Everything The Light Touches: Darkened Horizons ~ The Characters

Name: Kopa

Species: Lion

Sex: Male

Character Description: Kopa looks just like Simba, save a couple noteable differences. His mane and tail brush are a medium brown, unlike his father's red, and he has a more muscular body; he looks a bit more like his grandfather Mufasa in build.

Character History: Kopa was raised from birth to take his father's place in the Circle of Life; he was betrothed to Siera early on. However, shortly after the birth of his sister Kiara, it all went wrong. He had snuck away from the security of his sleeping parents and was romping outside when Zira suddenly descended on him. He doesn't remember anything except extreme pain between the time he saw her and the time he was woken up by a gentle splash of water on his burning face. He was taken care of by an old lioness and a serval for the rest of his cub life, neither willing to send him back home, and the cub was too terrified to return anyway. All three of them were unaware of the events going on in the Pridelands. He lived with the two and eventually only the serval until his mane was fully grown, when he deemed it time to return home; he was old enough to not be bothered by Zira.

Name: Jahari

Species: Lion

Sex: Male

Character Description: Jahari, who is an extremely handsome fellow (for a lion), is pure gold (much lighter colored than Simba), with a red-brown mane (though not completely red like Simba's), and with bright blue eyes. He has a reddish/orange circle under his left eye, and his front right paw is also red-orange. He's very tall, and very strong, and many call him 'The Prince of the Pridelands' even though he's not of royal blood.

Character History: Jahari was an only cub who grew up as a 'popular boy', much like Siera, alongside one of his best friends, Kopa. He has an enormous ego, but he has an even bigger heart. He is kind, loyal, and truthful, and is on good terms with Simba. Many see him as a 'second leader', which he's rather good at, because many Pridelanders expected Simba to claim him as the next heir with Kopa and Kiara gone. People just love to adore him, and the lionesses all swoon over him and his rippling lion muscles. He's a top-notch hunter, and can't help but show off a little to the lionesses and his buddies. His dream is to become king, but at the same time he knows that will never happen, and would rather see everyone happy instead of catering to himself.

Name: Siera

Species: Lion

Sex: Female

Character Description: Siera is cream-colored with a tan underbelly, dark chocolate eyes, and a brown nose. She is thought to be probably the most gorgeous lionesses of all time, and she rather thinks so too.

Character History: Siera is a Pridelander who has a little bit TOO much pride- for herself. The male lions constantly fawn over her, even Simba, and all the attention has gone to her head. She's like a superstar with too much lime light. She very snotty, snooty, and likes to think of herself as a princess, even though she's not related to the royal family, but was betrothed to Kopa (with the thought of one day being queen only raising her ego). She can be very irksome, but usually everyone just adores her and doesn't mind. The only people not too fond of her are her sister Safire, and Jahari. Safire is always being picked on and shadowed by her sister, who uses her as a bad example or to shame her whenever she gets the chance, so long as it makes herself (Siera) look better. Siera had a major crush on Jahari for a while (who never reciprocated the emotion, so Siera blamed it on Safire) but has now fallen for a mysterious, handsome rogue by the name of Sengalo... But now it seems that Kopa has returned, so things are rather complicated.

Name: Safire

Species: Lion

Sex: Female

Character Description: Safire was named after her royal-blue coat that gleams and glistens in the sun. She has a light blue underbelly, and intelligent light orange / dark yellow eyes. She's very pretty in her own odd, individualistic way, and very original in her personality and thoughts, but is a bit of a sight when surrounded by all the other more normal-colored lions. Her sister Siera often likes to point this out, much to her dismay.

Character History: Safire is calm and a little bit shy. She's very smart for a lioness, and mature as well. And though these might sound like good traits, her dazzling, popular sister Siera always liked to somehow bring these traits to becoming bad qualities. Safire's been bullied and teased all her life by her sister and all the popular, strong lions, so she has no ego at all as opposed to her sister's booming one. She's a loner, and prefers to be by herself, and trusts no one save for her good friend Naeri and Jahari, whom she has a crush on (not that she'd ever reveal that). But neither Jahari nor anyone else really cares for her in the slightest, nor for her well-being, so you could say she's a little depressed. As Timon says, "Boy, she looks blue."

Name: Naeri

Species: Lion

Sex: Female

Character Description: Naeri has an off-white coat. Her underbelly, neck, chin, and paws are white, and her tail brush is fluffy Outlander style and cream. Her eyes are silver, the result of a genetic mutation, though she isn’t blind. Her tribal marks are as follows: a red line dropping vertically from both her eyes to her cheeks, a row of black dots just above her nose, a red fang on her front right leg, a black sun/moon on her right side, (the sun/moon on her right side is the symbol of the first King and Queen of the pride and also symbolizes the strength of the Red Fangs in day or night), a complex blending of jagged lines and small dots going down her rear left leg, and five thick rings around the base of her tail– black, red, black, red, black. She wears a necklace, a black string with a red stone shaped like a star, and a large black feather hanging over her chest and has a small fang dyed red hanging off her tail just below her tail brush, held by a thin black string. Both are signs of her royalty.

Character History: Naeri was born to the Red Fang pride, a violent pride far off the northern border of the Pridelands. Her father, Abadai, was the finest warrior of the pride and her mother, Nera, was sister to the elderly Queen Tennra. Being the only cub born with royal blood, she was named the pride’s princess. The Red Fangs were on the verge of war with a neighboring pride over land as Naeri grew, which soon turned violent. When the fighting eventually broke out Nera handed Naeri, who could barely walk, to an adolescent male named Teferi, her betrothed husband and prince of the pride, before she rushed into battle. He watched her until the tide of battle turned against the Red Fangs and then, as Nera had requested, he picked Naeri and ran. They were soon joined by Queen Tennra, bloody and missing an ear, but alive. The three left the Red Fang’s old territory and headed south, seeking asylum in the Pridelands. Teferi vanished one night, leaving Tennra to tend to Naeri. She carried the small cub in her jaws until they reached the Pridelands. She didn’t immediately seek out the King, instead raising Naeri on the plains and teaching her to hunt when she could walk. She became wild and adventurous despite the tragedy in her life, although she rarely spoke. When Naeri could effectively hunt rabbits and the like with little problem, Tennra left her to succumb to old age and infection and died in the borderlands. Naeri was quick to ask Simba permission to join his pride, desiring the security of a pride after Tennra's death. He agreed, and she has lived there ever since, though never quite felt like she belonged, always wondering if Teferi was still out there somewhere...

