~*~ The cat slipped through the darkness, unafraid. Here and there were were cracks in the cieling made by ground water and roots. They let in a pitiful amount of light, but it was enough for feline eyes. Silver?s pupils grew round and black, til the grey-green was just a thin ring on the outside, going from snake to shark as she adjusted to the black. In places were the breaks in the cave roof made vision possible ? it seemed as though great spotlights had been shone down on the walls. There were pictures here? Strange, colorful mud splatters that resembled things in the outside world. Deer. Elk. Bears. Wolves. And strange stick like creatures that walked on two legs. Perhaps it was some hidden planning room of the gods themselves, but it was then they could not be shamed by the intrusion of so lovely a creature upon their work. Silver paws trasped over scared ground, as Silverback brought herself closer to one design after the other. She was aware that she was no longer alone, but she did not dane to look over her shoulder or make any sign of alarm. Here in the underbelly of the earth, her?s was the advantage, but she would not press it unless forced to. ~*~

Argent was not na?ve by any chance, but she also was not the sort of woman who had experienced it all in her relatively short life time. Thus, when she found herself looking upon the leopard, she did not quite know what the fuck she was looking at. She stared rudely for a few minutes before she tilted her head, deciding it was time to boldly announce her question. ?What the fuck are you?? she asked, uncertain but certainly not fearful of the strange feline in front of her. She was more than confident in her ability to defend herself, even if that meant turning tail and running like hell.

~*~ The stranger?s question, or rather it?s tone, brought the hairs at the base of the leopard?s tail to prickle in irritation like raised hackles. Despite her love of the mysterious and dramatic, she had begun to hate it when other creatures had no idea what she was. It just added another pair of eyes to the list that had never seen another big cat. Not a great way to begin a meeting. The leopard took her time in the answering, lowering her head, arching her neck, and shooting a one eyed stare over her dappled shoulder. "Such language," she purred, not having to raise her voice much in the confines of the caves. She draped one fore paw over another, the beginnings of a slow, sultry turn about, accentuated by a tail with swept out in curves about her. Despite the obvious elegance and grace, there was a danger lurking beneath the surface, and a deathly growl behind the purr that tipped her words like venom. Idiotic butt-sniffers, of course they would be foul and dull-witted enough to speak such. For the hundreth time in as many days, she thanked her lucky stars she was not of canine blood. ~*~

The creature did not offer a response to her question, but rather chose to comment upon the colorful vocabulary that Argent often liked to make use of. It was irritating; this beast was not her mother, and what the hell did swear words matter anyways? They were just that; words. Words only held as much power as one gave them, and an individual who flinched from words such as fuck was considered weak and foolish by the silver knight. ?What are you, my mother?? she responded cooly, watching the feline as she turned. No, she was not the sort to be allured by her movements, for she was a warrior. It was rare that she saw beauty, and often that she noticed danger, particularly now when she saw the way the cat moved. Nonetheless, her temper refused to quiet, remaining loud and vicious.

~*~ A short, unamused puff of air escaped the she-cat?s broad nose. ?Heaven forbid,? she muttered in reply to the firey question. Why was it that wolves had absolutely no brains at all? Well, perhaps that wasn?t fair ? she?d met such who had had the ability to engage in intelligent conversation. And then she could not forget- ah, but he was special. He did not come into her calculations when she looked at the canine genus as a whole. With him excluded, her opinion of dogs was rather low ? along the same level as raccoons and opossums. And this creature of brutal instinct and tongue was hardly helping. ?If you must know, darling, I?m a panther unica. A Snow Leopard. But, let me guess, you've never heard of such a thing? That is because we are a dying breed, and if you don't mind, I'd like to be left to die in peace." Her tail trailed along the ground, too uninterested to twitch. ~*~

She received her answer finally, discovering that she had come face to face with a snow leopard. Argent nodded, but part of her welled up with sympathy. It must be terribly lonely, being the last of a kind, and although she had many things to do she felt somewhat urged to remain. ?Are you lonely?? she would ask, although she offered nothing as a solution. ?You know, you don?t? have to be,? and there she went, offering something that she didn?t know if she could give. Would this Snow Leopard listen to her? Or would she chase her off in a rage? Argent supposed it didn?t matter either way, but she wanted to try. She hated seeing anyone upset, and even if it would be her downfall, she often had the urge to help.

