Tapa tried – desperately – to ignore the limp in her leg. Ever since she and Beru had investigated across the river and had a horrifying run-in with a crocodile. Now the hunting parties were going out, and Tapa couldn't keep up. Even with the exercise she was doing, her leg remained stiff and sore. She felt more frustrated with each yard as the healthy lionesses out paced her. She would be no good to them now – the only way she would be able to hunt was if she knew where the herds were and was waiting for them when they got there. Even then, she wasn't sure she would have the power to spring and bring anything down.
Tapa slowed from her strained trot to a walk, and considered her options. There weren't many – she needed a way to stay useful in the pride. Those that weren't useful wouldn't make it in the pride, especially not with the drought on, food growing scarcer by the day, and the plague going through the cubs and the old weak ones. Who knew how long before it would start to spread? The pride needed food and water now; Tapa hated being unable to contribute. And there was not a great deal the pride could get out of a lioness that couldn't hunt unless she could conjure water from thin air – that would be a useful talent indeed!
It was the circling vultures that reminded Tapa of another option that had come to light recently – the vultures. Another lioness had caught one and convinced it to work with her, instead of just trying to mob the lions for meat when they brought something down. It was mostly an annoyance to the lions, but occasionally there were injuries- just as occasionally a vulture broke a wing when it tried to snatch mean from the lion's kills. A partnership would be mutually beneficial. The vultures could scout, see, find, what a lioness on the ground could not. But a lioness partnered to a vulture remained useful to the pride, even if the vulture was the creature doing most of the work. It was a possibility. If only she could find a vulture.
Ishetenga, a scrawny brown vulture circling above, was having similar thoughts. Some of his friends had recently partnered with lionesses, and he was noticing a definite difference. They were well fed, weren't losing feathers in trying to snatch meat from the bigger predators, and, let's face it, lady vultures didn't go for scrawny, underfed, thin-feathered weaklings. So, in his brain at least, partnering with a lioness seemed like a very good idea.
Of course, there was always a chance that this female wasn't one of the lionesses from that pride, the ones that welcomed vultures. But Ishetenga was ready to take that chance. He fluttered down to land on a rock near the still lioness.
Best to get the important bit out of the way first.
“Are you from that pride that, um, has been adopting vultures?”
Tapa couldn't believe her own luck – like a wildebeest trapped in rocks, a vulture had just come to her! Too good to be true? Possibly.
“I am – are you looking for a partner?”
“Well – yeah. Actually. You feed us, right? If we partner with you, we get food?”
“Yes. You scout for us, we make sure you get fed. It's that simple, really. And, you know, don't be a jerk, don't try to steal food once you're full. Or distress the babies.”
“I'm not interested in lion babies, eating or playing with. Carnivore meat tends to be gristly anyway. I just want some food. Whatever you help bring down, I get a few mouthfuls down before you get your share, just enough to fill up my belly. The drought is hitting the birds just as badly as it is hitting you guys. And the ones who are partnering are doing a lot better then the ones who are all trying to make it on their own. I can see which way is for the ones who want to make it through.”
Tapa sat before the vulture that she was convinced fate had sent her to balance out the crocodile. It felt good to get off of her bad leg, but even better now that she was looking at a solution to the no- more-hunting problem. A way to keep her place in the pride – maybe even a way to help her find a father for the cubs she has been hoping to bring in.
“How are you at surveying land from above? And recognizing things from up there so that we can figure out what you're talking about? I need to be able to figure out where you want to send us.”
“I've never done anything like that before. This is just as new to the vultures as it is to you big furry things. Why do you want to practice or something before we become official scout buddies or something?”
“There is no 'official.' It's a partnership of convenience. Once the drought ends, if it does, we can go our own ways – or stay together. We'll see how everything works. But yes, we should practice before we try and impress my people and your females with our skills.”
The vulture and the lioness looked at each other. It was going to be interesting, coming from completely different lives – and both of them were sarcastic enough to bite. It would take a lot of adjusting.
“Maybe we should start practicing now – before we head back to your pride. Then we can show off and everyone will be really impressed.”
“I don't think there are any female vultures partnered up, so you aren't going to impress anyone important.”
Maybe he should have asked for a personality test before they entered into this arrangement. He had a feeling it would be easier to translate bird's eye views into lion's eye views then it would be for them to stop pricking at each other now that they had started.
“I need practice impressing people, too. Let's just get started, alright?”
“Let's start with the stream bed.”
“Or a tree? Something easy.”
“I know what a tree is!”
“Not from my point of view!”
An interesting partnership indeed . . .
Word count: 1043