Name: Nguruma

Species: Lion

Sex: Female

Character Description: Nguruma is a young dark chocolate lioness. Her pelt is so dark, in fact, that it is often mistaken for black. Her underbelly and muzzle are a dusty tan. She is also the owner of two very strange birthmarks: The first is a blazing red blaze which extends from just between her eyes, down her back, to the base of her rump just above the tail. Her eyes are a bright china blue and the vivid red spots from her cub days never truly faded from the back of her ears, giving them a freckled appearance. Her name, Nguruma, means “thunder”. She is very young, and is just old enough to be considered a full grown lioness.

Character History: Much of Nguruma’s history is unknown. Her homeland is somewhere many miles to the north of the known lion territories and her family had been cast to the four winds to wander. She was brought to the Pridelands by the mystic Rafiki. It has been said Rafiki received a vision of her involvement in the future of the Pridelands and its inhabitants. She had been serving as Rafiki’s apprentice and assistant during his journeys beyond the lion kingdom, but upon his return to the Pridelands, hopes to explore on her own a bit more and hopefully make some new lion friends!

Name: Anyango

Species: Meerkat

Sex: Female

Character Description: Anyango has blue eyes with normal meerkat colored fur, and fairly-long yellow hair. She has a black band around her left arm at the top.

Character History: Ever since she was young, Anyango liked to go and explore around the Pridelands. Her parents would always scold her for this. However, as she grew up, she continued to do what she wanted. She couldn't find it in her to stop exploring. There was something out there bigger for her than just that scrawny meerkat hole, though what it was exactly, she could not tell. Tragically, however, one time when Anyango wandered off, her little brother Dusty followed after her. She didn't know about it until it was too late. There was a pack of hyenas chasing after her and her little brother was too far behind. Anyango heard the little squeal as she paused to turn around. To her horror and her parents who'd tried to come to save the meerkitten, her brother was gone. The hyenas had devoured the little fella right in front of their eyes. Not being able to cope with the fact that it was her fault her brother was gone, she ran away from home. Later on she'd have a meet-up with those nasty hyenas again only to be saved by her new best friend Nanavi the lioness. Thus she moved to Pride Rock with Nanavi where she remains a playful friend, and now, and new friend to Timon as well.

Name: Nanavi

Species: Lion

Sex: Female

Character Description: Nanavi has blue eyes, peach-toned fur with some tannish markings on various spots of her body, and a big tuff of hair that poofs out from her forehead.

Character History: Nanavi's father, Tabansi, was a wanderer who met up with Safiya, Nanavi's mother, one day while she was on hunt. Tabansi soon vanished without a trace, sending Safiya into a fit of depression, though she made it through, though still wondering if Tabansi was out there somewhere. Nanavi was soon born and raised in the Pridelands. Nanavi had been training to be a hunter. However, she tends to get a little bit side-tracked every now and then. She's always one for adventure and fun, and always is a little unsure about her fighting skills. (Though, if the need arises, she will take hold of it and charge right into action.) One day while she was adventuring she happened across a poor meerkat in distress. The meerkat was being attacked by a hyena, and though normally this wouldn't bother anyone, there was something that Nanavi liked about this meerkat. Something just pulled her towards the little creature, who was Anyango, so she saved her, and now the two are good friends and are always doing things with one another.

Name: Ayanzi

Sex: Female

Species: Hyena

Character Description: Ayanzi was so named because she is an odd mixture of the albino Ayati and her more normal-looking mother. Her fur is medium grey, but her underbelly and the few spots she sports are pure white. Her legs are still black, but the black fur ends in white paws. The ruff of her along her neck begins as black but becomes white at her Shenzi-inherited bangs. Her tail, also, is black with a white tip. Her eyes are a bright orange color, as if her genes couldn't decide on whether to give her the yellow eyes she should have or the red eyes of Ayati. Ayanzi hates how she looks, but she does enjoy sticking out of the crowd back at home. She is a smart-ass and very powerful, as she is the decendant of matriarchs, but her soft side shows much more than Shenzi's. She is a creature who needs mutual companionship to thrive, and though the thought of ruling the pack did and still does appeal to her, she felt that any hyena who called itself her friend was simply sucking up because she was one of Shenzi's daughters.

