Kibibi

Means; Little Lady

Second of triplets.
(Horera and Ife)

The rebel.

Kibibi, A broken soul.

Kibibi considered her life nearly perfect. Each day was spent in bliss, frolicking with her identical sisters in the plains of her homeland. The pride was small but loving and their king was brave and trusting. She thought nothing more of hunting bugs and throwing up dust to interweave with the passing winds.

But life is never perfect.

The day the twin males crossed their territory, her life was altered forever. Before she knew what was happening, she was being shoved from the area, her sister leading them on whilst their mother hid their trail. She would always regret the decision of looking back, of peering into the brush they had scuttled beneath to see the distant form of her mother, lying broken on the ground. Horera was their instantaneously, moving her away and forward.

Along that journey, their bonds developed. In Horera she saw a protector and in Ife she saw her shadow. Being completely identical, her and Ife brought great joy causing confusion to their older sister, they would weave and mimic one another, or sync themselves so beautifully that it was almost as if they were one. At first Kibibi was gracious for Horera's strong will and aptitude, yet every gem has it's flaw. She was demanding, she refused to play, she was downright boring! Kibibi began to look at her older sister with an eye of jealousy. Why does she get to be leader? Why is she so important? She wanted Horera to chill out, she wished for the bright green eyes that distinguished her from themselves. No matter how she looked at it, Horera was just... different.

Along their journey, they narrowly escaped many a close call. Each time Horera pulled them from catastrophe, and each time Horera grew a little more stern. It irked Kibibi to no end. When the fateful day rolled around and they found safe haven, Kibibi felt light as air. Now the struggle was over, the fight had ended. She talked and flirted with the prince of this land enthusiastically, Ife following suit, but Horera did not smile. She hardly even eased her stance. In fact, Kibibi swore she grew even more stubborn and strict.

There was no loosening when it came to Horera, she kept a tight grip on them. A grip that Kibibi was desperate to escape. A part of her wished to be close to her older sister, but a stronger side of her wished to escape. So she would flee and hide and do what she wished. She changed her name, pushed for her way and turned her back on Horera.

With Ife trailing behind her, she ran rampant through the pridelands, but no matter what she did nor what she had intended, Horera was always angry with her. Her older sister was wearing away a very thin rope. When she finally did crack, she exploded.

Horera yelled for Ife first of course, for she was the soft spoken one, without an angry bone in her young body. Kibibi paused as her shadow began to drag behind, gritting her teeth when Horera came to them, a look of sorrow on her features. Horera was just trying to manipulate her, Kibibi told herself, turning to face her older triplet. "Get out of here Horera!" She boomed, moving to position herself between Horera and Ife. There was no way she would let her steal her shadow sister. "Just leave us alone!" The anger and frustration bubbled and boiled within her and she had to fight the urge to draw her claws.

"Kibibi, please, I.. I just want my sisters back." Horera said quietly, moving towards them a little.

"Rhinoshit!" The anger unfurled in mad waves, fuming beneath her. She felt it surge, all of her sorrow and grief mixed with jealousy and yearning. She knew exactly what to say. "My name is Ky, and all you want is for us to be 'the perfect little girls' you always dreamed we'd be. You just want us to make your life easier. You're not our mother, Horera!" She knew the poison which laced her words would sting Horera to her core, but still that wasn't enough. "Our mother is dead. You've just got to let her go, and let us live our own lives!" Satisfaction surged by the look on her face. Pure horror.

"Kibi-Ky... I'm sorry.. I just.." Horera tried to gather her words, but Ky refused to let her fix it, it had to be said and her sister needed to see.

"You just need to leave us alone." She ended it, dug the wound as deep as she could and turned to leave. Ife following behind.

Ky (as she now called herself) thought nothing of it, really. Horera had always been there to nag at her and push her, no matter what she had done. But the next day her older sister never came to scold her. She shrugged it off and went about her ways, but the following night Horera had still not returned.

Feeling panic and regret settle in her stomach she began to search, silently, around the camp, trying to act as if she didn't care, just in case this was all a trick. She spent the next few days this way, feeling lost yet stubborn, refusing to let up that her sister must be somewhere. After nearly three days of searching, she turned around, to ask Ife.

Behind her was only the rustling yellow grass.

Ever since cubhood, She had always depended on her younger sister, her trailing shadow. She had always been there, right at her side. To the extent that she no longer checked to see if she was following, she simply expected to see her sister behind her. Without the sight of her sister, she began to feel a deep unsettling void. She was alone. Truly alone.

It was almost... traumatic. To realize just how empty she was without her sisters. She knew no one else, she had no one else and now all there was to comfort her was the gentle but ominous breeze. Ky sat down, her mouth slightly ajar, unable to comprehend where Ife could have gone. It took a few minutes to register before the wails came. She cried out for Horera and Ife, her apologies thrown to the wind with no answer. Tears welled in her eyes and streaked down her fiery cheeks.

