~Berrystar~'s Den

Pride Announcements


Owlpelt, a long forgotten queen, makes the pride's announcements here as they unfold below

-I am about 3 hours ahead of Lioden time-

-As the old lines are burned, a new pride rises! Rainstar has taken these lands and is chasing all lionesses in relation to the kings who once walked these lands. A NEW AGE HAS COME! (4/9/22)

-A foreigner has brought a new Royal the the pride lands. Though shunned in her former pride for her folded ears, she will be revered for her beauty and soft spoken nature. Cinderpaw is her name and will be respected.(Announced 10/1/16)

-Two cubs born with in the same day are favored by the King Nightstar. One has chosen the path of healer, the other, the path of the lead huntress. Their names are Birchkit and Wrenkit. Born to Darkclaw and Dustwhisker. Wrenpaw will become a healer and Birchpaw will take her place as lead huntress when they're old enough. (Announced 9/26/16)

-All cubs born after 4/5/16, shall be named by their pelt color/markings,personality, or size/mutations. They will also have a background on their names along with specific eye color and pelt color qualifications for said name. (Announced 4/5/16)

-Swanfeather has passed, gone to eat with her ancestors and live in paradise. She lived to be 15 years and 1 month old. One of the oldest to ever live. She will be remembered as a lioness who loved taking care of cubs and her floppy ears. (Announced 4/5/16)

--Spiderclaw has passed, gone to eat with her ancestors and live in paradise. She lived to be 15 years and 1 month old. One of the oldest to ever live. She will be remembered as a lioness with exceptional hunting and stalking skills. (Announced 4/7/16)

-The Queen, Deerheart, has had her first daughter deemed worthy enough to be crowned princess by the King. Her name is Ravenkit (Announced 6/1/16)

-Adderfang has passed, gone to eat with her ancestors and live in paradise. She lived to be 16 years old. The oldest to ever live. She will be remembered as a lioness with exceptional hunting and stalking skills. (Announced 6/7/16)
-

The Elders say...

Cinderstorm, a queen of old, who is sometimes seen wandering the pride's lands, always makes sure that their history isn't forgotten.

Cinderstorm used to say this to any cub who would listen, "It is said that, long ago, a lion so great reached down with a great paw and scooped out the land the Shadow Pride now calls home, his great roar creating the animals that roam the land, and his tears creating the water and vegetation that now resides in the land. Though most Members of the pride do not listen to the old tales, the elders still remember a time when they had to know the stories and they will tell the new generation of Cubs just as their elder did to them."

General Info
The members of the Shadow Pride, pride themselves on having darker pelts, along with dark markings. They pride themselves on being able to blend into the shadows with their dark fur. Though should a light or albino colored lioness is born, they are shunned and looked and talked down upon, they are outcasts in the pride, usually becoming Broodmothers or Huntresses just to get away from the stares and whispers, that and they're not allowed to become anything else. White markings are okay as long as the pelt is dark and the lion or lioness has dark markings to go with it. No Royal shall have a light or albino colored pelt. Should any be born into the Royal family, they are either chased away or killed.


The Pride

King
The king is the ruler of the whole pride and its land. His word is law, and no one can disagree or disobey an order from him. He always eats first when the huntresses have brought a meal. The only way he may be dethroned is when he dies, if he retires, or if he is voted off the throne by more than half of his council.
Pinestar (Looking for heir)

Queen
The queen is the second most powerful lion in the pride; she is the main mate of the king and has the authority to issue orders to pride members, though the council may also dismiss her as well. She shares almost equal power with the king but must obey orders from him. The queen always eats second, right after the king. She does not have to be the prettiest, but should be exceptionally skilled in some other way to be qualified to be queen.
Deerheart

Crown Prince
The crown prince is hand-picked by the king and queen when he is a cub, and brought into the pride to be pampered and respected by all members. He is groomed and trained carefully by the king to one day replace him as the ruler of the pride. He is to mated to the Crown Princess. He does not have to share blood with the king as to not inbreed, though some may be in some point in their heritage. The Crown Prince eats after the King and Queen, along with the Crown Princess.


Crown Princess
The crown princess, is always handpicked by the queen only, as a cub, rarely an adolescence, and is respected and spoiled by the pride, much like the Crown Prince. She is mentored by the queen and Ladies-in-waiting and is well-groomed by them to the one day she becomes queen. She is mated to the Crown Prince. She will almost always never be related to the king or queen, as to bring fresh blood into the pride; it's a tradition to bring in a beautiful lioness from another pride for the Crown Prince.The Crown Princess eats after the King and Queen, along with the Crown Prince.
Blackstorm


Princes
The princes include all of the king's sons, and though they are respected, they hold no power apart from the fact that they're related to the king. They are always chased from the pride before adulthood if the king sees nothing in them to keep.



Princesses
The princesses are all of the king's daughters and though they are respected, like their brothers,they hold no power apart from the fact that they're related to the king. They are almost always kept in their father's pride to be of use in other ranks, but some may be chased away if the king doesn't see anything in them to keep.
1. Mottleleaf


Ladies-in-Waiting
These four lionesses are trustworthy companions to the queen, and they're almost always by her side for her to consult. The queen always carefully chooses her ladies-in-waiting, and the lioness tends to be very kind, and pretty as well. The ladies eat after the Crown Prince, Crown Princess, Princes,Princesses, and Council Memebers.


