The Shadow Behind the Sun (A Lion RP)

A lion RP... (I was surprised no one had made one until now.)

Plot:
It’s the season of the Burning Sky and all the cubs of the generation have reached the peak of their youth and are ready to have their minds molded to fit the lifestyles of their parents and full grown pride members, causing much excitement and movement within the branches in the Pride.

However, not all is well in the savanna, as a lone king has begun rising from the shadows, taking over the once fallen Outlanders, and only the new generation of cubs can predict the bad events to come, the rest of the lion population completely blind and oblivious to the king, their main focus on the annual Wildebeest migration and new packs of Hyenas who have targeted the new source of prey. It is up to the growing cubs to solve the Pride’s troubles before their doom is upon them…

The Pride:
In this RP, there are many branches, or families, that connect together in order to create one large Pride, led by the main family, the strongest and most pure blooded of the lions. However, just as the head family, or branch of the pride, is made up purely of lions, there are traces of other beast cat blood in the lower families, such as leopard and tiger DNA mixed in with the lion blood, which helps to separate the families easier.

The Branches:
Though the branches are known as 'families,' in all honesty, there are many separate groups of kin within the classes, most having different last names. However, the different groups of kin are all led by the strongest group in the family and follow their word under the Alpha's rule. Only one group of kin in each branch can lead the family.
Alphas -
The Blue-Blooded Lions, leading the Savanna under their rule.
Betas -
The Ligers, the second in command.
Omegas -
The Leopard Lions, the main branch of the Omegas. However, the Leopard Lions had recently been wiped out by a wild fire in their portion of the territory and the spot for the Main branch of the Omegas is being fought over.

Beneath the Leopard Lions are the secondary Omegas, made up of Tri-Bloods, Ocelot Lions, Cheetah Lions, and Outcasts.

The Families:
Lions -
The Rikamar (Head)
???

Ligers -
The Rochimaga (Head)
The Gintara

Leopard Lions -
The Igukui (Head) [extinct]
The Sazuka [endangered]

Ocelot Lions -
The Caragan (Head)
The Nhimjinn

Cheetah Lions -
??? (Head)
The Mikisen

Other Families (Foreigners) -
The Gama (Two members)

~TBU~ (??? = any last name that someone wants to use)

Cultures:
Though all the families have different cultures depending on where they live in the Savanna, there are a few aspects that are followed by all the families.

* Only the heads of each family and their offspring bear the Points of Blood, or the King’s Cheeks, which are an upside down triangular mark beneath one or both of the wearer's eyes, acting as a symbol of power and nobility.

* Though it is against the Law of the Pride and highly looked down upon, some members choose to breed outside their own branches. However, most choose to remain true to their roots for the fear of their offspring to be lowered to the Minor Omega branch.

*Most families remain within their own territories, keeping their young separated from those of other breeds. However, the Ligers and Lions keep a slightly closer relationship than most.

*The lions are the largest branch in the pride besides the Secondary Omegas.

*The Leopard Lions held the smallest amount of members.

* The Outlanders are the mortal enemies of the Pride.

*As only the heads of the Pride bear the Points of Blood, the heads of the Outlanders bear the Points of Shade, a blackened and less known version of the King's Cheeks.

~TBU~

Form:
Name:
Gender:
Age:
The Family(Breed):
Rank:
Appearance:
Personality:
Crush:
Mate:
Cubs:
Kin:
Other:

If you want, you may click here to creator your character.

Current Cubs:
Roshimu Rikamar
Aritoa Caragan
Gleeba Nhimjinn
Sumi Gintara
Hatashi Sazuka
Xujri Rochimaga
Yufi Mikisen
Samuzaki
Pyu Gama

(Since I'm tired of waiting on Chibi, I'm just gonna start the RP So, let's see how well I can do this!)

"Tafari, will you get up? The other families are ready for the meet at the Watering Hole!" roared a slender golden lioness, her tail wavering with annoyance as she roused the main Rikamar male and king of the Pride from his slumber. "And hurry! Even your son is waiting on your lazy rump!"

The large, dark gold male with a thick blackish brown mane watched as his mate stalked out before getting up and yawning, his long fangs gleaming. "Roshimu?"

~

"Now Xujri, how will you greet King Tafari and his son?" cooed a large cream colored male with a silky, pale yellow mane and white stripes, his gentle, bright gold eyes glowing proudly as they rested upon his only cub.

"With a purr of harmony and friendship, daddy." The small ligeress was nearly the spitting image of her father, except for the Points of Blood upon her soft, innocent face.

"Good good! My dear, I believe you are ready for your first Watering Hole meet! Oh, your mother would be so proud to see us off with the others chosen, but alas, she sick and must remain in her nest."

