Name: Abeni (African for 'girl we prayed for')

Sex: Female

Parents: Ayodele and Teshi

Siblings: Ayira

Mate: Kanoni

Cubs: Nkiru, Nkechi (w/ Hasani)

Theme Song: "For You" by Staind

Pride: Ayodele's Pride (birth/formerly); Ikeena's Pride (currently)

Generation: Eleventh (Adanna's Generation)

Personality: Young and full of life, Abeni behaves just like how any other cub her age would. She is a big talker and once you start a conversation with you, you'll find it hard to get her to shut up. She can be loud and 'in-your-face' but it does add to her charm. She is very determined and if she encounters a situation she can't solve right away, she doesn't give up and continues to wittle at the problem until it's eventually solved. As she grows older, her personality stays roughly the same.

Her Relationships:

Her parents: Abeni's relationship with her parents is turbulent at best, horrible at worst. When she was young, she absolutely loved her parents, and saw no wrong in how they raised her (admittingly, this was when Teshi had her better days...). But after she was adopted into Ikeena's pride, her view on her parents changed. She looked up to Fang, Faith, and Ikeena as her caretakers, as she was under the assumption that she would never see her parents again. When she did, things were different. Teshi was aghast at how much her daughter deviated off of her path of what was correct and right. Therefore, tensions between Teshi and Abeni grew until Teshi outright disowned Abeni as her daughter. With her father, things are better as Ayodele tries to have a relationship with Abeni, and disagrees entirely with where Teshi had taken things.

Her sister: As Abeni didn't know about Ayira's existance until she came back to the pride to announce she was having a family, Abeni never really grew close to Ayira. That part of her life is done, she says, though she won't deny that she worries about how her younger sister is fairing underneath the iron-clenched parenting of their mother.

Her family: Because she was young when she was separated from the rest of her pride, Abeni doesn't recall much of her aunts and great-aunts. When she revisited them after hearing that Teshi was ill, Abeni felt uncomfortable being in an environment that obviously remembered her, but not she for them. She had a relationship with Baako, whom she felt was a cool grandmother, and just hearing the stories from Baako made Abeni wish she knew Judas as well.

Ikeena: As Ikeena became a prime caretaker in Abeni's life, she grew to love him as both a leader and a father. He was funny, he was loving, and so much unlike how she remembered Ayodele being, though she still loves her true-born father. When Ikeena died, Abeni was depressed, and felt she too had lost a father.

Fang: The lioness who took her in, Abeni sees Fang as her mother-figure, and rightfully so after her turbulent relationship with Teshi. She feels she can talk about anything to Fang, and won't be judged for it. She greatly respects her, and even though she is older and has a family, will often call for Fang's advice.

Faith: Fang's second mate, Faith became a second caretaker in Abeni's life, though she was distant because she refused to assimiliate herself into pride-life. However, Abeni still loved her dearly, even almost thinking of her as a Cool Aunt or a second-mom. When she was expressing interest in Kanoni, it was Faith that Abeni went to for advice.

Kanoni: Abeni absolutely adores her mate, and isn't afraid to speak up for her, or to be brutally honest when she feels Kanoni has done something to offend her. When they were younger they couldn't stand one another, but as they matured and began their romantic relationship, they found that they were equals, and completed one another.

Her cubs: Abeni absolutely dotes on Nkechi and Nkiru, even though Nkiru was spirited away from her at a young age. Because of her relationship with her parents, Abeni doesn't want to be that parent, which leaves it up to Kanoni to put her paw down. Even when Nkiru returns but is obviously not the same as she had been as a cub, Abeni still loves her, no matter how she feels or what she's done.

Hasani and his family: The father of her cubs, Abeni loves Hasani like a brother, which was why she hated the way he had a crush on her when they were younger. However, she knows she can always depend on him to come through for her in the end, and when she's having a hard time with Kanoni, it is Hasani whom she'll always do to. Because Hasani is like a brother to her, Abeni has reached out to Ashanti, Kamau, and Kgosi as well. She has a decent relationship with Ashanti, with it being further improved when she said to Ashanti that even though Nkechi and Nkiru are her cubs by Hasani, she has no romantic feelings for him whatsoever.

Ikeena's family: Though she is not as close with the rest of the pride as she is with Kanoni and Hasani, she still likes her adopted siblings very much, and it was she who came to Nubia's comfort when Rhaenys finally departed from the pride. She considers them her real family, and wouldn't trade them for the world.

History: Abeni was concieved during Teshi and a young Ayodele's romp during the mating season, but Abeni was born after her parents reunited and decided to be a family for their cub. From the start there was problems with Baako, Ayodele's mother, who did not care for Teshi from the get-go, and constantly criticized her and her son's choice in mate. Though Baako never indirectly attacked Abeni, she was not close to her cub as she could've been whereas Abeni might've had better relationships with her other family members. For now, Abeni lives in a secure environment within her grandfather's pride.