Character History: Named after her great grandmother, Ayati, and her mother, Shenzi, Ayanzi was born just after the "death" of Scar. Ayanzi is the oldest daughter of Shenzi. She was barely two days old when Simba's pride chased them out, and they were refused sanctuary in the Outlands due to Zira's still boiling rage over their unanimous choice to kill their betrayer and her lover. Shenzi, still the powerful matriarch, led the hyenas far out of the Pridelands to a safer haven, several square miles of lush and unclaimed lands. Though the hyenas missed their boneyard playground, they settled into the wide plains and picked up the shards of their broken lives. When a lion pride did try to claim the territory, Ayanzi was nearing her adolescence. When negotiations failed on the part of the stereotypes of the lions and the refusal to be thrown out again from the hyenas, Shenzi's group chased the pride out and staked their claim on the lands. The pride instead claimed the territory bordering the hyenas' and the constant threat of war hung in the air. Ayanzi had no desire to leave until her only brother was murdered by the lions for setting a paw on their lands. Fed up with living under threatening conditions, Ayanzi turned from the group and ran back to the never-ending Pridelands. She knew, though, that Simba would kill her if he found her, so she returned to the empty elephant graveyard. In the midst of her adolescence by this point, she took rather well to living alone and scavenging the kills of Simba's pride. It was a rather innocent morning when she stumbled upon Kehinde's broken body in the gorge while on a stroll to visit the grave of the legendary Mufasa. She thought the lioness was dead at first, but upon further inspection she noticed the weak heaving of sides. Ayanzi was too weak to drag her anywhere so instead she brought the lioness something to eat as quickly as she could. Kehinde did eventually wake up, but an injury to her head had driven her mad, and besides that both of her back legs were broken, among other injuries. She could not move, and she spent most of the time rambling to Ayanzi. The only clear names the hyena could ever make out from the slurring garble were "Teferi" and "Kehinde", which she soon learned was the lioness' name. Over a few weeks Kehinde went deeper into insanity as the birthing approached. Ayanzi was lucky to have been near the lioness when birthing began. Kehinde was swearing to murder the cub as soon as she saw it and tried to keep it in, but she couldn't supress her body's natural process. Ayanzi stood over the cub protectively, as she fully expected Kehinde to live up to her promise to kill it, but the already weakened lioness only spat out "My curse" before her angry soul left her body. Ayanzi brought the cub to the graveyard, fully expecting it to die without Kehinde's milk. She gave him the name Ketan, after his mother and her brother Rietan. By some act of a sympathetic deity, Ayanzi kept the cub alive until it could begin to eat the softer bits of fresh meat and drink water. Ayanzi has done her best to make sure that none of Kehinde's rage before her death showed in the young cub, but as he grew he took very much after his foster mother. When Ketan's mane was beginning to grow out, Ayanzi began to venture into the Pridelands with him. Though she is almost old enough to be the lion's mother, the two have more of a brother-sister relationship than a mother-son one. Though Ayanzi knows that life in a pride would probably work better for Ketan than living alone with her, he has refused to do so if she doesn't join him.

Name: Ketan

Sex: Male

Species: Lion

Character Description: Ketan shares his mother's dusty brown fur and light brown underbelly. His mane is a medium grey shade, probably inherited from Teferi's side of the family, but he has Kehinde's black tail brush. His eyes are Teferi's sharp blue hue, and his front left knee-to-paw is light grey. He is shaping up to be a strong lion, but by no means the most powerful. He has taken much of his personality off of Ayanzi, since she is all he's ever known.

Character History: Ketan was born in the gorge, and his mother died in the birthing. Ayanzi has told him all she knew about his mother, including her desire to kill him, and also that she knows nothing of his father besides the fact that Kehinde seemed to have hated him. Ketan regards Ayanzi as his only family, and the two have bonded as siblings. He refuses to join Simba's pride for several reasons, the main one being that he believes he is a hyena trapped in a lion's body. From hearing of his mother's hatred for his father and her desire to kill him, in addition to Ayanzi's stories of her experiences with them, he has developed a belief that all lions are evil. Though Ayanzi tries to sway him from this harsh judgement in any way she can, he refuses to believe it until he sees it for himself. His mane has just fully grown, but he is not quite a full-fledged adult.

Name: Nasitra

Sex: Female

Species: Lion

Character Description: Nasitra has smoky grey fur with faint black and light grey accents, making her look nothing more like a whisp of smoke. She can blend into shadows and fog with little problem. Her eyes are a greyish-black hue in light, but in darkness they look pure black. She has a powerful build for a lioness and some scars around her face and shoulders. Nasitra has a powerful personality and is quick to act, which often results in violence.

Character History: Nasitra was the oldest of three daughters born to King Sekun of the Abyss Pride, far from the borders of the Pridelands. There was a fierce competition for who would take over the pride as soon as the three daughters were cubs. Nasitra was the top choice because she was oldest and strongest, even as an adolescent. But when the fight for the crown brought Nasitra to murder her kind-hearted sister, Sekun exiled her and named the remaining daughter, Trana, the heir. Nasitra left with no fight and wandered. Aside from the occasional fight, her life has remained rather dull up until the point where she she bumped into Nyota and Runako, where she heard of the desires of their king to attack the Pridelands. She has taken this information to be unknown to the rulers of the Pridelands and has traveled there not only to warn them of such a plan, but also with much darker personal intentions.

Name: Kovu

Species: Lion

Sex: Male

Character Description: Kovu resembles Scar, though is much more muscular, taller, and heavily built. His coat is more brown than red, and his mane is more brown than black, but there is no mistaking the scar across his left eye. But don't let looks deceive you- he's a good guy.

Character History: Kovu, son of Zira, was hand-picked by Scar to be his heir and to follow in his pawprints. He grew up with his brother Nuka and sister Vitani in the Outlands, where he and the other Outlanders were exiled to when Zira had supposedly murdered Kopa, Simba's son. His mother, who was Scar's most loyal follower, raised him in dark ways, telling him that he was destined to grow up and kill Simba and claim the Pridelands as his own. However, the tide turned against Zira and Kovu instead fell in love with Kiara and learned that there's more to life than hate and revenge. He helped to soothe the Outlander/Pridelander issue and now is Kiara's lion mate and has travelled with her to the Oasis where he is now a new king, though things aren't going too well.

Name: Kamaria

Species: Lion

Sex: Female

Character Description: Kamaria is a medium to light gray lioness with deep blue eyes and a very light gray muzzle and underbelly. Her tail brush and paws are black. Her name means 'like the moon', and she was named this because of the light black crescent moons on both of her cheeks, the points going outwards towards someone facing her. She also has a thin black line across her forehead with small dots underneath it, which makes it almost look like she was wearing a headband of some type. She also has these faint dots on her chest, and on various places over her hide. She is muscular and very long, with thick, powerful legs.

