[MySpoons]

To adopt you must either have a founder and be level 1. Or, you can adopt this one as your founder!

This lion's patterning reminds others of crows. How does this affect their life? As usual, I love me some creativity c: 500 words and/or 1 art piece. ENDS on the 29th of OCT at CS Rollover

MAJOR MUTATION: Large feathered wings added with item

Username: ToxicShadow
Lion name: Makuvu
Lion gender: Male
Pride: Oddity Pride
Pride status: First Commander

event thread | main thread I prompts/leveling up I artist search

[Meekins12345]

Username: Meekins12345
Lion name: Elkanah (Elk-on-ah) - "Wings as Dark as Night"
Lion gender: Lion/Male
Pride: In the signature - Pride of Wikimak
Pride status: Tamatama - Collector/forager
How does their apperance affect their life?

The war amidst neighboring prides was fierce. It was hard to believe a mother could bare to have cubs amidst the turmoil, but it had ultimately come to pass. The members could not believe their eyes at what the mother had brought forth. He was a striking contrast of black and white, with, what appeared to be, crows within his pelt. The pride was terrified! Crows and ravens were known to bring death wherever they were, if not to herald it.

There was no possible way they could keep such a bad omen here. Most pride members thought it meant they would be on the loosing side of this war. Perhaps, if they got rid of him, their chances would be in their favor. It sounded plausible in their feeble minds and so the officials took it upon themselves to separate the cub from it's mother and wander into the dense, dying forests from the west of the pride.

These woods had been amidst a forest fire long ago. Trees were as black as night, limbs stretching weakly to the sky, as if they were praying to the God that made them to bring them back to life. There was no grass, no brush or plant life. There wasn't a single sign of life in such a dying forest. And so, without so much as a hint of remorse, the officials dropped the young cub within the woods and left, leaving the small little thing to fend for itself.

Oddly enough the officials had allowed the cub to be weened before they brought him into the desolate woods, thinking it wouldn't cause much attention when it was a bit older. The cub did cry, but quietly, hiding underneath a tree that could not provide shade. For two days he remained in the blackened woods, wandering around, looking for others and for food as well, but ultimately finding none. He grew weak without such things and was reduced to a pile of skin and bone, laying on the hardened dirt, all alone.

But then, one day... he heard a caw. Very close by, too. The cub, soon opened his eyes, slowly, as if it was hard enough to do so. And there it was; a raven with an entire rabbit in its beak. And then another came, this time with a squirrel... and another, and another. A multitude of ravens came and ultimately fed him.

They continued to feed him until he learned how to hunt for himself, but even then they still seem to hang around this lion in particular. He traveled from the barren land of the burnt forest to the pridelands of the Wikimak pride, who accepted him with open arms.

Some still find him a bit scary, with all the crows that constantly seem to be around him. He even speaks with them, content to be within their presence and company.

Though he is grown up, he's still just a cub. He takes guidance from the crows. (500 wc)

[-Isabella-]

Username: Isabella45
Lion name: Zuberi
Lion gender: Male/Lion
Pride: link to thread
Pride status: Guard
How does their appearance affect their life?

His whole life Zuberi's pride assumed his markings meant something, though they couldn't say what. The king insisted it was a mutation or birthmark, nothing special. No one dared publicly contradict him.

But as he grew Zuberi received a lot of odd looks over it. Since no one could mention it in front of the king he didn't realize his markings were unusual and by the time he was old enough to realize they were he was used to the odd looks and simply tried to live with them.

Some lions saw him as a potential ill omen, or the marked by some evil spirit. Others thought he could be a future hero, someone destined to do something great. As a result some of the looks he got were looks of suspicion and even scorn, while others were born of secret admiration and maybe even hope.

Zuberi saw himself as neither an evil entity nor a future hero. His dream was to join the king's Guard. It was ironic really that his dream was such a simple thing and he had no desire to be anything special, yet he couldn't achieve this dream because the king distrusted him.

Some days he would've done just about anything to get rid of his markings, wanting nothing more than a 'normal' life. Yet at the same time, he wondered if he could turn the superstitions in his favor somehow. After all, if everyone already thought he was something special or dangerous, why not give them what they wanted?

Zuberi always had physical strength, nothing too extraordinary perhaps but not average either, maybe enough he could convince them his markings were a sign of strength, a blessing from the ancestors even. So that's what he decided to try to do.