Council Members
The council members are five very strong-willed lions. They tend to be very wise and hold almost the same power as royalty.Therefore, the council members are extremely carefully picked from lions over the age or five years and six months to ensure they have had enough experience to hold such power and wisdom. They can be male or female, but more often than not females are picked due to their availability. The Council Members eat after Crown Prince, Crown Princess, Princes,and Princesses.


Guards

The guards are female lions that are lionesses that are extremely strong, muscular and physically powerful. They guard the pride with their lives, and spend at least half the day sparring to train for battle. The guards rotate to sit vigil at night, usually one or two lions at a time. They do not breed or hunt. The guards usually are fed separately from the pride as they need to eat for strength.


Huntresses
The huntresses are strong, lithe lionesses who excel in speed and agility. They are steady, lean and tend to be rather arrogant and prideful about what they do. They often brag to the Cubs about hunts they've been on.


Healers
The healers are two lionesses who are skilled in healing, and know how to treat anything, from minor wounds to dehydration, to hunting injuries to thorns in paws of Cubs who wandered. They have a vast knowledge of herbs and techniques, and have a den all to themselves to store their herbs and house their patients. Due to the weight of responsibility they must carry, most healers are snappish and Sarcastic when asked stupid questions. They do not mate.


Permanent Brood Mothers
The three permanent brood mothers in the pride are three lionesses who have dedicated their lives to raising and helping any lionesses who come into the nursery and often raise any cubs that are found to be abandoned as well as protect the cubs while their mother is hunting or if they are no longer nursing. More often than not they are gentle motherly figures.


Apprentices
Apprentices are any lion six months old but no older than two years. They are chosen by the healers, Guards, and Huntresses themselves, not by the King or Queen, so that the younglings are sorted to where they will belong in the pride. Each mentor group looks for certain that's and characteristics in the young lions, so they know which ones to choose and which ones are suited for another group.

-Guards-in-Training-
The guards-in-training are trained and mentored by the guards and the healers, so they know how treat minor wounds in training. Their minor knowledge of healing tends to be very useful to them, though most of them are just trained to fight.

-Huntresses-in-Training-
The huntresses-in-training are mentored and trained by both the huntresses and the guards, to make sure that they're able to defend themselves as well as hunt, in case another lion, group of Hyenas or even the prey attacks them.

-Healers-in-Training-
The healers-in-training are trained and mentored by the healers and the guards, so they know the healing techniques and know how to defend themselves and their patients in case of being attacked while treating them.


Cubs
The cubs are the pride and joy of any pride especially for the Shadow pride. The cubs are treated well, and fed right after the Royal family, as well as well-entertained by the elders and start training at the age of 6 months, when then they are called apprentices. Cubs do not hold any power whatsoever, but are pampered like royalty none the less.

Elders
The elders are the lions who are older than 13 years old, and no longer hunt, or serve the pride in any way apart from providing wisdom and advice to everyone, consulting the Royal family without their permission is a favorite pastime of Elders who become bored. They also tend to keep the Cubs entertained when their mothers need some rest and peace with stories from the old times.

-

The Territory


The Shadow Pride's land is made up of mostly plains and small groups of jungle throughout. Though where they make camp is on a rocky plateau, where they can overlook their lands and see intruders from miles away. Their rocky plateau is cover mostly by grass and a few trees in between the caves they use as dens. There are eight caves, located in a circle surrounded sparsely by trees, five of them separate from each other, three of them connected. The largest and one of most secure den is always for the Royals of the pride. The second den, left of the Royals, is dedicated for the Ladies-in Waiting and the council members. The three dens to the right of the Royals den,the ones connected to each other are reserved for the Elders, Broodmothers and pregnant lionesses and their Cubs, and the Healers. They are some of the most secure dens in the camp. The two dens on the end are reserved for the Guards, on the left, and the Huntresses, on the right. They protect the camps entrance should need be. And the last den, the one between the Guards den and the Council members den, is the Apprentice den, all the training youngsters sleep here after being chosen.

The nearest watering hole is below the plateau where the dens are, about a half a mile away from the bottom of the path used. The path down to the watering hole is dangerous due to falling and crumbling rocks and ledges, so young lions and Elders are always accompanied by an older lioness or two depending on how many are going.
One of the main sunning rocks is found close to the west edge of the plateau, where few trees are though cubs are forbidden from going near it and Elder are always supervised due to their age and ailments they may be suffering from.

There is a small path, south of the main camp, where only Healers and the King and Queen are allowed. The path leads to a small cave which leads them deeper into the plateau, where a small natural spring dwells, this is where they talk to their ancestors. It is sacred and holy ground, where only the most trusted are brought. Every cub born into the pride is brought there and dipped into the spring and blessed by the healers, to ensure a long and healthy life and good service to the pride.
Every newly crowned king is taken by the healers to the spring to take part in a secret ritual with the ancestors that even the healers don't know, Afterwards the king is blessed and ready to take leadership of the pride.
Once every two months, The King and Queen, along with the Healers take the trip to the spring and wait for midnight where the spring begins to glow along with thousands of tiny crystals embedded into the walls reflect the light from the spring. From there they each take a sip and wait to be visited by an ancestor. Ancestors can bring news of anything from herd migration to how many cubs will be lost that season to war to prophecies to just wanting to chat. Its up to said ancestor to decide what will be discussed.After the lions return, they discuss what was told before returning to the pride.


-

Pride Stories/Art

Origins - The fall of white pelts
Written by Bean Machine {Primal} (#95676)

Nightstar sat beside a river, gazing up at the stars that covered the sky. His tail flicked back and forth and his paws would fidget every so often. Beside him sat Cloudface, a lioness with a mysterious past and a lot of secrets, but nevertheless, she was kind to Nightstar and they dreamed of escaping the crowded, polluted space they called home. Cloudface was beautiful; Nightstar often compared her appearance to that of an angel's.

