Mipha

You decide to turn back towards the cave containing Daughter's den, only this time with another place in mind. Re-entering the cave grants you the same experience as before: three different tunnels to go through. You already know what's down the middle path, but not what the others contain.

Choosing the right tunnel, you take one last glance at the painted symbol on the wall: a light gray feline head with darker spots. This path wasn't as long as the middle one, but just up ahead, you could see faint blue lights. And you could hear someone talking. You slowed your pace to a stop, expecting to find yourself interrupting something, but after a moment, you realized that there was only one person speaking. Not only that, but you could only catch the scent of one entity inside the den. This may have been a red flag (someone talking, and laughing, to themselves might mean something sinister), but the scent of what remained inside made you feel... at home. It was, at the bare minimum, soothing. It smelled like bloomed morning glories, and something from your childhood that you couldn't remember, but you remembered smelling it as a young cub. The voice of whoever was inside also lured you in; it was feminine and oddly motherly-- gentle and sweet, with a heartwarming laugh.

Just like Daughter's, the walls of this cave were covered in drawings, only these were exclusively of various feline creatures and weren't burned into the stone, but instead painted on with various dyes. The drawings were extremely detailed, so much so that you could notice little details like spots and stripes and other distinguishing features. You could even recognize certain lions you saw around this pride on the walls-- a figure resembling Daughter was poised up-right on her hind legs with paws outstretched, with bright blue across certain parts of her body (such as over her eyes, paws, and even behind her back to resemble wings). Scattered across the den, on the floor and jutting out from the walls, were glowing blue crystals that illuminated the cave and provided light.

Sitting in a lone nest in the center of the cave was a silver-gray lioness with cheetah-like spots, possibly the face behind the white-and-spotted face painted on the entrance to this den. At her back were massive Nepheline wings, and atop her head was a halo, both glowing a warm color that provided a contrast to the cool blue of the crystals. She was looking at the walls as she spoke, as if she could see something that you couldn't. Mid-one-sided-conversation, her darker ears perked up, and she only then looked over at you.

The beautiful lioness blinked. "Hello," she said to you with a sweet smile, "how may I help you?"

"I'm an ally to your pride. I'm here to introduce myself," you told her.

She nodded. "I've heard of your alliance with our pride." Didn't you just talk to Daughter a minute or two ago? "I'm Mipha, one of the two Asaariian Shrine Maidens."

When you thought you could speak again, Mipha hummed and turned away, looking back where she was before. "Hm? ... they mean no harm, I assure you!" Was she talking about you? To no one? "... well, even if they did mean harm, they would be smarter about their approach." She flicked her tail, dismissing something from the conversation. You assumed that something was you, but as soon as she did it, she returned her gaze to you.

"Sorry about that." She apologized, dipping her head gracefully.

"... What was that about?" You hesitated, assuming that it would be rude on your part to ask such a thing to someone with so much power in their pride.

Mipha, surprisingly, didn't seem bothered at all by your question. You assumed that she was a motherly and understanding character. "I may have a physical form, but I'm dead," not very surprising, considering her halo and angelic wings, "and I can still see other spirits who don't have a body for themselves. My son is in the room with us." She gestured with a single wing to the empty space.

As you looked at the place where her son supposedly was, you felt a chill run down your spine. You couldn't see anything, but you could undoubtedly feel another presence with you and Mipha.

You looked back at Mipha. "What was your son like?"

Mipha's smile grew bigger. Her wings drew in against her sides, as if to hug herself closer to her heart that was warming from such a heartfelt question. Her son clearly meant something to her. "He was the king before Daughter's... mentor. He reigned, then they did, and then Daughter-" she snapped her head back towards where her son was, "I'm sorry, Revali. I won't say their name... anyways, my son's name was, well, Revali. He was a wonderful king. I couldn't ask for a better son."

You nodded in understanding-- a mother that couldn't be more proud of her son, even in the afterlife. You could only wonder about the Asaariian ruler after Revali. The spirit you couldn't see didn't seem to like them a whole lot, considering that just their name could have pissed the entity off. Apedemak only knows what kind of ruler they were.

-

Name: Mipha (Mee-fuh).
Pronouns: She/they.
Rank: Shrine Maiden.
Physical Description: Light gray lioness with darker spots similar to a cheetah's and blue eyes. Large nepheline wings splay out from her back, paired with a halo atop her head.
Personality: Mipha is a kind, gentle, and motherly soul. She is known to welcome any and all into her arms without hesitation. Very rarely has she ever resorted to violence; force is only a last resort for her.
Fun Fact: She collects her own fallen feathers and takes them to the nursery for the mothers and cubs to play with or make into bedding.

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HOW DID I GET LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND A BABE LIKE THIS

-

Mipha's Grace gives a soft purring sound as a greeting, and moves over a little so you can lay down beside her.

Mipha's Grace is lying on a nearby rock and gets up from it to greet you.

You find Mipha's Grace on an outcropping observing some other lions playing below with a gentle smile.

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CUSTOM FLAVOR TEXTS

You notice Mipha sitting on her throne, talking to herself. You remembered that she, as a spirit, could see and communicate with both the living and the dead. She was probably talking to her son. She noticed your stares and sent you a smile before carrying on her seemingly one-sided conversation.

You watched as two of the Asaariian cubs were attacking each other, lashing out at each other over a single feather toy. Mipha approached them, and one look from her stopped both children short from killing each other.