The Ghost From the Mountains

Zira kept her emotions under the surface as best she could always. Today was no exception. She was freezing. Lion paws were not made for the snow so she was sliding and slipping a few times. She'd finally realized her claws could be used to grip the cold ground beneath the snow. It was easy for this human to move through this weather. He was covered in the fur of fallen animals and his pale skin covered feet were covered with the same materials. In addition to that he rode a massive beast, a zebra without stripes. An animal she'd learned was called a horse. The horse was taking the impact and Zira wondered how it felt to be a servant to the human and not an equal. She and Scar were equals. No. Superiors.

Her ear tips were the coldest and she flicked them back and forth to shake them free of ice and chill. She looked up at the Hun, unsure if he was being cute by making the comment about the cold. Her mouth stayed flat, her expression unreadable.

"It's freezing," she said flatly. She spared a glance at Scar before continuing to talk up to the man leading the way.

"Is your city covered with this...snow? How does one live in this regularly? Unless humans have pelts here."

Confident paws had guided her along the peaks, as per the norm, in her hunt for prey. She wouldn't have been too fussed if it was actual food or just animals to mess with, as long as it meant she got to keep doing what she liked. What kept her from it was what she saw out of the corner of her eye. Now this was interesting.

By then, there was no doubting that Chuluun knew the mountains like the back of her paw. Even after the brief ventures she'd made away from them, though, she had never seen those three figures before. Curious... very curious, she thought. Another animal might have turned and gone back to their business. Part of her was indeed tempted to just disappear further into Tung Shao Pass like she'd never seen those strangers. Something kept Chuluun interested, though. Whether it was the oddity of the group or the words of the two-legged in particular that kept her there, Chuluun stayed put to listen.

As she crouched and crept along the snowy rocks, letting them help her blend in more and more with each step, she got a better idea of what was being said. A light smirk pulled across her face. The peaks could be tamed, huh? She wasn't so sure about that. What she could gather about this two-legged, even from her position amid the snowy peaks, he seemed... self assured. It might not have been misplaced, though. The other two, on the other paw, stood out more. Their pelts weren't made for the cold. The female, she noted, seemed a bit harder to read. If she had to guess, though, Chuluun would wager she was not pleased with the cold. Were she not focused on hiding in plain sight, she might have laughed at the notion. If she was so bothered, then why come? And why with such an odd group of fellows, Chuluun wondered.

The male cat, she gathered as she listened, was well spoken. Must have made up for his scrawny form, Chuluun thought as her gave a slight flick. She was curious, too. What had this Shan Yu brought them there for? More to the point, could she use this to her advantage?

You could get the drop on them. Show them that not everything up here is so easily tamed.

The thought wasn't one Chuluun was keen to ignore. However, Chuluun didn't act on it yet. Instead, she squinted and adjusted the angle of her head just a touch. Before she did anything, she wanted to hear Shan Yu's answer. Once she did, she could decide for herself what the best course of action was. Obviously, she wanted to give them a taste of what she could do. She did have a reputation for a reason, and honestly? Chuluun wanted to know if that was what had brought them out there. Perhaps it was a touch vain to hope so. Narcissistic, even. She couldn't help those thoughts, though. Not when her reputation was something she prided herself on maintaining. Especially when it did good things for her.

Perhaps this was the day she'd been waiting for, another thought butted in. Now that was ridiculous. Surely this wasn't part of some grand destiny. No. It was just a day where she was waiting to see if these three would be another lot lumped in to the group who had the pleasure of meeting the 'Ghost.' If it just happened to work out in her favor, and if she happened to get something more out of it?

Well. Wouldn't that be something.

Zira couldn't help but have a small glimmer of admiration for the Hun whether she wanted to admit it or not. He was powerful. Honestly he reminded her more of a sharp tongued, sharp toothed elephant rather than one of those fleshy sacks called human beings. She wouldn't have been surprised if when he took his gloves off there would be sharp daggers on claws underneath. He seemed to have tamed the horse and tamed the mountain all in one fell swoop. No wonder he was equal to her in the army ranks.

She listened to his story, ears still flicking to put feeling back in them. She approached the side of the horse, avoiding the enormous hooves that she recognized could crush her in a moment, and looked out on the grounds. She let her eyes glaze over slightly. This wasn't her area of expertise. She did spot some fat buffalo looking creatures that looked delicious to her. Crops and fields were for the plant eaters, she'd go for the meat. However as he spoke she looked about, imagining her creatures crawling over these lands. She thought about fighting in this chill against creatures who were used to it. Turning her sharp nose towards Shan Yu, again resenting the fact she had to look up to talk to him, she offered a scoff.

"Useful little bases but I'd like to ask a question," she said, "Most of our creatures and beasts are from lands which are substantially warmer than your home here. Will they need to be trained to fight here? I'm frozen and I'm concerned our troops will be as well."