It was a night like many others, the lion and the lioness discussing what it would be like to leave, to gain freedom, to roam lands until they find where they belong. But this night, Cloudface had a new question for Nightstar.

"What if we started a pride?" She asked, her voice quiet, barely above a whisper. Nightstar gazed at her. Cloudface's eyes were full of curiosity, yet...Fear? Was she afraid of the unknown that lay before them?

"That would be...Wonderful." The lion said, although he didn't believe it would happen.

They sat like that for however long they wanted, the moon rising higher and higher in the sky, the two not saying a word. And then Cloudface saw a shadow from behind Nightstar.

She stood, growling at the intruder. "Who are you?"

The new lioness did not respond, she simply tilted her head, studying Nightstar for a moment. "What is this I hear about a pride?"

He glanced at Cloudface. "We're starting one, yes."

Cloudface twitched her ears. She never meant that they'd actually start one.

Or did she?

She sighed and quietly stepped away from Nightstar and the lioness.

Time had passed before Cloudface had a chance to see Nightstar and the new lioness again. The moon was full now, shining down on Cloudface's pelt as she stalked across the land.

She paused as she heard voices coming from the spot she would normally sit at, with Nightstar at her side. The voices were unmistakable- Nightstar and that damn lioness.

She listened to their words, even though it seemed it was just jokes and humor. She was about to leave, when she heard something interesting...

"She's no good, Nightstar. I caught her sneaking around the land, she even knocked over some sort of human thing into the river! On purpose!"

Nightstar hesitated. "Cloudface isn't like that," he snapped.

Relief flooded over her. Nightstar would never believe those lies!

But over the next month, Cloudface knew something was wrong.

Since the full-moon night, much had changed. Three new lionesses had joined the pride, along with two cubs. Nightstar didn't speak to Cloudface often, instead staying with the dark-colored lioness known as Fallowcloud.

Cloudface was quietly eating her prey, after a long day of hunting, she was starving. Nightstar approached her, Fallowcloud sitting a bit behind him, looking smug.

"Cloudface." Nightstar said calmly, getting her attention.

"You killed Moonkit."

She blinked. The third cub of the pride had died earlier that day, but she didn't kill a cub.

"What? I'd never kill a cub!" she hissed.

"I heard from a very reliable source that you did, along with many other things. I thought you were a good lion, Cloudface." He said quietly, turning his head to look at the ground. She stared at him in horror.

"Don't bother joining any hunting patrols tomorrow," he said, walking away from her quickly.

He gathered the small pride around, Fallowcloud at his side. "From now on," he paused, "Our pride only has dark colored lions. We can blend in with the shadows. We are the Shadow Pride!" He roared, and the few lions gathered around him cheered, all except for Cloudface.

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As White as Snow -Snowheart's POV
(1-13-16)
Written by Kat 🐈 (#49358)

Icy-blue eyes averted once more due to the ever growing stares from the cubs around her. The only white lioness in the pride, Snowpaw shrugged it off as best she could, but her esteem seemed to fall slightly with each awkward gaze. Grumbling lowly so that no one could hear, the adolescent female sauntered off to a nice comfortable spot to look upon the others from a distance.
She supposed it was always going to be this way, lions staring at her bright pelt. Of course she couldn’t help her white coloration, but it didn’t help that all the other cubs and adults were darkly colored. Snowpaw was odd, strange, and a bunch of other words that made her feel more out of place each time they were uttered. The teenage female sighed softly as she rested her head upon her paws, thoughts drifting back to when she was first able to understand speech.
As a young cub, she was always picked on by the others, leaving her to stick by her mother’s side. She was never seriously hurt by the other cubs, though there were a couple near misses and though it wasn’t said, Snowpaw sometimes wondered if the adults besides her mother didn’t care. The bullies might have been scolded from time to time, but it was lacking in true discipline. As her mother, Spiderclaw, had a lighter pelt too, Snowpaw always felt more at home with her mother around. Spiderclaw was dark on her legs, whereas Snowpaw was overall just lighter, but the two had a bond that was not going to be broken easily.
Though now that she thought of it more, the lightly hued female grew to realize that with each passing week, she had seemed to care less about her coloration being different. She would occasionally see other odd animals with bright pelts, and that would brighten her mood even if they were simply a mutation and she was not. Even though her base was bright, she did have dark markings that covered large portions of her body. That little detail never truly mattered to the others, but Snowpaw only grew to appreciate them through cub-hood, the only things that really made her feel like she belonged to the pride despite being really out of place otherwise.
Snowpaw lifted her head, a slight smile on her lips as a little beam of sunlight broke through the heavy clouds overhead. It had been a wet and stormy week, but as the sun began to make its way back into the skies, she stretched happily and chuffed to her mother before quietly making her way over to her. The adolescent knew it would take time, but in a way from reflecting on things, she was starting to realize that she was unique, and starting now, no one was going to take that little piece of happiness away from her.
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Continuing the Curse - Spiderclaw's POV (Snowheart's Mother)
(2-4-16)
Written by Kat 🐈 (#49358)

Spiderclaw had been looking forward to this day, a day that was supposed to be a gift, a blessing, a day more beautiful and wondrous than all others. Her brows furrowed in worry as she stared at the bright, white cub she had just given birth to. The lioness continued to stare in shock, and disgrace, at the cub she thought was going to be her savior.
She too was a lion with an overwhelming white pelt, though her head and limbs were of an onyx coloration. That never seemed to matter to others in the pride, they would pick on her growing up, and even now they found ways to slide her coloration into any conversation she dared to have. It only had become worse quite recently, the moment she had become pregnant in fact. The others were quite sure she was to have another outcast and it seemed that they were correct.
Only the cubs whimper’s and cries brought her out of her trance, causing her to instantly feel remorse. “What have I done?”

