Zarassa

While stopping to take a drink out of the pond, you hear a twig snap and turn your head to look. A young nyala calf is standing in the bushes, and freezes when they see you look at them. You stand up and look around for the rest of the herd, not finding anything. When you look back, the calf is gone, and then you feel something large brush against your side, but when you look, nothing is there. It feels like you should be scared, but oddly, you have a warm, comforted feeling, like everything will be alright.


Here lies Zarassa. A whisper of the past.

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Zarassa the soft, gentle giant of the Placid Pond Pride
Under the rule of King Mercutial


Zarassa was born into an aggressive pride, preoccupied with vicious hunts, and solving problems through battling, sometimes to the death. It was a crude, and barbaric group of all primal lions, and almost immediately, she was an outsider. Though just as large, and capable as the other lions, Zarassa was always gentle, nervous and shy. She was warm, and loving, instead of being ruthless and cruel. She left her birth pride quite young, and lived on her own, mostly scavenging for years, until Mercutial and Dathryn started to claim the territory she had been living in. When she saw how kind and understanding the two males were, she was more than happy to be one of the founding lionesses in the pride.

Zarassa is an integral part of her hunting party, though she's never made a kill. Uncomfortable with killing or even attacking live prey, she's always the one to flush the prey out, cut off a running herd or be a distraction, and she's proud to fill the role. She also does a great job of it with her terrifying form, massive teeth and impressive running ability. When she's around the den, Zarassa tries to make herself useful by crafting new items from random things she finds laying around the territory, and adding comfortable materials to the dens for bedding and nesting in.

Intro under Mercutial
Off to one side of the cave, you notice a particularly large lioness. She stands taller than most of the others, and her frame is more muscular. Her fur seems thicker and her teeth are so massive she can't even conceal them in her mouth. For as large and imposing as this lioness is, she hovers close to the cave wall, glancing at you every so often, but never making eye contact. Curious, you cautiously make your way over, prepared to take off if the lioness charges you. You are here as a guest after all, and fighting one of the lionesses will not be seen as a peaceful act. However, as you get closer the lioness lays down submissively, giving you a nervous but warm smile. "Uh... um... uh, hello." She says softly. You lay down as well as a sign of trust, and soon discover that she was just a little shy.

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Getting to know Zarassa

What is your favourite food?
"Oh... uh, impala. Yes. They live in these big herds, and it's fun to see them all run when I spring out of the grass. Plus, they're small enough that when one of the ladies catches one, it's over quite quickly after that. Not like taking down a buffalo. Plus, there's lots of impalas around, so we don't have to worry about hurting their numbers. Oh, and of course, they're filling, and quite tasty!"


What is your favourite item for amusement?
"I love feathers! Um, I guess that, well, Ostrich feathers are probably my favourite. They can be fun to bat around, or throw up in the air, or tickle cubs with... but you can also craft them into lots of fun things, and they can make for fluffy bedding, even when they start falling apart. Plus, um, ostriches just lose them all the time, so you can just pick them up off the ground!"


What's your favourite season?
"Um... wet season, I guess. Dry season is alright too, things are just easier during the wet season. Yeah, wet season."


What's your favourite time of day?
"The morning. Everyone is waking up, and the sun is just waking up, and the day has so much hope and promise."


Which biome do you enjoy the most?
"Um... well... hm. I've never been asked that before. Let me think... well, obviously, Placid Pond is home, so I love waterholes... plus they're just bursting with life. Um, I love hunting in savannahs, lots of tall grass to hide in, and trees to sneak around. Hm... but you can find such fun items in all of them! I guess... enjoy the most... hm, waterhole. Yeah. It's home, and we don't hunt here, but around other waterholes can be good hunting, and there's just so much interesting stuff to find. So, waterhole, I think."


Which lion are you closest to?
"Probably Merc... but, I do spend a lot of time with Dath. They're both great lions."


Which lioness are you closest to?
"Uh, Sumatra, I guess. She kind of brought me into the pride, and we've been good friends since.
My daughter and I are a little estranged, but I will also always love, Veniss."


What are your hobbies?
"Crafting! Oh, I love crafting. Yeah, uh, definitely crafting, and finding craft supplies. I also like playing games with the cubs... and napping. Is napping a hobby? I like to think it is..."

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Special Notes: This was my first ever mutant! She even produced a female Ferus cub for me.