She spent hours traversing the area, until her voice was hoarse and her legs numb. The other lionesses merely stared, none holding any information to help the lost Ky. Collapsing onto the ground, she huddled her face within her paws and shook with sobs. This had to be a dream, there was no way she could be alone. A gut wrenching feeling was tugging at her heart, pulling her down into an abyss from which she could not return.

That was until someone touched her.

She froze.

No one had ever touched her but her sisters, she had always been too keen with her kin to get close to anyone else. A sliver of hope alighted in her heart, she turned her head, her blurry gaze focusing on a Vandal hued lioness. Definitely not her sister.

"Do not stress." Her voice was soothing and melodic. It reminded Kibibi of the days spent with her mother, of a better time, of home. "What is troubling you so?"

She blinked away the last of her tears and took in the sweet smile and welcoming demeanor of this dream of a lioness. "I.. I've lost my sisters." She mumbled quietly, feeling ashamed that she could not manage on her own but depended on her family even as an adult.

"There is no need to fear. We are all sisters under the Great spirit." Her words were a little confusing to Kibibi, but she didn't mind, this new lioness brought relief and ease, her very voice soothing her frantic mindset.

She sat up, the lioness' paw falling back to the ground. "My name is Kibibi." She said, her nickname forgotten as a new feeling of comfort welled over her. This new lioness was quiet and helpful, pulling her from the foggy abyss and back into the world around her. She suddenly became aware of the child-ish ways she had been acting and lifted a paw, frantically wiping at her soggy cheeks.

The lioness lifted her own paw, placing it on Kibibi's and gently returning it to the ground. "You may call me Evangelina." She reached towards her face, gently wiping the wet from her face.

Kibibi was still as her cheeks were dried by the new female before her. This was the first lioness to be close to her ever who had not been related by blood.

"Do feel better, my sister." Evangelina said, rising to her feet and moving on.

Kibibi sat there. Sat there and watched as an angel left her side. She had never noticed anyone but her family before, but Evangelina had opened her eyes in a way she could not completely comprehend. She was rooted to the spot, staring after the slowly leaving form of a vandal colored savior.

Kibibi slowly made her way back to the cave where her sisters had resided, her paws moving on their own as she gazed into the surrounding plain. Perhaps she should make a better effort to get to know people, to open herself up and move out of the comforting grasp of her kin.

"What are you thinking about?" The quiet voice sounded from behind out of nowhere. Kibibi halted, the form of Ife bumping into her rear end, a small "oof" sounding from her younger sister.

"Where have you been?" Kibibi asked, in a tone a little too cold than she had meant it to be.

Ife looked instantly guilty, sinking her head down and gathering the demeanor of a cub being scolded. "I..I didn't think you'd notice." She whispered, taking a step away from her sister.

Kibibi straightened, looking back towards the pride briefly, her gaze wandering over the unfamiliar faces of lionesses. "Why wouldn't I notice? You're my sister, my shadow."

Ife shifted her paws, shrinking lower. "Well I..I..."

"Oh speak up, Ife, I'm your sister, nothing you say will upset me." Kibibi said, seating herself there on the ground and letting her eyes flicker to her distressed sister.

Ife closed her eyes. "You haven't noticed before..." The words were quiet, slow and tentative, but it only took those four words to take the breath right out of Kibibi's chest.

"Before...?" Had she not been seated before, Ife's words would have sent her to the ground. "What.. what do you mean?"

Ife paused, drawing pictures in the dirt with her claw. "I.. I don't want to hurt you Kibibi." The pause that ensued was almost painful as Ife seemed to gather her thoughts with the scribbles in the earth. "I leave your side every few days... I just.."

"Every few days?" Kibibi's eyes widened. How had she not noticed her shadow slipping off every few days.

Ife looked up at Kibibi, grief and regret intertwined in her gaze, but Kibibi couldn't tell if she was sorry for leaving, or sorry for getting caught. Kibibi felt turmoil bubbling inside her. Horera had disappeared and Ife was not quite as loyal as she had always thought. "I'll meet you at the cave later." She said icily, turning pack to the pride and leaving Ife behind.

She wandered the land, searching high and low for that angel from before. She needed to talk to her, to share that she had felt a connection and in this moment she needed someone who had not abandoned her, someone new. When she finally stumbled upon Evangelina, she found the lioness seated very still next to a large baobab tree, muttering under her breath. Something about a 'great spirit' again.

"Hey." Kibibi could hardly even manage a normal hello without shaking slightly. This whole thing with interacting with strangers still caused her to shake in apprehension.

Evangelina paused and glanced in her direction. She seemed to see that Kibibi was alright and then turned away again, taking up her mutterings again.