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Tonight was a busy night for Ota, she had set out with a purpose. Part of that was already accomplished, having begun discussions for some much-needed help from any sympathetic guards within the pride.. but something else remained. Meshach was still on the borders, biding his time. She had no idea what he was up to or if his plans had changed, she had not been out to bother them since shortly after the birth of his cubs. But she was certain he deserved to know that she and Kamia were finally on the move.. and why. Hopefully he had had time to consider whether or not he trusted them and believed they had any insight into the future.

And whether or not he had decided favorably, his own rebellion would be compromised as the internal rebellion began to grow and he deserved a warning.

His camp had changed since their first encounter but Ota already knew where it was, and she was headed directly for them, hoping that Meshach would notice her bright white fur even in the dark and come to her- though she would not have been disappointed to see Runa or Rona again. With Vesper on patrol nearby, she was confident they would have the privacy they needed.

Ota was slowing down in her purposeful march just as Meshach caught sight of her-- and when he called out softly, she came to a stop and waited for him to arrive. She smiled.

"Meshach," she greeted him quietly, "You can relax, we're safe tonight."

A simple test of how much trust he had for her, though she was telling the truth. She couldn't walk so freely at night, her fur was much too apparent even in the dimmest moonlight. And yet, for now, she walked openly.

"I was hoping I could find you quickly, we need to talk."

Ota took a deep breath.

"We're running out of time," she said earnestly, "It's been quiet since Shangyue took the throne but it's not going to stay that way much longer. He is getting comfortable, and he's going to start making mistakes. And that's what we need."

It was a horrible thought, that the more mistakes the monarch made, the closer they would get to open rebellion. But they had no chance of taking back the pride and maintaining any form of peace by simply killing him now. Too much of the pride was either on his side or indifferent.

"Kamia and I have started to move," Ota went on, "The more we do, the greater the risk to you and your rebels, and I thought it only fair to warn you. I don't think any of us will be able to keep our secrets much longer, though we're still far from our goal."

Batu? Ota repeated the name in her mind, over and over, but unable to come up with a face to attach to that name. She would have to look into it- but she was glad to hear that Meshach had some help within the pride. Their own alliance was much less official.

"I would like for us to be allies," she said, "We share a common goal, though we have different expectations for the path that will take us there. We're all going to need to work together, none of us will accomplish anything alone."

She paused, glancing down at her paws and back up.

"I hope that you know you can trust us, and that we would like to trust you," she continued, "We've started by talking to the guards. One named Vesper is currently on patrol in this area, he's your cousin and he's sympathetic to our cause. I've asked him to coordinate with Baba'Nyota to keep your area of the border watched only by those we can trust. It may not help much or for long, but it's something."

Ota smiled, relieved to hear Meshach say he thought he could trust them. They were going to need the whole pride together for this and this was the best start they could have for now.

"With Vesper and Baba'Nyota's help, we're going to start figuring out which guards we can trust," she said slowly, trying to think through what exactly their plan was at this point, "They'll be valuable for keeping track of what goes on, and finding those in the pride who are already leaning towards rebellion."

Another pause.

"I already said Shangyue would make mistakes, that's what we'll be waiting for," she said, a sad smile on her face, "And it's going to start soon. He's already started down the path to his own destruction, but I think we could argue it started the moment he killed your father."