alone had never posed an issue to her other than the tricky task of not crossing a pack of wolves, but neither had she considered never seeing another mountain lion again.

The large striped feline posed a humorous question of her and promptly laughed to himself, leaving the golden brown mountain cat to ponder over the creature he had named. Water buffalo? Were those anything like the buffaloes she had seen from afar within the valleys? Large beasts with impressive horns? She had seen her canine counterparts tackle them but never one of her fellow cats. Sk? collected himself and altered his request, asking now of deer in the vicinity. "I haven't seen any, but I bet they're here," Laila answered, though as she considered the second half of his request she seemed to falter uncertainly. Pairing up with someone to hunt was foreign ground for her, especially since she preferred not needing to share in whatever it was that she could manage to take down on her own. Possessiveness was strong in her, even if she was easy to make friends. "I've never tried that before," she added after a moment's pause, hedging around a definite yes or no answer. It seemed an incredibly strange request, and she was just not certain of her willingness and ability to comply.