When Théadan finally roused enough to understand danger was upon them once more, he did not heed her warning to sit up slowly, instead doing so in haste of seeing a large predator mere feet from them. She wanted to rush over and explain, but feared angering the animal further. The cat did not take kindly to such a rushed movement either, the snarl she emitted sending a chill through Navia as she watched the leopard crouch and bare her teeth more. She wished the cat would deem them too messy to deal with and skulk back into the forest, but it seemed as though the cat still wasn’t quite sure what to do with the situation she had found herself in. Luckily Théadan was able to reach for his sword and take a more defensive stance, his body moving to block hers from a direct path for the leopard.<br/><br/>She reached out to rest a hand on his back, relief filling her with him at least having a way they could fight the leopard should she decide to take a chance and attack. “I think she’s still trying to decide if we’re worth the trouble,” Navia said softly back to him, keeping her gaze on the lithe creature and the way the intelligent golden eyes would flicker back and forth between them and eventually to the horses, “My father told me once you can scare leopards away with loud noises, so we could probably both start yelling and she’d run.” It seemed risky, but they didn’t really have another option and she didn’t want to risk any lives. “Vari isn’t tied to anything,” Navia added, knowing it had been a mistake to fall asleep without making sure their horses were secure. She was just so used to never having to worry with Wyndagar. “If she spooks them and Vari leaves, I don’t know if we’d get her back,” Navia pointed out before her hand squeezed Théadan’s shoulder gently, “I’m going to at least get ahold of her before we try to scare the leopard off. Once I have the bridle on, yell as much as you can.”<br/><br/>Having a feeling he would not like that idea, Navia moved before he could protest, knowing he needed to keep the sword on the leopard in case it lunged. She did so slowly, not wanting to upset the cat, but she could see its attention immediately shifted to her when she stood and backed over to Wyndagar, grabbing one of the bridles along the way. Knowing she could sneak up on him without him becoming upset, Navia worked her way up until she was close to Wyn’s face and dipped under his neck to reach Varinata. The leopard handled the move well enough in Navia’s mind, though she could hear it still growling. “We just need you to wear this, Vari,” Navia said softly to the mare, offering the bit for the horse to take and then looping the bridle up and into place around the horse’s ears and face. She was buckling the chinstrap when Vari took a step forward to bump her head against Navia’s shoulder affectionately.<br/><br/>Perhaps it had been because Vari had been behind Wyndagar and upwind of the leopard, but the instant the cat was visible to her, fear took hold. The shrill whinny was explosive to the tense silence and the silver mare reared back onto her hind legs with Navia trying to pull her back down hard. The cat released a shriek of its own, the sudden movement causing her to lunge forward a few feet toward the horses as if she needed to protect herself from the sudden outburst. “Now!” Navia yelled out while struggling with the panicked horse, nearly being dragged as Varinata struggled against the restraining bridle, shaking her head and rearing back to violently toss Navia about in an attempt to turn and run.