Eligos found himself circling back around towards home again, gravitating longingly towards the familiar border only to force himself back out again, delaying the inevitable final confrontation with his brother as long as possible. That was why he happened to be in the Redwater Rocks just north of the pack's lands when his attention was caught by what sounded like the roar of a territorial male lion protecting his range against an intruder. While the big cats were more common in the southern continent and he remembered them well from growing up there, they did come north on occasion and seemed to find themselves well enough at home in the west. He noted its location in proximity to his pack, frowning, and made a note to himself to send Kida to warn one of the pack's warriors since he couldn't go himself. But before he could turn to do so, the lion's warning roar was answered with the sound of a pup's voice, and he found himself whipping around again to race for the sound before it had quite registered. It wasn't a voice he particularly recognized but a child was a child, and this one was apparently in danger of becoming cat chow.

Welp, he'd gone and gotten himself into some trouble now, hadn't he? He had snuck out of the pack and away from his mother's watchful eye. She had been rather sick for nearly two seasons now, but she was on the mend. He assumed it had taken longer for her to recover from her illness since the pack healer was no help to his family at all, but that was fine. They were managing just fine on their own. At least, until now.

His fur bristled and his lips pulled back to bare his fangs at the monstrous maned cat that stood before him. He had no idea what it was or where it had come from, but the youth had completely missed it when he wandered into the canyon. He stared it down, remaining in place until the big cat feigned coming at him which caused the boy to yelp in panic as he skittered back. But unfortunately, there wasn't really anywhere he could go. He was backed up against the steep wall, and there was nowhere for him to climb or any crevices for him to try and escape to. The lion bellowed a warning, causing his ears to press against his skull against the deafening sound of the big cat. His heart pounded in his chest, eyes locked with the blazing golden eyes of the lion. He was the biggest cat he'd ever seen, and he had no idea how he was going to get out of this..

As he raced into the canyon, it was to find himself behind the lion, and he was able to take a moment to evaluate while the cat was unaware of him for the moment. Facing the lion, and Eligos now, was a colorful piebald pup. The pup was trapped against the canyon wall by the territorial lion. He was well within springing distance for the lion, and even as Eligos bounded down the canyon the lion was clearly readying himself for the movement that would end the young canine intruder's life. Eligos cursed under his breath and leaped forward, but he would have been too late. Kida shot past him, though, and the small, slender dog threw herself onto the lion's heels, her jaws clamped onto the cat's leg. Cypher hit a moment later. The lion turned on them in a wrath, and Eligos took the opportunity of the feline's preoccupation to leap past him between the lion and the pup, slamming a shoulder into the lion to knock him even further off his balance as the malinois savaged his rear legs.

His heart pounded harder than it ever had before. Blood roared in his ears and the adrenaline pumped through him. He stared wide-eyed at the beast, tail tucking as he pressed himself against the wall. There was absolutely nowhere for him to go, and he had dared take his eyes off the lion in search of an exit route. That was all the time the lion needed to be ready for an assault, but before it was able to, it roared in pain as a couple of furry rockets shot for its hind legs. He had been so occupied with the lion, he hadn't noticed the appearance of the wolf and his companions behind the lion. A moment later, Eligos had managed to get between himself and the beast.

Morax took a moment to wrap his head around what was happening. Between the blood roaring in his ears, and the lion's roars of pain from his hind legs being shredded by the malinois dogs, he stood frozen in place. It was only when he saw Eligos slam the lion that the pup decided he wanted to help too. Maybe four against one would make the beast reconsider and retreat, or maybe they'd end up needing to kill it if it decided to continue fighting.

Morax wasn't tiny, but he was still young and not quite full-grown just yet. Lanky legs propelled him forward, and he aimed to throw his body into the lion to further try and unbalance him. Jaws flung open, teeth cutting the lion's skin and drawing some blood. For a moment, it appeared as if the lion wanted to retaliate, but with the other three attackers, it couldn't seem to figure out who to go after.

The pup was spunky, he would give him that. As soon as Eligos and the dogs joined the fray he got right back into it, slashing his own fangs through the lion's hide while it was preoccupied. He had to admire that sort of bravery and tenacity in a pup. Perhaps now wasn't the time to I dulge it though - They had the beast boxed in with no escape, and an enemy backed into a corner with no escape was far more dangerous. "Cypher! Kida!" he bellowed over the big cat's pained roar. Knowing a fight as much as he did, they disengaged and raced back down the canyon. Ideally the maddened cat would follow so Eligos and the boy could slip out behind it, but they'd hurt it enough it hesitated and turned instead on the closer of it's enemies. It took a swipe at them, but Eligos threw himself forward with a snarl of his own, slamming his horns down against the lion's head and dazing it. Maybe the closest targets hadn't been the smart way to go after all...

He had succeeded in striking the big cat, and as soon as he realized the beast's attention was not completely drawn to him, Morax retreated out of reach just in case. Then Eligos called out a couple of names, and he assumed the names of the companions because the pair retreated back down the canyon. With his heart hammering in his chest, seconds felt like painfully slow minutes. He thought that maybe the big cat would give chase, but when it turned towards them, he braced himself to fight. The big cat swiped at them, but Eli had intercepted and whacked it with the impressive set of horns on his head. While the cat was dazed, Morax darted in towards the cat's side, barking and snarling as he tried to get the big cat to think twice about continuing this, and he even added a quick bite against the beast's ribs before skittering out of reach as it bellowed back at him in frustration and pain. Keeping light on his toes, he cast a brief glance at the older male, waiting to see what the plan would be. Were they gonna chase it off? Or were they going to kill it? He had to admit, he would love to take home some teeth as a trophy if he got the chance!

The lion had enough. Between the horned alpha and the snarling, biting youth he had thought an easy target, this little corner of the canyon was way too much for the beast, and he turned tail and ran.

Eligos nearly went after him - this lion had already proved itself a threat and it was far too close to Aerie's border for comfort. If he had had other Aerie warriors with him, he would have pursued and put the cat down. But a single glance at the boy next to him checked the impulse. There would be time enough to track the lion and end this, once he had the boy safely home. The malinois would be watching it to be sure it didn't return this way.

"Are you all right?" he asked the boy gruffly, finally turning his attention to him completely. He wasn't one of Paradise's litter, he would have recognized that coat if he had seen it, so the boy must be one of Ina's mysterious litter.

The lion decided it had had enough of them and retreated. Morax had been ready to give chase, but by the looks of it, they were letting it go. He huffed and shook out his coat as he watched it go, then he turned to the male as he addressed him. "Yeah I'm fine, thank you for the help." He glanced towards the path he had come from, half expecting his mother to come barrelling down that path after all of that commotion, but considering he had snuck out without telling anyone anything, it was unlikely that she knew he was out here. Turning his attention back to the horned, glowing man that helped him, he couldn't help but wonder who he was. His mother had given them a description of their alpha just in case they came across him, but honestly, Morax had forgotten the details. "What was that anyway? And who are you? You smell like my pack, but I've never seen you before." He questioned curiously. He was definitely interested in the guy. After all, anyone who looked like him, especially with horns, had to be someone right?