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Former Daughter of Evocation and Divine Huntress of The Tower, led by Protection from Evil and Good.
While Mending jumped at the chance to join Dominate Beast when he expressed his wish to leave his father's pride and make his own, Branding Smite had some hesitancy at first. The Tower was home to her and her child, Dragon's Breath, and it was daunting to think about leaving them both behind. But she did not wish for Mending's personality to overpower Beast's own and, thus, offered him her services to join him; it would be worth leaving if only to protect him from possible corruption. Accepting much more eagerly than he had Mending's offer, Beast set off with the two in tow to find their new home.
She watched eagerly as Mending and Beast discovered the bond between lion and creature, though she did not throw herself into it as they had. That doesn't mean that Branding Smite wasn't interested in finding her own soul-bond, no, but she had more hesitancy here than they did. What would it mean to find it? How would it change her? From all accounts watching Mending and Snare and Beast and his ravens bond with one another was fascinating to witness, but she was scared to find her own.
So it was with caution that she eyed the bearded vulture that followed her for days turned into quarter moons turned to a full moon cycle. It didn't approach her, just... watched. And circled. It wasn't until she grew frustrated and slightly annoyed that the vulture finally approached her, introducing himself as X. He'd been wary to make her acquaintance due to the wavering in their bond, but when she'd grown frustrated he'd known he had to make himself known to her. And so began their trial period, as Branding Smite called it, as she did not wish to throw herself into her bond as the others had.
It wasn't until one day, while out hunting with X, that everything changed for the better for their relationship. Branding Smite hadn't seen the rival lion until it was too late and he was leaping at her. He never got the chance to land, however, as X swooped in and knocked the lion off course. Dazed, the lion lashed out at X but, this time, Branding Smite was the one to get between them. She took a scratch to her right eye but was able to fend the lion off of the Grove's territory. In the aftermath of the small fight, she came to accept X and care for him, wearing her new scar proudly as evidence of their relationship.
Branding Smite refused to change her title, however, keeping her connection to the Tower and her daughter through it.
After being settled into her life in the Grove with X by her side, Branding Smite came to the decision that she wanted to raise another cub of her own. Rather than ask Dominate Beast, who she saw almost like a son, she instead traveled to the neighboring land of Ẹyọkan, the Heartless. A few moons later, she gave birth to her second daughter: Radiance Arid-born, whose long, silky fur delighted Branding Smite to no end.
Daily Life
• Branding Smite playfully chases her own tail before greeting you heartily.
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