Latitare circled on a thermal, watching one particular lion below. Yareha Afaer was his assignment now, as bestowed by the rulers of the Mwezi'Johari. They were...concerned about the young male, and it was his duty to determine whether or not this fear was justified. And if it was true, he had to report back immediately before anything untoward happened.
To tell the truth, so far this job had been pretty boring. Most likely due to the fact that Yareha had been keeping a low profile ever since his kids had arrived - and not in the usual way. There had been some sort of drama around them, being brought by their mother who had refused to join the pride. Not to mention that the mother was NOT the lioness Yareha had been seeing until that day.
The whole situation had "problem" written all over it. And that didn't include Yareha Afaer's political views and his distressing tendency to vocalize them.
The lion in question was out and about for once and not for the purpose of getting away from the cubs. This time he was moving quickly, aiming to get a haunch or so from the just-returned hunting party that he could bring back to the kids for a meal. They were getting older and more active and he had a very real fear that if he didn't get back soon enough, they were likely to come looking for him and their food.
Not that this was a bad thing, but he wasn't quite ready for them to be that independent and capable yet. They were still cubs, still young, and they simply hadn't been here that long!
He was moving swiftly when movement caught his eye. The white lion stopped abruptly to take a closer look. What he'd seen wasn't movement per se, but the result of movement - a shadow upon the ground. It was a bird's shadow and what had caught his eye was the fact that it was circling. He didn't think there were any vultures near the pride - they'd probably be chased away from any kills, if not added to the day's meal. So he looked up.
The bird was much bigger than he'd thought, larger, he thought, than a vulture would be and the body wasn't the same. He'd seen vultures fairly close before, but not many other birds. Not unless if they were already dead. Blue eyes narrowed as he watched the bird, circling above. It was strange, he could've sworn it had been doing so for some time already. The question was...why.
Latitare's yellow eyes narrowed as the white lion stopped and looked up. Looked directly at him. There was no doubt in the eagle's mind that he'd been spotted. The question was, what did he want to do about it? He was supposed to stay out of sight, but now that Yareha had noticed him, there wasn't much hope for that.
Well, skulking about in shadows didn't appeal to Latitare's sense of style or honor. So he supposed he might as well just go down and introduce himself. Thought became deed and the eagle swooped down towards the ground, pulling up at the last minute to land on a convenient rock. It was a sturdy perch, one that wouldn't collapse under his weight like the stunted trees nearby.
"Greetings, Yareha Afaer. I am Latitare, one of Their Highness' servants, assigned to keep a firm watch on you," he introduced himself with an elegant wing shrug.
Well. This was...not exactly something he'd wanted to hear. Ever. Or something he'd expected. He'd been uneasy with the eagle - Latitare, circling above him, but for the bloody bird to just land and announce that he was...he was spying on Yareha! It was...ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.
He didn't understand. No, that was a lie. He could well imagine several very good reasons for the King and Queen to want to keep an eye him. The lion simply couldn't imagine why said spy would want to just state the facts to him. It made no sense.
"Um...hi," the bemused lion managed to reply. "Why exactly are you telling me all this?" he asked cautiously.
The eagle blinked. This was going well, all things considered. So, he'd go on being honest. "You spotted me, thus it would be rude to continue watching without letting you know," the bird replied. "I hope that we might be able to reach an accord. You do understand that I do this at the behest of the King and Queen, and thus I cannot cease at your request."
Latitare paused and cocked his head to the side, getting a better look at the lion. "I believe that, this aside, you and I can get along well. We do understand each other fairly well, or will come to, and though I must watch and report back, I am happy to do what I can to assist you."
Yareha stared at Latitare. The bird wasn't talking very fast, but he did seem to spew words at an alarming rate. The white lion was attempting to figure out what he'd been told. He seemed to think that, because Yareha had spotted him, the lion deserved courtesy and to know what was going on. And yes, he was being spied on.
But the bird seemed to be offering his services to Yareha, keeping in mind that his first loyalty was to the pride's rulers. It...didn't seem to make a lot of sense to Yareha, but it must've made sense to Latitare or he wouldn't have offered.
"Let me get this straight," he said at last. "Thoth and Khathelela assigned you to spy on me. You're...letting me know this, because I noticed you. And you're offering to help me out in your, uh, free time?" His voice rose incredulously at the end of the question. It just didn't make sense!
"Precisely!" Latitare nodded, pleased. "Actually it's not my free time, as I'll still be keeping an eye on you, but the concept is the same." He considered the situation briefly. "I can think a few ways that I can assist with the younglings, as simply a second set of eyes, ears and a mouth. It would be my pleasure and honor to be of aid."
Yareha shook his head. He just, didn't understand the bird. Not at all.
"Fine, whatever," he said at last. "Just...leave me alone." The lion stalked off to finish his mission for a meal. He didn't have time to deal with crazy birds.
"As you wish!" Latitare caroled, launching himself into the air once more. If Yareha didn't want him within speaking distance, very well, he would watch from above again. He did hope they would have another opportunity to discuss their relationship again soon. It would be most enlightening!
