badru was born at night. she, and four other kits, were tossed into a cold, dark world. her mother had found a shelter of rocks to give birth in but the rocks provided no insulation from the droping temperatures. two of her siblings frozen that night. life only got harder for badru. she lost another sibling when she was two, only herself and her sister left. her mother tried her hardest, but she was a skinny cheetah and suffered from a lame paw. it was a miricle that they had all survived for as long as they did.

when it was apparent to her mom that her kit-mane was just growing more unruly, she taught badru how to get it out of her face. before, badru had mutliple incidents of running into things and others, but with her man pulled back with honey it was easier to handle. by the time badru was 6, she knew how to hunt alongside her mom and sister. badru was the fastest, taking lead to push prey back to her kin while her sister and mother waited in the brush to pounce. their tacticts mimiced that of moonbeams, the canines hunting as a group instead of sigularly.

tragedy struck at age 9. it was dusking to night when her small family needed to cross a river. her mom had gained strength back with her sibling and her hunting, and her sister was slowly catching up to her moms midsection. badru still remained small and lanky, often compared to an awkward bird. so when their travels led to a river after getting chased off by a group of sunflares, they had no choice but to cross. most cats stay away from water at night due to the dangers lurking below. badru was forced to go first, her smaller frame making her a prime target for the sunflares. long and lanky legs carried her swiftly across the river, the current tugging agaisnt her pet but never slowing her down. when she within paws of the other side, she heard her kin slide into the water behind her. she got to the other side, turned around, and watched as a looming mass came out of the water just behing her sister and mother. she tried to shot out, but frozen in fear and panic and exhausted from the running and swimming, all she could do was watch as the massive maws of a flare-killer(hippo) engulfed her only family.

she traveled for months by herself after that. she could only catch smaller prey and her thin frame grew thinner. she stopped slicking her hair back, which inadvertently made hunting harder. badru avioded other cats and only came out of hiding when the hunger became to much. thats how she met adimu, a young, imposing cheetah. at first, when adimu had moved into the area badru had located, adimu had yet to notice another cheetah. but one day she started leaving half of her catch behind, walking off and abandoning the fresh meet. badru wasn't going to look a giff horse in the mouth and ate off of the carcasses left behind to fill her belly. for a while this went on. adimu would catch something, eat, and leave, cue badru coming out to eat the left overs. but then adimu stopped leaving. she would sit by the kill, clean her paws, and lounge in the sun. badru went hungery again for a while, but her hunger became too much. she had to eat and the scrawny prey she had been able to catch wouldnt do. the day followed as usual, around noon the herd would graze, adimu would pick out a sickly or young prey, she would succed in her catch, eat, and sunbath. however, the day had a change in it. instead of hiding, badru slowly crept out of the underbrush. adimu's ear twitched and then she went still again. badru froze with the movement but when it was clear adimu was not getting up again, she continued her crawl. body tense, badru made her way to the carcass. when she got within reach of the kill, adimu lifted her head to star down at badru. she chirped, a high, encouraging vocalization, bfore plopping back down, presumably to continue her nap. badru ate her fill, always keeping a watchful eye on the stange cheetah. at ten years old, badru was small for her age. she wouldn't stand a change if adimu decided to turn hostile. but she didnt't. she layed there, occasionally rolling over or sunning her belly, completely ignoring badru. when badru was done, instead of running, she move away from the kill and mimiced adimu. she layed down, cleaned her paws, and started sunning herself.

they continured to meet like that, no words exchanged, but both of them basking in the sun after eating from a kill. until one day, badru just never left. she kept to adimus side, helping her in hunts, learning from her, trusting her more and more. they spent a year together with adimu teaching badru all she knew and badru telling her stories of her mother. when adimu offered to slick back badrus hair after a hunt gone wrong because of her bad visibility, badru said yes. they grew closer after that and for three more years stayed side by side, adimu thinking of badru as her daughter and badru slowly thinking of adimu as another mother. not someone to replace her first mom, but someone who could help her and who she trusted enough to think of as kin.