Walking side by side, pelts brushing, the father and daughter left towards the center of the savanna, flanked by their escort of upper class Ligers.

~

"Hurry, you slow poke! Hurry up or we're going to miss it!" A streak or burnt orange flew by.

"What are we going to be late for?!" growled a tired and annoyed voice as a spotted pale gold and cream streak followed after.

"For the Watering Hole meet! Yufi, you dunce!!

"You know we're not supposed to go! The Omegas are only supposed to send a few members of each family to the meet! And only cubs of the royal families are allowed! My uncle and two of his closest friends were only allowed from the Miksen branch, so what makes you think you, a Triblood, and I can get it?!"

"We sneak in, that's how!" She had stopped to look at the timid male face to face, her orangy amber gaze glowing intensely compared to his nervous sepia eyes. She growled and took off, leaving her friend to stand stunned before he bolted after her. She hated being called a Triblood.

"Hey Gleeba, you guys heading there too?!" A new voice rose up in a smooth, cool tone as another cub appeared, running through a clump of thorny shrubs to match their speed, his spotty pelt and light mane fluttering.

"Oh hey Hatashi! You too?!" Gleeba was surprised to see him there, though at the same time, she wasn't.

"Yeah, and I told a couple of the others too. If we get together, we can maybe rush the guards? Oh, and hey Yufi." The leopard lion kept level voice as he ran, unlike the tired voice of Gleeba or the nervous squeak of the cheetah lion.

(I also edited the first post a bit.)

(I've decided to make Roshimu a bit of a proud douchebag, but he'll get over it with maturity.)

Roshimu was there in a flash. "Are you ready to go? Come on! I can't wait!" He was practically jumping up and down. His golden pelt was ruffled but it still had a glossy sheen to it from an intensive grooming earlier. He trotted around his father in a circle. "There'll be other cubs, right?" He was quite air-headed sometimes.

Sumi Gentari was laying on her stomach, picking at the grass with her teeth.

(..Should Roshimu have the King's Cheeks?)

"Ari. ARI! We're gonna be late, you buffoon." Screeched a female ocelion, stamping her paws on the ground outside of Aritoa's nest. Their fearless, cunning, powerful leader rolled over and groaned.

"Oh, Actia. You know that we're late anyway. The others have come to expect it. Why, I'll bet that the head one, whatever his name was-"

"Tafari?"

"Yes, that one. He probably hasn't even showed up yet in anticipation of our tardiness." Aritoa spoke clearly and calmly without a hint of sleepiness in his voice, though he still didn't move. "We've got a good five minutes before any lion starts to wonder where we are." He dismissed her with his paw.

"Aritoa, I am NOT letting a repeat of last year... augh." She snarled, jumping up to stand over her leader. "If you don't get up in-"

"Alright, no need to get snippy, sweetheart. Just give me five minutes to-"

"NO!"

Aritoa rolled his eyes and cuffed her lightly over the ears. "Alright, fine. Anything for you, honeybunches." He spoke mockingly, rubbing his nose against hers and hopping out of his nest. "Come on, kitty kitties. I haven't got all day. Fussy fur over here made me get out of bed."

(Yeah, Tor, that works. Also, GH, is Aritoa a cub or fully grown?)

The large lion bellowed a hefty laugh and roared to his son,"Why of course! You know my friend Shiro, the head of the Ligers? He and his daughter Xujri will be joining us at the head of the meet. She also bears the Points of Blood. Its good that you'll be meeting together and you'll be hearing about how the Pride works." Standing up, Tafari shook his heavy mane and trotted out of the stony den, his swishing tail beckoning for his son to follow.

(Sorry for the short post I guess its a bit of WB, but not really.)

(Aritoa is the leader, dumbnuts...

OMFG CUB LEADER BEST FREAKIN' IDEA EVER)

(Well, do you plan on having a cub or only an adult, since the adults really only play minor roles, at least for now.)

( FIEN.

Might've been a good idea to note that earlier, though, before I put all my energy into one character. >.>

I'll make a cub later. )

(Actually, she said it in the Other Character Creation and pretty much in the first post...so...yeah...)

(ABABA YOU KNOW I ONLY READ THE FORMS /tableflip)

Gleeba paused, drinking in the air as a new scent filled her lungs. "Huh? Who else could be following-" The burnt orange and gold cat was cut off as a tan, black, and white cub climbed out of the bushes, her pink eyes glowing softly and shyly.

"Hey Pyu, ya made it." Hatashi nodded to the cub and quickly began running, Pyu following after, causing Gleeba to have to shake off her sense of confusion and leaped after them.

Yufi dart after Gleeba, his stormy gaze glazed over from running, however, without trying, he quickly made it to the head of the group, his sleek legs and frame allowing him more speed.