********************************************************

It would be like she feared. Many couldn’t hide their disgust at such a white cub and Spiderclaw was now more alone than ever in a pride of such darkly colored lions. It wasn’t like she wanted to fit in, as she had learned that would never be the case, however she had wanted her offspring to have a better chance at friendship than she did.
She had named her daughter after the winter snow and silently prayed to the stars that her daughter would not succumb to the mockery of others. It was hard on Spiderclaw knowing that her daughter would face the same struggles that she did, but also regretted allowing herself to have such a cub in the pride.
This regret would only grow as time moved on, watching Snowkit struggle to get along with other cubs her age. The internal heartbreak grew once Snowkit, or rather Snowpaw became secluded. Her daughter would have usually stuck to her side, but once she reached adolescent years, Snowpaw began to spend more and more time to be by herself. This seclusion began to affect Spiderclaw as well, and it would show. She felt more alone now than Snowpaw was born, as she had distanced herself from the others to be with her offspring, only to have their jeering push Snowpaw away.
The memories began to cause tears to roll down her onyx cheek. She had held it in for so long it was only natural, but a noise behind her startled her before it could continue. Quickly wiping her face, she turned to see her daughter, a half smile on her face as well as something else. A newfound maturity or respect? She wasn’t sure but she returned the smile halfheartedly, wondering what Snowpaw needed.
“I love you mom.”
Those simple yet impactful words filled her green eyes with tears once more and ignoring the worried look on her daughter’s face, Spiderclaw pulled her child into a firm embrace as best she could, leaving both of them in tears as the silent understanding, or even bonding, took place.
“I love you too, my daughter.”


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Cloudface's story
(4/9/16)
By annabethred9 (#59930)

"Hey Cloudkit! Oh wait, I mean UGLYkit!" Cloudkit cringed at the hurtful words, uttered by a pride mate. "It isn't MY fault I was born with a white pelt!" she cried, but her words were drowned out by the laughs and jeers of the lions around her. Eyes brimming with tears, Cloudkit rushed away. She couldn't believe her own pride members could be so mean, especially since she was just three months old.

As she sat, curled up under a scrawny tree, her eyes let out a couple stray tears. She hated how she was treated, like she was some sort of rabid fox. She looked at her white pelt angrily, wishing she could make it all pure black. Maybe then they would all leave her alone.

"Hey, Cloudkit?" Cloudkit heard the kind voice of Snowheart, one of her only friends within the pride. "Please, just leave me alone," Cloudkit muttered, her voice cracking. Snowheart did just the opposite. She sat down next to Cloudkit and intertwined their tails. "Don't listen to what they say...It doesn't matter what you look like. You could be the plainest, ugliest lion ever, but you would still be the greatest creature I have ever known." Cloudkit looked up at Snowheart, her icy eyes shining with unshed tears of understanding. "Thank you..." she murmured. "Don't thank me for telling you the truth," Snowheart said softly.

Cloudkit walked back to the plateau on which the pride had their main camp, her stride gaining new found pride. "Hey Uglykit!" someone sneered. Cloudkit grit her teeth and continued walking. "Look! It's Uglykit!" She set her jaw and kept her head high. "Ew, it's Uglykit!" "Stop it!" Snowheart bounded forward, snarling. She stood protectively in front of Cloudkit, her gaze fierce and angry. "If anyone is ugly, it's you guys and your hearts for acting this way!" she yelled. "Oh look, now there are two freaks!" someone shouted. Snowheart narrowed her eyes, which grew more furious and she shook her head. "Wow," she said quietly. "Just wow." She turned around. "It's okay Cloudkit, let's go." Cloudkit followed the older lioness to the outskirts of their pride territory, away from anyone else. Snowheart was able to kill a stray dik dik on the way, which the two shared.

"Why are they so mean to us Snowheart?" Cloudkit asked. "Sometimes, when lions see other lions who are different than everyone else, they don't understand. And their ignorance makes them scared. Scared of what diversity could do, or scared that soon, everyone would change, and then they would be the different ones. Instead of accepting that lions are different, they put up some sort of defense mechanism, which is what the lions in our pride have done," Snowheart murmured. "So...they're scared of us?" Cloudkit questioned. "No...they are scared of the idea that diversity is okay."

As Cloudkit grew, and became Cloudpaw, then Cloudface, the outright insults died down, and were replaced with aggressive whispers, or passing glares. Through these difficult times, Snowheart stood by her and tried her best to protect the young lioness from bullying.

"You know, maybe we should complain to the king about this," Snowheart suggested as she cleaned the gash on Cloudface's flank from a nasty fight. "No!" Cloudface cried. "You can't! It's going to make everything worse!" Snowheart sighed. "You shouldn't have to deal with this," she muttered. Cloudface frowned. "Well neither should you...And I'm too much of a coward to stand up for you, like you do for me." Snowheart gave her a gentle smile. "You aren't a coward Cloudface. You are my best friend, and you shouldn't worry about me when you are being attacked like this," she said, gesturing to the gash on her flank. Cloudface shook her head. "You are too good to me," she chuckled. "I have a question though," she said. "What is it?" Snowheart replied. "Do you...do you think I could have a litter?" Cloudface asked quietly. Snowheart thought for a second. "Well..." she started slowly. "Yes. You could. And honestly, screw anyone who thinks you shouldn't. Maybe your cubs would have lighter pelts, but I can promise they'd be the cutest little cubs ever!" Cloudface grinned. "Well I'm glad you think so," she said slyly.