Character History: There is not much to say about Kamaria because few people know very little about her. She was born in the Pridelands to a younger sister of Nala's named Lula and a Jahari's father, Kislek, so she is Jahari's half-sister. She loves her brother and parents dearly, and she grew up in a loving family with little trial and error. Both her father and mother taught her how to hunt, and despite her coloring, she is excellent at stalking and has quick, rapid attacks. Her thick legs make her a good compatent as well, and she is a tough fighter when needs be, though she is a fairly gentle in nature. She was one of the nine lionesses chosen to go with Vitani, Kovu, and Kiara, and fought bravely against the Dark Haveners. Though she bears a few wounds from the battling, she was quite lucky enough to get by with little damage, and nothing permanent.

Name: Zira

Species: Lion

Sex: Female

Character Description: Zira was an Outlander with a light brown coat, a gray/brown underbelly and muzzle, and hazel-red eyes. She is blunty shaped and long and narrow, just like the length of her deadly claws.

Character History: Zira was Scar's most loyal follower, and his main lover. When Scar was thought to be dead, she still remainded loyal to him, and to prove this, she attempted to murder Kopa. Because Kopa ran away, everyone thought him to be dead, and so Zira and all her kin were banished to the barren outlands where they were named the Outlanders. Zira grew vengeful and with Kovu, Scar's chosen heir, planned to one day kill Simba and take over the Pridelands herself. But plans went astray and all of the Outlanders left her for Simba, and while trying to fight all the Pridelanders by herself, she fell off of the edge of the cliff into the gorge and into the river that was then flowing through it. She was thought to be dead, but had washed up on the side of the river further down the gorge and had lost her memory. Now she is back with Scar in the brushlands, and has regained her memory, and is ready to put any plan of his into immediate action.

Name: Valen

Species: Lion

Sex: Male

Character Description: Valen is completely black from head to toe, save for his silver mane and tail, and has penetrating yellow/green eyes. He is HUGE for a lion, and very powerful, and very handsome for one so vile. He is nicknamed 'Razor' because his claws are more deadly than any others' known.

Character History: Valen grew up in the Oasis (entitled Dark Haven to him and his pride) along with his sister Saliek. He was the king of those lands, and all that lived there (save for the Pensians). He was not your idea of a kindly king, however. Valen is brutal to the extreme. He kills for fun, steals meat from others, and is full of anger and hate. He bullies anyone he pleases, and is powerful and he knows it. He is downright mean and, in a sense, scary, for he is relentless and doesn't take 'no' as an answer. He is feared by all, and the only one who has any sort of control over him whatsoever would be Saliek- none other. He was recently kicked out of Dark Haven, however, and is now living in the brushlands with the rest of his pride. But Valen is very angry... and when Valen is angry, it's not a good thing.

Name: Teferi

Species: Lion

Sex: Male

Character Description: Teferi is built like Mufasa, but his muscles are more prominent. His base fur color is a medium gray and his underbelly, muzzle, mane, the space from his paws to his knees, and most of his tail brush is a lighter shade of gray. The tip of his tail brush is white. He has black patches of fur around both of his cerulean eyes. His tribal markings are as follows: a red line drops vertically from his eyes to his cheeks, a row of black dots above his nose, a red fang on his front left leg, a black sun/moon on his left side, a complex blending of jagged lines and small dots on his rear right leg, and five thick rings around the base of his tail – red, black, red, black, red. He has a necklace, a red stone carved into a star and a black feather hanging from a black string, and a small fang dyed red tied just below his tail brush. Both are marks of his royalty.

Character History: Teferi was born between two lesser members of the Red Fang pride. With Naeri’s birth several months later, Teferi and Naeri were named the heirs to the throne. Teferi cared little for his future queen as a cub, instead focusing on building up his strength and play-fighting with King Saga. He grew into a powerful, cold, and cunning adolescent. When the fighting broke out, he reluctantly remained behind with Naeri, who was just entering adolescence, and when they knew it wouldn’t end well, they both ran. Soon after Tennra joined them on the run he left them after a dispute with the former Queen in the middle of the night. He traveled until he entered the wasteland and found Scar and quickly joined with him, figuring Tennra and Naeri were doomed to die and not wanting to be a part of it. He grew into a mighty warrior and managed to make the pride’s numbers severely dwindle. It is mostly his fault for destroying what was left of the old pride Scar was a member of. There was only one left, Bakari, who has now also seemed to disappear. Now he is alone without a pride to rule... and is hungry for a true kingship.

TEFERI WAS KILLED BY THE PENSIAN EMPIRE. THIS IS NO LONGER AN ACTIVE CHARACTER.

Name: Sengalo

Species: Lion

Sex: Male

Character Description: Sengalo is a well-built lion with a reddish brown coat. He has a pitch-black mane that is slicked back, but three stray hairs hang over his face. The tassle of his tail is also black, as well as his elbow tufts. His toes are a dark brown hue, the same color as the rims of his ears. Sengalo has peircing green eyes with smaller than normal pupils and the "whites" of his eyes are a bright yellow. Surrounding the eyes are brown colored "patches." Sengalo carries a pink scar over his right eye, and normally has a mysterious, suspicious look about him.

