Some characters from the event held will also be from the Aka'mleli, so here are their backstories ... and what happened to them after the earthquake! Please also remember that there are three more other groups of Aka'mleli out there. wink

Name: Doliahi [Female Juvenile Lioness]
Bonded: African Hobby: Usikivu [Female]
Owned by: Dr Umeda

Doliahi's family upheld honor in a strict manner, expecting all relations to hold it in the highest respect, so when Doli's cubbish concerns were more troublesome than amusing, they were very thankful for the bonding of Usikivu to her. Usikivu was a bit of a religious fanatic, holding Hestia in the utmost esteem and always doing what she thought was right by the goddess. Doli found her gospels rather amusing and was glad to have a companion. During the earthquake, Doli and Usikivu were stranded by themselves, trapped in a cave with only gathered condensation to quench their thirst for two days until they found a way out. During this time, Usi's theology has begun to have a maturing affect on Doli, making her a much different Doliahi upon her return.

Name: Ashiki [Female Adult Lioness]
Bonded: African Pygmy Falcon: Msaidizi [Male]
Owned by: TheMadHatter

Ashiki comes from a long line of healers and has been taught since she was very young about the arts. Her family has always tried to stay out of the prides conflicts, helping those injured no matter their stance, and remains loyal to the pride as a whole. She is very close with Msaidizi and relies on him as her best friend and trusted assistant. She has dedicated her entire life to her art and likes nothing more than to be helping others or learning from her elders and mentors. While out searching for plants she was trapped under a pile of shifting rubble during the initial earthquake and was eventually freed by the aftershocks shifting the earth again. She was unable to travel while nursing small injuries and hunting for Msaidizi who she'd been separated from during the rock slides. She eventually finds him and with his help is able to start looking for a way home

Name: Ushari [Male Adult Lion]
Bonded: Orange Breasted Falcon: Haraka [Male]
Owned by: Dark Fire Angel

Born to Uzuri, sister to Umoja's mother, Ushuri was swiftly recognized for his considerable temper and lack of patience. Large and strong, he was trained to occupy the role of Guard within the pride in an attempt to get him to redirect his anger problems towards a positive goal, and while it seemed to work, the large male was hardly considered to be suitable company. The earthquake that hit the lands would change him though; the accidental fall of a rock on his head, would render Ushuri completely different from what everyone knew him to be. Long gone was his notorious anger, vanished his temper problems, replaced by an almost unrecognizably sweet lion that had been wandering the lands, lost, trying to find his way back to the Aka'mleli, only to arrive with not only his bonded falcon in tow, but a turtle, to boot.

Name: Aberforth [Male Adult Lion]
Bonded: Vulture: Uchungu [Female]
Owned by: Cajanic

Aberforth is of a studious nature. Not that he’s a genius by any means, he just enjoys conversation and learning from the elders more than he does, well, anything else. He was raised in a sheltered environment for most of his life, his parents not wanting to “taint” him with the outside world and its vile workings. Eventually, though, he did venture out into side disgusting world, and soon grew to resent his parents for having kept him from it. Now he’s a socially awkward intellectual with no standing and no real experience. He’s not a great hunter, though he gets the job done, and when it comes to fighting he’s not above throwing his tail between his legs and heading for the hills. Indeed, he is hardly a well-adapted adult, but he’s trying to get there. Desperately. He’s not very good at having a good time, more used to standing patiently than having fun. So he tries to open himself up to new experiences. More than anything he wants to feel like –and be considered- a normal lion. Though awkward, he is a kind lion, particularly to those who seem down in the dumps. His emotions run high, helping him connect with others and almost feel their misery. This innocence was something he never lost through getting older. Prior to the earthquake, Aberforth had been asleep in his den. Not being an extremely out-going creature, despite his best efforts, he had decided to segregate himself from the pride, and the inevitable shame he would eventually have to feel, for a little while longer with a light nap. His avian companion, a sarcastic female named Uchungu, was out getting herself a spot to eat. This bird has been his only friend for quite some time and was perhaps the only creature in the world who knew the real him: what lurked beneath his bumbling exterior. She had become more a mother to him than anything else, also prompting him to make good choices and speak to the others whenever she saw him shying away. She had picked a rather inopportune moment to leave his side. When the earthquake struck, Aberforth had been put into a mild panic. The shaking of the ground and the slight crumbling of the walls and ceiling around him disoriented him almost enough to keep him inside while the cave collapsed. Luckily, he regained sense in time to make a frantic leap for the exit. A leap that was ill-timed, and resulted in him being slammed in the head with a large rock. He was thus more-or-less thrown from the cavern, rolling to a safe place where he spent the remainder of the earthquake in no danger, but out like a light. Upon his wakening, he was unable to remember anything of himself or what had happened, a bout of retrograde amnesia hitting him like, dare it be said, a ton of bricks. Confused beyond reason, Aberforth ended up roaming away from the pride for quite some time, just looking for something that might help him remember what had happened. Too bad he had been going in the wrong direction. It was Uchungu who discovered him, going well out of her way to search for her dear companion. Once reunited with the baffled boy, the bird spent a great deal of time helping Aberforth regain his memory. When finally he did recall most of his past life, his earlier memories forever a mystery to him, he was able to return to the pride, unaware of the recent chains of events that had beset the place.