"I was right! She is the cutest cub ever!" Snowheart cried, gazing down at Cloudface's newborn cub. Cloudface cradled the tiny lioness in her paws, licking her clean. The cub mewled and batted her mother's whiskers with her small paw. Snowheart grinned. Cloudface looked up at Snowheart worriedly. "Do you...do you think that they would bully her? I...She's kind of light colored, isn't she?" Snowheart gave her friend a reassuring lick on the cheek. "They wouldn't dare bully such a beautiful cub. And if they do, I'll fend 'em off for her!" she declared. Cloudface chuckled. "You are the best," she laughed. Snowheart smirked. "I know," she teased. "But really Snowheart, you are," Cloudface said, suddenly serious. "You've been the best. I don't know what I would do without you." "Hey, us light-furred girls have to stick together, huh?" Snowheart grinned. "No, us friends have to stick together," Cloudface amended, intertwining her tail with Snowheart's. "True that," Snowheart smiled, looking down at Cloudface's little cub. "True that..."


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Supporting friends
(5/7/16)
By annabethred9 (#59930)

Deerheart stood defensively in front of Snowheart, her eyes narrowed at the lions that stood before her. "You got a problem?" she asked menacingly. Three pairs of eyes stared her down but she refused to move. Her disgust at the bullies grew with each passing moment, as each stood their ground, not looking remorseful at what they had done.

Snowheart was dripping with mud that began drying her fur into messy spikes. It dripped from her fur onto the ground and made her look like she was a rabid hyena. She was glad Deerheart had stepped in, as she was one of the only lionesses who would've done so. Getting splattered in mud was not Snowheart's idea of a good birthday, especially by her main tormentors.

"She looks better that way," one of them sneered. Deerheart squinted her eyes at the lioness. "Well, she definitely looks better than you that way, at the very least," she retorted, her blue eyes flashing dangerously. Another of the lionesses cocked her head. "But she's light-furred, so of course she doesn't look better! I mean Deerheart, what are you doing? You could pass as a dark furred lion, so why do you hang out with...these types of lionesses?" Deerheart growled, fury coursing through her entire body. "Why do I hang out with her? Because she's a better lion than any of you could even dream to be, and she's smarter, funnier, and nicer than all of you idiots put together!" she yelled. Whirling around, she said to Snowheart, "Let's go. These losers are pathetic."

"Why do you do that?" Snowheart asked as she washed the mud from her pelt. "Do what?" Deerheart asked. "Help me." Deerheart frowned. "Well, why wouldn't I?" Snowheart stared at her. "You could have such a better life if you didn't hang around with me. No one would throw mud at you, make fun of you, beat you up...I'm just not worth it." Deerheart jumped to her paws and glared at Snowheart. "Now listen up fur-brain, don't you ever say that again! You, and every other lioness who gets tormented in this pride are worth way more than those bozos! Why would I want to hang out with a bunch of close-minded, ignorant and not to mention STUPID lions anyway?" Snowheart chuckled. "Well, you are one of the few that seems to think that way," she said remorsefully. Deerheart sighed. "I know...but we're going to change that."

And so Deerheart tried.

"You can't keep doing this!" Cloudface yelled. Deerheart scowled at her. "Why not?" she challenged. "Because YOU get hurt too! You could pass for dark-furred! You could be left ALONE! So why do you waste your life on lions like me!?" Deerheart let out a sigh and just shook her head. "Because it isn't right," she said.

Cloudface, one of many light-furred lionesses to suffer at the hands of the pride was Deerheart's friend. Though she was younger, the two were extremely close.

Cloudface glared at her friend. "Well it seems like it is, because of my ugly light fur," she muttered. Deerheart gave her friend a comforting lick on the cheek. "Don't worry...You are probably the most beautiful lionesses I know, on the inside and the out."

"Do you think my cubs will be light-furred?" Cloudface asked anxiously. Deerheart gave her a look that translated to "Seriously?" "Well, it doesn't matter, because they will probably be the cutest cubs ever," she grinned. Cloudface rolled her eyes. "Well I'm the one having cubs, shouldn't I be worried?" Deerheart teased. Cloudface made a face at her friend and poked her swollen belly. "Your cub would probably be dark-furred anyway," she said. Deerheart shrugged. "I don't really care...I just hope I can protect her from whatever she might have to go through if she is, and teach her that outer appearance doesn't matter," she replied. Cloudface gave her friend a smile. "Well don't worry. We'll be there to help 'em out," she grinned, giving her friend a lick on the cheek.

Pride Stories


A New Generation
(Wrenpaw/whisker's story)
by annabethred9 (#59930)

“Your mother never tells you, but I'm convinced she thinks you're spoiled. It's what I think, personally. I mean, a privileged cub growing up with a mother favored by the king. When I was a cub, there was no such favoritism, you can bet your lunch on that!” I listened to my aunt, Honeyflower, go on and on, harping about me and our pride and...kind of everything. She did this often, ever since I could remember, but I just put up with it. My mother always stresses the ‘respect your elders’ kind of thing. As much as I didn't like Honeyflower, she and I were still kin.

