Username: ToxicShadow
Lion name: Vaal
Lion gender: Female
Pride: Oddity PridePride Status: Weather Meister
Impress me with writing!Background:
"What is... that?" Her birth mother, a soft, tan colored lioness with beautiful green eyes looked upon the small scrap of strange, blueish fur with disdain. The tiny blue furred cub, her eyes still closed but seeking out the affections of her mother, mewled desperately, frantically, but she received no such thing.
"That cannot possibly be my child.""She is definitely your child," the old den mother, whom helped to raise all of the cubs of the pride, as well as accompanied and helped the mother's during the birthing process, tried to assure her. The old den mother had a decent heart. If nothing else, she adored cubs.
---
From the very moment that she was born, Vaal was unwanted. Unloved. Her own mother wanted to disown her for nothing more than looking different. Different from the rest of her siblings, the rest of which looked similar to their mother. It was only the old den mother that prevented such a thing from happening, and insisted that her mother at least feed her, if nothing else. But Vaal received much less nourishment than her siblings, and didn't receive any warmth or comfort from her mother. She was left with the old den mother at any other time.
Once she finally opened her eyes and started getting around, she started calling the old den mother, "Mother," for she did not really know her mother, nor was she ever permitted to call her such, in the first place. The old den mother cared for Vaal like she might have her own, had she even been able to have them. She even gave the young cub her name.
However, as Vaal grew up, things became more complicated.
Her birth mother still wanted nothing to do with her, and the rest of the pride were becoming wary as well. During her first hunt, though it had been a clear, sunny day, once she roared, crying out to announce her hunt, as was the prides' tradition, the sky darkened and the rain began to fall. But it was not a nourishing ran. It was a dreadful rain, that lasted for days. That came down harshly with thunder and lightening, often causing destruction. And it happened with each hunt after that, leaving her unable to complete the "first hunt ceremony," that would mark her as an adult within the pride.
Eventually, a rumor began.
"She's cursed, I tell you. Cursed!" One lion had said.
"I always knew something was wrong with her," Vaal's birth mother had agreed, rather than attempting to deny such an awful thing, nodding her head.
"No doubt about it."But everything was still...
alright.
That was, until she lost the only thing important to her.
---
"No, please don't leave me!" Vaal cried out, warm tears streaking down her face.
"Not yet!""You're old enough now... to take care... of... yourself," the old den mother replied through labored breaths. She had
wanted to believe that. And it might have been true, were it not for the rumors. The old den mother was actually terrified of leaving Vaal alone with the rest of the pride that misjudged her, but there was nothing more she could do.
She was just too old.
"I'm sorry. That I... can't stay... with you... any longer," she continued on.
"Stay safe, my Vaal." Even tears welled up in the old lioness' eyes, but they only fell down once she closed her eyes, unable to keep them open any longer as her vision began to blur.
"Mother!" Vaal called out, rushing forward to close the small space between them, gently bumping her head against that of her mothers, nuzzling into her fur affectionately, until the old den mother finally stopped breathing altogether.
And Vaal was entirely alone.
---
"Hunt her down!" a lion roared.
Her body was trembling, it felt like her legs would give out on her at any time, but Vaal still pushed herself forward. Away. She had to run away.
But she was being treated like nothing more than prey.
Another terrible storm had arrived when she tried to hunt, and the lightning set fire to the savanna. She was finally deemed a threat to her pride. And, as such, for endangering them, it was decided that she would pay with her very life.
Vaal was hardly any match for the seasoned hunters and warriors the pursued her, and it was not long before she was backing up toward the short cliff side that loomed over the river, surrounded by a total of five lions and lionesses, her ears pressed back against her skull.
"Please. Don't do this," she pleaded, but she knew it would not be of any use. Still she had to
try.
"There is no where left for you to run," one of the hunters spoke out. He was one of the strongest.
"Just accept your fate," another one said.
No one. There was no one on her side.
Peering behind her, she was only a single step from the edge of the cliff, and as she turned back to face the lions surrounding her, she felt every muscle in her body grow weak, like her entire body was about to give out, to accept her defeat. And... she
did.
Or so she thought.
