sneaky, sneaky

She had seen the cougar stalking something. Tallulah followed, thankful that the cat's attention was elsewhere. Coming from Fate's Respite, she entered the lands below in an effort to scout and bring back any news. That's when she saw it. While she could not know what it was at first, the cat prowled with its full interest before it tried to lunge. A territorial snarl erupted from it, and Tallulah assumed it was trying to drive off a rival.

She was close to another community. While not entirely near Shiroshika, it was in the northern section of the Heights. A hop-skip away from the border. She couldn't just leave it alone, having spotted it and now seeing it trying to attack another. It didn't matter what it was in the end — wolf or not, she had been raised better. As it jumped, she used her body to smack into it. The cougar was flung to the side, hissing and shocked. 

It recovered quickly, rushing her back. Tallulah stood her ground, placing her defenses up. Eyes narrowed, ears pinned. She knew cats liked to swipe at the front.

@Rajani

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The man had been aware of the cougar stalking him, playing as the helpless victim to try and lure it closer into an attack. He was much larger than the other cat was, but figured that by continuing to walk with his back to the cat, it would sooner or later take the advantage. Not only that, but this was mountain lion land, the other cat clearly having a higher likelyhood to succeed here. 

And so, as he heard the cat pounce, he would quickly turn around, ready to tank the blow to his chest and answer with attacks of his own. However, that quickly changed as another he wasn't ready for attacked the large cat. What the hell was that? Looking closer, he noticed that it was a wolf, and not just that, but a she wolf? 

"What the hell?" He would growl with a low voice, his Russian accent think in his annoyance. Pushing himself forward, he would slice with his claws at the large cat, trying to get its attention back on him. He watched as the mountain lion jumped away from the attacks, only taking a large scratch on its shoulder. But it didn't seem ready to run just yet. "What do you think you doing?" He would ask the she wolf, narrowed eyes watching her. Why did she decide to go after a large cat like that?

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The ebony-colored tiger joined the fray, which was something she half-expected. It would be easy to leave her to her 'fate' — even though Tallulah was a good fighter and she didn't plan to fall here. The other feline was lashed at by him, who gave her ample time to reply as it turned back to him. A low hiss escaped the cougar's maw, lips drawing back. It thought the wolf was easier prey, but it hadn't been stalking her at the time. Now faced with two predators, it began to back down.

"Helpin' ya!" Tallulah said once attention was off her, but her eyes never left the cougar "saw it was stalkin' ya, didn't want ye to be ambushed!" Her words were not annoyed or pissed, just stating a fact. She had tried to be unbias toward another species. If he hadn't wanted help... Too bad. It wasn't like he announced his plan to her! She growled suddenly, lunging at the side of the other feline. Her jaws snapped around the scruff of its neck, gaining hold and clamping down. Blood slowly welled around the impact.

The cougar yowled and tried to turn on her, but found she was blocking movement. Tallulah shoved herself close enough to prevent it from raising it's limbs properly. All it could do was awkwardly turn a free paw and try smacking her.

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He rolled his eyes at her words, speaking up rather calmly even as the cougar sized them both up. He wasn't concerned about this at all, except for maybe being concerned about the wolf. He hadn't really met a wolf, she wolf mostly, that could hold her own in a fight like that. "Did wolf not realize I tiger?" There was a hint of amusement in his voice, though as she moved to pounce at the cougar, he tensed himself, ready for everything to go wrong. 

However, she was much better than he had expected, causing him to pause for a moment with a raised eyebrow. Interesting. With a smirk, he would launch himself forward, aiming an attack lower at the cat's throat. Claws sliced at his shoulders and chest, but he didn't seem to mind it and, instead bit down on the cat's windpipe, killing it quickly with the help of the wolf. Not something he thought he would ever do. 

Backing away to give the woman space again, he would begin to lick the blood off of his shoulders, watching her closely. "That not something you see every day." He said simply, mostly just thinking out loud.

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It ended quick. 

Which was good, but she didn't expect it much. She knew cats liked to toy with things, but perhaps the tiger didn't want to draw out the confrontation. Tallulah had assisted best she could, clamping down and shaking her neck like a dog with a rope toy. She opened more wounds than she thought, and the blood pooled more and more. Especially aided by the tiger.

Once the cougar was dead, it slumped and she let go. Huffing, the woman was mildly disappointed. "S' all bark, no bite" she commented, licking her lips free of gross cat blood. Her mismatched eyes glanced up at him, raising a brow "just cuz ya a tiger, didn't mean I was gonna let it attack ye!" She protested with an amused huff, rolling her eyes now at him.

Did he really not have a good experience with wolves helping him?

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The man watched the woman for a moment, a curious look on his face. This was clearly new to him, though it wasn't something he was mad about. Perhaps new was nice. As she talked about the cat not fighting much, he would chuckle with a shake of his head. "Did you want more fight?" He was clearly amused by all of this, eyes watching her closely. 

"I baiting small cat, but thank you still." He would flick his tail slightly as he spoke. "Most wolf too scared to approach, or assume I in wrong." He liked this though, a wolf that didn't automatically assume he was evil or a killer just because he was a large tiger.

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He seemed quite amused. Tallulah smirked back, tail wagging to the side and back slowly. "Maybe" she replied with a chuckle. She did expect more of a fight, considering the situation... If the cougar was going to ambush a tiger, it should be confident and not reckless. There was no real plan after she attacked, and it felt a bit cheap. A waste.