I shrugged in response to whatever Honeyflower was saying. I never really had anything to add to her one-sided conversation, so it just stayed on as her putting me down and complaining about everything else in the process. To be honest, I kind of got used to it though. When I was younger, still a small cub, the words really stung and made me feel terrible, but now I've grown a certain immunity to it, just like I've grown an immunity to the stench of warthog. It may smell nasty, but it's yummy on the inside, unlike Honeyflower.

“My mom is expecting me to join a hunting patrol with her,” I lied, interrupting my aunt. She pursed her lips at me. “Fine, be off then. You were always a bother to me anyway.” She stuck her nose in the air and strutted off. I shook my head at her, sighing. I couldn't wait until I was two. I wouldn't have to follow all of her commands then, since I'd basically be her equal.

As I goofed around with my friends that afternoon, I couldn't get Honeyflower’s words out of my brain. They'd been hammered in there nearly everyday, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't starting to believe them. I knew she was just being a bully, but what if she was telling the truth? It was the inkling of a poisonous idea, that much I knew.

“Wrenpaw, bed please,” my mother, Dustwhisker, called. I wrinkled my nose at her request, but obliged, saying goodnight to my friends and heading to bed, slowing down the process by dragging my paws. Honeyflower regarded me haughtily. Since she was family, she slept by my mother and I. “Such an attitude,” she said, shaking her head as if ashamed by my ‘bad behavior’. I gritted my teeth and settled down on a patch of soft moss. I heard my mother walk over and Honeyflower chirp a cheerful “Goodnight,” as if she hadn't ever said anything mean about me in her life. I was starting to resent her more than anything.

I tossed and turned the whole night, my eyes wide open. I could almost see the smug little grin on my aunt’s face, as if she could sense the hurt in me. Her comments swirled through my mind, and though I tried to push them away, they came back. After a few restless hours, I decided to just get up and walk around for a bit. The moon was full and spilled silver light over our territory, so I probably wouldn't get lost.

I went and sat by the small river that bordered our territory. The moon’s reflection rippled on its surface, its light washing over me. I took a deep breath in and let it out, staring up at the sky. I honestly just wanted to forget about Honeyflower. As terrible as it was, in a few years or so, she’d be dead. Then I’d get to live my life free of ridicule. I felt guilty to think about this, but hadn’t she been mocking me my whole life?

As the moon started to sink lower into the sky, I headed back to where I slept, to find Honeyflower awake. She was cleaning her fur, though looked up when I came back, her gaze accusing. “Where have you been?” she asked, tilting her head up. “Just by the river,” I responded. She narrowed her eyes. “Sure. That’s exactly where you’d sneak off in the middle of the night.” She rolled her eyes. “Such a disappointment…” Honeyflower muttered.

All of a sudden, something in me snapped. I was sick of this. Sick of living under the shadow of fear that crossed me every time she was nearby. I was tired of being insulted and ridiculed constantly, when I hadn’t done a thing to deserve it. My aunt may be my kin, but at that very moment, she was nothing to me.

“You know what?” My nostrils flared and I could almost feel myself shaking with anger. “YOU’RE the disappointment, to this pride, to me. You put on this mask of sweetness, yet as soon as everyone turns away, you rip it off as fast as lightning, ready to bully me like it was what you were made to do.” I let out a deep, shuddering breath. She opened her mouth to speak, but I refused to let her. “What have I EVER done to you, done in my entire life that you need to hate me so much? Do I really deserve this? Did I really hurt you so much that you can’t allow me a day of rest? If I did, then please, PLEASE tell me, so I can stop living in this world of doubt and terrible feelings, because I can’t stand it!”

My breathing had become harder, shallow breaths that matched my pounding heart. I was crying it this point, warm tears dripping off my nose. Honeyflower looked passive, stone-faced, yet there was a flicker of...something. Something like guilt or shame. The very feeling I had been looking for from her the first time she said anything to me.

She just shook her head once more and walked away. I almost felt bad for what I said, but realized that all of it rang true. And of the two of us, should she not be the one who felt terrible for once?

Days passed and Honeyflower avoided me. I could tell that my mom knew something was wrong with me and her, but as she (somehow) slept through my outburst, she didn’t know what was really up. She did know how Honeyflower treated me though, yet my aunt had become better at hiding her behavior, especially since my mother had always defended me and yelled for her sister to stop.

I was given my new name, changing from Wrenpaw to Wrenwhisker. Honeyflower gave me a passive congratulations after, and I thought that she was slowly coming around, but I still wasn’t completely sure

She died before I found out what she really felt. Right before she passed, she requested my mother tell me that she’s sorry, but there was no explanation. I didn’t want to simply assume that she was a bad lion, because there’s always another side to the story. I finally told my mother after her death though, and she felt terrible about the whole ordeal and how she wasn’t able to protect me.

I still wondered why my aunt treated me that way. In the back of my mind, I knew there had to be a good reason, but I couldn’t help resenting her. I just hoped I’d be able to find peace and remember her as the good lioness she was, even if I didn’t get to see that part of her often. She was liked among some of the younger cubs and could play a mean game of tag, so I tried to think about all of that, rather than how she bullied me throughout my younger years. Negative memories tended to live longer than positive ones, but I vowed to try and fix my view of my aunt, as hard as it might be.

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HONEYFLOWER
by annabethred9 (#59930)

It hasn’t been easy being the sister of the king's favorite. There’s a lot of being forgotten and being cast aside in favor of your sister. Dustwhisker doesn’t mean for it to happen, but that doesn’t make it any better. It’s made me very resentful of the whole pride, especially since I’m considered ‘lesser’. She’s the first choice for everyone, first choice of mate, first choice of friend. I’ve never really gotten used to it, and it stings every time she gets picked over me.

