This story is set in the same "world" as LadyDragon623's stories about werefolk, vampires, fae and other supernatural creatures.

I have her express permission to use the "world" and characters she has mentioned in her stories if I feel they would fit into this story.

The pride had been at the location of their new home for nearly three weeks now. A lot had changed in that time period.

The shoddy shacks were torn down within the first 24 hours and a few folks gathered together to decide what housing was needed. Many had no issue with living in the cave that had been found, which apparently had been a fair sized mine long ago. The oddity was that the miners had taken out quite a bit of the rock underground to get small amounts of various ores, leaving in essence a very large open cavern.

There were rough logs, each about two feet thick and just under nine feet high, buttressing the roof here and there in the cavern. Many of these had rotted to the point that they might collapse soon, so one of the first things the new pride did was remove and replace them. A few of the pride members had had some work in construction crews at some point, so they knew what needed to be done and organized it.

One of those people was a young man, Phillip Stanley, who preferred to be called Phil. He was instructing a couple of younger people about the processes of treating lumber to make it resistant to a variety of insect pests, termites and fire ants being among the ones listed.

Phillip was in his early twenties, a recent graduate from a small college in the south, where he studied architecture and wood working.

Colbert Sheldon, another young man they'd picked up in their wanderings around Seattle, was in a different area, showing several people how to properly debark the newly cut trees, then shape them into heavy square posts that would be going to Phillip's area afterward.

Colbert had worked for nearly three years in a lumber yard in the Seattle area before being found by Ed.

A crew of about half a dozen was roaming the property, picking out trees that could be culled for building or reinforcement purposes. There was no shortage of trees around, which allowed them to choose trees that had reached their apex before the chainsaws began their song.

The person in charge of this group was none other than Callista herself. She had grown up long ago in a densely wooded area.

Henry Bones was walking slowly through the dense tree cover in a supposedly forgotten place in northeast Washington state when he stopped as if on a dime. He took a moment to draw in a deep breath, then growled low and fierce before he remembered he was not alone.

"Hey, boss woman, we might have a wee problem up ahead. Either that, or that supposed new pride moved in here already."

Saran Jacklyn chuckled as she also stopped and deliberately sniffed the air. "Lots of cats, most are over that way," as she pointed west. Her dark skin was a strong contrast to the rest of the group. She'd told them all at some point about having one Caucasian ancestor.

That wouldn't have been much of a surprise, considering how slaves were treated on many plantations three hundred years ago.

The rest of their group was not far behind the two, but spread out in a broad line to ensure at least one could take a report away if they came under attack by a much larger force. Saran shook her head, there were too many variations on cat smell to clarify how many there might be.

"Okay, folks, we go slow. If we find anyone, let's try to talk first, I'd rather not see someone die if we can prevent it in the first place."

The four behind Saran and Henry all stated their agreement, then the group resumed walking through the woodland. Those four consisted of Barbara White, a pleasant looking fortyish woman with ash blonde shoulder length hair, Kevin Windbreaker, a tall yet slim thirtyish man with a long russet ponytail hanging down to the middle of his back, Cindy Breakers, a twentyish young woman with shoulder length flame red hair and crystal green eyes, and last but not least, Carrie King, perhaps thirty years old, a brunette with a cute looking pixie cut.

Carrie looked toward the two in front of them, smiling at the thought that she could work with these awesome folks. Henry was a big brute of a man in appearance, well over six feet tall and not far from being barrel shaped, with dirty blond shoulder length hair and a matching beard. Saran was what could only be described as beautiful, tall, slender, yet with curves that made it clear she was female and gorgeous midnight hair that fell down to her waist, unbound and swaying as she did with each and every step she took as they made their way through the woods.

The walk lasted almost another hour before they spotted the first sign that people might be living in the area. Then...

Alicia Robinson had run from the cave all the way to the area where Callista was having her people cut down trees for the community.

She came to a stop a few feet from Callista, who was watching her crew until she noticed Alicia arriving.

It took a moment for Alicia to recover, then she barked out, "Six people, Alpha, coming from the woods to the east! They are weres!"

Callista nodded, then whistled as loud as she could over the sound of the rumbling chainsaws, all of which soon stopped.

With a quick word to her group, they all set off at a loping run, heading for the camp at the cave, then to meet the outsiders.

Saran stopped very suddenly as a gap appeared in the trees in front of the small group. Several people could be seen in the distance.

Henry was a few steps ahead of her before he noticed that she had stopped. He then looked ahead and sighed.

Saran nodded, "That's right, Henry, they noticed us first. It looks like we have some of them going around us. Blocking our retreat?"

"I can detect more than a dozen near us right now, Saran. No doubt someone has run to inform their alpha," he grumbled.

"You might say that, and you would be right. Who are you people, and what are you doing in my pride's territory?" Callista snarled.

Saran's head snapped back as she twisted around to look at the group that had come up behind them. "Your territory?" she gasped as she quickly counted the people surrounding her small group, eventually reaching a total just short of thirty.

