STORY
Cubhood
Kimama was born in the Brightheart pride, to a pride lioness and the Overseer at the time. She was a proud, adventurous, yet kind cub. A tuft of hair on the back of her neck and top of her head were the beginnings of a mane yet to grow in.
Adolesence
As soon as she was old enough, she was begging the Providers of the pride to bring her on hunts. "Just for the experience!" After multible failed attempts, the Providers finally let her tag along. And she stayed behind just as she'd promised. This evenually led her to be one of the most valued Providers of the pride.
When she wasn't out the camp watching hunts, she was with the younger cubs helping to cup-sit for exausted Caretakers who needed a well earned break. This is where her, and her pride, learned she was quite motherly despite often showing behaviour a young and confident male would have.
Adulthood
As she grew into adulthood, she was granted the title, "Provider" by her Overseer. She wore this role with pride. She continued her services of cubsitting on the side and dreamed of having her own litter. By now, her mane had grown into a size that resembled either a young male or a male with a small mane.
When she finally tried for a litter with a male she'd grown feelings for, soon into the pregnancy she lost the cubs. This event sent her into a depressive spiral where she found herself starving herself and refusing to ever leave the dark safety of the den she shared with the other Providers. The lion, who'd sired the cubs, only added to the spiral after leaving Kimama. He was only there to have cubs and, with her infertility caused by her own mane, he had no other reason to be with her.
Months after this spiral, the intervention of the pride helped to restore the lioness to her former glory. After finally regaining her confidence she turned again to cubsitting to satisfy her hopeless dream of carrying her own offspring. She was almost always in the nursery when not in hunts and her father, the overseer, even offered her the permanent role of Caregiver. As she was always in the nursery. But she declined. She'd much rather be able to care for them, but both the Caretakers by bringing them food rather than only being just as exhausted as them. She was content enough just helping out.
Elderly Years
Once the lioness had finally grown too old to hunt, she spent all her days telling cubs her stories of hunts. Ones where she was flipped in the air by a buffalo because she was too eager to take it down! How the impact hurt her more than it did her ego, unfortunately. When she grew too old to spent all her time with the cubs, she was ushered into the den reserved for The Withering. There, she spent her days resting or telling eager cubs who'd wandered into the den her stories instead. She felt trapped inside the den all the time, but she knew it was best as she gaining more and more years.
As she'd grown a new Overseer had taken over in place of her father, A capable young lion named Aeolian. She'd know this cub since he was born. He was honestly one her her favourites. He was never too rowdy for her, which she appreciated as most cubs were always climbing on her even as she grew too hold to shake them off. And he'd always seemed....leader-like to her. She had her trust in him if he ever became Overseer.
Then, the worst happened.
The territory the pride had grown generations inside, stayed within for who knew how long? Had caught fire. The entire pride was forced to flee. Kimama was blessed to be one of the more capable Withering within the pride and was one of the only two to escape the blazing flames of the catastrophic event. Only few members of the pride made it aswell, being left with almost a fourth of what the pride was before. The pride was forced into unfamiliar territory, where they were granted a den to inhabit until they got to their feet by a strange group called "The Kinship."
More recently, Kimama has been able to settle into the area nicely. But her age is catching up to her. She gets more energetic by the day, but this is only a terrible sign of what is to come in her near future.