Character History: Sengalo is the "unknown" son of Scar. His mother was a kindred lioness named Taugadi. Sengalo was born literally minutes after his father's "death". Him and Taugadi were exiled along with the other Outsiders. Sengalo and Taugadi were despised by their fellow Outlanders, for they thought that the mother and son were another "reason" for them being exiled. Out of jealosy, Zira kept the secret of Sengalo being Scar's son the true heir from the other Outlanders. Sengalo was childhood friends with Vitani and Kovu, possibly the only friends he had out of the Outsiders.One day, while Taugadi and Sengalo were scavenging for food, they were attacked by the hyena pack, the same one that "killed" Scar. Taugadi tried to fight them off, but they overpowered her. Sengalo suffered a scar on his right eye from the attack, while Taugadi lost her life. When Sengalo returned to the Outlanders, he was more vulnerable to their teasing and bullying without his mother. He had no choice but to flee from the Outlands, not even bothering to say good bye to Kovu and Vitani. To make them forget about Sengalo, Zira informed them that he died soon after he left. Sengalo kept wandering the territory outside of the Pridelands and Outlands until he collapsed from exhaustion. He was found hours later by a cheetah named Amber. Having a soft spot for cubs of any species, she revived Sengalo and took him to her den. Sengalo was reluctant at first to be adopted by a cheetah, a "lower" predator as far as he was concerned, but knew he had to get used to it. He grew up with Amber's daughters, Sesate and Pera, and a strange, hybrid cat that Amber had rescued not long after Sengalo, Rokama. Sengalo grew up to fall in love with Sesate, but the feelings weren't mutual. She was really in love with Rokama and only loved Sengalo as a brother. Heart-broken and enraged by this, Sengalo attacked her when he found out the truth, but was beaten off by Rokama. Sengalo fled from the scene and had wandered ever since. He eventually found himself in the Pridelands once again, just at the peak of the war between the Outlanders and the Pridelanders. Clever enough to lurk about unseen, Sengalo witnessed the death of Nuka, Kovu's "betrayal" to the Outlanders, and Zira's "death". He had found her drenched body down the river. Dazed and mistakening Sengalo for Scar, Zira admitted her failure to the mission. As much as Sengalo had despised her, he couldn't help but mourn and try to console her. Believing she died in his arms, Sengalo shed one tear. Sengalo took it as his responsibility to avenge those that had been taken away from him and to get revenge on those that had caused him so much pain. Sengalo is a darkened soul now and he probably never will return to the innocence he once was...

Sengalo is a suprisingly well climber and hunter. Growing up around different species of cats, he learned the different techniques that were unique to them. Sengalo's hunting skills are self taught and it would seem that his knowledge for hunting were beyond his years. Sengalo normally keeps to himself and does well at concealing his emotions from others. However, he does suffer from what you could call "blind rages." If Sengalo is angered enough, he'll tend to lash out at anyone or anything in his way, often not remembering what happened when he's finally calmed down.

Name: Kamau

Species: Lion

Sex: Female

Character Description: Kamau’s fur is a dusty golden shade. Her underbelly, paws, and tail brush are all pure white. She has a strong build and lithe movements. Set on her almost-angelic face are emerald green eyes which always seem to be glowing, no matter the situation or mood. She has no distinct markings or patterns.

Character History: Her parents named her Kamau because they had hoped for a male, and she made no noise when she was born like other cubs. They both died (most likely murdered) when she was young. A Dark Haven resident raised her until she was an adolescent and able to take care of herself. Despite her innocent looks, she is an able and vicious fighter, which is part of the reason she has no scars on her body. She considers herself higher than most other Dark Haven residents due to their lack of fighting skills. She both fears and admires Valen and Saliek, doing her best to avoid drawing their attention. Though she has the ability to speak she rarely does, not knowing anyone worthy enough to speak with except Valen and Saliek, but she figures they both look down on her. She remains very loyal to them both, and though she's angry at being kicked out of her home, she is attracted to Teferi.

Name: Dziva

Species: Lion

Sex: Female

Character Description: She remains petite for a lioness, though her frame is muscular and rather compact. Dziva seems to have inherited most of her looks from her sire. It was certainly he who left her with a coat that seems to blend perfectly with whatever environment she happens to be in, making her appear inconspicuous to those she chooses as her prey. In reality, her coat is closer to the color of a cheetah's, and her tail-tuft is a decided reddish-brown. Fur of the same color tends to grown on her front legs, in the manner of male lions. Muscles ripple under her fur, evidence of her mother's heavy training. She still bears some of the scars from the blows her mother gave her, but they do nothing to mar her looks. Her eyes are an unwavering green, rather vivid in their hue.

Character History: Dziva was never very close to her mother, Egungun-Oya, but she did respect her. It was from her mother that she learned pride lore and of her heritage. Others tell her that she looks like her mother's sister. This both irritates and pleases her because Egungun-Oya's sister is almost ageless in her looks. What annoys her is her mother's habit of looking upon her as a tool rather than as her daughter. She goes long periods of time without seeing her, preferring to spend her days in the Outlands. Dziva has never seen her father, though she has heard of him from her mother and others in the pride. He is supposedly located in a desert somewhere beyond the Outlands. Dziva was raised in Dark Haven by her mother, who left her long ago before the Alliance, only when she was sure that she herself had nothing left to train her daughter. She had, however, trained her daughter to be fierce and independent. Hurt by her mother's apparent abandonment, Dziva grew from a caring cub to an aloof, untrusting warrior. Dziva is naturally suspicious of others, never trusting anyone to show her kindness or favor. She is used to using brute force and cunning to get her way and see her out of problems. She tends to relate more to males than females. To her, females are puzzling creatures who are like her in body but not in mind. She is rather sensitive of her looks, delicate and feminine yet laced with male characteristics all the same. Her temper is rather famous among those who know her, but some hope to get to know this lioness, molded to be a warrior, but with the heart of someone who has been betrayed.

Name: Tau

Species: Lion

Sex: Male

Character Description: Tau's build is about average for a lion. His fur colours consist of a wet sand colour, a light gray at his muzzle, and a dark brown for his mane. He has a dark red nose to add up as the finishing touch. They say a person's eyes are a window into the soul- Tau's are almost entirely black eyes that cause a wanderer to easily become lost for inside he is not alive, nor dead, simply empty.

