|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 3:32 pm
 Xefo watched a fight break out among the group of scavengers struggling to get the best parts of a day old zebra carcass. He was sitting in a gnarly tree nearby, trying to decide if he was hungry enough to join the fray. Vultures younger than him fearlessly weaved in and out between the four legged opportunists. He was getting too old for this... He could wait and see if there was anything left when things calmed down somewhat, or he could take wing again and hope to find a less crowded food opportunity. Hmmm...
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 3:53 pm
Uchungu felt bad for other vultures, she really did. They had to swoop around and hunt for dead bodies to pick off of. Old, decayed bodies with no real meat left on them. She, however, always had fresh left overs waiting for her. Her friend and partner Aberforth always made sure to leave some of his kill for her, since he knew she liked meat she didn't have to kill. Meat that was already dead. And he left her the bits she liked best, which she found sweet. Granted, he thought the things she liked to eat a bit gross, but still.
So when she saw the vultures fighting for some scrapes, she didn't stop to get involved, flying over them towards an old tree. It seemed she wasn't the only one disinterested in the mutilated meat, either.
"Hello," she said, landing beside the strange vulture, "hope you don't mind sharing this tree."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 4:00 pm
Another vulture arrived at the scene, and first he thought that the pink bird would swoop down and start squabbling with the rest. To his surprise she aimed for the same tree he was sitting in. Perhaps she wasn't hungry, or she might be in a similar position as he was. Not quite hungry enough to bother with that. He bobbed his head in greeting as she addressed him.
"Not at all my lady," he said, "Tree's big enough for plenty of birds, and I'm not in the mood for fighting."
He looked pointedly at the crowd below. Fighting for food was normal, but he had rarely seen vultures get all territorial up in trees (unless they were nesting of course).
"And you," he asked, deciding that some conversation might be nice, "Not hungry today?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 4:06 pm
Uchungu smiled. she was glad he wasn't one of the hungry ones- he might have shooed her off just because he didn't want her trying to get at the body. If he was waiting for a good moment, he was welcome to it. She had no need to spare a second glance towards the mess of meat and feathers. It was certainly nice being well care for, now wasn't it? She dipped her head in greeting, perching comfortably on the tree bark.
The old trees were the best.
"I don't need to eat things like that- I'm well taken care of when it comes to food," she assured the other, "what about you? You're not hungry? Or perhaps you have a lion to travel with, as well?" She wouldn't call Aberforth her lion, exactly. He was more a son than anything else, always in need of her help and protection.
But he was large and had big claws, so he had some uses, too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 4:23 pm
Xefo did a double take when she started to talk about being well fed, and lions... She didn't look like she had to starve, and her feathers were in excellent condition, but lions? The old vulture had always made a point not to mess with lions so he had never encountered birds bonded to larger predators before. Since the female didn't look like a raging lunatic he decided he must have misunderstood something.
"Do you have a specific lion group you follow," he asked carefully, "Taking care of their leftovers?"
That would make sense, and he had tracked successful hunters from a distance before, but competition could be just as fierce even if you opted to be the clean-up crew for one specific group of predators.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 4:31 pm
Uchungu tilted her head slightly to one side. SHe had forgotten it was kind of an oddity to travel with a lion outside of her pride. Everyone their was paired, bird and lion, but things weren't the same in the rogue lands. Sometimes, she forgot about that. Clearly this vulture was just as confused by what she had been saying as she was about his reaction to it.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I suppose I need to explain don't I?" she chuckled lightly. "My name is Uchungu. I live in a pride where lions and birds spend a lot of time together, as friends. The lion I look after, I've known since he was a cub. It's not really about following a lion around for food- we're good to each other and help one another out when we can." She looked thoughtful a moment, wondering if anything she was saying didn't sound completely insane
She doubted it.
"He eats, and he gives me what I need to eat, too. It's a sharing sort of deal, not give and take."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 4:47 pm
Xefo tilted his head and listened. When she introduced herself he automatically answered with his own name "Xefo," and then continued to listen in silence. Her business relationship with a larger predator was nothing he had come across before, but he could see the possible benefits of such an arrangement. He mulled it over for a moment before talking again.
"What can you offer this lion," he asked, genuinely curious, "It does sound practical to have a big cat hunting for you."
He wanted to know if there were any hidden drawbacks to her arrangement. A more secure source of food would be wonderful, but Xefo was an old vulture, and set in his ways. Too much change and it wouldn't be worth it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 4:52 pm
"Plenty of things," She hummed, "I clean areas he can not reach easily, and I survey the land for good hunting places, as well as keeping an eye on any trouble that might otherwise find its way to him. I also give him a lot of advice, because he is a bit younger, and much more foolish than I am." She chuckled at that, though didn't go into too much detail on the matter. Just because she enjoyed Aberforth's antics didn't mean others would.
Better to keep it to herself.
"It is nice, though he doesn't just hunt for me, either. We both look after one another, and keep each other safe how we can. Me by being better eyes, and him with his claws. Plus, it's nice to have someone to sit on when you get tired of flying," she chuckled lightly.
He was her furry taxi service.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 5:05 pm
Xefo did like the sound of that... He had plenty of life experience and was a decent tracker. If all it took for an older gentleman to be well fed was to find a lion and maybe preen it now and then... Then he'd better start looking for a young dumb one that could benefit from his advice!
"It does sound good," he said, and for a moment he considered asking more about her pride. In the end he decided against it. In a pride full of lions and birds the best lions ought to be taken. He might use it as a fallback, but Xefo was proud in some ways, and he'd rather find his own way to do this.
"Looks like a battlefield down there," he mused, "I think I should find a calmer place to rest for the night."
He needed to think, and he had just decided that fighting for scraps wasn't worth it today. Xefo wasn't that hungry, and with this new possibility. Yes. There might be easier pickings to be had.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 5:15 pm
Uchungu was a little worried she had completely weirded the male out, but she supposed it wouldn't be the first time someone didn't really understand her relationship with lions. Not many birds outside of the pride saw lions as friends. They were threats- things that liked to play with them if allowed to get close. But she knew differently. Funny how perceptions could change so easily, just from being in a pride versus being in the rogue lands.
Thankfully, this fellow didn't seem too put off. In fact, he actually seemed to like the idea. Something she would not have expected. Smiling, she nodded. "Very good. You should check it out some time... though I would be careful who you speak to."
She agreed about the battlefield, though she was enjoying the show too much to leave just at that moment. She did, however, bid the other vulture a proper, polite goodbye.
"It was nice speaking to you, Xefo, and I hope you find somewhere good to rest. I think I'll stay and see who ends up victorious in this little match below us," she chuckled lightly. "Then I suppose I need to get back to my friend."
Back to Aberforth, as always. And always happily, too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 5:27 pm
Xefo bobbed his head once more as a farewell. He had much to think about, and possibly lions to stalk. She was probably right in picking his prospect with care since lions could be a bit short tempered when they thought a vulture was about to take off with their food. "My bet is on that fat jackal over there," he said before leaving, "Looks like he's done this before." And with that he left the scene. The zebra carcass would soon be picked clean, but with some luck his fighting days would soon be over. -end-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