Even when we were little, our mother always had a softer look in her eye whenever she glanced at Dustwhisker. I remember one time, when we were both cubs, barely five months old. “Do you cubs want to tag along on a hunting trip?” our mother, Mottleleaf had asked. I remember Dustwhisker’s bright blue eyes (ones that I had always envied over my yellow-ish ones) gleaming in excitement, her head furiously nodding. I was too, my eyes wide with anticipation. Mottleleaf had smiled at Dustwhisker. “Alright, come along then Dustwhisker.” I deflated a bit at her disregard of me, but followed after the pair as they headed off. Mottleleaf had glanced back at me and pursed her lips. “Honeyflower, you should probably just stay here and practice your pounces. They’re looking pretty sloppy.” Dustwhisker had just shrugged at this and hurried off, leaving me behind. I’m still angry about that, especially that my own sister hadn’t even thought to say anything in my defense. And I’m the rude one.

When Dustwhisker’s daughter was born, I hated her instantly. I turned my nose up at her whenever she asked to play, and barely talked to her. In fact, I kind of did that to everyone in my pride. It wasn’t that I thought I was better than them (although, it was kind of true, because I didn’t blatantly reject one lion over the other like they had to me), it was just that I knew they’d rather be with Dustwhisker, so why bother?

“Honeyflower, can I come along on your hunting trip today?” Wrenpaw, Dustwhisker’s daughter had asked. I pursed my lips, giving her a look as if to say ‘Seriously?’ “You’re barely five months,” I said. “You’ll only slow me down.” It felt almost gratifying to see her eyes turn downwards, just like I had done years before. I talked to her like this a lot - belittling her. I can’t say I’m proud of it looking back, but in the moment, I felt powerful. I felt like I had control over something in my life, finally. I could affect how other lions felt, I could make them feel how I felt my whole life. It felt great. I felt great.

By the time I turned ten, I was pretty much completely shut out from the rest of my pride. My sister disliked me for how I treated her daughter, and since King Nightstar absolutely ADORED the two, he didn’t like me either. But it didn’t matter to me. I didn’t need them at all, I even debated leaving the pride and finding a place where I was really appreciated, but hated to idea of letting everyone else know that they had gotten to me.

The only time I was really happy was when I was with the cubs of our pride, Wrenpaw not included. Even though the cub’s mothers hated me, and the cubs would probably grow up to hate me too, nobody could deny that I was the best when handling them. They didn’t know hatred or anything of that sort, so what anyone else thought of me was of no consequence to them, especially since I treated them the best out of anyone else in the pride, besides their mothers.

Looking back on my life, I know I made a lot of mistakes and screwed up a lot. Turning fourteen was a huge wake up call for me. I didn’t have a long time left to live, and I realized that I shouldn’t waste that whole time being resentful of my sister and everyone else. Wrenpaw had finally stood up to me by then, and although it took me awhile to come to this conclusion, it dawned on me that I hated her for absolutely no reason. She honestly wasn’t that bad, and it was difficult to admit, but it’s possible that I was the one who was at fault.

It was too late by then to patch up my relationship with everyone, but I was more aware of how I acted. And it was honestly great. Great to not hear my name being whispered behind my back, great to not be called snobby and pretentious. Sure, I had hidden my true feelings behind a mask of kindness, but I had grown to stop caring much what other people thought of me. That was before I realized how much of a bully I was.

Dying is such a huge wake up call for everyone. It’s been really eye opening and I wish I could’ve had all these realizations a decade ago. I realized I was dying only a few days ago, which is why I’m thinking about this. I hope that when in whatever afterlife there may be, I would be able to make amends with everyone I had hurt. I wanted to show them that the mask of kindness I wore wasn’t purely a mask. That there was some truth to it, however hard that truth was to see.


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Dustwhisker
by annabethred9 (#59930)

“Looks great Dustpaw” my mother beamed at me as I showed her my hunting crouch. I was almost a year, which meant that I would soon be allowed to accompany the huntresses on their hunting trips. I was extremely excited for this, as I had only watched them take down big prey. All I’ve ever caught was a gerbil or two, small prey that were all stupid enough to wander into our territory, but on a hunting trip, I could catch something much larger, like a giraffe or hippo even! I couldn’t wait for it.

I grinned at my sister, Honeypaw, who pursed her lips, but she was probably just being told off. Her crouches got sloppy, especially when she didn’t practice (which was often). At that rate, she wouldn’t ever be able to go on a REAL hunting expedition, but it wasn’t really my concern. If she committed herself, I know she could be good. I assumed it was just that she didn’t like to do what she was told. I’ve seen her run around and catch really fast prey, like rats, or even the occasional mongoose, which were quite slippery and vicious as well.

“What’d mom say?” I asked Honeypaw as we headed off to get food from the prey pile. “She said I wasn’t ‘applying’ myself,” my sister shrugged. I sighed. “You know you’re very good at hunting and the likes. You just don’t like the listen, do you?” She shrugged again. “Why should I learn all this when there’s a world of things to discover? I’d like to head out on my own one day, explore. Not go on dumb hunting trips.” I gave her a consoling pat on the back with my tail. “It’s alright. You’ll get to do that one day.”

Unfortunately, that never happened. Honeypaw became more bitter towards me, resenting the fact that I always got praised and she never did. It made me feel terrible to see her struggling to deal with that, but her behavior still irritated me. It wasn’t ME she was mad at, she just couldn’t treat our mom the way she wanted to, so she did it to me instead.