~*~ The return from the bottled grey mutt, was rather the last thing Silverback expected. Her surprise showed in a twitch of her rounded ears, but a narrowing of the eyes came with it. She didn't much like the tone of the question. Nor how blunt it was. Not lonely -enough- at the moment, she was tempted to say. But she bit her tongue til a more suitable thought came in her head. Yes. Yes of course she was lonely! At first it had started off as little more than curiostiy, a burning desire to know others of her species - she had only ever seen her mother after all - but as disappointments and impossibilities came, so did the bitterness. Eventually it sank in that she could very well be the last of her kind. A belief that was confirmed again and again and again, driving a thorn in her heart deeper and deeper. Did she feel lonely? What sort of question was that? "You don't have to be you know." Another twitch of the ears. The leopardess shifted her paws ever so slightly. Why? Because she was settling her weight back on evenly on her forepaws. Before it had all been in her haunches as she prepared to leap forward and sink her teeth into wolfsmeat if need be. But this last statement changed things. It was said expectantly, as though there were more behind it. With a slight arching of neck and brow, the cat let a murmur that betrayed curiosity and bitterness in it's silken tones. "What do you mean by that?" ~*~

Argent supposed her offer might have been too much; who was she to offer such a thing to a snow leopard? ?I know you might think I?m something of a fucktard, but at least I?m a fucktard with a heart and a pulse,? she said, shaking her head and realizing she was stumbling over her words. ?I mean, if you need a friend, I can try. If you want to try to find some other friends, maybe I can bring you back to my pack. I cannot promise you entry there, for it is not my place to say, but maybe if you wanted?I could ask for you. I know we?re mangy mongrels and everything, but?I want to help you,? she said, and it wasn?t an offer she made out of pity. Argent didn?t pity this powerful creature, but she could understand the loneliness, and the goodness in her made her want to help.

~*~ The fae's original response was not promising. Silverback's ears pinned back in annoyance. It wasn't that she was affronted by the language, or shocked or horrified so some such silly notion. It was that when she was addressed, she preferred it to be with respect - even reverence. Not in so luckluster and charmless a way. In another wolf it might've earned them a severed tongue. Still might if the she-wolf kept it up. But for now the tongue stayed, and it wagged on further, surprisingly, with words much sweeter to hear, however... misplaced they might be. The she-wolf was offering herself as a friend? Well that was much better. She was even offering to speak to... her pack? What was this? Why should she suddenly switch tactics and make such a proposal? Of course, who wouldn't want a snow leopard on their side> - but there did seem to be more to it than that. This wolf seemed to get it. That Silverback needed a friend. That need had driven the cat to some great lengths already. But it wouldn't take her as far as joining a pack. She smirked at the dog's description of herself and her kind. Nice to meet someone who wasn't dilluted with thoughts of false granduer. Perhaps that was why she felt free to speak coarsely; She knew what she was and accepted it. What an interesting creature she had found here in the dark, painted depths. "-I want to help you," Silverback heard the fae finish. At some level, the cat was touched. Feeling the gravity of the words, she rolled back and sat soundly on her haunches. The fae deserved a bit of openess on Silverback's part: "I'm afraid I've taken matters into my own hands regarding my loneliness.-" she rumbled, leaving it vague enough. She wouldn't go into details about her collection of little birds. She was quite fond of them, as a gardener would be over flowers, or a collector over rare seashells. Already she had gathered a youngster - a fluffy brown male with white fawn spots, a grown male - a lovely black and copper tinted thing with and adorable shyness, and a grown female - a brown fae with bi-colored eyes. Such wonderful things to treasure or terrorize at her leisure. "-But you make so bold and considerate an offer. What prompts you to feel something for such a thing as I?" Thought Silverback's words held their usual half-taunt lurking in the aftertaste each word, it wasn't complete this time. She was truly intrigued. ~*~

Perhaps Argent?s greatest ability was her ability to listen, and so she would do so for this cat. She took the rejection of her offer well enough; she knew not how Isardis would react to having a Snow Leopard on his doorstep, and she may have overreached her boundaries in making that offer. She would not realize the true meaning of the woman?s solution, nor did she bother to ask. It simply felt too nosy and intrusive to ask a stranger what they did in their everyday life.
Her question made Argent sigh. Often her brash words and her tendency to be harsh and stern made others thing she was heartless, which was most certainly not the case. ?I care too damn much,?she said simply, and that was her crime. Maybe she had to pick and choose what she cared about; for instance, she would devote herself to Glaciem, and never bat an eye at Seracia. But always, always she would have the underlying ability to care about just about anything, even if it were a vile enemy.

~*~ "Well, well," Silverback murmured, "You surprise me." It wasn't to say that she could approve of the mutt before her, but she had at least exceeded the expectant limitations. And said in such a way, the confession was almost amusing. She never would've guessed it from the onslaught at first. "Well we all have our burdens to bear." Silverback's response was rather unreadable, somewhere between light and grim, thoughtful and thoughtless. Such was the art of cats. But it implied merely a connection between her own self dealing with solitude, and the fae dealing with her overactive sense of compassion. Would it get her into trouble one day? Who knew? What if Silverback had been a touch more wicked? What if she had played upon those sympathies to get closer to the mutt and then struck? Or better yet, what if she had prolonged the dance and let the wolf lead her amongst the pack before she let the fun begin? Such things came naturally to Silverback's head, but not her heart. This encounter was proving interesting. And though Silverback wasn't about to join any pack, she was a tad curious about such things. In an impassionate way, merely a scientist studying an odd new germ. What was it that constituted as a desired home for these communal creatures? "You smell of ice and pine," the cat murmured. "-two things I love deeply. Would you be so kind as to tell me about this home of yours?" ~*~

