For once, she wasn't in peril. Normally, she was be over the moon over that fact, but right now... Xing was just introspective. She wasn't entirely certain how she'd found herself here, laying on a ledge above a swamp, but it was oddly comforting to her. It probably had something to do with her childhood. The sight of a crocodile lounging in the water nearby was even less alarming to her, though she knew better than to go anywhere near it. A lesson her mother had instilled in her early in life. She may have terrified Xing from time to time, and she may have more or less dropped her the second Xing had grown past being a cub, but Mlinzi was still a mother all the same. One who knew the dangers of reptiles and had made sure to teach her young.
The yellow lioness sighed, dropping her head onto her paws with a thump. Sometimes she missed it, missed the security that came from having someone older and wiser, someone to care if something happened to you.... But that wasn't something a rogue could ask for. A companion would be nice though.
So into her thoughts, she almost missed the yellow speck fluttering in. It wasn't often she came across something as bright as her. So she startled, at first thinking she'd somehow lost a chunk of her fur to the wind, before realized that whatever it was had wings. It was a tiny little thing, all fluffy feathers that seemed to shimmer with their golden color. And so similar to herself! It was almost like a bird version of her.
Xing smiled wistfully, remembering the little bird that followed her mother around too. Admittedly, she didn't have too many memories of the little creature - hardly any, in fact - but it must have been a hardy bird to stick around what was essentially double the normal predator.
Her smile turned into a concerned frown however, when she realized how close it was getting to that croc. Did it not realize the danger? Her head lifted and she stared hard in it's direction as it landed and started hopping into the water. There was a beat where she didn't move, and then she was up and leaping off her perch.
The little bird, meanwhile, was oblivious to the crocodile lurking nearby. In fact, all he cared about right this moment was parching his thirst. He'd been flying all day, and gods above, he was thirsty! He supposed that this is what he got for refusing to come down for so long. He's never been to this area before though, and Yu couldn't help but be curious about his surroundings. Plus, up in the air, nothing could touch you. Well, maybe other flying predator birds, but those were usually few and far between.
With a happy chirp, Yu puffed out his feathers and took another gulp of water. Ah, nice and cool.... Certainly a good place for a good drink on a good day!
The pounding of footsteps didn't register at first, but when they did, he barely had enough time to lift his head up when a female voice starting yelling, "LOOK OUT!"
It all happened so quickly. Later, Yu would look back on this moment and think 'I almost died.' and 'Why the hell would a lion help a bird?!', but as the massive, gaping jaws came flying out of the water, mere inches from him, he was frozen in shock. Before they could snap around him, a yellow blur went flying past his vision, smacking the mouth to the side and causing the crocodile to go sliding to his left.
Before he could celebrate being alive, something closed around his head and plunged him into darkness. He flailed, certain that he was still in danger, but as the seconds passed and he realized that the grip around his head was gentle and, oh you're kidding, was carrying him, he began flailing for a different reason. "Put. Me. Down!" Though his words were muffled by the mouth holding him.
On her end, Xing was just relieved to have helped the little bird, but the feathers flying everywhere were a bit unwanted. She ignored it in favor of checking to make sure they were far enough away. Good, the croc seemed to have gone back into the water. It wouldn't be bothering them again.
A wing whacked her in the nose, and she finally turned her attention to the little bird. She couldn't quite understand him, but she guessed that he was trying to tell her to let him go. Stepping over to a nearby rock, she spat him out, grimacing at the leftover feathers that remained on her tongue. Yuck! She didn't really eat birds normally - too difficult to catch and not enough meat - and the feathers have been added as another reason she didn't eat them.
Gazing down with bright yellow eyes, she lowered her head to his level. "Are you alright?"
Yu felt like he'd been drenched in water... no, worse. This was worse. This was spit. Grateful as he was that whoever-this-was had saved him, he was MORE indignant over the bird-handling. He huffed, and loudly twittered, "Alright? ALRIGHT?! I was almost eaten, and then I may as well-" He broke off with a startled whine though when he spotted who his savior was. There was a lioness. A great big yellow lioness. Only a few inches away.
He might be about to die still.
But no, she didn't look like she wanted to eat him. She was staring at him with big, concerned eyes instead. Probably safe then.
Yu closed his eyes and began breathing heavily. In and out, in and out.... When he felt like he had calmed down some, he glared balefully at her. "I'm fine, thank you." He sighed, and tucked his wings against his sides, "... And thank you for saving me. I had not seen that gator."
"Croc, actually." Xing couldn't help but correct him. Tilting her head in curiosity, she sat down, "You should be more careful. Swamps are full of creatures that lurk in the water."
Yu scoffed, and shook his head. "Yes well, I know that NOW." He cringed at the wet feeling, shaking his head again as he tried to dislodge some of the wetness. No go, he'd have to bathe himself, but he didn't dare go into any more water near here.
Xing hummed in response, unsure how to respond. He seemed uncomfortable. Analyzing him for a moment, her ears pulled back as she realized that his discomfort may have... been her fault. His head was all wet now. Awkwardly looking at anything but him, she shuffled her paws. "Sorry, did I hurt you?" She hoped she hadn't. That's the opposite of what she wanted!
Yu could feel the spit starting to dry, which was arguably even worse. Snorting he stared dead-pan at her, "No. but you couldn't have thought of a better alternative than grabbing me with your mouth?"
Xing's fur bristled in embarrassment, "I was in a rush, and it was the quickest way to get you away from there." She pouted, looking down at her paws, "I was just trying to help..."
And now Yu felt guilty. Here was this big, strong lioness, cowed by a tiny bird like him. Ugh, best to make up for it. "Look, next time you want to save someone, don't grab them by their head." He rolled his eyes when she kept silent, "Look, if you really want to help, help me find somewhere I can wash your saliva off." He shivered when he said the word 'saliva'. Just thinking about it stuck to his feathers horrified him.
Xing peeked back up at his words, more than happy to make up for soaking him. "Sure! I may not know these swamps, but I know my way around a swamp!" Hopping to her feet, she leaned towards him and gestured to her back. "Hop on." And okay, maybe she was secretly happy for the company. Birds were pleasant enough company, helpful when you needed a, well, bird's eye view of things.
Wetness momentarily forgotten, Yu chirped in curiosity and hopped his was into her fur. "Why swamps?"
"Well... it's a bit of a long story...." The yellow lioness trailed off as she turned and began walking. However, his intrigued expression coaxed her back into talking. "But if you really want to know...." And so she spoke of her cubhood, happy to recount happy memories, as they went in search of safer waters.