We had both just turned two when she started acting a bit...worse. We got our full names, Dustwhisker for me and Honeyflower for her, and she whispered some snide comment about mine. “Sounds like you just haven’t washed for a week,” she snickered. Honeyflower tried to act nice around other people, but I could hear the quiet little insults she hissed every so often. She also didn’t even TRY to hide it when she was making fun of me.

When my daughter, Wrenkit was born, Honeyflower became considerably nicer. To me. She tried to put on a mask of kindness in front of everyone else, but I noticed how she talked to Wrenkit, and it hurt me. It hurt to see my daughter in pain because of my own sister, and it hurt that no matter what I did, Honeyflower wouldn’t stop. She was there when Wrenkit became Wrenpaw, whispering rude things and making snide faces. How badly I wanted to claw her across the face for that...But she was my sister. Even if she had treated me, and more importantly, Wrenpaw, badly, I didn’t want to scream at her. And anyway, Wrenpaw ended up doing that.

I woke up to a steaming Wrenpaw one morning, and she spilled the whole story, becoming a blubbering mess. She felt awful, but I told her that she was definitely not the one who was in the wrong. I was glad that she was brave enough to do the one thing I never could.

I could tell Honeyflower truly was sorry after such a huge wake up call of how her words affected Wrenpaw. The two never truly talked, nor did I talk to Honeyflower, but somehow, I just...knew.

Years after that incident, Honeyflower came down with a deadly illness. She was already old, just like I was, but this was still hard-hitting on me. She was still clinging to the last bits of life when she requested me by her side. Honeyflower looked terrible, to say the least. Nothing like the proud, haughty lioness she usually was.

As I sat next to her, she began talking to me about things we use to do as cubs. “Remember when we used to do that tagging game? Who ever could claw the flank of the other first won…” she wheezed. I smiled fondly, thinking back to those days. That game left us both with a lot of scars and lots of scoldings from our mom, but it was fun. A lot of fun. I was overcome by nostalgia as we talked about those days. “What about that time we snuck off into another pride’s territory and were nearly trampled by a bunch of wildebeests?” I laughed. Honeyflower chuckled, her eyes glazed over. She was sweating profusely, death just moments away.

I’ll never forget her last words. The ones she used her last breath to say. “Dustwhisker...I love you. More than anyone else. And I’m sorry for what I did. I was so stupid and blinded by resentment. Please...Tell Wrenwhisker I’m sorry. Because I am and I want you to remember that I never hated either one of you.” I watched as she gave me her last smile and the light faded from her beautiful, yellow eyes. I watched as she was buried and as everyone said their goodbyes to her (although I could tell that a lot of them were glad she was gone). I felt numb to lose her. The lion that had once been the other half of me. And I cried for that. For the loss of a sister, and the waste of our lives, all the time that we spent fighting and arguing.

I told Wrenwhisker what she said, and hoped that she could remember Honeyflower as the good lioness she could be. I missed that part of her after she died. I missed her easy smiles around the cubs, and the tender look in her eyes. And although they were never really directed at me, I still loved them. But our lives had ended up in a place where I could never tell her that. I hoped to be able to, in whatever afterlife we both may end up in. I couldn’t wait to make up all the lost time we had.


( Snowheart : By Wh4t-Even)

Pride Stories

The making of a king...
(The rise of Pinekit)
Unova Solarflare �Primal� (#51172)

The dawn finds Pebblenose resting in the nursery with her newborn cubs, a look of worry and, even, of fear etched onto her features, her cubs are much lighter than many in the clan. She found herself looking to the others, "Too light, oh...why must my cubs be the light ones? Dikela and dun...much too light." She said with worry in her tone, she knew the fate that awaited her daughters, broodmothers...huntresses, likely never to be seen with favor, never accepted. Never to know the true joy of the pride's love. The frazzled mother didn't hear her leader approach, "Pebble," Thistlestar began, "are you alright?" He asked, and approached the nursery. Seeing the cubs, he chuckled some. Pebble was confused, what did he find so funny? Thistle came to sit beside the frazzled lioness, "You needn't worry so, none will harm the cubs." HE said with a smile soon noticing that one, the male, was nudging his foot. Pebble sighed, "I just fear the fates awaiting them. my daughters having to take lesser tasks to be spared the jeers, cold stares and harsh whispers...and what of my son?" The mother was clearly distraught, Thistle looked to distract her from such dark thoughts, he soon asked "What are their names, Pebblenose?" Thistlestar asked. Pebble pointed a paw at the cub at his foot, "That one is Pinekit, he seems to be the bolder of the three, but as the only boy, that's no suprise. These two are Stormkit and Rainkit." Thistle smiled and paws gently at Pinekit, "Bold and daring," He murred some and tapped his chin, then an idea formed, "you know what, I'm getting up there in age, I need an heir, and I think he'd be perfect. Sure he needs to train up...but that's what apprenticeship is all about. I will make it known that Pinekit is to be my heir." Thistle said with a proud smile and nudged the cub back towards a very relieved Pebblenose. Thistle smiled as he stood, "And I know Pine will find fitting stations for his sisters, just you wait." HE said as he left the nursery. The pride was alerted later that same day. Pinekit was next in line, and what joyous news that truely was, the next generation was firmly set in their pride and perhaps a new span of cub looks with it.









Des (#25248)


Coldsummer (#118315)


By Pairo (#2104)


Risio (#2663)