Decor Plan:
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Born on a night unlike any other, Gloriosa— given the name Gloriosus at birth—and her twin sister Heliconia were orphaned almost immediately after they came into the world. They never knew their mother, and were raised by the rest of the pride. Both cubs had almost identical pelts, both spattered with white contrasting their vibrant orange coats. Jask watches both carefully, especially the ‘male’, Gloriosus.
As the twins grow, Gloriosus reveals a kind nature, though she always wanted…something. She watches Achillea train with Trubel, and around the same time, catches sight of the Championship event, watching the fame that the competitors win, the glory they bring home to their prides. She hangs out with some of the groupies, who actually help her to realize something about herself…she is a female, a lioness. She runs to her sister, who suggests the name Gloriosa, so as to keep true to herself as well as not changing her name fully. Gloriosa agrees, she had never disliked her name, just the term ‘male’ to describe her. The rest of the pride is supportive, though their wariness doesn’t waver.
Maybe Gloriosa wants to be a Champion to get her pride to believe she can be a valuable member…she doesn’t really know. But her desires lead her to interrupt Achillea’s training one day, asking Trubel for lessons. She is relieved when the Captain agrees, though slightly confused when Trubel states an ultimatum, that Jask would have to observe the lessons as well. Of course, the young lioness agrees to the request, she didn’t really have any other choice.
She sees the way Trubel looks at her and Heliconia. Maybe she wants to prove something to the Captain most of all. If the eldest lioness in the pride, save for Jask of course, can respect Gloriosa and her twin, then the rest would surely follow, right? She doesn’t even know why the pride is so apprehensive about the two of them…she had asked Delphinia one time, but the small lioness’s face had just fallen, and her sister, Helleborine, had whisked her away from the curious cubs.
Trubel still acts oddly towards Gloriosa, thought the adolescent tries not to let it get to her. One fateful day though, she’s had enough of the older lioness yelling and being cold towards her, and she stops the training, asking Trubel why she was doing this. Why she and Heliconia could -never- be enough for the Captain or the pride. Gloriosa sees Trubel’s blue-green eyes narrow, before she starts screaming at the young lioness. Gloriosa, shocked by the response, defends herself by raising her voice, an uncharacteristic act for the kind adolescent. Suddenly, she feels an explosion of pain across her face, and the right side of her vision goes dark. Someone lets out a jarring scream…though it sounds like Gloriosa’s own voice. All the young lioness can see is the monarch, who had been a silent observer to the words being rattled off at her, jump from their perch, getting between the Captain and the maned lioness. They allow Gloriosa to lean on them as they lead her to Triteleia to be healed.
The treating of her wounds passes in a blur, as Gloriosa tries to come to terms with the fact that Trubel, a lioness that she had -respected- and looked up to, had struck her. The sight in her eye does not return one the blood has been cleaned from it, and the youngster is told that she would never see from her right eye again. Gloriosa, understandably upset, breaks down in the den. Triteleia and her canid familiar comfort her, as Jask leaves to go speak with the Captain. Gloriosa can’t help but be a little glad the monarch is leaving the den…as much as she hates to admit it, she does blame Jask in part for the attack. They could have stepped in at any point, could have stopped Trubel from getting as riled up as she had, but no. They were content to just sit and watch. Watch as one of the pride’s youngsters has her sight ripped from her, all for the simple, unforgivable sin of existing.
Gloriosa has had a bit more time to think when a spiky-furred head pokes through the entry-way of the den. Triteleia and her familiar seem keen to keep the Captain out, but Gloriosa calls them off, nodding to the one who had done her so much harm. She allows the older lioness to speak with her, and at first, the Captain doesn’t seem to know what to say. Eventually, tear-filled apologies flood the den, as well as an explanation of why Trubel acted the way she had, why she had lost control. She had been thinking of the trio, the three lions, who had died moons before the twins were born. And…Trubel -finally- tells Gloriosa the terrible truth, the thing that the pride had been tip-toeing around the entirety of her and Heliconia’s lives. Their mother, the Mage Adalind, had murdered the trio—which not only included Trubel’s mother but also Jask’s daughter and her mate— out of jealousy and misplaced rage.
Gloriosa is shocked, finally understanding a bit about why Jask and Trubel wished to keep such an eye on her and Heliconia. She cries, telling Trubel that she had only ever wanted to make her, and the pride, proud. The two of them sit for a bit, before Gloriosa speaks again. She says that it will take a while for her to trust Trubel again, which is understandable given the Captain had injured her so severely, but that maybe they could start by finishing her training? And maybe Trubel could teach Gloriosa about her mother?
Design Progress:
- Background: Champion’s Wall (150 MB May event shop; OR 20 gb Branches)
- Jewelry: Charming Chains [Fire Opal] (November crafting, nothing else needed; OR 1.5-3 gb Branches)
- Event Scar: Face Swipe (150 CB August event shop; OR 7-8 gb Branches)
- Lion Pride Fishbone Earring [Light Blue and Pink] (200 sb Monkey Business during Pride; OR 700 sb-20 gb Branches)
- Guernsey Lily [2] (Crafting, need 20 more Guernsey Lily [1]; OR 5-60 gb Branches)