Name: Fahari [Female Adult Lioness]
Bonded: Bearded Vulture: Ukoo [Female]
Owned by: Dark Fire Angel

Fahari takes pride in the fact she was born into the Aka'mleli Lands and will not hesitate to show this to an outsider; she feels that she has the right to look down with some mild form of suspicion on those that do not share the blessing of the bond she shares with Ukoo. Despite this, she's wholeheartedly dedicated to her pride and it's members, preferring to spend her time with the cubs as a babysitter, for even if she claims that the little ones are a nuisance... she has an obvious soft spot for them. The earthquake successfully managed to do what Fahari had thought would never happen; drive her away from her homelands. In an attempt to escape the quake, she'd turned to seek out shelter in a cave, a decision she soon enough noticed was hardly brilliant; a rock slide covered the entrance, which forced the proud lioness and her bonded into searching for a different exit. While they did find an exit soon enough, her minor wounds and the fact she was disoriented made the return to the Aka'mleli lands difficult at first; her return to her loved ones was eventual though.

Name: Dhihaka [Female Adult Lioness]
Bonded: Ornate Hawk-Eagle: Sadiki [Male]
Owned by: Eff Em

Dhihaka was always a somewhat disagreeable lioness, and so many lions were relieved when she bonded with the sensible bird Sadiki. His calm and rational demeanor helped to quell her irritable, aggressive tendencies. The two formed a close relationship, and when they were separated during the earthquake, Dhihaka was beside herself. She sought refuge in a large cave, where she met Kaarme, a blue snake. He kept her company and when it was safe to go home, she did not want to leave him, so he accompanied her back to the pride. Unfortunately, his influence is very unlike Sadiki's. Around Kaarme, Dhihaka is even more sour and volatile than she was before Sadiki came around.

Name: Imani [Male Lion Cub]
Bonded: Peachface Lovebird: Sukari [Female]
Owned by: kizamaji

Young, and easily persuaded, Imani was separated from the rest of his group in the aftermath of the earthquakes. Lead by a youthful lion like himself, he was driven away from the lands and deceived. Instead of being led back to his homeland, his guide did the opposite, and took him very far away. Lost and confused without a sense of direction, he met a special little bird named Sukari. She aided him in returning to his homelands; she knew exactly of the lands he spoke of.

Name: Lamkana [Female Adult Lioness]
Bonded: White-Backed Vulture: Kota [Male]
Owned by: Felyn

