Given to me by NightCat, thanks so much for him!

Name: Kereenyaga

Goes by: Kereen

Meaning: mountain of mystery

Gender: male

Age: deceased

Breed: African lion

Appearance: strong Outlander build; scruffy chin and mane; uncolored paws; an outlander nose and spots marking each ear along with a distinct beauty mark on the side of his face

Fur/mane colors: golden brown pelt and chocolate mane/tail tuft with a lighter brown underside, chin and muzzle; dark brown eyeshades, ears and ear spots

Eye color(s): daffodil yellow and deep blue

Personality: cunning; antisocial; cowardly; unpredictable; reserved; cold; untrustworthy

Kereen is a hard guy to understand. He rarely, if ever, lets you discover too much about him. He’s always acting like he has something to hide, even when he doesn’t. He can be a sly manipulator and enchant almost anyone he meets- especially lionesses. He’s also a formidable opponent on the battlefield, and he knows how to make excellent use of strategy. He’s extremely hard to get along with, as his moods are constantly changing. One day he could be in a particularly friendly mood, and the next he wouldn’t want anything to do with you. He’s very lonely most of the time and longs for a companion, but lives in oblivion of his faults and can’t bring himself to change his ways.

Likes: to come and go as he pleases; pretty lionesses; fighting; stealing food from hyenas; playing mind games; being let alone

Dislikes: loneliness; his own guilt; being followed; being annoyed; defeat; loud noises; hyenas; cubs; memories; himself

Wants: to be left alone; to be rid of guilt

Mate: Tojo’s mother/Amira

Cubs: Tojo

Crush/crushers: none, closed

Relations: Unnamed parents, unnamed aunt, possibly many other sons and/or daughters

Friends: Scar/Taka (formerly), Thema, Amira

History: Kereenyaga came into the world one night near the lands where the Mountain Pride lived. His parents were two rogues who had not at all expected a cub, and weren’t very happy about it. The father took off and the mother, young and in desperation, passed the cub off to her older sister. The two sisters weren’t all that fond of each other in the first place, and this certainly didn’t help things between them. Reluctantly, Kereen’s aunt agreed to be his caretaker, and the young mother ran away forever, out of her newborn son’s life. Kereen’s aunt had had cubs before, but at her age she didn’t ever anticipate having to raise another one. This made her bitter and resentful, especially towards her nephew. The poor cub lived in continual fear of his aunt, and he often ran away. When he came back (and he always did), he was beaten sorely and reprimanded harshly. One day when Kereen had decided to run away again, he ran blindly across the borders of the Pride Lands and right into King Ahadi. The cub froze when he looked up at the huge, powerful lion. He started to pray and plead for his life. The King was confused. Where did this cub come from? Where was his pride, or his parents for that matter? The cub had marks all over his body. Ahadi sensed something was wrong. The first thing he did was to reassure Kereen and let him cry a little. The second thing he did was to invite Kereen to stay in the safety of Pride Rock. At first, Kereen was unsure and afraid his aunt would come looking for him. But then he remembered how many times she wished she was rid of him, and this made him think. This gentle, fatherly King was offering him a place to stay with his own family. He figured there was little to lose, and followed Ahadi home, a glimmer of hope in his heart. As soon as they got back, the King’s mate and children were there to greet him. Ahadi ushered the children away so he could explain the situation to his mate, Uru. She took pity on the small, worn out thing that lay before her and fell in love with him at once. The queen, who was known throughout the lands for her compassion and kindness, took the cub in as one of her own. One of Kereen’s first friends he made in the Pride Lands was his adoptive brother, Taka. At first Taka wasn’t thrilled with having another sibling, but they warmed up to each other and found they had a lot in common. Kereen also enjoyed the company of his new sister Thema. She was smart and kind like her mother, and had her father’s sense of humor. Unfortunately he didn’t get to spend much time with Mufasa, as the young prince was busy in his lessons. Taka would rarely express his disdain for Mufasa openly as a cub, but things only got worse as the young royals reached adolescence. Taka didn’t hang around anybody except the hyenas, and whenever he was around Pride Rock he was in his cave, sulking by himself. Now that Taka was angry at the world all the time, Kereen made an effort to stay away from him. More time passed, and soon the young royals were within reach of adulthood. Kereen began to feel less and less at home in Pride Rock, and so he set out on his own to make his way in the world. He soon found that life wasn’t so easy outside the castle walls, and had to resort to stealing food from hyenas to get by. A few years went by after this, and Kereen had unknowingly become quite similar to his brother Taka in demeanor. He was always lonely, acted selfishly and never talked to anyone- except one lioness in particular, a princess named Amira. They would meet in secret at the borders of her lands by night, so as not to be seen by others. Amira and Kereen fell in love fast, and soon Amira was expecting a cub. She knew that her father, the King, would be furious at her and begged her lover to escape. Kereen tried to find a way out of the situation, but there was none but to leave. At last Amira’s cub was born, a healthy male named Tojo. Kereen would visit his family whenever he could, but things couldn’t go on this way forever, especially with Amira’s father’s suspicion growing. He stopped visiting- permanently- and never saw his mate and son again. Kereen would live the rest of his life in shame for leaving his family behind. More years passed and Kereen fell in love with several more lionesses, but he never could stay, and the memory of Amira was still heavy on his heart. He started living more by himself, becoming cold and distant once more. He didn’t care for lionesses anymore- he only spent his days wallowing in guilt and self-pity. In youth, Kereen was always the victor when it came to fighting, but as he aged he even lost his taste for fighting too. No longer did he recognize the scars that his aunt had given him- they were all one with the scars earned from past rivals. The old lion hadn’t battled anyone in a long time, but one day a mature lion that looked vaguely familiar to him approached. Kereen wasn’t in the mood for company (he never was in those days), so he challenged the stranger to a fight. The stranger was confused as to why a lion beyond his years wanted to pick a fight with him, so he politely declined. But Kereen didn’t give in, and the only way the stranger felt he could settle things and be left alone was to accept this challenge. They circled each other for a long time, until Kereen lunged at his opponent. The stranger ducked and countered with a heavy blow from his paw. Kereen fell, coughing in the dust and staggering to his feet. He knew this would be his final battle, but he was determined to die fighting bravely against his foe. The stranger lunged headlong at Kereen and for a moment, you couldn’t even see the two past all the dust that had been kicked up. But then everything stopped. The only thing that could be heard was the faint gasping of the old lion. Kereen was defeated. The stranger waited for his challenger to rise, but he didn’t. He lay down beside his dying opponent and tried to hear him utter something, anything. The old lion stared at him quizzically for a long time, not saying anything. Then a strange, peaceful smile came over his face, and he spoke. “My son… Tojo…” He exhaled once more. He was gone.

Relation to TLK: was the father of Tojo and was raised by Ahadi and Uru.

Tojo, Ahadi, Uru, Mufasa, Scar, all mentioned locations and original images belong to Disney. Thema, Kereenyaga and the renders belong to me. The awesome design was made by NightCat ^^