When two of the lions lunged at her, though, she tried to fight back, clawing and biting, doing anything she could, but she was outnumbered. Before she knew it, Vaal's hind legs were injured and the other members of the hunting party sent to deal with her tangled her up with various vines, making it difficult to move. She roared, growled, mewled and cried at her predicament.
"Why?" she asked.
"Why do you all hate me so?"She never got her answer.
Instead, she was mercilessly shoved over the cliff side, they leaving the river to do their dirty work; leaving her tangled up, leaving her to drown.
---
There were legends of the Shark, a lion that more resembled the predator of the ocean with his appearance, behavior, and strange abilties.
Zralok hardly thought himself worthy of all the stories about him, but there weren't entirely
wrong.
As it happened to be, he was more at home in the water, able to breathe under water and swim with incredible ease, than he was on land. And one this day, he was putting such talents to good use, hunting by swimming and catching fish in his mighty jaws. Even with one bad eye, the God of Water was able to hunt well within the river.
He dropped another fish, the fruits of another successful hunt, onto the river bank before jumping back in and diving below the surface. He resumed his quiet hunting, his body swaying strangely back and forth as he propelled himself through the water with his limbs, seeking out his next prey.
Zralok had spotted a fish, which he intended to catch, when he sensed a horrible disturbance in the rushing waters. Frantic splashing. Something abnormal; not the sort of flailing that would belong to water going creature. The peculiar lion rushed toward this disturbance, in time to see a very blue lioness, tangled up in vines, being swept away by the river. After first, she was thrashing about desperately, but then, finally, she must have ran out of oxygen and will, for she stopped moving and let herself be carried away.
It was not commonplace for him to use his powers while hunting in the river, it felt like he had too much of an unfair advantage if he used them for that purpose, but saving one's life was an entirely different story. Lunging forward through the water, he grew closer and closer to the drowning lioness, and with a swing of his head, the water all around her stopped, forming a perfect orb of water that the rest of the river flowed past, like it was a solid, unmovable object. And as he swam toward the surface, she was carried along with him, he lifting her out of the river by manipulating the orb of water surrounding her.
Only when he gently set her down did the water go free, splashing to the ground. He approached her limp body quickly, bumping her head carefully with his paw to look for any response. She didn't move with his touch, nor did she appear to be breathing. Her lungs were filled with water; he was all too aware of it. But he drew it, carefully pulling the water from her lungs and out threw her mouth.
As he did, she abruptly began to cough, forcing herself into a position where she was lying on her stomach rather than limp on her side as she expelled the rest of the water herself with her coughing. Once her fit ended, she frantically peered around, looking for any signs of the lions that were set on ending her life. She could smell their scent in the distance still, but there was no sight of them. But she was still tangled up.
Vaal locked eyes with lion in front of her, a look of panic in her eyes, until Zralok spoke,
"I don't know what happened, but let me help you."Abilities:
Initially unaware of it, Vaal is able to call forth
and disperse the rain with her roar, as well as summon winds, thunder and lightening.
After becoming lifemates with Zralok, thus sharing fragments of their souls with one another and she accepting a small portion of his magical cultivation, she gained his same ability to breathe under water as well as swim fluidly and expertly.
Vaal and Zralok's Relationship:
Of course Vaal was grateful to Zralok for saving her life, and even more so when he stayed beside her while her injuries healed, but she never intended to fall in love with him. She only realized it when it was too late. Her eyes followed him everywhere, any time he was within her view. And though she would sometimes feel butterflies in her stomach with him near, she also felt at ease with him, like she was
finally safe and free to be herself.
As a pair, Zralok is very supportive of Vaal. He respects her, encourages her, and celebrates her accomplishments with her and, when she is insecure or upset, he is there to comfort her and help restore her confidence. Vaal thinks of Zralok not only as her reason for living, even in the literal sense, but the one that she can genuinely be herself with and, thus, is irreplaceable.
For Zralok, Vaal is his most precious treasure. For having someone that is willing to meet him halfway, and then some, coming into his world and accepting his strangeness, he is thankful. Vaal is loyal and, likewise, if her Zra Zra faces any insecurities, she is there for him. She gives him a
home, truly, and anchors him to the world even when he feels like he might be drifting away.
As aquatic hunters, the duo make an incredibly efficient pair.
