Ihy

Ihy – A child deity born to Horus and Hathor, representing the music and joy produced by the sistrum

"I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here; and I shall exist till the end of time, for my being has no end."

The lands on which this pride lives are weird, that you know for sure. In one place eternal night, in other fire that never stops. And lions that see it all as normal.

Her mother told her about this place and the King that ruled it with iron paw. He was said to be a ruthless monster who would even kill his own cubs if they didn't fit his standards. Some lionesses who talked with her mother called him more insane than Apedemak. She didn't know then who that Apedemak was, but now, after years of living, she could for sure say that the old Kings were really worse than him.
After all, she still remembers all of her children that didn't even live long enough to open their eyes before their lives ended thanks to the jaws of their father.
And the only two that survived. One who lived only because she was a hybrid like Ihy, the other thanks to another king taking her in before the king decided she was not worth the time and food.

***

The time came that Ihy was no longer able to give birth to cubs. She grew old and frail, it was harder for her to hunt and help the younger lionesses. They kept telling her that she will end up just like the other old ones. Killed by the King instead of being allowed to live until her natural last breath. She was hoping only for her King to be merciful enough to make her death fast and painless. She waited and waited for her last day, unable to hunt anymore, give birth nor teach the younger lionesses. And yet, the death from King's jaws didn't come.
One day, after she woke up still wondering why she is still alive, the King came to her, carrying a weird stone and something that looked like one of the weird blobs that ocean sometimes brought to one of the parts of the territory. He told her to touch both of them. When she did he seemed to grow in size, and, in a moment, he was just as big as she has seen him the first time, when her father and mother brought her here to stay. She tried to ask what happened, but was too afraid, her voice wouldn't come out. And then, the King spoke: "You are the prized jewel of this pride, one that will live eternally, just like a diamond. Never aging again, a young cub just like when you came here."
That day she was brought to live in one of the parts of territory where the moon is always full and night never stops. And from then on she watched Kings come and go, lionesses live and die and the bloodshed that her King started.

***

Years passed, Kings died, new ones came, just as ruthless as previous, all possessed by one being. Never changing, always thirsty for more blood. Until Apedemak came once again upon the land. This time with his daughter, and her suitor he hated. She saw the demon change as he saw Apedemak fall into his insanity, as if the beast itself started realizing something is wrong with their ways. King was helping Apedemak collect the whispers, sometimes coming to her and questioning if it's really the way. After all, even though he killed the lionesses he left their whispers to go on and rest. He needed blood, not the suffering. She often told him the killed ones suffered too.
During that time he stopped killing them in his old way. She saw it was now one fast bite and done. No pain, no nothing. The beast changed. Then, he stopped Apedemak by sacrificing his own life and got resurrected. A cursed monster with whispers and shadows now clinging to him. He changed some of his ways after that. And spent far more time alone.

***

Two figures could be seen in the distance, sitting, both looking at the full moon above them, listening to the clinking of the trinkets of the nearby Hanging Tree, a "store" the King established and made Ihy a keeper of. The wind brought to your ears bits of their late night talk.
- ...but, you know... I remember them. The old kings, before evil possessed them. They were fun. Big, and bulky, with short tails! And had those funny fangs and loooots of fur! But... they disappeared. Like the old lionesses. Everyone said they died. - The little leoponess looked down from the moon, at her paws, and then at the lion next to her. His bright eyes, glowing with blue whisper, seemed to move from looking at the moon to her. She was never sure where he was looking because of the ever present glow. - What does it mean to die, my king? I saw them grow slower and weaker. And then they fell asleep and there was sticky red stuff, like blood from food. But I think it might've been some tree sap, there were lots of trees... But! I was old and weak too, then I woke up as a cub and never aged since! Will they wake up too?
The king was quiet. Measuring his words. She thought she saw a familiar shadow around him, something evil and scary from her old memory. But she chased it away. New King couldn't be possessed by that monster. She never saw him kill his cubs or older lionesses after all. Well, sure, the main pride moved far away from her part of territory, but he couldn't do it, right?
- They did indeed fall asleep. But they won't wake up. - She gasped. The wind brought a whisper saying she shouldn't be surprised, she should know, she saw them die before. - They will sleep forever. For eternity... - the lion moved to face the cub next to him. Ihy was trying really hard to not show that she sees around him and in his heart and eyes the thing that terrified her for her whole life. - The same eternity that you will spend alive and never tire or grow weak.
He stood up and started walking back to the pool of stars he spent his days in. - You've been given a blessing that can also be a curse, as you will see all of us grow weak and die, while you will stay frozen, always the same, with no way to follow where we go. A whisper that will never return home.

The leoponess watched him walk away, the shadowy monsters crowding around the fading figure. After a while she stood up and went over to the Hanging Tree and curled up under it, her dahlia falling in front of her muzzle, blood red and nearly glowing in the moonlight. She sighed and looked up at the moon through branches. - I wonder... If I am a whisper that's really stuck here... Or if I was imprisoned by a Beast that doesn't realize how lonely it is.




















You approached Ihy to groom her, but she just sort of stared at you. She then shuffled awkwardly a bit before going to lay down in her usual spot. x3

You woke up and found a little bird snack waiting in front of your nose. Ihy is resting nearby, with a little smile on her face.


22 stats at birth
stats upon aging:
+43 STR
+43 SPD
+3 STM