"That's right, my territory. I am the Alpha of this pride, we are the Silent Scythes and I paid good money for this land!" Callista growled.

Saran gulped, it was obvious that the woman in front of her was pissed at their being here. "Have you sent for approval by the Council?"

Callista stalked forward, then slapped Saran hard, knocking her to the ground before standing over her prone form.

"I've been rather busy with keeping the folks I've rescued alive and worrying about finding a home to worry about the bloody Council!"

Saran shook her head, slowly so as to not alarm the woman any more than she already had, then rubbed her reddened cheek for a moment. Damn, she thought, for being perhaps average height for a woman among normal people, she hit like a mule kicks, hard and nasty.

A low chuckle escaped from Saran's lips as she looked up, then in a gesture of cooperation, lifted her hand toward the lurking woman.

Callista returned the chuckle, then helped Saran to stand before gesturing toward the camp. "Come with me, and don't start anything. I guarantee that a lot of these people would be all too happy to take your head off if you pushed their buttons at all, they've been through hell!"

Saran and the rest of her small team followed Callista and the other folks of the pride toward the cave, their current home site.

The space in the cave had been split into 'rooms', each one roughly fifteen feet by fifteen feet, with 'hallways' connecting areas.

Deep inside the former mine, in a room that was smaller than the main cave, several newly made picnic type tables had been placed. Each table had an upper surface where plates, platters and cups could be placed, and a heavy plank bench on the two long sides provided seating.

The people of this new pride took seats at several of the tables, leaving the central one for Saran and her group.

Once everyone was seated, Callista paced in front of them for a minute or two, gathering her thoughts.

Callista faced Saran and the others in her little group, then began to speak, "Just to be very clear, this is my pride, and this is OUR land. I hope that gets through, lady, because if it doesn't, I'm not sure that we could allow your little group to leave here as you are.

"I don't have the time to tell you the stories of what many of these people have seen and experienced since they were turned.

"I don't care who the hell you are. The only thing I care about is that you leave us alone, and let us live our lives as we wish."

Saran sighed before she replied, "We don't mean you or your pride any harm. We came because someone told us weres were here."

Callista stepped forward, leaving over Saran as she hissed, "What the hell do you mean, someone said weres were here?"

Saran turned her not quite coal black face up toward Callista and shrugged, then said, "We heard it from someone we saw in Spokane."

At this point, the big block of a man sitting next to Saran added, "I'm Henry. As she said, we were simply checking what we'd been told."

Callista sighed and stepped back a few paces, giving Saran some space again. "So... is there some way that you can help my pride?"

Saran grinned, showing a full set of pretty white teeth as she replied, "Perhaps. I have contact info for some people on the Council."

Callista stood there for a moment, her foot tapping on the stone floor of the smaller cavern. "Info that would help us somehow?" she asked.

Saran nodded, smiling briefly as she answered Callista, "Yes, there are a few people who can negotiate treaties between packs and prides for various reasons, as well as working to ensure that we are all able to survive without people out there learning about us."

Henry flashed his own grin as he added, "These people also help new packs and prides to be brought into the fold of the Council."

Callista frowned, then asked, "So... if you approached one of these people, you could help my pride to be recognized and protected?"

"Hmmm... not sure about whether they would protect you, but through these people, you would have access to the council itself. Once your pride is recognized, you would be given some information about prides and packs in the northwest, perhaps across the country," Saran stated.

Callista nodded, then sighed. "I'm not against wolves or other were types, but we are cats. I'd prefer to keep this pride as all cat."

Saran chuckled, a warm, soft sound that echoed off the nearest walls, "I'm sure that declaring your pride as cat only can be arranged."

Callista nodded again, then spoke one last time, "You are free to go. Remember, though, I will protect my territory from anyone if they dare to come into this pride's home area without either an express invitation or without having called us in advance to arrange a visit."

Saran stood, saying, "That's agreeable," as she waved to her team. As one, they rose and followed Alicia out of the caverns into the light.

Callista was relaxing for a moment, leaning against a very large pine tree that she figured was at least three hundred years old, maybe more.

It was nice to not be surrounded, although Ed and James Herman were about fifty feet back, watching everywhere but giving her some space.

They had been there for perhaps an hour when Callista detected the sound of faint footsteps, as if someone were walking very carefully. She waved for Ed and James to come forward, and the two men did so, standing on either side of her as the soft noises approached them.

Another minute or two had passed before Callista spotted a rather tall person almost stalking toward them. They appeared to be female, but it was more by watching the body movements of the person than the shape, which seemed quite androgynous.

Callista's abrupt, "Ahem!" stopped the person in what looked to be mid-step. They slowly lowered their foot and waited.

Callista growled, the heavy snarl sounding very much like a tiger about to pounce on its meal, then waved for the person to come forward.

As the person came closer to the three of them, it became apparent that this was a female, androgynous appearance notwithstanding.

Callista growled again, a softer one this time, then asked the female, "What is your name, girl, and why are you on my pride's land?"

