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Born with 247 stats
Ori was the first cub born into Commander's pride, and indeed, the second lion to actually be in the pride. As a cub she was rather lonely since she had no littermates and it was just her, Sahara, and Commander living by the jungle-savannah waterhole. In addition, she always felt her king had a subtle disliking towards her, though the poor cub could never fathom why. She knew he wasn't her father; her brown pelt was much too dark to be the color of a cub from Commander and Sahara, as both of them had light, creamy fur. She wished she knew who her own father was; Commander was the only father figure she had. Pestering the two older lions did no good. They didn't tell her.
Thankfully, during her adolescent months Commander brought home another adolescent female named Uma. The two became great friends and Ori was at last with a friend her own age. Commander had by now warmed up to Ori, and the two were almost as close as if he really was her sire.
On her first hunt as a full grown lioness, Ori helped Uma, Sahara, Mal, and Sunstreak bring down a zebra on the savannah part of the territory. She looked towards the east, where the great savannah spread on and on further than the eye could see, and the first shadows of twilight touched the earth. She asked Sahara, "Mother, what else is out there? We never seem to really leave the territory... Are there other lions nearby?" Sahara stopped cleaning her bloodied claws and glanced at the other huntresses. "You ladies go on without us," she told them. "We'll catch up."
She laid down in the grass, though she was alert and upright. "Come," she invited her daughter, beckoning with her tail. Ori took on a similar position, facing the older lioness. Sahara took a deep breath. "The lands to the east belong to a huge brown male named Tyrannius. He has many, many lionesses, all of them different colors of the rainbow. They are not natural like us."
"Commander despises Tyrannius; Tyrannius stole almost all of his father's territory when Commander was a young lion, eventually forcing him to leave. When I met Commander I was already pregnant with you, because I met Tyrannius during my travels. Commander was furious when he found out Tyrannius actually lives close by. He went to attack Tyrannius to avenge his father's loss, and injured Tyrannius badly, but Tyrannius's son drove Commander out."
Ori listened, her heart torn between her leader and her father. "Does... Tyrannius know I'm here?"
"No, he doesn't even know we had a daughter together."
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Which didn't last very long, thanks to Tabia's betrayal. The golden lioness secretly visited Tyrannius, foolishly believing he loved her, and betrayed all of Commander's secrets to the massive brown male. Tyrannius even fathered Tabia's unborn cubs, though Commander didn't know it at the time.
During the confrontation on the border where Tyrannius insisted Ori join his own pride, she only went with him to avoid bloodshed. She didn't feel at home in Tyrannius's big pride, and longed for the shade of the jungle. She was so relieved when Commander finally led a party to retrieve her, which included her mother. Sahara, meeting the big male for the first time since she fled his territory, was careful to conceal her emotions at seeing him again. Was it sadness? Hope? Anger? Even Ori didn't notice her mother's pain at being completely ignored by the lion she once loved.
Ori was finally able to go home after a deal was made between the two leaders, to where she belonged.
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