Argent was typically a more cynical, cautious woman, but sometimes sympathy got the better of her. Sometimes her worries for others washed away her reason, and it made her more vulnerable than she would like to admit. Beneath the curse words and the blinding loyalty she was a moral woman, bound by a compass that demanded she march towards the right thing to do, that was unless she was asked otherwise. She would not respond to the cat?s reactions, merely shrugging at the thought that they had burdens to bear. They all did, but Argent liked to think that she was strong enough to bear them.
The note about Glaciem was met with a tilt of the head. Why would she be asking? Nonetheless, the Overseer could not help but feel it necessary to give her something of an answer. ?Glaciem exists in the North, and we run under the rule of a powerful alpha. A King, actually. My King,? she said quietly, but the possessive was not intended to lay claim over the albino man, but rather describe the relationship that the silvery woman had with him.

~*~ "Glaciem," Silverback repeated. "The name is oddly familiar. My birthland is here in the north, and my territory, before I left it, was nestled among the mountain range that is beyond the snowfalls - overlooking the great northern lake. There was a pack who lived in the lands bellow." She'd nearly had her head ripped off by a mottled grey male with yellow eyes, a torn ear, and no tail. Not her proudest moment, and certainly not one she chose to mention. But all the same, she was curious about this pack. "Perhaps..." she halted, seeming to count her words. "Perhaps this ?king? of yours would allow me to pay the lands a visit? I dare not promise that I would stay though.? As if she needed permission from any canine, particularly some mock turtle 'king' who at best was just a rat among mice, but ?when in Rome..? as the saying goes. She could always creep around unnoticed, but if she was truly curious enough to learn about how these mobs of mongrels worked, then permission would be the smoothest route. Even so she would keep to the outskirts, and not allow too many of the walking flea-bags to approach her at a time. She could always cute throats later should the situation prove dangerous. Silverback, had a bit of a fear of crowds. The strength of a pack was the one real advantage a wolf had over a powerful creature like her. She?d watched a party of those old pack wolves take down a raging bear once. Not something she wanted to put herself in the middle of. But she had enough confidence and enough curiosity to risk a little something to learn more. This wolf had intrigued her with her offer, and even if it was not something she could totally accept in reality, she would be a fool to leave it dusty in the gutter. ~*~

She would listen once more as the leopard described her old home, nodding but not having much to say. Argent knew so little of these lands; she didn?t even know what other packs existed within these boundaries. She would nod her head at the leopard, sighing. ?I cannot promise what my King will and will not allow, but if you truly wanted you could see,? she said. She did not know if his reaction would be good in any sense; would he grow angry with her for bringing a potential threat, or would he be pleased for bringing a potential asset, or would he have a little bit of both emotions? Who the hell knew anymore.

~*~ "Hmmm well I would not want to risk you getting into trouble, but perhaps some day I shall have to pay you... a... visit..." Silverback's voice trailed off suddenly. Her keen eyes had captured something on one of the winding tunnels off the side. It was just a little ways past the grey wolf's shoulder. Grey-green eyes narrowed in and suddenly Silverback was on her paws again, bounding off towards it. It was unreal how the she-cat could move so quietly and so quickly- like storm clouds or dusk one might say. There wasn't even a click of claws on the stone for an echo to catch. One moment she was standing before the mutt, and the next she was dashing past her to a different chamber of the tunnel. It came out into a room of sorts. This one had more pictures, but of mountains and trees. There was bow of black and white that Silverback recognized for an eagle, and a rush of waving lines that might just be a river. And there - there at the far end, with a filter of stray daylight shining on it, was a design which could only be one thing. Noiselessly, the big cat moved from where she'd froze in the middle of the room, creeping forward until she reached he picture, which came perfectly to just above her head height - about half way up the wall. She stared at the grey curves and the blotted dots for what must have been a year. "...it's me..." she rumbled quietly. Of course it wasn't her her, but it looked just like her. What was this strange place? What was this supposed to mean?... ~*~

A visit was most certainly a promising thing, and the silver knight smiled and nodded her head, ready to entertain the snow leopard if she would show up at the Glaciem borders one day. ?I would enjoy your company, if you should decide to visit one day,? she said. Of course, there was the matter of if Isardis would enjoy it or not, but that was a faraway question to be answered. A moment later it would seem that something had caught the cat?s eye, and Argent observed her curiously, titling her head as she watched her. She would speak, confusing the silver-touched woman further. ?What?s you?? she would ask, remaining rooted as she looked on. What was this cat speaking of?

~*~ The wolf seemed to not have noticed the picture or guessed at it?s impossibility. Trust a mutt to not appreciate art. Another time Silverback might?ve been annoyed with the other creature?s density, but now, now she could only stare in wonder. "Tell me wolf," she said, with a sudden, earnest spark of curiosity. "What do you know of these caves? Are you from around here? Do they mean anything?" Though her voice and posture remained as elegant as ever, her interest was clear in the rapidity of her questions. Her feline eyes stretched wide, bathing in the painted sights of the cave, but always going back to focus on that strange image that could be nothing but a snow leopard. ~*~