Lamkana’s family descends back to the founding of the pride and every male bred from the line has been revered as a great warrior, following his father and grandfather before him into the Aka’Mleli guard. Lamkana’s father himself was a guard in the time when Ubawa overthrew his older brother. He turned his back on the treacherous king, refusing to harm Ubawa and protect the king as his role would have commanded of him, risking his safety and his family’s if Ubawa had failed. It was with this story that Lamkana, the youngest cub and only daughter of the great guard, grew up. She aspired to be a guard like her father, older brothers and ancestors before her. Her father, however, over-protective and forever worrying about his bold and courageous daughter, refused. With her aspirations denied to her, she instead plunged headlong into a competitive life of hunting, aspiring to show her worth through her kills and what she could provide for her pride, though she knew she would never truly let go of her dream. When the earthquake struck the pride, Lamkana was outside the valley walls on an extended hunting trip, tracking down a herd of wildebeest. Luckily enough, neither she nor Kota met any harm. However, once she tried to go back to the valley, cutting her trip short and without a kill, shaken as she was by the earthquake, she quickly found that the way she had used was no longer there. Thus, she simply wandered, frustrated and upset until the bonded birds finally came to find those lost outside the pride borders.

Name: Kamau [Male Adolescent Lion]
Bonded: Jardine's Parrot: Mwenzi [Male]
Owned by: CuterThanYou

Kamau was raised in a small, loving family that consisted of his parents, his older brother Erevu, and himself. Rather outgoing as a cub, the only one who could match his mischievous side was his level-headed companion Mwenzi, who bonded with him early on in life. During the earthquake, Kamau and his parents found themselves in an unstable area, and in an act of selflessness, both of his parents lost their lives in an attempt to ensure each other's and their youngest child's safety, meeting their end in a chasm caused by the earthquake. Greatly affected by the tragic scene he was forced to witness, Kamau's personality drastically changed, turning from an outgoing youngster into an introverted adolescent. Reuniting with his brother after the earthquake, he withholds from telling his older sibling of their parents' fate, and the two set out to seek shelter and news from remaining members of the Aka'mleli pride.

Name: Kibela [Male Adult Lion]
Bonded: Kestral: Kaviv [Male]
Owned by: Manda

Kibela is, and always has been, rather gruff and grumpy. He was quiet as a cub, preferring to sit in a corner and watch his siblings play instead of joining in himself. As he grew, it became clear that Kibela took after his father more than mother - putting on weight and muscle at an almost alarming rate. However, he is never cruel in his strength, simply very confident in a steady and rough manner. He's quick to protect those weaker than him - though he's also a bit of a loner and prefers it that way. Kibela has very few friends, and even fewer of those are really close to him. He hates noise and doesn't much like most cubs - though he will tolerate them if he has to. Kibela's father was a Guard and his mother a Healer - an unlikely combination, but it worked, somehow. Most of his other siblings took after his mother, with only one other also growing larger like his father. When Kibela was a juvenile, he stumbled upon a small white cub who had managed somehow to piss off a hippo. That cub was Aberforth - and Kibela managed to distract the larger animal long enough for both of them to run away. Apparently, Aberforth had stumbled upon the hippo's babies and the mother had thought the young lion meant them harm. From that point, an unlikely friendship sprang up between the two lions. But not too much later, the time came for Kibela to choose what rank he would train for - and he chose Guard. As such, he went away for training and hasn't seen Aberforth for more than maybe an hour snatched here and there since then. During the earthquake, Kibela was out on patrol and was blocked from getting back into the valley for a good while. After some time (and all the major events were over with), he managed to dig through a place in the wall by sheer strength. Now, he's just trying to figure out what all has been going on while he was gone.

Name: Etain [Female Adult Lioness]
Bonded: Vulture: Isacaire [Male]
Owned by: Laefe