Character History: Tau grew up as a rather lonely guy who stuck mostly to himself, living among the shadows. Over time, anger and hate consumed his heart, eventually converting him into the twisted mongrel he is today. He is commonly seen using lower life forms as puppets for a form of entertainment. Though Tau is a member of Dark Haven, he remains rather distant from others, a lion that just doesn't function correctly in the head. But now with his pride's recent move thanks to Kiara and Kovu, the anger within Valen and the pride is enough to allow Tau to convince his fellow pride members of one thing and one thing only: revenge.

Name: Nyota

Species: Lion

Sex: Female

Character Description: Nyota's fur is pure black. Her head sports what looks to be like an adolescent's mane (covering just her head, not her neck/back) which is alternately striped bright gold, the color of her mother's bangs, and bright red, her father's mane. Her tailbrush has the same pattern. Her eyes are a bright, piercing shade of gold. She has a large build for a lioness and a rather nasty disposition, especially towards Teferi.

Character History: Nyota was born to two lesser members of the Brushlands pride mere seconds after her brother, Runako. During her cubhood, the pride was massive; the king had learned to be efficient and thrive in the unforgiving brushlands. Nyota was raised to become a part of the elite Shadow Hunters group, a paw-selected group of lionesses who would go on hunting trips deep into the Pridelands to sustain the pride on meat that was not the few and far inbetween meals offered by the Brushlands. A larger group of hunters went to the unclaimed lands directly to the south of their territory, though the prey there was smaller. In the midst of her adolescence, Teferi showed up. In the space of a month he managed to wheedle his way in as the heir to the "throne", and it was at this time that the rape happened. It was Nyota's friend Kehinde who was the victim, and it was also this action that caused the pride's numbers to suffer so greatly. Nervous females, after realizing that the king wasn't going to take any action, began to leave the brushlands to quietly find better lands to raise their young, and of course protective males went with them. Nyota had gone with Kehinde when she left simply to give her a traveling companion, and she was only gone a few weeks before she returned home alone, close to spitting with rage as she related a tale that Kehinde, after realizing she was pregnant, threw herself into the Pridelands' gorge. She got into a physical fight with Teferi and had to be ripped off by Runako and another male before she killed him. Teferi exiled her and, even though it wasn't in his powers to do so, Nyota willingly left. By this point she was a young adult and was very well ready to take on the world by herself, though she did swear that she would return someday. Runako caught up with her a couple days later, explaining that he, too, had gotten into a fight with the grey lion after he had said some choice words about her and had decided to leave without giving the foolish male the pleasure of banishing him. However, when news of the Alliance reached their ears they were quick to return to their homeland and join with it, though tensions between Nyota and Teferi remain incredibly high.

Name: Runako

Species: Lion

Sex: Male

Character Description: Runako is slightly smaller than Teferi in size, but twice as intimidating. His body is covered with pure white fur; his mane, tailbrush, and paws are pure black. He has a charming pair of cerulean eyes set on a handsome face. He has no unusual markings or scars.

Character History: Runako was raised to be a part of the Brushland pride's group of warriors. He was nicknamed "White Shadow" by many of his cubhood friends and his mentor. He was a full-fledged member as soon as he was big enough to take down the adolescent warriors, which was rather early in his life. Even as an adolescent, he got a lot of attention from the females in the pride, though he never developed as big an ego as he could have and he never took to following just one of them. He got very little experience with actual battles since very few prides were stupid enough to try and take over the Brushlands, but as he grew he continued to "play"-fight with the males in the society. The arrival of Teferi only provided him a new sparring partner and, up until his attack on Kehinde, a new friend. Even after all the drama, all the hatred, Runako didn't completely turn his back on Teferi - he knew the male had many enemies and was determined to remain a friend, to the greatest extent he could. Nyota didn't completely approve of this relationship, and it is for this reason that when Kehinde left, she did too. With his glowering sister gone, Runako began to hang around Teferi more, and the two began to call themselves friends, despite the fact that Runako felt that the grey male wasn't fit to the the king he wanted to be. When Nyota eventually returned and was subsequently exiled, Runako left to follow her after the strictly verbal fight he had with Teferi. Despite the spat, Runako bears very little hatred towards Teferi in his heart and, upon their return to the brushlands, would act as the barrier between his violent sister and the smug "king".

Name: H'Baura

Species: Leopard

Sex: Female

Character Description: Baur is no different from the average leopard in coloration, save the lack of spots on her white underbelly. There are black rings along the last third of her tail, the very tip of which is pure white. This slightly off coloration is a trademark of the Pensain Empire's royal bloodline and are traits that grace only those with royal blood. She is lean and sinewy with a beautiful face and blue eyes that once glimmered like the deep ocean ( in her former love's words, ) but now burn with hatred. In addition, there is a black patch of fur over her left eye. As she's become more twisted by Ayele, her face has slowly seemed to twist itself into a permenant scowl. She doesn't even seem to be able to smile at her own daughter anymore, who - by her mate's proddings - she is close to exiling and/or killing.