He challenged a Guard member to a fight in hopes of proving himself, claiming his strength was a gift. He fought the other lion, and he won. Whether by a stroke of luck or his own merit even he wasn't sure.
It was then that he made his request to the king, to allow him to join the guard. But the king's response was not what he had expected.

"You are strong, but what proof do you have this is a gift and not luck? If you prove to me it is a gift, complete the quests I give you and return to the pride with proof. I will grant your request."

Zuberi eagerly agreed, but when he was given the quests he found they were nearly impossible. But willing to do anything to prove himself, he set off to complete his quests, and to his surprise the ancestors aided him along the way.

When he completed the quests and returned with proof, the king had no choice but to make him a Guard, and though not everyone trusts him still, these days the looks he gets are more admiration than scorn or suspicion and he is happy just to have fulfilled his dream.

500/500 words

[.henloimmabirb.]

Username: .henloimmabirb.
Lion name: Mhambi (Traveler)
Lion gender: Male
Pride: Thembeka Pride
Pride status: Commander of Patrols
How does their apperance affect their life? wip !

[EchoIre]

Username: EchoIre
Lion name: Nirav (means "silent" in Sanskrit)
Lion gender: Male
Pride: Motoheri Pride
Pride status: Ambassador
How does their apperance affect their life?

Though Nirav himself feels that his markings look more like crows than ravens, the vaguely bird shaped splotches across his shoulders and the dark shadow across his mane and face have led many to compare the quiet lion to Brone, the headless raven. Even his own mother was not spared from the superstition, going as far as to name him Nirav - silent - and often chastising him for speaking, in fear that he may one day meet a fate similar to Brone's. It goes without saying that this severely affected Nirav's ability to express and comprehend himself and his emotions, which in turn molded him into the silent lion his mother so desperately wanted her son to be.

Other lions sought Nirav's guidance in speaking to their ancestors, placing the expectation of fluency in the incorporeal tongue upon the muted young lion. Nirav would never be able to understand it. Civilians and guards were ordered to keep him away from the palace or any royal appearance, for fear that he may become infatuated with the Dread King's queen and bring terrible misfortune to them all. A thousand different voices and superstitions pulled and pushed at Nirav from the moment of his first breath, dictating what he would be and how he should evade his fate, whatever the cost.

His life was without passion, without purpose, until the dawn of the Hail Priestess.

She would not speak to him directly for many months, but he was informed of the coming revolution by a friend, and saw an opportunity to leave everything else behind. If it weren't for that - that breath of hope - Nivar may have reported the rebels to the Dread King. But wasn't he supposed to remain silent, to never go near the palace?

The decision was clear.

On the red, smoky dawn of the day of the Dread King's death, Nirav was reborn along with countless others. No longer would he be muted, forced to stand on the sidelines as he was molded into the shape of a child's fairytale. From the smoke and ashes, Nirav commanded lions to safety or to fight with a powerful, enrapturing voice. When the time came, Nirav fled beside them, fought beside them, bled beside them, all in the name of a new life.

Nirav's appearance - and the stigma that came with it - slowly and skillfully molded the monochromatic lion into a hero of the Hail Priestess's rise.

Yet be that as it may, Nirav has yet to have truly freed himself from his old constraints. Often, he is still implored upon to commune with the dead, or not so politely asked to speak to the Hail Priestess less. A superstitious few are still awestruck by Nirav for whatever resemblance to Brone they perceive in him, and Nivar himself still struggles with the emotional abuse he suffered in his youth, especially when it comes to the Hail Priestess, and his slowly growing feelings towards her.

Nivar hopes everybody was wrong about him.

[498]

[justamindset]

Mmmmark

[Raptocidic]

Username: RupturedRaptor
Lion name: Deryn
Lion gender: Male
Pride: Wildfire pride
Pride status: Scout
How does their apperance affect their life? [487 words]

Deryn was born into a small and very superstitious pride. At first they believed his spots to be a sign of good luck. This particular pride beleived that lions with lots of spots were bringers of good fortune. However as he grew and the spots looked more and more like crows the pride cast him out for fear of him bringing a permanent curse of bad luck upon the pirde. They saw him as a ruined individual, beleiving that he had either cursed by an evil spirit or was born evil from the start and decided that if they allowed him to stay he would only bring endless bad luck and misfortune to them. They left him to die almost as soon as he could eat meat. They didn't teach him how to hunt or defend himself.