The conversation was... not quite taking the turn that Chuluun had expected. She pouted for a moment. Her hope that her reputation had been the reason behind these strangers showing up in her homeland died pretty quickly, and she thought about turning around and leaving that be. However, Shan Yu's words still kept her interested. The way the two-legged spoke of himself and the strangers living in the valleys was unusual. He spoke like a two-legged who was battle hungry. That notion was intriguing, at the very least. Blue eyes sparkled with curiosity, and she crouched down a bit further to keep observing. It almost looked like no one had seen her. Of course they hadn't. She was practically invisible with her camouflage being used to her advantage. The thought sparked that familiar arrogance within Chuluun, but then she blinked. It almost looked like Scar was looking in her direction.

Had... had he spotted her? No, surely not. Her camouflage wasn't perfect, nor did it make her completely invisible, but unless an animal knew what to look for then he shouldn't have spotted her. Yeah. She was just being paranoid, Chuluun told herself. There was no reason to believe that gaunt looking cat had any reason to think there was anything other than snow and cliffs there.

The female still was complaining about the cold. Since Chuluun was now further convinced that no one was paying her much mind, she had her target in mind. Messing with the freezing female seemed like the best course of action. Not only would she distract from the strange yet intriguing conversation, but she'd show just what they were in for by stepping into her homeland. It seemed like a reasonable plan. So, as the wind blew a small flurry of loose snowflakes into the air, Chuluun made her move. She started to guide herself quickly yet carefully down the cliff. As she moved, Chuluun repeated Zira's question in her mind. Could animals who weren't used to the cold be trained to deal with it? She had her doubts. After all, they weren't snow leopards. Whoever 'they' were, they surely couldn't manage to tangle with the 'Ghost' in all her glory. Especially not while cold.

Perhaps it was foolish for her to be building her confidence up further and further. A smarter, less arrogant feline would have cautioned against it. However, Chuluun's soft paws were touching down into the snow below her. She was on ground level now, and her piercing blue gaze was focused entirely on Zira. A dangerous smirk tugged on her lips as her ears craned back against her skull. With each moment that passed, she crept a bit closer. The snow, she believed, still was masking her wonderfully. Her grey markings might have been slightly more visible now that she was moving a bit further away from the cliffs, but that was fine. She wasn't too concerned. Muscles bunched, her back was arched upward, and at last...

She leaped.

Should all go according to plan, she should have been aimed right at Zira. Chuluun had no reason to believe a freezing lioness would fight back. Especially when caught off guard.

”That would be your job,”

Zira parted her jaw, showing off sharp teeth as she noted the Hun's tone shift. Her ears flattened. She was highly offended he hadn't really answered her question. Her claws curled under the snow. She shot Scar a death glare only a wife could give her husband. Eye narrowed and teeth showing. "We should have never come here," she growled, "What is the point of standing her freezing our tails off and being disrespected by-"

SLAM!

Zira gasped loudly as claws pierced her side. At first, she thought Shan-Yu had heard her grumblings and poked her with his weird long claw he carried on his side. But when she opened her eyes she spotted the actual attacker. White fur, violet highlights, a feline head? Zira's eyes narrowed and she let out a vicious snarl. She'd been attacked by a predator! By a feline predator! Who did this cat think she was?

Bunching her muscles, Zira tried to shove the feline off of her. She pulled back her paw and lashed out with her ebony claws, aiming to land a blow on the other cat's shoulder. If she could get her reacting to the pain she could hopefully shove her off.

A wicked little cackle escaped Chuluun. She'd caught Zira off guard, all right, and for a heartbeat she thought that that would be that. Vivid blue hues went wide, though, when she realized her intended target was retaliating. She moved as quick as she could, trying to avoid the blow to the shoulder, but moved just a touch too slow. Dark claws struck Chuluun's shoulder, leaving their mark against snow white fur. She hissed and landed back in the snow with ears craned back against her skull. She'd expected this to be quick and easy, but evidently? She was in for a fight.

As blood ebbed up from the neat claw strikes against her pelt, ruining her camouflage, Chuluun hit upon a thought. It wasn't the worst thing in the world that Zira was striking back. In fact, it was invigorating. Most didn't think to challenge her. Her tongue slid out of her mouth and lapped against the side of her muzzle for a moment.

"A fighter, huh?" Chuluun purred. "Good! I like a challenge!" Scar and Shan-Yu were forgotten, at least for the immediate moment, as Chuluun acted. She dipped down into the snow, cleaning the wound as best she could and leaving a splash of blood in the cold substance before starting to dart this way and that around Zira. She cared not for the fact that she'd interrupted Shan-Yu's discussion with the two lions. Before that day, she wouldn't have given a rat's tail about the war at all. The winds had brought these warriors to her, though. It had led to her getting to unleash what the Ghost of the Mountain could do.

Perhaps, in a way, she should be thanking them.

With each move she made, she kicked up some snow in an effort to try and irritate those around her. All the while, Chuluun let her little laughs fill the air. Her movements were a touch slower due to the wound on her shoulder, but it didn't seem like she cared.

"Bet you never thought you'd do battle with a ghost, huh!" Chuluun's vivid gaze danced briefly to Scar and Shan-Yu. What must they have thought of all this, she wondered. She only wondered long enough to stop her antics so she could twirl and face Zira once more. Then, she aimed a strike of her own claws toward Zira's face. Should she have acted fast enough, her next plan was to dip back into the snow to avoid a return. That was only if Zira wasn't faster than her, though.