Character History: H'Baura was born to Queen Leila and a griot of the empire in the midst of the most holy of times, the Festival of Arrena, who is the Pensain Goddess of Life. She lead a very good young life and was raised well by both parents, though her training as a griot was not nearly as extensive as her daughter's would be. She knew the history of the Empire and her bloodline, and that was enough for her. Her mother taught her all she needed to know to rule the empire and lead the ceremonies she would have to lead. When her father answered the inner calling of a griot and left, she was in the midst of adolescence. Leila was nearing the age where she would join the ancestors, and she turned the throne to her daughter several months before she was to expire. While Leila lived the rest of her days with the elders of the tribe, H'Baura took strong control of the empire. While her mother was still alive, she was married to the griot River. Just before Asali's birth, Leila passed. When Asali was a young cub and being trained by River in his traditions, Baur began to associate herself with another male of the tribe, Ayele. Though she was mated with River, she fell hard for the male whose wild lifestyle began to slowly show in the queen. When River confronted her one night after she had expressed the desire to attack the lions of nearby Dark Haven, breaking the shaky truce that had been set into place generations ago, Baur told him that he would be with her or he would be dead. For Asali's sake River went along with her plans, until the cub was an adolescent. The relationship between Queen and lover had been growing stronger, and River knew that soon Ayele would come for him. One night he sat Asali down in a hidden place and told her that she had to be strong in the face of violence and never forget what he'd taught her. She returned home alone at his bidding, and by the next morning he was dead. His body was never found, but Asali knew he had been murdered by the way Baur reacted to the news. Baur announced to the tribe that River had been betraying them to the lions nearby but assured them he was in his proper place. With Ayele at her side, the plans shifted drastically from attacking Dark Haven to allying with them - she knew that Ayele had been meeting with their King and wanted to go meet him herself. And in the midst of this, she is visited by two very unwelcome creatures.

Name: Ayele

Species: Leopard

Sex: Male

Character Description: Ayele is a sleek, muscular, powerful leopard with razor-sharp claws and long legs that make people think him more like a cheetah than a leopard. He is of fairly normal coloring, though his distinct markings include an all-black tail with white rings, black ears with white tips, hazelnut eyes that seem to be able to pierce into you, and two thick black lines running across the top of his muzzle above his nose. His paws, also, are black with tiny white flecks.

Character History: Ayele, even as a wee one, was a bully. He would boss around the other leopards and would always get his way, no matter the cost. He grew up in the mindset that he was better than practically all the other leopards, and desired power and an equally powerful following. As he grew, he gathered leopards who vouched their lives to him, both publically and in secret. This pleased him, and urged him forward in his conquest. By the time Asali was a middle-aged cub, he was quite the powerful political figure in the empire and very few remained who opposed him, and now had his eyes on Baur. By means of sweet-talk and a display of his stature, Ayele was able to win over Baur, and slowly day by day began to poison her mind with his own thoughts, molding her into a puppet of his will so that he was practically the king. But only River's death would make him truly her king and her mate, so that's next on his list of things to do... That, and make an alliance with the king of Dark Haven, securing his position as ruler over the empire forever...

Name: Asali

Species: Leopard

Sex: Female

Character Description: Asali is no different from the average leopard in coloration, save the lack of spots on her white underbelly. There are black rings along the last third of her tail, the very tip of which is pure white. Her ankles are covered in bracelets found and fashioned by her ancestors on her father’s side and shamans of distant lands. While most of them are simply grasses knotted in patterns around long-dead flowers, she has four very notable ones: on each ankle is a silver bracelet with small silver bells attached which jingle softly at every move. Her father told her they were found in the plains, though from where they came from he doesn’t know.

Character History: Asali was born to the Queen of the Pensain Empire, H’baura, and a wandering griot (storyteller) simply named River. H’baura named the young cub Asali, the Swahili term for honey, after her honey colored eyes. She was raised mostly by her father, River, which attributes to her gentle nature. Her mother, while not always evil, wasn't too connected with her daughter's growth. River taught Asali all he had to offer - all his tales, his dances, his songs, and taught her the bloodline of several important families - Baur's, his own, and those of several large lion prides in the area, including the Pridelanders. By the time she was an adolescent, Asali could recite the history of the Pensain empire and Baur's bloodline back a thousand years, trace her father's back nearly as long, and knew almost five hundred years of history and generations from the Pridelands. When River died rather mysteriously, Baur announced to the pride that her chosen mate would be Ayele, a leopard who was, well, downright evil in Asali's eyes. As she matured to a young adult, she watched as Baur was consumed by this force that was Ayele and turn slowly from the Baur she knew to a more wicked and power-hungry Queen who desired ever more - but even as this, she is merely a puppet for Ayele to rule through.

Name: Phelesi

Species: Leopard

Sex: Male

Character Description: Phelesi has pretty average leopard coloring, but his coat looks dull and has a greyish tint to it. He has normal spots, the only unique markings being the ones on his cheeks. There are three dots, two towards the eye and one under it, and the two upper dots have a sort of tapering arc under each. His overall appearence is rather scruffy for a leopard, completed with a small tuft of hair on his head tipped with white. He has an average, fairly strong build towards the front, but his flanks and hind legs seem to be lacking most of the muscle in an adult leopard, so he isn't the best fighter. He has bright green eyes, always displaying that inner youth of his, despite that he's practically grown now.

Character History: Phelesi grew up in a rather average life. His parents were just regular members of the leopard clan, though he often played with Princess Asali as a cub. He is kind-natured and still has a youthful enthusiasm. However, he knows when to be serious. He normally keeps out of the way of H'Baura and Ayele, disliking to get into any conflicts. He normally hangs around Asali, as a friend and companion for the leopard princess.

Name: Kianga

Sex: Female

Species: Lion

Character Description: Kianga has cream-colored fur with a white underbelly. She has friendly golden eyes that sparkle in the right lighting. She is lean and very pretty for a lioness, (though not like Siera and Jahari). No - she’s vaugely beautiful. She’s not the most friendly of folks, but once you get to know her, you realize that she’s funny, smart, and more than willing to die protecting her king. To those who don’t know her, she comes across as a very odd lioness. At first impression, you’d think she’s as bizzare as her markings. First Impressions make her markings look like they are just the sun hitting her fur where the rest is in shadow. Below her eye is a triagle that runs from about a centemeter from just below her eye to the crease of her muzzle. On top of her muzzle is a sun, and on her powerful shoulders is an upside down cresent moon with a dot in the center. Several dots follow that one down to her paw, on her back is a long simple strike, with dots on either side going all the way down to the tip of her tail.