Throughout his life he's gotten either odd looks or a strange interest from othets in his markings. The markings are a double edged sword for him. The markings seem to have attracted plenty of potential mates and individuals he could join forces with and to start his own pride however he never actually likes any of the individuals his strange markings attract. The sort of personality he likes are almost always repulsed by his markings, although you can't really blame him, he only seems to get along well with superstitious individuals, these types being the only kind of individuals he's ever properly known.

Because of his lack of socialization (as he was betrayed by the only individuals he knew and grew up alone in a small area hidden from others) Deryn is an extremely quiet and very independent individual. It is evident that he has been through a lot and has several untold stories about his past bottled up. He joined Ozmore's pride mostly for the protection but also because they didn't seem to care about his markings at all. None of the them seemed very superstitious but none of them seemed to even notice the markings. Deryn had the potential to be a very respected member of the pride but because of the long term impact his markings have had on him up until then meant that he settled for the lowest ranking in the pride.

He is mostly just ignored now, although he's respected as a member of the pride he doesn't hold much importance to anyone except Ozmore. His markings don't really impact his life in the Wildfire Pride, however it does still impact his life in the fact that he isn't very confident because of his past. Outsiders from the Wildfire Pride may avoid the pride because superstition, but others don't care (it depends on the individual).

Overall his markings wouldn't have a very negative impact on Deryns life now if he was able to gain the confidence he almost certainly would have had if his original pride didn't ostracize him over a crow related superstition.

[ToxicShadow]

Username: ToxicShadow
Lion name: Makuvu
Lion gender: Male
Pride: Oddity Pride
Pride status: First Commander
How does their appearance affect their life?

When he was born, he had a coat with black and fiery orange patterns. His family praised him for his appearance, which they deemed very suitable for a noble member of the Demon Clan. However, Makuvu did not exactly live up to the Clan's expectations for him.

"End them! Kill them! Do it!" All of the words from the onlookers mixed together in a horrible cacophony.

Young Makuvu, whom had just reached a suitable age to participate in the pride's coming of age traditional, a battle to the death, stood within a circle of his pride mates, with another young, but battered, lion fallen at his paws. He stared at them with his fiery gaze, but shook his head. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Winning the fight had not been difficult, but he just could not bring himself to take the life of the lion he had been pitted against.

"I refuse!" he bravely, defiantly roared once again, but he knew the price for his actions.

Hearing his refusal, the Demon King, the leader of the pride, declared, "Unable to kill his opponent, Makuvu is the weakest."

No other words needed to be spoken. Once he was deemed unfit for the pride, the bloodthirstiness of the crowd was redirected at him. Makuvu swallowed down hard, but he refused to cower or to beg for his life. He closed his eyes as several grown members of the pride rushed him, and tore him apart.

---

"What a pitiful thing you are," a crow remarked as it came across the partially unearthed remains of a young lion buried within a shallow grave. The rainy season had served to disrupt the resting place and the crow could sense the horrifying pain and despair that the lion felt in the very moment of his death.

After some long deliberation, the crow beat his wings a few times, carrying himself from the ground to stand upon the lion's remains, tilting his head as he stared at the lion's skull. "You wanted to be anywhere else, didn't you?" The conversation, of course, was still one sided.

---

The last thing Makuvu recalled was the pain of death, being mauled and torn apart, but he suddenly gasped, his body starved for precious oxygen. As the memories of the moments before his death flooded back into his mind, the lion frantically began to look about, only to find that he wasn't surrounded by lions, but a single crow stood before him.

"You... You're one of us now," was all it told him. "You're free."

---

With the crow giving up a portion of its own soul to return Makuvu from the dead and remake his flesh, the lion was reborn with the resemblance of a crow, the fiery colors of his coat gone. He is welcomed among the crows, even considered to be one of them, but average lions have little do with him. Which is just as well. He wants nothing to do with them.


[500]

[Mercuré]

Username: Irockwaffleking
Lion name: Hikialani "looking at heaven"
Lion gender: Male
Pride: [https://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=103&t=4186402&hilit=DNP]Haulani's Pride[/url]
Pride status: Healer and guide to the heavens
How does their apperance affect their life? Hikialani swiftly approached the dying lion. Blood matted its fur as it let out strangled breaths. It turned to Hikilani slowly and painfully before letting its head thump onto the ground below. The savannah grass also was covered by the sheen of blood.

“You have arrived.” The dying lion spoke in a whisper, “please let me pass.”

