Favorite Animal

Drongos.

They're curious, annoying little birds. In the beginning, she was quite amused by their mimicry. Hearing a jackal's gekker come out of such a small bird wasn't something her keen eyes saw every day, but the novelty soon wore off the first time they tricked her.

She realized how quickly they picked up on her role within Senegal. With their parrot-like calls, they started to mimic the distress signals of the zebra herd she (and alright, her packmates as well) protects. The first time she heard that uncharacteristic bleat, so weirdly out of place in the quiet evening, she shot up from her well-earned meal to investigate the zebra's distress only to realize she'd been duped! By the same birds she once admired! She watched, more than once, as those cheeky feather-brains descended on her flank of flesh. And each time, she'd be too far out to reclaim her food in time.

At one point in time, she might have readily, vehemently stated that she despised these disruptive, confusing birds, but Gaia's grown now. Matured and poised and a testament to the quality her pack produces in how she guards the herd. And she's learned now. They don't fool her so easily nowadays.

And thankfully, they know that as well. She's learned to rely on her eyes as much as her nose and ears, and she's quick to spot their forms perched in sparse trees. Once they realized she wouldn't respond to the bait, they left well enough alone.

She may very well have continued on that way, had they not decided to aid her one day. It was only due to the drongo's alarm (thankfully not the perplexing bleat they came to favor in the hopes of tricking her) that she and her pack were able to run off those pesky jackals in time. Maybe not much of a threat to an adult zebra, but definitely worrisome for the multitude of new calves that season.

She can respect a creature willing to help her and her own. If she now leaves out a little part of her meal for the birds to snack on, that's no one's business but hers.