The long day of flying had tired the bird out, but she had successfully gotten her hands on another pelt to add to her growing hoard. Kania had been feeling the pangs that came with the desire for motherhood, and Tapiwa was all too willing to get a nice, comfortable nest together for her future cubs, which Tapiwa would raise alongside the larger lioness and teach them all the best hunting tricks. Maybe she could even find a way to lead the males out of the pride when they came of age, assuming there were any.
She let out a very bird-like snort, fat chance of that.

She landed gracefully on the ground, shuffling herself close enough to drop her new trophy on the growing hoard. She had been more than willing to share what she'd brought back with the other lionesses of the pride, but made sure Kania had no clue she was bringing back the pelt of her prey until she could surprise Kania with it.
She had amassed quite a bit already, and knew that if the lions saw fit to move them, she'd have to call on the help of many a lioness to move them, and she sorely wished it wouldn't come to that. That would be the one thing she would despise of the nomadic nature of the lions she considered her extended family.
Of course, Kania wouldn't see it that way. She wrinkled her nose at the bird's display of affection, and it usually ended in a tussle between the two of them. If Kaia had a temper, Tapiwa was borderline wrath incarnate.
The tell-tale sign of someone approaching, and Tapiwa perked up, expecting to see her friend and only being disappointed with another lioness merely passing by, eyes widening at the large ground cover of fur but making no comment, with Tapiwa was assuming for her benefit. Hardly a lioness was unawares of her aggression with this tapestry of fuzzy skins.
She yawned suddenly and, looking up, she figured she had an hour or two to nap before the lioness returned from... wherever she was, and Tapiwa took it upon herself to take a short nap. She'd earned it, in her own opinion, and since Kania wasn't here to offer hers, majority ruled. She nestled herself in the thickest of the furs, wings folding gently against her sides as she dozed, the sun warm and comforting as she slid into dreamless slumber.

This sleeping was how Kania would come to find the blue vulture moments later, long after the sun had started receding in the sky and the dark of the night threatened the far horizon. She smiled gently, touching at the feathery body in an attempt to wake her familiar, "Tapiwa." The tiny bird made little movement, so she had to press her suit a little harder, giving her a rougher tap, "Tapiwa!"

The bird snorted awake, her snores cutting off abruptly as she peeked through slimmed eyes at the large brown lioness, "Oh, took you long enough." She yawned and gestured lazily to a pelt far off to the left, "I got a new one." She immediately nestled back down into the comfort.

Kania rolled her eyes, "Tapiwa, I think I picked someone." she gave the bird a shake, making sure she sat up, before she continued, "I met with Bazazi today. You know that one, right?"

Tapiwa grumbled, "Ah, yes the uh.... " Her words cut off with a yawn, "...he's the uhhh, dark one. He's got a white mane, right?"

Kania nodded, but seeing the bird's eyes sliding shut, she spoke rather sharply, "Yes, the dark one with the white mane. What do you think?" She eyed her fall-asleep companion and rather sharply tugged the pelt from beneath her, causing the bird to roll over.

Tapiwa squawked, getting her feathers all ruffled as she opened her mouth to give Kania a piece of her mind... and she paused, losing the wind in her lungs with a 'whoosh'. She eyed her suspiciously, "You picked who I thought you would. You're a lot alike."

Kania wrinkled her nose, anger simmering slowly beneath the surface, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Tapwa sensed it, that heat just waiting to be tapped into, but she kept right on talking, "Exactly what it sounds like. He likes where he is, you like where you are... and I figure you're both pretty sassy."

Kania laughed once, "Sassy, is that the best you can do?" She raised an eyebrow, anger receded in an instant, but she looked at the floor of pelts and sighed, grumbling, "You know all this is unnecessary, right?"

Tapiwa fluffed up, her former comment forgotten, "Unnecessary?! Would you rather drop cubs on the hot ground in the middle of the day?! I'll have you know some of these are absolutely luxurious and just fine for a nice nest, why my mother-"

Kania shook her head and hugged the bird close, "Alright, alright, I'm only teasing you." She smiled at her warmly, "But this is really going to happen, you know? I'm going to bring cubs into this world. Something I can show off to Dania."

Tapiwa's eyes rolled, "I certainly hope 'showing off' isn't the only reason." She fixed the mess Kania had made with dragging her pelts out of order, after she had weaseled her way out of the lionesses' grasp, muttering all the while. She fixed them as she'd first had them and looked back at Kania, "Do me a favor though? Make them all girls. They need to stick around and I wouldn't wish celibacy on your sons, if that's all you come to have."

Kania shook her head with a 'tsk', but she acknowledged her speech for what it was, "Yeah, yeah, I'll try to have a whole bunch of girls. Just don't come crying to me when I teach them 'pile on the bird'."

Tapiwa fluffed up, eyeing her, "You wouldn't."

Kania grinned deviously, "I definitely would. Every day."

[Words: 1,001]