Hikilani nodded (he rarely spoke) before settling beside the other lion, ignoring the damp blood. He lifted one paw and put it over the lions eyes while he chewed on some herbs. He quickly spat the herbs on the lion’s coat. It wouldn’t heal him but it would help alleviate some pain. He picked some stone from his pouch and scattered them around the lion. In the silence Hikialani started chanting. Low and mournful it continued, the animals around turning their heads in awe. Even those who did not know what exactly he was saying knew what he was chanting. A song of death. A pale glow formed around the blood-soaked lion as Hikialani’s chants grew louder.

The pale glow around the lion starting forming into a shape that stretched and spun gently. It morphed into something more defined, one wing could be seen, then two as the sphere of energy morphed into the shape of a bird, a crow. Hikilani’s song crescendoed as the bird flitted around the body before flying up to the sky, a single ray of light from above guiding it. The light faded and the bird disappeared as the lions body crumpled into a thick black dust. A wind from the west blew the dust until there was nothing left but a blood stain on the pale grass. The animals left as Hikilani knelt on the stain, ignoring the stickiness of it. As Hikilani basked in the moonlight he felt something dingle on his back, he didn’t have to look to know another crow-like splotch had formed on his white fur.

He worked swiftly from there, going to each lion dying on the battlefield. Each soul turned into a crow and rose, a couple took some encourage to leave their body but they all eventually did. His melancholy song echoed through the savannah until he was done and there were no lions on the field, he walked back home. As he walked to the fallen tree he called home he heard the whispers of the lions, he saw how they clutched their children close as he passed. A devil he was called, evil spirit. No one had seen what he had truly done, only the dying could see what he would do, to the rest he was a monster. The leader of the pride, a stiff pale lion approached him.

“Hikialani it is with a heavy heart I ask you to go.” The king spoke sternly, “You are a danger to us.”

How could he explain? How he had helped not drained their life-force. How he had helped them travel westward. All he did was nod.

Hikialani left at sunset the next day with only his pouch. At the edge of the clearing a mighty red lion greeted him.

“Hikialani, shepherd of souls, I ask you to join me. My pride will welcome you with open arms.”

Hikialani nodded and speaking for the first time outside of a chant he responded, “Yes.”

[kDmD]

Username: kDmD
Lion name: Yuno
Lion gender: Male
Pride: Ka-Leo
Pride status: Healer
How does their appearance affect their life? (497 words)
Yuno was always considered the odd one out in his family. His mother, father, siblings, everyone had pure white fur, while he had an almost haunting black and grey. He didn't think much of it at first. Neither did they.

Twelve. That's how many cycles had passed when he first learned what his abnormal appearance entailed. The colors he adorned were bad omens when put together, a signification of curses and hexes. He didn't understand at first. How could a few simple colors hold so much meaning? How could his looks alone mean his entire family would be cursed with an unsatiable burden that would last for eternities to come? None of it made sense. The cats in his old clan didn't help with the situation - they heralded his outcasted status, dug him into the dirt with it and rubbed it in his face every chance they got. Every single of them. Even Yashi, their leader.

Several more cycles passed with his appearance being little more than an excuse for everyone to toss him around like he was nothing. His family's luck, wealth, nothing changed. They eventually just succumbed to their clan's treatment of him and joined in, giving him nobody he could truly go to anymore. Thus, after putting up with everything for what felt like eons, he finally started making plans to leave his clan. Maybe he could find someone, anyone, who would accept him regardless of his looks. Maybe something would take his life before that happened. It mattered naught.

It was a chilly winter eve when he put his plan into motion. After the last of the clan's guards had made their rounds and went back to their barracks to put their equipment away and go to sleep, Yuno snuck out under the cover of the moonless night and slipped away into the night, as far away as he could. He didn't belong there anymore, clearly. If everyone was just going to treat him like he was some sort of monster, why should he stick around for that?

Several hours had passed before his legs finally gave way and he collapsed to the cold grassy ground. He had no idea where he was. He couldn't see anything around him, his vision engulfed by thick fog, unlike anything he'd ever laid his eyes on before. After a few minutes, a figure formed from the mist - another lion, a female one, with a gorgeous red, black and white pelt. Her eyes were a crimson red, though they were soft and kind, something he really wasn't used to.

"Are you okay, young one...?"

...Home. He'd found it, within the clutches of the fog that his "family" had talked so ill of in the time he'd known them. That she-lion, Meisu... She saved him. She gave him life and purpose. Yuno could never thank her enough for that. He made a vow that day - to heal everyone he could the same way she healed him.