Character History: Kianga was born into the Pride Lands, about three days after Simba. Her mother, Ukuhlwa, was an unfit parent and spent most of her life trying to push Ki to another lioness, because Kianga didn’t suit Ukuhlwa’s needs. Ki’s father, Tenshi vanished without a trace after Mufasa’s death. Ukuhlwa loved Tenshi, and he must’ve been the thing holding her sanity, she quickly turned to Kianga for his departure. Kianga had reached her cubhood, when physical abuse set in. Ki had even reported her mother’s abuse to King Scar, but what did the King do about it? He told Ukuhlwa that his daughter was making up stories. Finally, when Kianga had grown into adolecents, and far more beautiful than Ukuhlwa, the mother began to plan her own daughter’s murder. For a while, Ki was thrown around pretty badly. Finally as Ukuhlwa lifted her paw for the death strike, Ki struck back. An unsheathed claw slashed across the throat, killing her mother. The now orphaned Kianga had no idea how Scar would react, and took off. Ukuhlwa had told… well, blamed Kianga for her fathers disappearance. So Ki set out to look for her father. However she decided that her father would be where the Sun comes from, she set out east. Unfortunately all that lied to the East was an expansive desert…Ki refuses to tell anyone what went on in that desert, but whatever truly happened. It made her turn around and go back to Pride Rock…

Name: Kiruhu

Species: Lion

Sex: Female

Character Description: Kiruhu is of average size for a lioness and is quite sinewy. Though, her body is rather long compared to most, but this oddity somehow seems to suit the young lioness. Her sleek coat is a dark taupe hue with dark chocolate-brown accents and a dusty, oatmeal-colored underbelly. The accents are located on the tips of her ears, the toes of her front paws, and from the knee down on her hind legs. Her eyes are a mulberry-red color with the “whites” of her eye being an ivory/off-white hue and a dark brown patch of fur encircles each eye. Her nose is a deep russet color and the tuff at the tip of her tail is colored dark chocolate-brown.

Kiruhu has various scars on her body, though most all of them are covered by her fur. However, there is one distinguishing scar that will never fade: three parallel lines of claw marks, beginning at the bridge of her nose and extending all the way to her left cheek.

Kiruhu is a very calm, cool, and collected lioness. Though she is said to be social, kind, and very selfless, she is quite selfish. She fears becoming like her father, hence the kindness, but she never allows any intimacy to pass between her and other creatures. (“Intimacy” referring to any kind of relationship: social, friendship, or romantic.) This, she believes, will protect her from becoming weak like her mother. Gentility like a butterfly’s wing, but a heart as hard as a boulder: that’s what she believes will save her from becoming like either of her parents.

Character History: Kiruhu was born into the Dark Haven Pride as one of the many (but also one of the last) daughters of Gernarsh, the King of the Dark Haven Pride, though Kiruhu was hardly a princess. Kiruhu was promptly stripped of any title when Leini, Kiruhu’s mother and one of Gernarsh’s favored lionesses, produced a stillborn male cub and a healthy, female Kiruhu. Gernarsh had been aiming for a male cub: a son that he could train to follow in his footsteps and one that would carry on his bloodline.

Kiruhu—her name meaning “wrath” in Swahili—grew under the loathing eyes of her father (for he blamed her for her stillborn brother, saying she had stolen his life before theirs had even begun) and under the loving care of her gentle, aging mother.

Though Gernarsh hated Kiruhu, he had his uses for her. Most often, he used her as his personal punching bag: whenever something went awry, Gernarsh simply took it out on her. The many years of abuse that Kiruhu went through pained her mother greatly until one day when she became fatally ill. It wasn’t long before Leini died, but before she did, she called for Kiruhu and said to Kiruhu, with her last breath, “Don’t be like me, my little Kiruhu: I am weak and never was strong. You have to be strong, but not like your father. I’m sorry you were born to such horrible parents: a father that beats you and a mother that could never protect you. But I know you’re spirit is stronger than mine and I know that you’ll be greater than your father could ever be.” With that final phrase, Leini died.

On her first year celebration (a.k.a. “first birthday”), three months after Leini had died, her father was challenged to a dual of rank by a lion called Valen. Needless to say, Kiruhu was thrilled and knew, even though her father was strong, he was old and Valen was many years younger than him. It would be an easy win for the challenger. When the brawl began, Kiruhu was right in the front row, watching with blood-ready eyes.

As the fight continued, the year old lioness slew insults at her father and cheered the offending lion on. During the battle, near the end of the Great Gernarsh’s fall, the young lioness shouted a deadly insult at the great lion and her enraged father turned and clawed Kiruhu across her face. A moment’s pause passed between the father and his daughter. He caught her eyes and could see, boiling within their plum-colored depths, nothing but the wish for him to fall. The anger passed to him and the king turned, hurdling towards the challenger, but in vain, and fell.

Kiruhu cheered and her eyes shone with the feelings of freedom and escape, though blood trickled down her face. Then the Dark Haven Pride fell under the rule of its new king, Valen and though Kiruhu wasn’t exactly as free as she had been hoping, she was happier than under the rule of her father. As long as the lioness gave no reasons for Valen to consider her a nuisance or a problem or a threat, the young lioness was fine.

But another unfortunate circumstance occurred, shattering Kiruhu’s hopes of peace: a band of strange lions fell upon the Dark Haven Lands and attacked Kiruhu’s pride. Kiruhu, of course, defended her lands, but failed. She fell: not dead, but terribly injured. Valen and his sister Saliek fled. Kiruhu slinked away into the shadows, falling into hiding until she was strong enough to track her lord and his sister.

It took only a few days before the lioness was healthy enough to commence her search (though she was still not completely healed) and it was rather difficult to track her king. But rumors had been slithering through the desert on the tongues of sidewinders and cobras that spoke of an alliance somewhere two lions. Hearing this, Kiruhu figured her best chance would be to start there.