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Name: From Japanese ι ("kasumi") meaning "mist".
[You were treated to an insulting comment after Kasumi snuck up behind you and made you jump. +6% training experience!]
[Kasumi (#794186149437) got the following stat boosts from cub training: +11 STR +10 SPD +1 SMR +10 STM]
[You made the mistake of asking Kasumi how your mane looked today. She just grinned and remarked that it looked great compared to your face. Ouch. Put some snuh on that burn.]
[Kasumi nudged you affectionately and told you that your battling looked far better than yesterday. Was... that a compliment?]
Passed away 17/08/23 π
Lore
(If you're reading this, please get comfy BC it's a long one, mostly written late at night when I couldn't sleep but hopefully still coherent Β°_Β°' Also it's not quite finished BC I lost steam a bit lmao)
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From birth, Kasumi - a rather impressive cub in her own right, with her intimidating fangs and her pale, glittering coat - is overshadowed by her littermate Akari, a first generation Tigon. Kasumi feels out of place, not only because many of the pride's adults dote on Akari (who, to be fair, is an introvert and resents the attention), but because she inherited her fangs from her sire: a Ferus who rules an allied pride. Her two other littermates are also the Ferus' children, but they lack any mutations, so Kasumi doesn't quite fit in with them either.
Lowell II, the two-year-old Smilus who was the adopted son and heir of the current king, notices Kasumi's tendency to spend time alone and her growing unhappiness; despite not being particularly fond of cubs, he starts spending time with her, taking on an older brother-ish role.
[When he sees Kasumi sitting by herself again instead of playing with her littermates, Lowell II decides to take her out to see the wider territory - so long as she behaves and listens.]
~
Once Kasumi reaches adulthood, Lowell II no longer feels like an authoritative figure. Their relationship morphs from one resembling an older brother and younger sister, into more of a we've-known-each-other-since-we-were-kids-and-are-completely-ride-or-die situation. She is the only lioness who can mock Lowell's appearance or silly decisions with full confidence that he won't get angry, and he is the only lion who can offer her advice that she'll actually listen to.
Adulthood brings another change to one of Kasumi's main relationships: she is placed in the pride's junior hunting party alongside Akari, whose powerful body makes them a valuable asset when bringing down large prey. The Tigon, who had taken to spending their time exploring the mountain range that formed one of the territory's borders, is less than thrilled to spend hours hunting on the warmer plains with full-blooded lions. For the first time, Kasumi starts to empathize with her sibling. She makes snarky comments about their task and the other hunters, and sometimes even manages to draw a laugh from Akari. In return, Akari occasionally brings Kasumi up to the mountains to revel in the cooler air and admire the views. Their sister doesn't enjoy it as much as the thick-furred Tigon, but she can't deny that it feels good to survey the territory from such heights.
~
When Kasumi is 6 years old, a plague of Fluffballs sweeps across the land. Lowell begins disappearing frequently, and wearing odd rabbit-themed accessories. When Kasumi teases him about it, he is strangely evasive. This is uncharacteristic, as he's never had any reason to hide anything from her. The possibilities bother her - perhaps he's being pressured by a rival ruler to give up resources? Or maybe he's scouting for new territory? She decides to follow him the next time he leaves.
Kasumi witnesses Lowell hunting down a great deal of Fluffballs, and eventually bringing them to a ramshackle den just over the border of the territory. Sneaking closer, she sees him pass his kills over to another lion wearing rabbit-themed gear; from their body type and the lingering scent, Kasumi gathers that the stranger is a lioness.
As Lowell returns home, Kasumi intercepts him. She relays what she saw, and the chagrined Smilus explains that the lioness - Wenet - is cooperating with him to get rid of the Fluffballs so the larger prey will return to their land. After some pressing, Lowell also admits to enjoying Wenet's company, and that he's hoping she will join the pride once the Fluffball threat is over. Kasumi is upset by this, though she's unsure why. She decides it's because Lowell, her closest confidant, hadn't shared any of this until she confronted him. Angered that he clearly didn't trust her as much as she trusted him, she proceeds to give him the cold shoulder.