Roshimu happily followed his father, trying to look down at the Points of Blood on his own near-golden face. He could only see the tips of red on his cheeks before his eyes strained too much and reverted to their normal position. He weaved between Tafari's legs in excitement.

Tafari gave a laughing bellow and announced with a roar,"We are here! Welcome, my son, to the Water Hole meet!"

Beyond the large, shimmering lion was a beautiful scene of green, blue, and many of other shades of various colors flecking the land with bright flowers, birds, and plants. The clear water gleamed, tinged with glitter from the sun's reflective beams. Grass grew in large amounts here and shady trees were everywhere. It was so vast, it seemed top spread for forever in all directions, hooved-beasted frolicking elegantly in harmony of the large cats' presence.

Many striped, solid, spotted, and various other marked pelts were sprawled out everywhere, drinking, chatting, sleeping- all waiting for the lion king and his son to arrive.

~

"Dude, we're here!" murmured Gleeba, her eyes shining brightly. "Now, all we have to do is act like we're part of a guard patrol for some nobel cats. But not all of us can be in the same group."

Hatashi looked around and mused,"How about you and Yufi sneak in with those guys?" He pointed his tail to Tafari and his patrol. "And me and Pyu will stick with them until we get in?" The handsomely attractive cub motioned towards the main Liger group waiting to enter the barricaded paradise guards from the inside by many different types of big cats, mainly cheetahs.

"Sounds good! Come on Yufi!" Despite his pleads, Gleeba drug the cheetah cub along to the kinf lion's group, taking their place and creeping along beneath the large, looming lions.

(Quick question. Would every lion/liger/other thing be there, or only ones chosen to protect the nobility?)

Roshimu, standing by his father's front right paw, looked amazed by what he saw. "There are so many...Were they really waiting for you? And me?" He asked in a faint whisper, eyes shining.

(I want Simba to be there XD)

(No, most of the Pride isn't there. This just proves how giant the pride is in full population.)

"Yes my son. And now, we must meet up with the head of the Ligers, our closest brethren! Hurry and follow!" The lion bounded forward, his patrol following.

Gleeba and Yufi had to hurry to keep up, their stubby cub legs extremely slow compared to the sleek muscles of the full grown lions of nobility.

Roshimu managed to keep up with his dad, only trailing behind the average length of a gazelle's horn from Tafari's front paw. He was panting, but he kept going, his short legs pumping. A stream of questions flowed through his brain, but he kept silent.

Tafari yowled a roar of greeting, leaping onto his hind legs and propping him up as a much lighter, slightly striped male matching him in size threw himself up as well, the two running and batting at each other in playful notion. "Shiro! Its been a while, hasn't it?!"

"Oh yes Tafari, but you are looking great! How is Roshimu?!" The lighter male had a much less booming voice, it being quite a bit more elegant and level. His cream and white striped tail lashed happily.

"He's great! I even brought him along! Roshimu?! Come meet Shiro of the Ligers!" The king lion motioned for his son to come over, both of the giant males now on all fours once again. He then watched, with his golden eyes shining proudly, as Shiro gently coaxed his own cub over. Such an adorable little cub he has!

~

Gleeba sighed, sneaking away over to the edge of the watering hole, plunging her head into the cool, refreshing water, with Yufi at her side. With a splash, she yanked her head out of the tasty liquid and exclaimed,"Oh, this is sooo good!!"

Yufi gave a rumbling purr as he swiped his tongue around his muzzle, lapping up the droplets that clung to his fur from when Gleeba sent a spray of water in every direction.

"Hey, you cubs stop that splashing! You're ruining my groomed pelt!"

The two ran as the angry female's mate came lumbering over, Gleeba glancing back and yowled over her shoulder,"Sorry!!" She then stopped at the base of a large tree, climbing onto one of it massive, gnarled roots to wait for Hatashi and Pyu.

Roshimu tentatively padded over to his father, staring up at the liger before him. "Wow," he mewed quietly, standing close to Tafari.

Tafari grinned and meowed(I think they can),"Son, this is Xujri, Shiro's daughter. Can you recognize anything?"

The small, shy she-cub padded up slowly to Roshimu and dipped her head respectfully. "Hello Prince Roshimu of the Rikamar family." She then smiled, her pale blue eyes glowing calmly. "Would you..." she glanced up at her father, who noded. "...like to go and play?" She lashing her light and dark cream striped tail playfully.

"She has the red cheeks," Roshimu murmered, but was soon distracted. "Dad, can I go play?" He asked excitedly, practically bouncing up and down in anticipation. He knew the answer would most likely be yes, and his eyes were shining with the prospect of making a new friend. Most of the Rikamar cubs were boring to him.

