Early morning

It wasn't very often that the yearling was up this early. Fitful bouts of sleep and fleeting nightmares usually ensured that, even if she woke, her blood wasn't really flowing until sunhigh, and sometimes well after that. But her vain search for prey the night before had exhausted her mind and body alike. It wasn't really her choice: the moment she'd banked between exposed roots of a willow tree, a wave of sleep consumed her, blotting out her troubled mind. The next thing she knew, pale light was tumbling down between the swaying tendrils.

With a shimmy, she rose from her makeshift bed, and made her way further into the woods. The wind batted gently at her fur, the soil springy beneath her paws, dampened by the little rivers that criss crossed here and there between the roots of the trees. The branches whispered as they brushed against each other. It was easy to keep walking, to lose herself in her senses. What else was she going to do?

It was some time before she paused and swiveled her ears forward, nose twitching at the fresh scent of a wolf. Now that was something... not that it took much to capture her interest these days, really. Markers were plenty, but the she-wolf hadn't seen an actual, live person in days, if not weeks. Her paws moved of their own accord, and she jogged ahead, her tail lashing behind her. It wasn't long before she made out the figure of a male, with wide black wings sprouting from his back. Lala couldn't help but murmur in awe. She'd heard of winged wolves, but she'd never seen them in person.

Of course, between facing the man's front, and the distance between them, she couldn't make out the shape of the vulture on his back.

What made her pause, several yards away and half-hidden by a tree trunk, was the scent of... well, she wasn't sure what exactly. It smelled big and feline, that was for sure, but she couldn't place the exact animal. Was he aware of the danger? The yearling moved forward, her jaws parted to give a warning, when there was suddenly a flash of white, and the cat shot out from the woods, quickly capturing a rabbit and.... bringing it towards the lupine?

In any case, the two predators seemed at ease around each other. Her guard hairs smoothed the teeniest bit, a bit of tension flowing out of her. She moved slowly from behind the tree, her tail swaying curiously, though there remained a fair bit of distance between them. "I don't think I've ever seen a lion hunt for a wolf," she began, her eyes flickering from one figure to the other. "Not even for a winged one, that's for sure! How did you get her to do that for you?"