Surely she had to be close by now. Jin hadn't seen Ukumelana in a while, and she was starting to worry something had happened to her feathered friend. She was also worried that she was going the wrong way, away from the Ithambo the vulture called home. Soon, hopefully, she'd call it home, too. The land, while dry when she'd first reached the area, was now soaking through to the bone in rain. It made her wonder, was this what life had been like in the Jini'msemi's past? Drenched in rain, caked with mud? If she looked at her right hind paw, she couldn't see the white fur through the mud it'd soaked up. It almost seemed to blend in with the rest of her coat and markings.

A rumble of her stomach made her look around. Even in the dreary rain, she spied vultures gathering on a carcass. Lunch!

She worried. Skies above, she worried. She was lucky she'd found another vulture to eggsit while she went to eat, and gather food for her soon-to-hatch chicks. It was a momentous occasion, as she'd promised that they would be matched up with Ithambo lions. After all, it benefited the vultures, this relationship. The lions got eyes in the sky, while the vultures were guaranteed food.

Not that Ukumelana needed to worry TOO much right now, the rains meant meat was more readily available. The latest find was a buffalo that had been struck by a tree after lightning hit it. The beast had succumbed to its injuries eventually, and some scavengers had been by to start in on it. Now the vultures gathered, picking at the bones. Until, of course, the roar of a lion chased many away. But as she started into the air, Lena couldn't help but smile, "Well if it isn't Jin!"

Various vultures and other birds fluttered and yelled in surprise as they flew away from the hungry lion, except one. At first, Jin was ready to take a swipe, desperation in her hunger setting in, until the bird addressed her. When she got closer, her eyes grew wide and her grin seemed to go ear to ear, "Ukumalena!" Her trot turned into a sprint as she went up to greet the vulture, letting out a happy little roar. "I was starting to worry about you! Where have you been? What've you been up to?" She paused, looking at the picked-at buffalo. "How close am I to the lands you call home?"

The vulture clicked her beak in amusement, "So many questions from you!" She settled on a rib, watching Jin start to eat. "I've been watching my eggs! I had to drag another vulture in so I could come eat, though." Ukumalena's feathers fluffed up, "My mate's died at one of the most crucial times. It's a good thing we have a partnership with the lions. Which..." She lifted a wing, pointing in a northwest direction, "We're VERY close! The border's not too far away from here, you're almost there!" She looked back to the lioness, folding her wing back up. "You said you came from a pride where you would change your name, have you considered changing it for this pride?"

Chewing a mouth full of meat, Jin sat back and became thoughtful. When she had gone back to the mountain to declare her new name, she'd found nobody, and had gone back to wandering. She'd gone back to being Jin, the very factor of her world being disrupted having changed what she thought of her identity. Now she'd be potentially joining a new pride, having a new identity. Licking her maw, she swallowed down her mouthful of food, before turning back to Ukumalena, "Do they have any naming conventions there? A specific theme?"

"No, just specific languages. Which makes me laugh, because language names are a human-" She noted the strange look the lioness gave her. "I'll explain about humans some other time. But I'll tell you about that all later." Shifting, Ukumalena stepped to a clearer rib. "For now, if you could pick any name for yourself, what would it be? What would show them what makes you, you?" Not that the pride seemed to do names in adulthood. But she was sure it would help if Jin had a name that meant something deep to them.

Before talking more, Jin ate some more of the buffalo. There wasn't much left, already eaten at, and she heard the distant whoop of hyenas. It meant they'd caught the scent of death, even in the rain, and were heading for the carcass. If she wanted a full belly, she'd have to eat fast.

Only once she had eaten her fill did she finally address Ukumalena again, "Probably something to do with surviving. I went back to the mountain I'd been born on, and they were gone - A rockslide looked like it drove them out. So I came back out here into the roguelands... And I've simply... Persevering in the face of adversity." Jin sat back, thinking on it. Nothing immediately came to mind, though. Ukumalena had mentioned another language, but Jin didn't even know what language was, truly. As far as she knew, they all spoke the same language.

As Jin spoke, Ukumalena ate her own fill. She, too, heard the hyenas' whoops carrying on the wind. They wouldn't be too far off, now, and Jin would need to move. "Perhaps Phikelela - It means Persevere." She held a wing to her chest, "My own name means Resistance." The vulture's gaze suddenly turned, beak clicking a bit. "We should go, I can see the hyenas." With a flap, she took to the air. "We're not too far from the Ithambo lands, I can just lead you there from here!"

Standing, Jin looked over and past the buffalo carcass. She saw the loping forms of the hyenas, drawing closer, and let out a small growl. She wasn't stupid, though, and turned away to follow Ukumalena. The name the vulture had offered up sat in her mind as she followed, leaving the hyenas and their scavenged prize far behind before she finally said, "I like the name! But everybody can call me Lela for short."

With steady wingbeats, Ukumalena lead Jin- No, she lead Phikelela, Lela for short, back to the Ithambo lands. With the rainy season, the pride would surely be more accepting of a new lioness, especially one that came already bonded to a vulture. A vulture that was entirely willing to have her now-fatherless chicks bonded to other lions, at that. It was a win-win situation for everybody, as far as Ukumalena was concerned.