Ingine: "Other, another" (Swahili)

Age: Mohatu's generation
Pride Affiliation: Northlands (birth and return), Pridelands (choice)

Father: Unknown
Mother: Unknown
Siblings: Teseka
Other Relations: Unknown

Mate: Mohatu
Cubs: Shani

Likes: Mohatu, hunting, spending time with friends
Dislikes:  Pridelanders, strangers

Personality: Ingine is very harsh and headstrong, very willing to put her opinions to voice and Stars help anyone who defies those opinions. She will be very doting and loving, sometimes to a fault, towards her family and close friends though, and would never let them come to harm.

Bio:

Ingine was born in the Northlands, a land of strange beliefs and strange lions to go with those beliefs. Her mother was a friend of the leader there, High Priest Mchungaji, thus earning her and Ingine a high rank.

As soon as Ingine can speak, her mother shovels knowledge into her, teaching her about the River God, Umfula, and the rituals that go with the beliefs. Ingine spits in the name of the Northerner Faith; her father, who visits often, is a devout follower of the Common Faith, which teaches lions that lions go to the Stars when they die, and that Lord Bophelo and his brother Lehu are the sole creators of the Leonine race and whatnot.

When Ingine is an adolescent, almost ready for the Msako Sherehe (Hunt Ceremony), her mother takes her out of the Northlands, dragging her by the scruff, and deposits her at the border, telling her that, "Your father will soon be here to take care of you. I'm done with you."

And Ingine's mother is gone.

It is not until the next morning when Ingine sees her father, severely wounded, and he tells her that High Preist Mchungaji had ordered assasins to 'take care of him', as his beliefs in Bophelo and Lehu are considered blashphemy. Ingine helps her father, nursing him back to health, and they leave the Northlands behind.

When Ingine is almost considered a lioness, she and her father are ambushed by a pack of marauding hyenas. Ingine makes it out alive, but not before she witnesses her father being ripped apart by the hyenas. Terrified and wounded, she makes for the Pridelands.

While she is running, she bumps into a lion, with a full, glorious mane and dark fur. She collapses in front of him, losing blood fast, not caring what happens to her.

She wakes in a cave, with the sun shining down on her fur. Her wounds are dressed and clean, and she feels much better, albeit a little tired. It turns out the dark lion rescued her and took her to a mandrill shaman, who helped take care of her. She is getting used to her surrounding when the dark lion enters the cave, smiling. She introduces herself, and he does as well. His name is Mohatu, and he is the young Emperor-King of the Pridelands. Ingine can't help feeling a little embarrassed; fancy being rescued by a monarch!

The two get talking, and become good friends. Whe Ingine is fully recovered, Mohatu invited her to stay at Pride Rock, the home of the Pride. She accepts, thankful  for the help. It is there she meets the Queen, Jaris. She is kind and helpful, although a bit sour. Ingine is a bit crestfallen; she had been hoping Mohatu was hers for the taking.

A while after, Mohatu comes to her in the night and tells her that Jaris left Pride Rock at sundown with a hunting party, and that he is free for a while. Ingine sees this as an oppurtinity and requests that she and him spend the night in the cave where she was brought to the night she was rescued. Mohatu agrees, and they do spend the night together, but not without consequence.

Shani is born to Ingine, and Ingine is forced to birth her alone, for Mohatu is busy. How dare he father a cub and not be there to see it born?

When Shani is old enough to travel, Ingine decided to take her back to the Northlands, but it is a long journey and Ingine collapses near the border. When she wakes, she is being fussed over by a familiar lion. Hang on, she knows that scent, and that face. It's her brother Teseka! She remembers now; when she was but a small cub, her mother told her that she had another sibling, a little brother called Teseka. But he had an illness, a disease unknown to the High Priest, and he sent him to live with another lioness in a secluded cave, where the illness could not be caught. Ingine had visited him one time, but the nurse was very protective of him and rarely let them speak.

But Ingine rushes away with Shani; Teseka was sent away in case other lions caught the illness, so it must be bad. She doesn't want Shani falling ill.

When they get to the pride, they are welcomed and Mchungaji, still the High Priest, celebrates their return. It is here that Ingine decides to raise Shani; the lions are friendly and her father seems to have been forgotten.

When Shani is a young lioness, she introduces Ingine to Kaaroonet, her new 'mate'. This annoys Ingine; her history with males has told her enough about them to distrust them - just look at Mohatu! She tries to persuade Mchungaji to exile them both; Shani for her foolishness and Kaaroonet for just being there. But Mchungaji refuses; Kaaroonet is his son.

Ingine is furious, but decides to let it slip. She wants Shani to be happy, after all. 

When Shani births Kaaroonet's cubs, Ingine visits Teseka once more, and decides to stay with him. She does not catch his illness, and stays with him while Teseka dies of it. She later dies in her sleep, at a well old age.

Relation to TLK: Mohatu's mate

Bases: Sixnewadventures