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(/sɒmniə/, ~ "som-nee-uh")
Although Somnia has the experience and prowess to lead a hunting party, her tendency to be a bit too forgiving of the troublemakers in the pride earns her a spot with a little less sway when they've returned from their hunts. If running things were left up to Somnia, Eden's antics would see no end.
Though she's soft in general—a quality she shares with Sarca—it's perhaps a bit inconvenient that out of all the adult pride members, the one she's softest on is the most problematic member of the pride. Her affection for Eden became plain fairly quickly after Eden joined the pride and established her role in it, and her amusement at the sorts of tricks that Eden gets up to is a sharp contrast to her own temper. She's often cleaning up after her, figuratively and literally, and is one of the first to comfort someone when Eden's plans cause more harm than they ought. Still, perhaps Eden brings out the cub in her, for she does have moments of going along with her childishness; once in a blue moon, you'll catch Somnia aiding and abetting in some of that mischief. She lightened up over time since joining the pride, in part because of that lioness, and her own sense of humor bloomed gradually—one that is, for the most part, much more benign than Eden's. No one gets particularly angry at Somnia when she does something mischievous, though. In fact, even if Eden wasn't responsible for a joke, the latter tends to get blamed for any annoyance Somnia might cause in that way.
When you do hear any sort of blunt criticism from Somnia, it probably means you've done something very, very bad. Even Eden's taken it seriously on the few occasions she's managed to earn Somnia's ire.
One day on the way back from a hunt, she noticed a terrified Nyala calf peering out from behind the bushes. It was probably orphaned by her and her hunting party, but they could hardly drag any more prey back that expedition. It felt cruel to her to leave it alive on its own, but she couldn't bring herself to kill an animal that would not be eaten by the pride. She waved the others away and told them she would catch up later, apologizing for making them carry the carcasses; once they'd left, she cautiously approached it—the poor thing was probably frozen in fear—and sat down by its side, watching. At first, she thought the calf would probably bolt when it recovered enough to do so, but when it finally moved, it looked around timidly as if to search for the corpses from the carnage before and then collapsed into her side.
She stayed with it until the sun began to sink, and at last, so as not to worry her pride, she began nudging it along with her back home. At the time, she wasn't entirely sure what she would do about the matter, and when she got back she was predictably met with reactions ranging from bemused to positively dumbfounded at the peculiar choice. The nyala calf hid behind her legs when confronted with her pridemates. Sarca was largely unfazed—he was similarly odd in nature, at times, so perhaps that was to be expected—and most of those who were close to Somnia were quick enough to accept it, but some of her fellow huntresses were displeased to find this was the reason she'd sent them ahead. Eden in particular had been waiting with barely concealed agitation to greet her when she got back, and when she noticed the commotion, she was quick to investigate it on the assumption that it meant Somnia had returned. When she saw the calf quivering behind her legs, her words left her; she spent a few moments staring, jaw agape, before chiming in that Somnia ought to have said something if the reason she'd left them to carry the carcasses on their own was to bring home a pet. Somnia apologized meekly for that, which was enough to silence any further snide remarks Eden might have had brewing just then. Still, she was frustrated at having waited for so long without knowing where Somnia had been; for the rest of that night, she remained uncharacteristically curt with the lioness.
The next day, an agitated Somnia confronted her, wanting to resolve the dispute. It was rare to see a spat between the two; the other members of the hunting party who had been there when the whole ordeal began ended up trying to mediate between them, and after a long period of others trying to negotiate on Somnia's behalf, Eden was finally worn down. She apologized with a sigh of resignation, then instantly regretted her obstinacy when she saw the depth of the relief in Somnia's expression.
The nyala calf was grudgingly accepted into the pride as something like a pet, and eventually acclimated to the carnivores around it. At some point, the lionesses simply stopped hunting nyalas; it was an unspoken agreement, so the calf wouldn't see them and because, frankly, a lot of the pride had lost their stomach for the animal after the calf's presence became familiar to them.
Somnia named it Mirin. Sometimes she wonders if Mirin remembers how they met, or how she and her fellow lionesses were the ones to kill its mom, but whatever the case, Mirin has somehow ended up a beloved presence in the pride. Sometimes it even lets the smaller cubs ride on its back.
G1; May event groupie from V'Kai.
Changed base to Triumph and applied Applicator: Inverted Squabble in Slot 3. The pose and Draconid eyes were there from the start! ^_^
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