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In his travels, Facio had heard of the Myrsky Syntynyt, but he had not yet found the opportunity to investigate in person. A potentially foolish oversight on his part, given that all parties agreed that the Stormborn were a pride of warriors. If ever there was a place to find his prey, this would be it. Yes, there had been rumors of other prides with similar cultures, but this was nearest to the direction he'd come from.

A niggling doubt touched the pink lion's mind - it had been years that he'd been tracking his prey, and no sign yet had been seen.

However, perhaps that was because she had found this pride and chosen to bide. He could not take that risk and had to investigate.

Movement. A dark lion who appeared to be coming from the direction of the pride...if he was correct. Facio didn't know quite as much about the Myrsky Syntynyt as he wanted to, but hopefully today would see some of those questions answered. A breath was all the pink male needed to settle his features into his normal amiable mask.

"Good day!" he called out in a friendly tone, hailing the darker lion. "Can you tell me where I am?"

He was pretty sure of where he was, but it never hurt to be certain. Besides which, he wanted to speak to a real Stormborn, not some passing rogue.

Hmmm. The other lion didn't seem to trust him. That wasn't how Facio liked to operate. On the other hand, given the other's dark expression, he wondered if this male might be one who didn't trust anything. In which case, continuing to play the innocent might get him hurt.

On the other hand, the pink lion was not interested in revealing all his cards yet.

"Ah, I have heard of your pride!" he replied, still smiling openly. "They say the Stormborn are among the mightiest of warriors," Facio continued, gesturing slightly with his head to invite the darker male to comment or not.

He didn't reply to the comment about being forced to serve or forced to fight. It was certainly possible that he might be cornered in such a way that he'd have to fight, but Facio was confident that could avoid that outcome.

If ever there was a sign that he was on the right path, this was it. This lion was much like a male version of his prey. Some of Facio's amusement showed in his pink eyes, a smile that was truer than the one on his lips.

Outwardly, the pink lion nodded eagerly as the stranger spoke of his pride. "Yes, that is what I had heard! Wonderful!"

He had to laugh though at the following question, as welcoming a laugh as he could muster. "No, I'm afraid settling down is not in my immediate plans," Facio admitted readily. "Though I am quite intrigued by your pride. Perhaps you could tell me more?"

Being able to read the other lion's expressions would be a boon. However, he got the feeling that the tension in the air had lessened. Slightly. Enough that he wasn't going to be fighting for his life in the immediate future, which was always a good thing.

Facio nodded agreeably. "I wouldn't want to compromise your pride," he explained. Inwardly the pink lion was elated. It seemed he had gotten quite lucky, chancing on someone so well-connected! Not that he intended to take much advantage of it, other than to determine the whereabouts of his prey.

"It seems you are blessed by your gods," he went on. "I would imagine that you know all the skilled fighters of the Myrsky Syntynyt." It was a leading question, but it was the reason why he had come this far. The pink male hoped he hadn't shown his hand too much.

Facio's smile widened slightly as he saw the dark lion puffing up his chest. That was a good sign for his information gathering. Flatter them until they were willing to talk, and then they'd tell him all he needed to know.

"Perhaps in the future I will do so," the pink male answered. "Though I am most interested in prides with strong females," he went on. Facio considered whether or not he wanted to actually ask the question, then decided he'd probably said enough. If the dark lion knew of his prey, this was the perfect opportunity to say so.

Hmm. He had not heard that the Myrsky Syntynyt was chauvinistic. Though from the dark male's words, this was a fairly recent development. Still, it did lower his hopes of getting the information he sought through indirect means.

Damn. Well, the question was, how much jeopardy would he put his mission into by asking? The pink lion hadn't gotten this far without arousing suspicion by being anything other than cautious. But he certainly had no desire to entrap himself in a single pride simply to determine whether or not his prey was present.

"I see," Facio answered, weighing his options. "In truth, there is one I seek," he admitted. "A lioness, with markings like unto mine." He cocked his head, inviting an answer to the not-quite question.

The pink lion inhaled sharply, a clear sign that this was not something he wished to deal with. He hadn't wanted to make the admission in the first place, but now he was stuck. The question now was how much did he wish to place in the paws of the dark lion, a male whose name he didn't even know.

This was the reason he had not given voice to his search in all the long years - for word of it might spread to his prey before he found her. And that would be disastrous. She had shown no awareness of his hunt before, but surely she could not fail to guess his reasoning now, did she come to realize that he sought her even now.

"My reasons are my own," Facio answered at last. "Why should I trust them to you, when you would not answer a simple question?" The pink male's impression was that the dark lion would not, if he knew the lioness, feel inclined to defend or protect her. Thus Facio was certain that the refusal to answer was simply to be difficult, and not born of any real concern for the fate of his prey.