She knew that it perhaps wasn't the safest idea she'd ever had, but Vita was confident that it would end well. After all, her dreams had never let her astray before. The vulture flew less than daintily through the sky, enjoying the wind gusting against her wings and the water droplets bouncing against her feathers. A rain storm was starting, and normal birds would be tucked away somewhere safe by this point. Vita had never been entirely normal though, and she loved to play in the rain.
Besides, she was a bird on a mission.
You see, her dreams had a way of showing... things that could happen, would happen so long as she followed them. Not always, of course. There were some things in the world that were simply impossible, after all. But she could tell the difference between those dreams.
And this one, oh she wanted to see where this one led.
Birds would often become companions to larger creatures, lions and lionesses most of all. As a chick, she was always intrigued by the idea, but had never felt the urge to pursue that role in life. At least, not at first. The dreams were subtle about it, never showing his or her face, but always just a burst of bright oranges mixed with blacks and whites. It frustrated her that it was never anything concrete.
As she grew older, the gruff, rumbling voice followed with it. A male, she was sure of it. A kind, friendly giant of a beast that she always felt comfortable around. He left her feeling safe, like one of her older brothers nesting beside her. She yearned for that relationship....
Which is why Vita was so determined to track him down now. She was more than old enough to leave the nest, and so, after receiving the well-wishes and goodbyes of her family, she had taken off on her own. It had been a long journey thus far, but at least it has been an interesting one. There were so many new lands, new faces, new species to see. She was privately grateful for being a flyer, and a large one at that. She could scavenge food without the worry of being eaten herself.
But now she was close. She could feel it in her feathers.
.... Or maybe that wasn't fate she felt in her feathers. The problem with flying in the rain? Drenched feathers weren't made for flying.
Orange paws padded lazily around the rock face, carrying their owner towards his family's den. Chapa had been sleeping well into the afternoon when the storm began to pick up, a shame as he had been having a wonderful dream. He had been running through a field, the wind beneath his paws and making him soar into the sky. He knew (now that he was awake) that that obviously would never happen, but that was what he loved about dreams. They could carry you off into fantastical worlds.
But of course, the weather had to ruin that. With a huff, the lion was lopping over a mound of dirt when he heard a squawk and a thud. Alarmed, he looked behind him to see a green form flopped across the ground.
Now, as a member of Bird Clan, he had seen more than his fair share of birds. Many of those in his clan took them as familiars, and he instinctually didn't view them as prey anymore. (they were usually too small anyway, hardly worth the effort) But he had never seen one so large before. And injured, by the looks of it.
At that thought, Chapa rushed over to check on it. If this was someone's familiar - or even just a passerby - then they needed help and he was the only one around.
It was a vulture, he noted as he got up close, and it's bright green feathers... reminded him of the greens his family was known for. Ironic. They - she, he noted with a sniff - were unconscious, and his ears flattened in worry when she didn't awaken to his paw nudging at her side. She was still breathing and it didn't look like anything was broken... but he was no healer.
She looked soaked through though, something that he was positive wasn't normal for birds. He had best get her somewhere warm and dry. So, grabbing her carefully around the torso with his mouth, he grunted as he lifted her up (a task made difficult with how large she was) and hastened to his den.
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When she came to, it was with a fuzziness that she hadn't known was possible. Vita was disappointed that she couldn't remember any visuals from her dream, but she did remember that gruff voice speaking so softly to her....
"You're awake! How are you feeling?"
... She wasn't expecting that same voice to follow her outside of her dream though.
With a start, Vita swerved her head around and stared with wide eyes at the vivid orange lion that she was nestled up against. It... it was just like her dreams, the warmth and comfort. He was like the sun. He was younger than she thought he'd be though, clearly still growing, and he was looking at her with such concerned eyes.
She tried to readjust herself, wanting to get on better footing now that she had finally found her goal, but cringed as her head pounded from the movement. What had happened? She felt horrid. "I-I..." Well, she couldn't say she felt fine. Because she didn't. Instead, she chose to change the subject, not wanting to embarrass herself.
"Where am I?" And because she couldn't hold back from knowing anymore, "And who are you?"
Chapa gave what he hoped was a comforting purr, "My name is Chapa. Chapa Chochokpi. And you're in the Ela'wadiyi lands, where my family and I live." He paused, wondering if she remembered what had happened. She seemed disoriented, and he hoped that she didn't have a concussion.
"I found you unconscious while I was traveling home. It looked like you had crash-landed in the rain." As if to emphasize that, thunder rumbled outside. Chapa took a short glance outside at the falling rain, before looking back at the vulture. "I hope you don't mind that I brought you back to my den. I couldn't just leave you out there."
He was as thoughtful as she thought he'd be too. "No, it's fine. I needed to find shelter anyway."
Though clearly, she hadn't gotten to shelter fast enough. Her headache was dragging her back under again, something that disgruntled her to no end. She just got here, just found him! She didn't want to ruin their first meeting by sleeping!
But Chapa had seen her drooping form, and chuckled at her attempts to stay awake. With a shake of his head, he shuffled closer around her and rested his head on his paws. "You should get some more sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up."
His fur curling around her was so warm and soft.... Vita huffed at his words, but couldn't deny that she was comfy. She did feel placated by his assurances that he would still be here though, and perhaps a nap wouldn't hurt. At the very least, it would help to ease her headache.
Closing her eyes, she puffed up still-drying feathers and nestled herself down, the feeling of home overwhelming her. She probably shouldn't be feeling this way towards someone she had just met, but she didn't feel like she had just met him. It felt like she had known him forever.
Before she drifted off, she muttered, "I'm Vita.... and thank you."