Weeks later, the Fluffballs sharply decrease in number, and the herds start to venture back into the pride's territory. In addition, Lowell brings Wenet to the Den as a new pride member. To Kasumi's great frustration, Lowell seems to dote on the rabbit-obsessed newbie, frequently having grooming sessions with her and bringing her meals of leftover Fluffballs. He doesn't even appear to notice that Kasumi hasn't said a word to him since their conversation near the border.
However, Kasumi does feel vindicated when it becomes apparent that their king's infatuation doesn't exempt Wenet from needing to pull her weight in the group. She joins the junior hunting party - thankfully Akari and Kasumi had long since been promoted to one of the experienced groups, so the Fanged lioness doesn't need to work with the "interloper". Akari isn't quite sure why their sister dislikes this Wenet character so much, but they politely laugh along with her snide comments nonetheless.
Coincidentally, a few days after Wenet makes her first attempts at group hunting (with little success, much to Kasumi's delight), the Fanged lioness finds herself in heat. Rather than leaving the territory to find an outside male to help her out, as she had with her first two litters, she decides that this is the perfect opportunity to make Lowell pay attention to her again. Unbeknownst to her, the king had been feeling rather frustrated: Wenet was currently in heat too, but her initial lack of success in hunting with her new pridemates was making her angry and embarrassed; she had started taking her feelings out on Lowell, snarling and swiping at him when he would approach her. So when Kasumi approaches him in a way she never had before, in heat and using clearly flirtatious body language, he doesn't think twice.
Now that the tension has been broken, Kasumi initiates casual contact with Lowell once again, to his relief; despite his distraction, he tells Kasumi, he had indeed missed her, but he had thought she wanted space and decided to leave her be. Now the pair share meals and grooming sessions even more frequently than they used to. Before long Kasumi recognises the feeling of carrying a litter, and she finds herself daydreaming of what it will be like to see Lowell playing with their cubs.
However, Kasumi's happiness is short-lived.
A month into her pregnancy, she hears talk amongst the lionesses that the rabbit-obsessed newcomer has finally picked up enough skill in teamwork to be helpful during hunts; as if to confirm this, Wenet once again allows Lowell to spend one-on-one time with her. He again begins to drift away from Kasumi, cutting their shared meals and naps short to "attend to other business", only for the fanged lioness to see him hanging around with Wenet an hour later.
This trend worsens until Kasumi feels that her litter will arrive within the next week or so, and she realises it has been five days since Lowell has even spoken to her. He hasn't asked where she plans to give birth, let alone offered to escort her to her chosen nesting area as he had with her previous two litters. She decides to confront him, but due to her emotions running particularly high, she does so in an aggressive manner and it immediately turns into an argument. The exchange goes as follows:
K: Are you trying to give me space again? Because I don't need it.
L: Come again?
K: You haven't talked to me in days. And our cubs are due any day now, but you haven't even asked whether I'm going to have them here or find a nesting area.
L: Well I figured you'd go somewhere else, like you did the last two times? And sorry I haven't had time to check in, I've been busy with--
K: Let me guess, with the fluffball lover?
L: With Wenet, yes. She's pregnant too.
K: !
L: It's her first litter, and she needs all the support she can get--
K: And I don't?!
L: Well no, not particularly! You've done this twice already, insisted on doing it alone in fact! And even if you do need help this time, for whatever reason, you were born into this pride. Apart from your mother and Akari, you've got a dozen lionesses who've known you since you were a month old and who'd be happy to help you out! But Wenet's only been here for a season, she's got nobody except me--
K: I don't want random lionesses I've spoken to twice in my lifetime! I want YOU to help me!
L: With what?! What input can I possibly give?? I did my part when I helped make the cubs, that's my job done!