Born many years back to a young family, Étaín was born the only cub of a litter that was soon followed a few months later by another bearing three cubs this time. Given that she was older than her brother and two sisters she took to watching them for her parents and taking care of them for long days while they hunted. In a tragic hit, the youngest of her sisters passed away very young from a disease that robbed her of breath. The second sister died a few months later in an accident involving a hyena on the borderlands to the pride. Left with only her parents and her younger brother the now adolescent lioness took as much care of them as she could, though she couldn’t see the storm that came from nowhere and took both of her parents from her and her brother in one fell swoop. Étaín was left alone in the world, an oddly tiny lioness unsure of where to go and unsure of how to survive. If not for a lion from the same pride who took her under his rather large wing, the small adolescent would have died without any help from the world around her. The red colored lioness was taken into a family of five where she lived with the male that found her and his mate and three young sons. The age difference between Étaín and the three younger sons was drastic, but all the same she grew to enjoy living with them and worked her hardest to take care of the three of them as they grew into adulthood miraculously. Despite having watched after the three sons, Étaín still felt as if there was a hole in her life where something should have been. She worked hard and she believed that she lived as hard as she could, attempting to live three other lives as well as her own to make up for the deaths of her baby siblings, but something was missing from her heart. It wasn’t until her younger brothers found their bonded birds that it occurred to her that it was this that was missing from her life. Even with the knowledge that it was missing, it wasn’t for another full year until Étaín met her bonded bird, a young vulture by the name of Iascaire that had been attacked by a vulture and nearly killed. Étaín found him laying near the river and nursed him back to health with the fish she was able to catch for him, earning herself a fast friendship with the battle scarred vulture. It wasn’t long until the two were inseparable… Inseparable that is, until the large earthquake that hit the region of the Aka’mleli that Étaín and Iascaire lived. Étaín had been in the river fishing for the vulture who had argued with her that very day not to do so, being that he would be downriver further trying to do the same thing. Despite arguments and differing opinions the two ended up fishing in different spots when the earthquake hit. Water surrounded Étaín and the tiny lioness was barely able to stay afloat despite her ability and willingness to swim as well as she did and in the end she was swept downstream in a quickly developed river rapid’s system that threw her against a rocks that tore the fur on the inside of one leg to the bone and rolled her out onto the shore. When Étaín finally regained her consciousness she was alone and in a strange part of the pride she’d never before wandered to. Cut off from both her bonded and her family, the small lioness began her stiff wandering, limping off one badly damaged leg back through the woods and rocks that had fallen from above and below at the same time. It was some time before she found her way back to known territory, a wreck of a lioness who’s mane hung before her eyes and who limped terribly on one heavily wounded leg. Iascaire came upon her in a whirlwind of worry and concern and in the end convinced the lioness to lay down in a nearby outcropping of rocks and sheltering bushes. For days the young vulture kept his bonded alive and well with fish he found daily and force fed her if necessary. The once hard working lioness found herself subjected to help and pity and loathed it greatly. After two weeks of healing she was finally able to walk with only a slight limp for all her beloved bonded’s careful tending and set about trying to re-connect with her family she’d gotten separated from, fearing the worst but hoping for the best with the help of Iascaire.

Name: Tunza [Male Adult Lion]
Bonded: Peregrine Falcon: Ari [Female]
Owned by: Tahja Estes

Tunza and his parents and friends all knew something was off-kilter when he hit adolescence. His mane was thicker and fuller than most of the boys, which wasn't all that odd in their pride, but the fur atop his head in particular just kept growing. Even when trimmed with claws it would just grow right back in, so eventually they gave up. With the knowledge that he'd eventually have a bird companion was encouraging. An avian would be able to help him find his way where he otherwise wouldn't be able to see. On the day of the quake, just a week after the last of his mane had grown in, Tunza was out doing a practice patrol around the borders of one of the furthest valleys (Scout seemed to be the one thing that he could do without worrying so much about his vision, since nothing they tried kept his fur completely out of his way.). When the earth began to shudder violently, the ground began to break, and the rocks began to fall, Tunza panicked. Running blind to try to find his way to safety it was only to be expected what happened next. He took a nasty fall down a slope, losing consciousness from the falling rocks that took the tumble with him. He'd come to with bruised ribs and find himself, like many of the others, blocked out. The slope that he'd fallen down was too steep to climb back up, and the rubble trapping him from behind. There was no way he'd have survived, cut off from prey and unable to hunt effectively anyway. If it hadn't been for Ari showing up when she did then Tunza might have surely perished. The two met when Tunza rescued her from a pair of vultures, and as thanks Akili stayed to help Tunza escape. The two needed one another though, in truth. Tunza was protection from the vultures since Ari couldn't risk flying, and Ari acted as Tunza's eyes to break down the wall of small bolders and rock that kept him trapped. Over the following couple of days they finally found escape by cautiously picking apart the wall of rubble, with Ari's instruction to keep the rocks from sliding again. Needless to say a bond was formed, and Ari has since decided to stay with Tunza. The two return to the pride now in sore and hungry condition, but most certainly they were two of the lucky ones. He's since decided to act as a scout, with Ari's help they intend to help in any way they can.