One day Abeni wandered too far from her family pride and got lost. She accidentally bumped into a rogue lion who was considering making her his next meal. A rogue lioness saved her, but ending up losing her life in the process. The lioness's lover, Fang, found Abeni a while later, and decided to take Abeni into her pride until the pretense that Abeni would pretend to be her daughter in order to help her hide her secret. Abeni had no qualms about Fang - she loved the older lioness like she was her mother, but she still missed her family. Fang decided to go look for her family every night.

Faith, a lioness who eventually won Fang's heart, became a big part of Abeni's life, and she too loved the younger lioness like another mother. There were also new cubs in the pride by the time Abeni was a bit older, and she welcomed them with open paws. Hasani, Ikeena' son with Malkia, was persistent in his love for her, but she continued to rebuff him, not interested in the cub in the slightest.

By the time she was a teenager, Fang found her family pride. Reunited with her parents, Abeni swore to Fang that she would continue to visit if it was okay with her father and Ikeena. However it turned out to not be okay by Teshi as she felt Ikeena (and more importantly Fang) corrupted her daughter, making her more rebellious. A huge fight between her, Ikeena, Fang, and Ayodele commenced, and finally unable to take it anymore Abeni left her family pride to permanently live with Ikeena and Fang.

Abeni lived a peaceful live until adulthood where she developed a strong bond with Kanoni, Hasani's younger sister who was the black sheep of the family. Kanoni confided in Abeni, voicing her insecurities that her bad temper as a cub ruined her ability to make friends with her siblings. Abeni encouraged Kanoni and gave her the support she needed. Soon an unspoken attraction between the two started, but Abeni and Kanoni kept it secret from Ikeena and everyone else except Fang and Faith, whom Abeni admitted that Kanoni was her mate. Though a bit shocked, the two were nonetheless supportive.

Then Ayodele came back into Abeni's life, telling her that her mother was very sick. Stricken by the news (even though she and Teshi could not see eye-to-eye anymore) Abeni went back to her family pride to see her mother under the supervision of Fang and Faith. Kanoni also went along with her, paying her back by supporting her. Abeni stayed within the pride for several days, apologizing over and over to her mother and telling her that she loved her. Miraculously Teshi recovered, and asked Abeni if she was willing to give her a second chance. Abeni said yes, but the new obstacle now was how was she going to tell Teshi about Kanoni?

With things still shaky at home, Abeni returned to Ikeena's pride, and the next to find out about her relationship with Kanoni was Hasani, which proved beneficial to them both when they decided they wanted to have a family together. They approached Hasani with a proposition - he would get Abeni pregnant so they could raise the cubs, but he would still be a part of their daily lives, but they would not know he was their father until they were much older. Hasani happily agreed, and this was when Abeni decided to finally tell her parents the truth. Being heavily pregnant and with Kanoni at her side, Abeni journeyed to the pride, and told her parents.

Ayodele was supportive, but Teshi was enraged at her daughter, and that was the moment Abeni realized she and her mother would never have the relationship they wanted. She also saw that she had a younger sister in Ayira, conceived after Teshi recovered from her illness, and Abeni saw that she was no longer welcomed into her own family, so she turned her back on them for the last time, even when Ayodele pleaded to her to try and talk some sense into her mother.

Abeni gave birth to twins, whom she and Kanoni named Nkechi and Nkiru. During the night, Nkiru was stolen from her. Kanoni and Hasani searched high and low for their daughter, but it was a lost cause. Since then, Abeni, Kanoni, and Hasani became very protective of Nkechi, and hoped that wherever Nkiru was, she was happy.

Family History:

Great-Great-Great-Great Grandparents: Joe and Gbemisola

Great-Great-Great Grandparents: Mohatu and Thema

Great-Great-Great Uncle: Emeka

Great-Great-Great Aunt: Asabi

Great-Great Grandparents: Ahadi and Uru/Olric and Sia

Great-Great Aunts: Nakato, Kanika, Kumba

Great-Great Uncles: Bakari, Asante

Great Grandparents: Mufasa and Sarabi/Ari and Quanna

Great-Uncles: Scar, Mega, Uzoma

Great-Aunt: Makini

First Cousins: Nuka, Zara, Reno, Ekene, Chipo

Great-Aunts: Nomusa, Sassia

Grandparents: Judas and Baako

Grand-Aunts: Enu, Jira, Tamu, Eshe, Nsia, Aboyo, Halla

Grand-Uncles: Simba, Tojo, Gotto, Sizwe

Second-Cousins: Maalik, Katura, Hasani, Kopa, Kiara, Firion, Jengo, Adwin, Ngosi, Duka, Rena, Sarafina, Abrafo, Gacheru, Winta

Aunts: Ari, Zuri, Jalena, Kayin, Kesi, Duni, Lindiwe

Uncles: Kayode, Gwandoya, Erevu, Jiro

Third-Cousins: Adanna, Abel, Rahim, Thairu, Lesedi, Zainabu, Tafari, Akachi, Caius, Zaina, Samanya