Shomari

[Zoketi]

art (c) me

Name: Shomari

Name Meaning: "forceful" in Swahili

Gender: male/lion.

Age: preteen, about a year old.

Alliance: none.

Physical Appearance: Slim, skinny but not dangerously so, Shomari has the usual build of his rock-land-living pride. He is rather small for his age, appearing somewhat too weak to still be alive. His tail is long and very thin, though the tuft at the end is full and soft--appearing a bit disproportionate. His legs are long, like all of the Steppelanders, and his ears are large and his eyes round. The main color of his pelt is a soft, light-ish dusty gray. It is not pure gray, but blended with tan-brown. Not in an unappealing way, though. His slim form seems to fit this color well, and his pelt rolls smoothly over his body. His stomach, chest, and muzzle all retain the same color: simply a lighter shade of his body's color. It actually is close to white, showing contrast against his full pelt. Shomari's toes are a darker hue of his main color, with the same blends of brown and gray, only deeper. Just above his forepaw toes is a swath of middling grey. He has a few spots of this color on his neck. His tail fades out from the tip ever so slightly, hardly noticeable. The tuft is the same dark grey as his mane, which is scruffy and short, forming a small overhanging tuft. It descends down his neck, until disappearing by his shoulders. The usual eye shading is the very color of his subpelt. His eyes are quite vibrant, a deep reddish orange color. Being so bright, they hardly match his timid personality. little on the small side, but well-proportioned.

Kin: Pamoja (mother), Kilfalme (father)

Orientation: bisexual (leans to females).

Love Interest: none

Offspring: none

Personality: Shomari is a timid little thing, it seems like that's all he ever displays. He doesn't make any outgoing moves, he rarely makes eye contact with others and is always avoiding any sort of relationship. To those he comes across, he always shows a powerful barrier that expresses he does not like interacting. This often appears as an ignoring act, or just plain hiding.

Yet, he is quite intelligent. He often has trouble showing this though, and keeps his silence even when he is bursting inside to show others what he knows. He gets frustrated by this, but his shyness won't let him display his smarts. Shomari is, in fact, a kind soul. Once past his outer shell, you could find much gentleness inside him. He hates others pain, and is very peaceable. Although some see this as weakness, it might make him a better lion as he grows. He has a lot of patience and expresses a calm aura when he's not around others, but is very tense when in crowds.

History: Shomari was born in a pride of lions known as Steppelanders, living obviously in the Steppelands. He was a small, runty thing and was often subject to much teasing as a child. His mother was a sickly lioness, and she had trouble caring for her son. But she was a wonderful parent, and did it for her son even when she was hardly weak enough to move, and helped to ease Shomari's angst by taking him on short walks and teaching him to believe in himself. His mother did all she could, but she died when he was barely six months old.

In this new grief, Shomari was lost again. He had no one, no friends and no family. (His father was a rogue who Shomari had never met.) Terrified in his new, cold world, the six-month old cub ran away. As young as he was, he couldn't imagine some of the dangers he might face alone in the real world. He fled the Steppelands, heading towards the jungle that had been the northern edge of the territory. A thunderstorm blew in, making Shomari twice as scared, and he ended up under thick ferns in the jungle, too fearful to move. He was very lucky that night, for a kind lioness stumbled upon him and took him as her own. She raised him in the savannah--her home, helping him to overcome his grief and terror. Her name was M***a.

Status: living as a loner with his adopted "mother" M***a.

Participation: none yet.