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Nyuki- Swahili for "to sting"
Born during the era of Shauri the Graceful, died during the era of Shauri the Miraculous.
Wind whistles through the canyon, snatching up dead leaves and buffeting dry scrub in its wake. The rays of the sun are bright but cold - the chill season approaches, and there is no warmth to spare for the two figures beneath them today. One remains stoic and unmoving, her eyes narrowed slightly against the wind, but otherwise unaffected. The other leaps into the air and falls back down with a yelp and a clatter of loose stone.
The cub's tongue lolls out of his mouth as he pants, head hanging between his forelegs nearly low enough to touch the dirt. His teacher's shadow falls on him, and he whimpers once more for good measure before looking up to meet her piercing orange-brown gaze. "Again," the lioness intones, her voice cutting through the howling of the wind.
"Please, Nyuki, I need a rest," whines the young lion. "I've been practicing all morning, I just can't do it anymore..."
"And you have yet to succeed even once," his mentor admonishes. Beneath her forepaw is a large white-and-black feather, claws piercing its vane to keep it from fluttering away. Her tone is languid, yet the cub flinches from the impact of her words. "You must try harder. A lion must persevere through all conditions, or the lionesses and cubs in his care will perish. His duties do not vanish because he is tired, or he doesn't want to do them."
The shirking student sniffles a bit and wipes his running nose on the back of his paw. He stares at the feather, its edges twitching as the wind tugs at it, seemingly more enthusiastic about this training exercise than he is. His eyes flick to Nyuki's face - she's still staring at him with that flinty gaze, the color of the leaves that dance around them. He will clearly get no sympathy from her today. Sighing and rolling his shoulders, the scruffy young boy stands up, grumbling under his breath. Nyuki's chin lifts approvingly. A beat passes. Almost as an afterthought, she adds, "I know you can do better." The cub's paws shift, and he stands up just a little bit straighter. Nyuki lifts her paw, and the wind seizes the feather again, sending it swishing through the valley followed by dust, leaves, and a bounding lion cub.
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"Nyuki is standing quietly and watching the clouds move over the lands. For some reason this makes your heart skip a beat."
"You approached Nyuki to groom her, but she just sort of stared at you. She then shuffled awkwardly a bit before going to lay down in her usual spot."
"Nyuki watches you approach and sighs a little. She licks her paw and pretends to ignore you."
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