K: A job?? Is that what this is to you?!
L: Yes! You were in heat, you approached me - rather than going to an outsider like usual - I did what you wanted, now--
K: What I wanted? I thought you wanted it - wanted me - too--
L: Kas, mating with anyone who wants it is part of my job as King. There are outsiders who PAY ME to do just that. I wasn't going to turn you away, was I?
K: You should have if you didn't want a litter with me!
L: I didn't realise that's what we were going for! I thought maybe you'd left it too late to find a male you liked and you just needed someone to make you... Comfortable again? I figured if any cubs did come out of it you'd just grab a CRB, stars know that plenty of our pridemates do that...
K: ...
L: Look. I don't understand what you want from me. Okay? We're friends. Wenet is my mate. Granted, my litter with her wasn't intentional, but I'm happy to father cubs with her. It'll help her settle in, feel like she belongs here. This, though? ...Honestly, I wish you'd just found a different male. I wish things could've just stayed the way they were. Now everything's just... Messed up.
K: ... ...
L: ...*Sigh*. I've got to go patrol. If you do plan on giving birth outside the Den, have Akari or one of the broodmothers escort you.
K: ...
L: ...Goodbye, Kasumi.
Kasumi watches Lowell leave. She sits there for a long time, wincing whenever she feels Lowell's cubs kick at her sides as if they'd heard their father's rejection. Thinking back on the spike of hurt and disbelief she'd felt when the Smilus had so confidently said that he and Kasumi were friends, confirming that he continued to view her in the same way he had since they were young... She realised that, somewhere along the line, she'd developed much stronger feelings for him. Feelings that there was no point in putting a name to: Lowell didn't want their cubs. And he didn't want Kasumi the way she wanted him.
As dusk falls, she heaves herself to her feet to seek out Akari. It was high time she found a safe nesting area for her restless offspring.
~
Kasumi, curled into a circle with her chin resting on the ground, gazes vacantly at her newborn daughter. The unnamed cub sleeps in the protective arch of her mother's body, near her back legs, so that Kasumi can watch the gentle rise and fall of her sides as she breathes. There had been two cubs, to begin with; her son had been too weak and had passed away a few hours after being born.
Akari had stayed with her through the ordeal. The tigon had escorted Kasumi to her usual nesting area, helped her make a haphazard bed of dry grass and feathers, then had the shock of their life as their litter-sister had suddenly gone into labour. Kasumi had briefly described her argument with Lowell as the pair made their way to the nesting area, emphasising that he had rejected the litter, and Akari can only assume that the stress caused the cubs' early arrival. That is likely the issue behind the male cub's sudden decline; Akari closes their eyes in grief as they remember carefully picking up their nephew and taking him to be buried nearby.
Thankfully the female cub seems healthy enough. She mostly sleeps, but every few hours she wakes up, wriggles around, nurses, and squeaks intermittently. She's a perfect mix of both her parents: her coat is mostly Kasumi's warm-toned light grey colour, but her undersides are Lowell's pale gold. She has her father's pallid pink skin colour, too, and Akari is willing to bet she'll end up with the clear grey eyes that most of his offspring share.
Both sisters tense in unison when they catch the sound of someone making their way through the scrub nearby. Akari silently goes to investigate; thankfully, it's only the pair's mother, Paloma. The light grey lioness had grown worried when her children hadn't been seen by any of their pridemates since the previous evening, and had decided to check Kasumi's usual nesting place. Akari takes the older lioness aside and explains the situation. Afterwards, Paloma approaches Kasumi and silently begins to groom her.
Some time later, Paloma asks whether the cub has a name; Kasumi shrugs and replies that she's open to any suggestions. Her mother thinks for a while before suggesting "Haru", meaning "clear weather", as her coat rather resembles the cloudless sky at dawn. Kasumi has no objection, and thus, Haru receives her name.