The tall, somewhat boyish looking girl sighed, then shrugged her shoulders. "It's a long explanation, Alpha, the simplest one is that I was named after the two closest cities to where I was born, which happened to be Savannah and Augusta. Waynesboro was a few huts at most.

"So... my name is Savannah Augusta Johnstone, and for the record, I am the youngest sister of Neil Jones and Cain Eriksson.

"As for why I'm here, I've been roaming these woods for miles around for the last three months, nearly four. It's home to me, I suppose."

"Here's my proof if you doubt me, I know you are all weres," she said as she shifted into the form of a very large female timber wolf.

Callista, Ed and James all shifted into their were forms in response.

The girl, when her change had finished, found herself facing a Bengal tiger, a mountain lion and a big lynx. Savannah backed away a few steps, startled by the size of the three weres in front of her, then laid down and rolled onto her back.

Callista recognized the rollover as a submission tactic between higher and lower members in many a werewolf hierarchy. She stalked forward on her big padded paws and bent her head down to softly nip at Savannah's throat, then sat back and waited for the girl to act.

Savanna stayed there for a few minutes, lying on her back, then rolled over again and stood up on all fours, facing Callista and the two men.

Savannah paced forward and licked Callista's face, then rubbed her head briefly against Callista's before backing away slightly.

Savannah shifted to human form. "So you are forming a new pride here, out in the middle of nowhere? Why?" Savannah enquired.

Callista shrugged her massive shoulders briefly, then also shifted form. "Two reasons, honestly, of which the first is by far the most important. That reason is the privacy we can have out here. The second one is that we can hunt a variety of small animals when we feel the need."

Savannah nodded, that made sense. As a werewolf, she liked to shift to wolf form now and then and do a little hunting.

"Would you take someone like me, who knows this area quite well, into your pride, Alpha?" Savannah asked.

"As much as I might like to say yes to you, Savannah, I can't. The third reason for our coming here was to have only cats here," Callista stated.

"Damn," Savannah muttered, a comment the other three heard quite clearly. The girl paced near them for several minutes, then stopped. "Okay, so I can't join you. Could I be a friend to your pride, Alpha, and perhaps offer contacts to my brothers, who are pack/pride leaders?"

Callista smiled, then offered her hand to Savannah and pulled her into a hug. "Friend we can do, contacts are always welcome."

The four people, Ed and James back in human form again, chatted for a short while before Savannah wandered away, then out of sight.

A few more days passed as the small community worked on making buildings that would protect them from winter's ire in a few months.

One evening, as a fair amount of work was winding down with the sun hovering near the horizon, a car parked near the place where the few shoddy buildings had been about a month before. The vehicle's door opened, revealing the driver to be Paul Fielding.

Callista, Ed, Hamish and a few others were sitting on a rather rough but sturdy picnic type table as Paul approached them.

Callista nodded, smiling as she spoke to him, "Hello, Paul. I hope that you've been okay recently?"

Paul sighed, shaking his head, "That's just it, Callista, I have and I haven't. Since meeting you folks, everything has changed for me. I find myself looking at myself in a mirror now and then, then thinking about you folks and how much I bloody admire you all, dammit!"

Now it was Callista's turn to sigh as she slipped down from the bench, walked to Paul and pulled him into a tight hug.

As she pulled back a bit after hugging him, Callista asked, "So you admire us? Just how far does this admiration go, Paul?"

That was when Paul broke down, sobbing as he fell to his knees on the rocky ground. "I want to be one of you! That's how far it goes!" The words came out through the gut-wrenching sobs coming from the distraught man, and Callista knelt down to wrap him in another hug.

"Well, that isn't difficult, Paul, although I'm not sure you would enjoy the bite that would be needed as a minimum to start the process."

Paul raised his head a bit, tears still falling down his cheeks. "Huh? Why wouldn't I enjoy the bite?" came through the lessening sobs.

"Paul, I am a Bengal tiger in were form, James there is a Canadian lynx, Ed is a mountain lion. We're not small cats, although we do have some smaller ones in the pride. A bite from one of us bigger ones is liable to hurt like all bloody hell, and leave a short term nasty bite mark."

Paul shrugged, raising his head so that he was staring at everyone at or on the table nearby. "I don't care, Callista, I want to be one of you!"

Callista nodded, she'd heard of cases like this, although they didn't happen very often by what she could remember.

"Then you shall join us, Paul. Do you have a preference for type of cat?" Callista enquired of him.

Paul nodded, the tears seemed to be coming to an end. "Callista, I want to be like you, a Bengal tiger. Big, strong, and fierce when needed."

Callista nodded, "You do realize that the first change is most often the hardest one for a were to experience?"

Paul shrugged, saying, "It doesn't matter. I want to be one of you, to be able to run with you and your people, wild, free and happy!"

Callista nodded one more time, then shifted and with no notice at all, bit Paul in the meatiest part of his right leg.

Ed stated, "Be welcome here, Paul. I suggest you take some time off, the first shift could happen soon, or as much as a week from now."

Paul, nodded, grinning as if he had won the lottery. Well, maybe he had won one, a lottery in a crazy thing called life.