Briartangle

Battleharded and born into a pride full of bloodthirsty warriors hungry for battle, the result of an affair that ended in tragedy, Briartangle certainly doesn't seem to fit the standard of the Starfall Gully Pride, and yet, here she is. Despite her young age, past, and, some would say, bland or basic coloration, this young lioness is not one to be trifled with and gives her all to everything that she does, making her an invaluable member of King Flamemane's pride. Be it a sparring match or pulling a prank on one of her pridemates, Briar likes to plan down to every little detail to ensure success, something that her former pride taught her before it destroyed itself. And while the lions and lionesses that once made up the Crimson Fang Pride ranged in a variety of vile, cruel, and downright evil personalities, young Briar only seems to exhibit mischief and the occasional sadistic streak if a particular piece of prey has thwarted her for too long.

While neither of her biological parents were members of the Crimson Fang Pride, Briartangle still ended up there after the Great Flood separated her from her pride and family. One of the huntresses found her at their border as a young cub, no more than three moons old, and took her in to raise her as one of their warriors. Instead of having a cubhood, she had a rigorous training schedule within the militaristic, chaotic pride. If asked about her family, Briar will simply shrug and say she was too young to remember her biological one and is not foolish enough to categorize anyone that raised her as one.

While fights would break out rather often within her former pride, things came to a boiling point as the king and queen had a conflict of interest that resulted in a civil war just four moons after she was found. It tore the Crimson Fang Pride apart and Briartangle was lucky to escape with her life, one of the very few who did. Battered and bleeding from a multitude of vicious wounds, the young lioness managed to limp, and then crawl as the days and nights dragged on, her way to a watering hole. Barely conscious enough to drink and unable to properly stand or even see, Briartangle screeched in surprise as she was suddenly grabbed by her scruff and hurled away from the water she had been lapping at seconds previous.

Her initial reaction was to fight off her attacker, but with what she could make out through the blood, constantly drying and running fresh into her eyes with any movement, she was unsure if she was being attacked. What she witnessed would forever be a turning point in the young lioness's life as she watched a lioness the color of fire, streaked with obsidian markings and adorned with the bones of a hare fight off a crocodile at the water's edge. After a few moments the victor was clear and the lioness padded over, her silhouette becoming a bit clearer as she did so, enough so that Briat could see the concern within her umber eyes and the scars that crisscrossed her body.

The lioness introduced herself as Burningfury, the Broodmother of the Starfall Gully Pride, and expressed her gratitude that she had shown up just in time to save Briartangle from the jaws of certain death. And as much as the young lioness wanted to flinch away from this stranger, to lash out like she had been trained to, she was just so tired of everything, of the fighting, of the deceit, of the cruelty. So she broke down then, explaining in between sobs what had happened to her as Burningfury delicately pulled the cub into her paws and began to groom her, taking care to carefully clean her wounds as painlessly as possible.

The rest of the day was a blur due to a mixture of exhaustion, adrenaline, and confusion, but by the time night fell, Briar was snuggled securely between the lioness who had saved her life and another cub. She had been brought into the pride, into a place of safety and comfort, into a home where she was wanted and cared for and accepted for who she was. And ever since that day, Briartangle has dedicated her life to proving herself worthy to her pride, to her king, and to the lioness who raised her, the only one who she considers family, Burningfury. And as time went on, her little family expanded to include Crowngrapple as her mother as well. When the Hyena Queen began to unite the clans and starve the lands, Briartangle volunteered to join the lionesses that wished to fight for thier prides. She was the youngest, and one of the most successful, huntresses from the Starfall Gully Pride to join the wars.

Now a season old already, Briartangle participates in the training that all the other adolescents of the pride do, splitting her time between training to be a huntress and a member of the guard. With the retirement of Flamemane and the crowning of King Star Ruby, Briar has been assigned to the same hunts as Crowngrapple and has been permitted to train with the Halfmanes of the pride if she so wishes, able to keep up with their strength like no other even as a Huntress.