Tafari gave a smile of gleaming white fangs and growled,"Of course, my son! Just remember, be back in time for the start of the meeting to take your place beside me." He shook his dark mane and sprawled out beside his old friend.

Xujri giggled and bounced toward a giant tree, her pale eyes wide and locked on a colorful lizard climbing in the trunk in a spiraling motion. As she neared it, Xujri prepared to pounce, but as she did, a flash of cream and tawny-tan caught her eyes and she collided with the body who had leaped out in front of her, catching the tiny reptile between his own claws. "Eeek!" she squealed, rolling off both the down-soft body and the tough roots.

"Owww! H-hey! I caught it! Hey, Gleeba, I actually caught it!!"

Xujri blinked, her blurred gaze clearing up to see faintly see another cub in front of her, sitting on his rump with his spotted tail curled in the dusty ground and his hind paws jutting in the air; the lizard was clamped in between his paws, alive as the cub's claws formed a cage.

"Hey,"

The new voice filled the little princess's ears, feeling her pelt get warm as she felt somewhat attracted to the rich, cool tone. She listened as it continued, the voice coming from behind the base of the huge tree.

"...I guess you owe him that leaf after all."

"Hey, IK don't owe Yufi anything! It was merely a fluke!"

Xurjri cringed at the crude, loud voice, a totally different lion, she assumed, but also another cub.

"Hey, chill out. Whether it was a fluke or not, you still owe him that Sweet Leaf. He won it fair and square." The cool voice added once more.

"....Grrrr fine! Take the stupid leaf, I don't want it!"

"....Then why did you make such a fit over it? Ooof! Sorry for my curiosity!" a tiny, timid-like, light voice arose softly, making it known that a fourth new cub was at the tree, on the other side.

Xujri was utterly confused. How many cubs do they allow to come to Meetings?! I thought only Roshimu and I were the cubs here. I guess I was wrong! "H-hello?" she stammered, unsure if the newcomer cubs were friendly, mostly concerned by the third, harsh voice.

"Xujri!" Roshimu called, bounding to the cub. He was surprised by the number of cubs that had swarmed near the princess. "You have the red cheeks like me!" He mewed happily, a smile spreading across his golden face.

Xujri sprang up and hurried to hide behind the golden cub, her pale body quivering as she was quite shy. "R-Roshimu, did you know that other cubs were going to be here? One ran and hit me smack-dab in the face! Pl-please see who they are." She felt pretty relieved to be with the other bearer of the King's Cheeks, even though they had only just met. Perhaps it was because she already heard some much about the prince and his father, the king of all lions alike.

Yufi looked up, noticing the she-cub and the newly approaching cub for the first time, his eyes glowing. "Gleeba, we have some company. And their cheeks bear the-"

"The Points of Blood?! ROYALTY?!" The fiery-colored cub leaped out from behind the tree, her eyes not at all harsh, but rather excited. She wasn't worried about making royal, important friends, but rather having more cubs to join in on her wild adventures. They may have some cool new place to explore!

Following Gleeba was Hatashi, the odd-looking and mysteriously attractive cub closely flanked by the soft-voiced Pyu, their midnight blue and rose-colored eyes contrasting each other. "Hmmm?!" they murmured simultaneously.

"Yeah! Of course we're royalty!" Roshimu boasted, puffing up his chest and giving a wide, toothy grin. He tried to look regal like his father, but the cub only managed to almost fall over his own front paws. "Who are you?" he asked, giving into his curiosity.

(Just because I felt like this RP needed a kick in the ass.)

Gleeba chuckled and shook her long-furred face, amber eyes closed. "Tsk tsk- have you been taught any lessons in regal behavior? I thought it was the duty of any king, present or future, to introduce himself first before demanding his quaint, little underlings to spout information. Who, young cub, are you?!"

"Gleeba! What are you doing?" Yufi shot the gingery-colored cub a nervous look, his voice riddled with shock. "You can't talk that way to them.....c-can you?! They must be related to the king!"

"Well duh, that's what it means to be royalty! Are you a complete twit?!"

As the passive and aggressive cubs argued on, the oddly-colored other pair moved slowly closer to Roshimu and Xujri, Hatashi's deep eyes gleaming curiously. "I'm Hatashi Sazuka- the last member of the Sazuka clan and all of the Leopard-lions. I'm also the one with the title Ash-Paw. And this is Pyu Gama. She's, well.....not from around here. And it seems that she has something in common with that pale friend of yours." He tilted his head to peer at the cowering she-cub behind the golden lion in front of him. He gave a simple smile and ran his tail along the silky-furred lioness beside him, motioning for Pyu to greet the newcomers. He sighed softly as the timid Leopard-Lion beside him gave a curt, coy smile before ducking her head in embarrassment.