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Registered at MLK: August 2nd, 2010, 3:44 am.
Gender: Female
Species: Lion
Character Description
Name: Upendi
Species: Lion
Gender: Female
Pride: Pridelander, princess of Pride Rock
Personality: As a cub, she's agressive, ambitious, but very kind, especially towards her brother, whom she only teases lovingly (and he knows this.) She's also a little headstrong, and won't back down from a challenge, no matter how foolish or dangerous it might be. She knows her brother will be king and tries to 'train' him to be stronger and more confident. However, she never hesitates to defend him. After her brother runs away, however, Upendi begins to change. She partially blames herself for not being there, and the thought of her brother's death nearly sends her over the edge. She becomes darker, more distant, and also a lot more sensetive. However, it's after her father dies that Upendi truly becomes a cruel, cold-hearted ruler; often inflicting severe punishment to even the slightest little offense or misbehavior of the pridemembers.
Description: Dark fur (darker and less reddish than her father's fur), dark brown ear rims as a cub, a purple-pink nose, orange/amber eyes--tan underbelly and paws. Pridelander build.
Other: Upendi is the eldest child of Kiara and Kovu, and Kuwasha's older sister. As a cub, she used to play with her brother, and cousins (Kivuli and Faragha) and Scruffy's cubs, Adaeze and Mosi. She used to also get along well with her aunt Vitani, who taught her to fight 'outlander-style' (much to her parents' disapproval.) However, as she grows up, she breaks off her friendships--save for Adaeze--and rules the Pridelands with an iron paw.
History: Upendi was born to Kiara and Kovu--along with her brother--shortly after Simba stepped down from the throne. Unlike Kuwasha, Upendi was full of confidence, a little pigheadedness, and a sense of adventure. Though she looked like a dark-furred version of her mother (with ear rims) at heart, she was more like her father. She would often challenge her cousins Kivuli and Faragha, as well as Mosi, to prove that a princess could be just as tough as they were. However, she had a soft side as well--which she would use towards her shy younger brother. She also teases him, but it's mostly about how "weak" and "un-kingly" he is, and she never actually means it. She loves her brother, even though she knows he will be king over her. He says they can rule together, and while she accepts the idea, Upendi knows the animals will look to her brother as ruler, not her. So she decides to try to train him to be (what she thinks) a king is. Her cousin Kivuli, on the other hand, taunts him bitterly--there's no love there--and Upendi is usually there to defend her brother....until one day: the day she ISN'T around, Kivuli takes advantage of it....and he also takes things too far. Kuwasha ends up running away, and when Upendi finally DOES walk in on Kivuli, she's so upset and bewildered by what he's done, she scratches him across the face; deep enough to leave four permanent scars, as well as the loss of one of his eyes. After her father tries and fails to find Kuwasha after several days, Upendi runs off in the middle of the night, determined to locate him herself. She partly blames herself for not being there to protect him, and can't bare the thought her brother might be dead. However....Upendi ends up running straight into Hyena territory. She's unaware of it at first because no one has heard from the Hyenas since her (deceased) uncle Kopa's youth. The Hyenas, on the other hand, ARE aware of HER....and they soon reveal themselves to Upendi, cornering her. Now, since her brother ran away, her own confidence has been faltering, and she begins to panick at the thought of being killed and/or eaten--the pack of Hyenas has grown since Scar's time, so there's a LOT more....thankfully, however, Kovu (who'd happened to wake up this particular night) steps in the moment they begin to attack, and tells Upendi to run while he holds them off. Frightened, she does so, trusting her father to take care of things....but Kovu is only one lion, against an entire pack of Hyenas....and while he DOES make it back to Pride Rock, he dies shortly afterwards. This is the final straw that breaks the camal's back, and Upendi's heart shatters. So does Kiara's, but she tries to remain strong for her kingdom....Upendi, on the other hand, grows cold, distant, bitter, and very cruel. As she grows up, she cuts ties with everyone connected to her cousin Kivuli, whom she now blames for breaking apart her life--this includes Faragha and Vitani. Only Adaeze remains friends with her, as she loved Kuwasha, and also blames Kivuli. She also allows Upendi to mate with her blind brother, Mosi, to secure an heir (in case the animals managed to overthrow her, she'd still have a cub to take her place.) Upendi has a son, Mrithi, whom she doesn't pay the utmost attention to--she trains him, but her heart has forgotton how to love. As a result, Mrithi is raised mostly by his grandmother, Kiara--who, while still hurting from the loss of her mate and son, finds a little bit of joy in her grandson's eyes: he reminds her of a happier time.
Upendi continues to rule with an iron paw, until the day two full grown lions (one with a mate and three cubs) wander into the Pridelands....who turn out to be a full-grown Kuwasha and Kivuli, along with Kuwasha's mate, Laina, and their three young cubs. The return of the two ends up reuniting the Pride, and happiness finally resurfaces--Kuwasha IS saddened by his father's death, but also shocked by how different his sister has become. He takes her aside and has a long talk with her, eventually succeeding in bringing out the confident little girl who used to defend him in their youth. Upendi begs him to stay, and Kuwasha agrees--temporarily--to fix the broken Circle of Life as best he can. He and Kivuli have made amends, and it's time everyone else does as well.
Position: Queen of the Pridelands.
Crush/Mate: She takes Mosi for a one-time mate, to secure herself an heir. Mosi is blinded as a cub, and therefore forced to stay in the Pridelands, rather than start a pride of his own.
Children: One son named Mrithi. Permissions: Private (Only the artist can use this character. Artist is accepting gifts with this character in them.) |
