Mtalia hadn't been with any lions in a long time. She had headed away from the Aka'Mleli lands quickly after Machafuko's untimely demise. She thought she was just making progress with him... And, at least, she had thought that she was starting to come around to the strange form of charm he had. She was unsure if he would be remembered by his siblings, or by that pride... But a little slice of Mach would live on in the lammergeier for the rest of her life. Of that much she was certain.
She found herself in the roguelands on this day, perched in a tree. She had been to the pridelands recently, but... Well, while that lion, Makali, had been interesting, she wasn't sure she wanted to spend all of her "productive" time helping out with pranks. It wasn't entirely her style. She'd spent some time with him, but that was a while ago.
But now... well, Mtalia had become a hermit, of sorts. She was living up to her name here, and she did miss regular interactions with someone... anyone.
So when Mtalia looked down from her branch after cleaning a wing to see a lioness, she hesitated, only a bit. She had seen multiple other lions, but she hadn't seen one on a hunt like this in a very long time. Once the lioness was done, she would go speak to her.
Noyana kept low to the ground, eyes remaining fixed on the target she had been after for a little while now... It was almost completely instinctual, the way the lioness moved. She could vaguely remember a time when she had to seriously slink and concentrate to get even just this close to prey- she had truly honed her skills over the years.
She was in mighty close... close enough, she determined. Today's catch: A klipspringer. Pretty small, really... It was young. Not a newborn or anything, but probably close to just a year old. A single lioness could bring it down- Noyana especially. She rolled her shoulders a few times before taking off, leaping above the grassline and into sight for the klip. The poor thing never saw her coming, or heard her. She could tell by its reaction. It just barely had time to start running before the lioness was on it.
She had her paws on either side of its ribcage, she could tell that she'd made a blow, but the klip let out a sudden burst of speed. Noy was slow to get going again (due to surprise- she wouldn't have thought it would escape.) The lioness took off after it, starting up the chase.
Mtalia, too, was surprised at the sudden takeoff. She'd been watching the hunt, after all, and she had predicted that the lioness would have gotten it by now. Well, she had settled to herself that she would talk to this cat upon the completion of her hunt, and as such, she would simply have to fly after her. The lammergeier stretched a wing before hopping off of the branch and coasting after her, a few seemingly effortless flaps keeping her up, but she had to work to get going forward. The lioness had been smart, she had come in from downwind...
Definitely not like Machafuko, this one. She was kinda... more like how Mtalia had wanted Mach to be. Except that she was a lioness. That was a little off.
At any rate, the lammergeier flapped to keep up and keep an eye from the sky on the hunt- it looked endlessly interesting. She had some decent skill, the raptor watched the lioness weave in and out of the grass to come out at an unexpected place.
Noyana darted in and out of the tall grass, doing what she could to throw the sound of her footfalls. She picked up the pace, the lioness could tell she was so close. She wouldn't underestimate the beast again- it was going to end in the next blow she dealt. Her paws flew underneath her as she pulled up alongside her catch. It darted as she predicted it would. Catching the rough earth as her launchpad, Noyana flung herself at the poor thing. It didn't stand a chance. She had a conversation with one of these once, back when she was young. Noyana always had great respect for animals that fell to her, but she could only hold that respect for them after they had been taken down. She landed the critical blow, though, and its death came swiftly. The lioness gave a quiet snarl as she set it down and made certain that nobody was nearby to give her trouble- no hyenas, no Mat's-dad, nobody to mess up what remained of her duties here.
She had been unaware of the vulture until she got over head.
Oh great, a kill signal already... Everybody and their brother will be here in a matter of minutes... she thought to herself.
"Hey you!" she called up. "Get down here, I'll give you a piece," what bird would refuse that? Well, a smart one, she supposed. Baiting a bird would be a good way of getting two meals- killing two... foods with one hunk of meat.
She started cutting at her food absentmindedly, eyes fixed on the bird, giving it a minute to respond.
Mtalia had seen the whole thing- she swore, watching a lioness hunt was like watching a work of art, she could never get tired of it. All of the twists and turns in the hunt left her with the wind to her back, and sailing was smooth.
Until she was spotted, it almost seemed like the lioness was mad. When the stranger prompted her to come down, however, it clicked. She didn't want hyenas or other scavengers so early, and lammergeiers were notoriously scavenger-y.
"Coming down~" she said as she dropped. She landed a little way off from the lioness and ruffled her feathers back into place. "Oh, that's not necessary, really! I don't need a bribe, I didn't mean to call unnecessary attention to your kill here. I just wanted to watch, I like watching lions hunt." She sounded like an idiot. Damn Mach, his stupidity had rubbed off on her. "You're quite good. My name's Mtalia, by the way," she said, watching carefully for a lunge from the lioness.
She was quite pleased to see the bird coming down, and even more happy to hear that she was understanding of her situation. "I'm sorry for being so hasty there, I just... well, you know," she said with a chuckle. "Yeah, I don't want anyone taking it, if I can get away with it. And I insist, here, Mtali," she said, continuing to cut off a nice piece of meat. "It's my treat, seriously. That's what I get for sounding so rude a second ago," she had already gotten a bird-sized piece cut off and tossed it over, in spite of the vulture's protests. "If you don't take it, it'll just have to sit there and rot, then," she said with a smirk.
"I'm Noyana, by the way. I've gotta get this over to my mate, wanna come along?" she asked. "I'm cool with it, as long as you fly low." The bright lioness offered a smile for encouragement before picking up the carcass. She needed a friend, and... oddly enough, this bird seemed to fill the role. At least for today.
"Oh, it's not that special," Noy said next chance she got to drop the meat for a breather. "Any lioness could do it, I'm sure."
Mtalia had been uncertain at first, as to whether this lioness was going to be friendly or not... The answer seemed to be yes, and she was quite glad for that. She liked this one's attitude, too. She'd really gotten lucky, chance had smiled on her today. She'd even forgotten about Mach, and her loneliness. She took her piece of meat.
"Sure it is, sure it is. I think that you're a great huntress," she said, taking to the air but staying a head above her. She'd come to trust this one so quickly... So would that be it?
"Yeah, I'll hang out with you for the rest of the day," she said, the words at least hung unspoken in the air. It was a new start- a truly new start. She would never forget Mach, but she would keep moving forward. Maybe she could bring a small, acceptably-sized bit of his personality and introduce it to Noyana.