Name: Erevu [male adult lion]
Bonded: Black Masked Lovebird: Ajia [female]
Owned by: surreality

Everu was one of two cubs born to a small and close-nit family in the Aka'mleli pride. Being the first-born, he held two main responsibilities: one was to follow in his father's 'paw'-steps and learn the ways of the ever-watchful guard, and the other, to keep his brother Kamau out of trouble. If you were to ask him which was more difficult to do, he'd have no hesitation to quip the latter. As the years went by, the lessons that his father taught gave him new perspectives in life, and what was once a foolish, almost bitterly jealous youth grew into a thoughtful, level-headed adult who rarely ever spoke unless he felt like he needed to.
Taking care of his brother, however, was still a heavy chore.
He was out on a walk with his bonded avian Ajia when the earthquake hit. After the tremors subsided and he felt that it was safe, he swiftly made his way back to his family's den; or at least, what should have been. Instead, a large chasm laid at its wake, without any traces of his parents or brother. Full of concern and dread, Everu and Ajia bid their farewells to their old home and set out to find the rest of the family, as well as any news from the rest of the pride.

Name: Anwen [Female Adult Lioness]
Bonded: African Barn Owl: Bundi [Female]
Owned by: Amy D

Anwen, like her sister Fahari, has a certain pride in her pride. She has a quiet contempt for outsiders and doesn't mingle often. Even within the pride however, Anwen is a distant, aloof sort. It takes a lot of work for poor Bundi to keep her grounded but still follows her faithfully and with such devotion as to almost be a mother. The lioness often went for long, aimless walks on the very furthest borders of the pride, testing herself, her boundaries, her stamina. She has a great sense of pride of self too, and can be quite haughty, so be thankful if she spares more than a few minutes of her interest and time to speak to you. It was on one of these long walks that Anwen was forced to go much further than she had ever been in her life. As the earthquake ripped through the lands, she had to flee to safety, dodging what nature could throw at her and only narrowly escaping with her life. Unlike many others' traumatic tales, Anwen was not trapped, at least not physically. As the quake subsided and the world was left to recover, she found her usual pathways home blocked or ruptured completely. But she could have scaled some of the debris, crossed some of the new caverns...so what stopped her? So afraid of what waited if she got home - was Fahari alright? the pride? - she skirted even further out of the pridal territory, effectively taking the longest route home. A route that was not so littered by the earthquake's destruction, and therefore not so haunting to her. How would it be, returning to a changed home, trying to hide her shameful fear, trying to hide from the fact her pride, and herself, weren't so perfect...

Name: Sha'lar [Male Adult Lion]
Bonded: Bat Hawk: Nu'ila [female]
Owned by: Kireiryuu

Born to a family of hunters within the Aka'mleli pride, it would be of no coincidence that his family's close friends also gave birth that same day to a female cub. Upon arrival, he was given the name "Sha'lar" after his bright coat. As a cub, he was introduced to his family's close friend's cub, Ultima. While they did not hit it off instantly on their first meeting, it was only a matter of time before they became fast friends. Even though their personalities were almost polar opposites of each other, it was for that very reason why they had became close friends. As they grew, they played plenty of games to help improve their hunting skills along with playing with other cubs of the pride. He had never lost his cheerful personality, even as an adult. A few days before the earthquake, Ultima had told him she wanted to go hunting. But not just on any hunt, she wanted to go and take down the infamous water buffalo. Sha'lar tried to persuade her against taking something down so big just by herself, but she wouldn't hear of it. And because he knew he couldn't change her heart that he wished her good luck on a safe return. One day turned into two and then three days and he began to feel fear wash over him. His avian heard and saw nothing of the lioness and wrought with worry, he set out to find his best friend. No sooner had he left, the earthquake struck and he was without a way back into the pride. But he couldn't go back yet. He had to find his friend. It took him only a day to find his friend, who was badly hurt by her ambitious hunt. Now that he had found his best friend, the pair is making their way back slowly to the pride.