Shortly afterwards Akari, growing restless, decides to go and inform Lowell that Paloma and Kasumi are safe. The nursing lioness is silent while their littermate awkwardly explains and remains so when they actually leave. Once the two are alone - barring Haru - Paloma inquires about Kasumi's plans, and declares that she'll support her whether she decides to return to Lowell's pride or move on to another, and will even raise Haru herself if Kasumi would rather leave her behind and start afresh. Kasumi surprises herself with her reaction to that last part: seeing how the cub already resembled the father who didn't want her and likely wouldn't treat her well, she had idly wondered whether she could trust herself to raise Haru safely. But upon hearing it said aloud by someone else, she balked at the idea of giving her up. And she certainly didn't feel that she had a place in the pride ruled by Lowell anymore. When she bitterly says as much, Paloma winces. The elder lioness gently tells Kasumi that, while it certainly wasn't her fault for developing romantic feelings for a dear friend, she had expected more than Lowell was able to give her. Once the unrequited feelings were there, it was inevitable that things would come to a head, probably in a messy way; it wasn't fair for either party, but neither of them had bad intentions and shouldn't resent each other. Before the younger lioness can say anything, Paloma clarifies that she's allowed to be angry for a while, but actions performed out of anger always lead to regret, so it's best to let it go and move on as soon as possible.
Kasumi is silent for a while, mulling over her mother's words. Some time later, she speaks up, her voice quiet. She repeats that she doesn't want to live in Lowell's pride anymore, she needs a fresh start. Paloma nods encouragingly as Kasumi thinks out loud. Her previous litter was sired by the Queen of a neighbouring pride - her predecessor was Kasumi's father, as a matter of fact. She remembers that this lioness had been stoic and spoke in a straightforward manner, but she was also clearly kindhearted and cared deeply for her pridemates. Paloma agrees that this seems like a good starting point in her search for a new pride, and the pair make plans to visit their neighbour soon.
~
Shortly before her seventh birthday, Kasumi brings her three-month-old daughter to the border of Queen Adara's territory.
She and her mother had briefly met with the Queen a few weeks before and explained the situation; Adara, being the protective type with a soft spot for lionesses and young animals in need, had immediately offered Kasumi a place in her pride. However, she had warned them that the territory wasn't particularly hospitable - in recent years the nearby desert had crept further in, turning grassland into dry soil and then into scorching sand. But Kasumi just wanted a new life for herself and her cub, away from the heartache she'd have to live with in Lowell's pride. To that end, she would learn to live in the desert. Adara was pleased to hear her resolve, and arranged a date for her to arrive.
Sure enough, when the day arrived, Paloma and Akari came to the nest to escort Kasumi to her new home. Haru had been running about excitedly all morning, but obediently hangs limp when her mother scoops her up in her jaws. With a deep breath, Kasumi steps forward.
The journey is made in silence. The Fanged lioness side-eyes Paloma as they walk; it had become increasingly obvious over the past month from both her scent and her swollen belly that she was once again expecting cubs, and from the fact that she hasn't mentioned it aloud, Kasumi is certain that the litter is Lowell's. She isn't sure how to feel about it; she can't help but wonder whether the older lioness' speech about not resenting Lowell was made before or after she'd mated with him. ((In case anyone's reading this and actually wants to know: Paloma and Lowell hooked up a few hours before his and Kasumi's argument, her speech was partially coming from a genuinely supportive place BC she wants her kids to be happy, but also partly in her own interest BC she didn't want Kas to be angry w her if she ever found out, lol.)) On the other paw, she knew for a fact that, like Akari, Paloma simply viewed breeding with their king as a means to an end - the "end" being getting rid of the discomfort of being in heat and eliminating the possibility of their scents attracting strange males. Neither of them particularly cared for Lowell, and as such weren't competitors for his affection.
She almost shook her head at that, as if to dissipate her current train of thought, before remembering the young cub dangling from her muzzle.
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