𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖♚

♚ Queen Shasta. Hyena among lions. Mate of the third king Hundar, chosen by the queen mother Kahawia. Mortal enemy of the queen Slatkica. Mother of princess Mara. One of the hyenas, cruel and egotistical, passionate and ambitious, she'd do anything to be the only queen and the one making the decisions. Even if not she herself, her descendants.

Bought for 200SB 30 March 2015 with 515 stats <3
1000sts: 22 Jun 2015
DIED: 9 Sep 2015
Cubs: Mara

~ • ~
A hyena among lions.
She had been ever since she was born. Fighting for survival was everything's Shasta knew. Growing up in a small pride led by a cruel king, she needed to learn quickly what to do in order to survive. Though, even as a cub, she was more cunning than her peers. Like a hyena, she needed to be quick to scavenge for food after the grownups. She knew better than to play too much, scream too much or follow the butterflies too far. She needed to be smart - for she saw what awaited the overly innocent ones. Death. Whether in the hands of nature, the elements, the people, or in the jaws of her cruel father.
And, like a hyena, she needed to learn what roaming the wildlife was. In her late adolescence Shasta had finally had enough. Having seen her siblings and peers perish pushed her into making the hard decision before she was fully ready. She ran away from home and became an outcast at a young age.
During her travels, many king's tried to claim her. For who wouldn't want a fresh and young new lioness in their pride? But Shasta agreed to no offer, too afraid of ending up in the same hellhole. Like a hyena, she hated lions with a burning passion.
Her passion almost got her dead, though. Too young to know how to hunt properly, slowly but surely she starved herself into exhaustion. Until she couldn't take a step more, and collapsed in the shade of a baobab tree. The weak and malnourished lioness was found by Georgia, shamaness from the Waterhole pride, who nursed her back to health. The kindness shown to her by the pride coaxed her into sticking around. Though, even then, Shasta knew she wanted more. So much more!
Seeing the power Barbara received for just being loved by the right lion inspired her. She knew who and what she wanted to be.
Her retaliation soon came. In the form of hyenas, and a strange lion seemingly leading them. Like a hyena, she played it smart. She took no part in the battle that followed, and for it she was awarded. By not losing her life. Unlike everyone who'd tried to defend their home. Over time, however, she was awarded something much greater. The one thing she desired.
For hyenas could sniff out one of their own, even in the overlapping lion stench. Their leader Kahawia was the one who'd seen her potential, the one who'd given her the nickname hyena among lions.
A couple of days after the pride's new order settled, Kahawia approached Shasta with a proposition. Her son, the new king of the pride Hundar, needed to pick a queen from the pride to secure his position. Who better than someone so alike? Someone who could help Kahawia hold all the threads in her own paws?
Unsurprisingly, Shasta agreed. But, when the hyena and half-hyena entered Hundar's cave, another lioness was already there. Hundar had already chosen his queen without consulting his mother. To everyone's surprise, it was Slatkica. The least of a hyena that a lioness could be, the opposite of both Hundar and Kahawia. As well as Shasta.
Slatkica remained the little bothersome pebble stuck between Shasta's paws. While she and Kahawia liked to believe they had all of the strings in their paws through controlling Hundar, whenever Slatkica expressed something to him, the lion would go against their wishes only to indulge Slatkica. She was his soft spot, and no matter what they tried, they couldn't beat her.
And they did try. Desperately. Manipulation, discrediting, making her look evil and incompetent. Somehow, that cat had more than nine lives. After so many failures, Shasta and Kahawia had to resort to physical attack. They ambushed the lioness, who was too gentle to fight back. Bleeding, bruised and crying, she was discovered by Hundar. It was the first time he lashed out on his mother. The last time, too. For the male lion was still greater in size than a mere hyena and could always turn against her. They needed to give up.
Giving up wasn't in Shasta's dictionary, however. Thanks to her new status, she could finally fully turn against the lionesses in the pride. And Slatkica, who was their protector. She taunted and tortured the lionesses and their cubs. She pushed Slatkica's buttons knowing she wouldn't push back.
As a result of that, and to her own liking, Shasta had no lion friends. Except for her only daughter Mara, whom she indoctrinated into being her little minion, using the same methods Kahawia had used on Hundar.
After Hundar's long reign, the young lionesses of the pride planned a diversion. Mara found out about it and immediately told her mother, but before Shasta could warn Hundar and Kahawia, the war had already started. Blitzkrieg. Everything was done quickly. After months of coming up with the perfect strategy, ambushing the unsuspecting king ended up fruitful. Hundar was slain, the hyenas banished to the outskirts of the territory. Shasta and Mara were banished with them. It is said the hyena clan still had their offspring roaming their clan, patiently waiting for their revenge.

Chapter 3 Bonus 2
Chapter 3
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