She shook her head though. "Well, fuck 'em" she stated bluntly "yer not in t' wrong this time." Perhaps the thought of the tiger being a villain crossed her mind... But even then, a fair fight had been done. The tiger was victorious. She always thought assassinations, or sneaking around, was below most. The tiger admitted he had been baiting the other, however.

Well, it was dead now. Not much you could do about it. "Name's Tallulah" she introduced herself with a nod "part o' Elysium. Ye are?" Her eyes didn't glance away but she took in the mountain breeze, ruffling her pelt. Fate's Respite wasn't that far away, so if he was indeed a danger she could run or fight. But she didn't truly want to.

Near she could see some woodlands, having come from the north. They were tucked to the side and to the other, cradling the coast and the plains. Tallulah made an exit plan just in case — but if he wanted to attack, he would have already.

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He watched her for a moment with a raised eyebrow before walking over to the lion, shrugging as he reached down to grab it, only pausing to look up at her. "Did you want some?" He asked, figuring since she helped him take it down, he might as well offer. He didn't care what he ate really and the fact that it was also not only a predator but also a feline like him, well that didn't seem to bother him. Regardless of what she said, he would pick it up and begin to eat from one end of it, keeping the other end for her if she chose to want some. 

Her words made him cock his head to the side in curiosity. Elysium. He had met someone with that scent a long time ago, but he didn't know much of them. In reality, he didn't know much of any packs other than Shiroshika. And so, he would speak up, laying himself down in an attempt to show that he wasn't a thread. It was something he did often in the presence with wolves that he didn't want to scare. "Name is Rajani, nothing more than wanderer." He didn't have a place to really call home and, though he never really thought about it, he doubted he would work well in a pack. 

"What Elysium like?" He pondered for a moment as he remembered the wolf he knew from there. "Is Harper still there?" That was her name, right? He hoped he didn't get the wolves mixed up.

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"No, thank ye." She shook her head, holding disgust as she watched the predator each the defeated one. Survival of the fittest... Even if it made her hold a gag. She'd not had much chance to be around tigers, so this could be normal for him. Otherwise, it was rude to remark on it. She did notice it didn't phase him at all, to eat the other's meat.

The only cats she had been accustomed to were cougars... She sensed how they were familiar to her. Mountain lions are a bane for livestock. "Nothin' wrong with that, Rajani" she did remark that "was a rogue until Elysium accepted me." Vanderfell Woods was also kind but she didn't feel like being restricted a bit with breeding rights. Seemed odd to her, but also good management.

She couldn't fault them.

"Aye" Tallulah nodded "Harper is our beta" She swelled with pride about her packmate being known to others, especially vagabonds "Elysium is friendly and welcomin' to others. We meet those wit' questions and kind words, over aggression" She smiles politely "Ms. Valeska and Ms. Amaranth are our leaders."

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He shrugged as she said no to his offer, not really caring that much. It was more of a meal for him then. Quietly, he would listen to her, casually eating as he did so. It wasn't until she finished speaking that he would speak up, thinking for a moment. "Interesting. I come visit one time." He shrugged, thinking how they interaction may go. Harper seemed fine with him last time, so perhaps they could remain friends. 

Turning to look at her, he would ask her a question that was on the top of his mind. "Why you not afraid of me?" It was always strange to him when a wolf wasn't scare of him, more so when they went out of their way to help him. In total, this was probably only the second time a wolf had gone out of their way to help him, the first time one had put themselves in danger to do so. "Also, if want fight, I love spar." He figured he would offer her a spar, though considering their size different, he had every intention of going easy on her if she accepted, which he figured she would not.

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She nodded. Maybe Harper would like to see him too? But before she urged him to do the usual thing wolves do — go to the border, stop and call out — he offered a spar. She chuckled, shaking her head this time. "Maybe 'nother time?" she let him know she wasn't averse to sparring with a tiger, but she had been pretty beat traveling and flingin' herself at the cougar "I still gotta travel back to Elysium. Wouldn't do to be sore fer the travel." 

Though he did say something or rather ask it directly. She shrugged. "Ya can speak" she pointed out "ya can communicate, have thoughts n' feelings, aye?" So why... Difficult to say really "if someone can do that, don't they deserve t' be heard?" As for getting along or being friendly, that came with the interaction. It was really up to the individual "back, erm, back in my previous realm... We had coyotes n' dogs. Cougars were a problem." She leaned back with a chuckle.

"Maybe it was instinct. Don't see many striped cougars, I reckon" she grinned, amused "so I picked the lesser of two threats, I guess?" She tilts her head at Rajani "point is; I don't like seein' an unfair fight."

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The man chuckled slightly but nodded, entirely fine with not fighting. If anything, he was happy that he wouldn't have to hold back on a fight when he was really itching for one. No, he would rather go find a herd of elk to tussle with where he wouldn't have to worry about causing harm. 

Nodding his head, he would offer her a smile, sitting himself down and curling his tail around his paws. "Well thank you. Have nice travel. I might see you again when visit." He would lay himself next to his meal, content and not really looking to move much more. Sure, he was out in the open, but he wasn't worried. He was a full grown tiger after all, there wasn't much that scared him.

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She nodded, rising. Time to head back. "Safe travels, yerself?" She looked toward Fate's Respite and began to head that way. Rajani would stretch out, unbothered by being in the open, and probably would take some time sunning himself. Cats. She resisted rolling her eyes with an amused huff, drifting back to her pack. If she ran into Harper, she would let her know a tiger asked after her!

/end

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