On the edge of the forest, a boy and his guardian were getting chewed out by a young woman and her lioness. "Oh, you lost track of him?" Corrine's voice accused as she placed her pale hands on her hips. "Even though your guardian is a dog, you--"

"A wolf, miss. Fang is a wolf," the young man corrected, his gaze hard and unwavering. He clearly didn't like being talked down to.

Corrine paused and looked between the guardian and the solider, blinking a few times. Then she looked to Serafina who was gazing at the "wolf" like a house cat would a mouse. The guardian wasn't as cocky as his companion and avoided the large cat's gaze to avoid a challenge. The young woman licked her lips and drew in a long breath. "You have ten seconds to turn your tail and get looking. We have to find them," she said evenly before smiling coolly at the boy. 

Just as the voice in her head was about to hit [i]nine,[/i] the solider turned away with a huff, his guardian at his heels. "We could really use some competent men," Corrine sighed, leaning against Serafina. 

The white lioness purred coyly. [i]You can't send a dog to do a lioness' work,[/i] she responded teasingly. 

"Right," Corrine agreed. "Let's get back to work. We don't want the [i]strays[/i] stirring up trouble." 

[i]Well, on the contrary, Cori, that sounds far more fun,[/i] the lioness mocked as they turned to continue scouting, walking side by side.