Jino's Links
Unless someone can help figure out who Jino's parents are, or unless they are one of her two unknown parents, Jino doesn't care about them. Since Akilia doesn't fit either of those two things, Jino doesn't care about her. Sure, Jino believes that Akilia can speak with the ancestors, but Jino doesn't see any reason that that would benefit her; after all, what have the ancestors ever done for her? As of right now, nothing. Even if Jino knew what Akilia planned to do, she probably wouldn't care or do anything about it; Jino doesn't care much for the pride, and probably would have left to try and hunt down her mother and father if it weren't for Ua. Her sister is the only thing tying her to the Isle of Roses (that she knows of), so she'll stick around for her sake, since she knows she'll never rip the Learner Healer away from her duties. Jino just does her best to search for clues about her parents on her own, within her pride's territory (since that is where they were found), and ignores all of her pridemates, including Akilia, as much as possible.
Jino is a loose cannon, unpredictable, and that makes Akilia uncomfortable. It's not that she thinks Jino will expose her; she is quite certain that Jino has no interest in her, as Jino only cares about figuring out who her parents are. However, she still is destructive, and Akilia does not want to risk the brown lioness unintentionally ruining all her plans. Akilia has a pride to save, and she will not let Jino make that all be for naught. That is one reason Akilia makes sure to praise Ua for helping keep Jino under control, as she figures that is further insurance that Jino won't mess everything up. Akilia does think Jino's story is tragic, but it is simply not a priority; actually, stories like Jino's are the ones that spurred her to continue to pursue the path her mother sent her on. After all, if she were in charge, she would ensure that there was no reason for fates like that to occur. (Akilia seems to forget that, as far as she knows, the mother isn't even one of her pride members. If only she knew that Laani, her "cursed" Learner, was the one who gave birth; it's honestly surprising that she didn't figure it out, since Akilia is one of the more intelligent pride members.)
Laani's heart breaks every time she sees or hears about Jino. She wishes so terribly that she could tell Jino the truth, even if it meant that Jino would hate her, because she can't bare to see the path not knowing has driven Jino down. It has consumed her daughter, creating an obsession in her to learn who would abandon their children, and Laani aches knowing it is her decision that did this to her. Because Laani didn't want to give her cubs up, she never wanted to, but what choice did she have? If she accepted the fall for breaking the pride's rules, would she have been forgiven? Jino would most likely tell her that she should have been their mother regardless, because they deserved to know at least one of their parents, but Laani can't bring herself to risk letting the pride fall to ruin. If she's the only one who knows the truth about Akilia, then she needs to be around, even if it means she can't raise her own cubs. She's tried to be as involved as she can, and while she thinks Ua will respect that, she's not sure Jino ever will.
Nasaba pities Jino more than anything else. Ever since Laani first brought her and her sister, Ua, back, he's seen first hand what her abandonment has done to her. Since the start, Nasaba felt that Jino had plenty of potential, but it has been squandered by her obsession of finding her parents. Stories like hers are part of the reason he made the rule in his pride of no romances outside of the pride, unless they are officially established by him. Jino doesn't want help and has pushed away everyone else in the pride except for her sister, Ua, but Nasaba can't help but feel protective of her. He just wishes there's a way he could help her, because as it stands, any attempt he makes gets rebuffed. He's asked Cheka to keep an eye on Jino in particular, partially because he is worried about her destructive tendencies and how they will affect the pride, and also partially because he wants to know if Cheka can see any way to help her. If Nasaba could figure out who her parents were, he would if he thought that would fix anything.
Ua loves Jino. She is her sister; how could she not? And yet, the older they grow, the more distant Ua feels from her. Jino has pushed away almost everyone in the Isle of Roses, and Ua is forever grateful that her sister has not locked her out of her life as well. However, as of late, it feels like Jino is growing away from Ua, despite not closing off to her. She can tell that something has changed with Jino; though she is still determined to figure out who their parents are so that she can confront them about the decision they made, Jino has obviously also found something else. In truth, it has left Ua feeling a little lost. She has always done her best to support her sister, and in the process also often isolated herself from the rest of her pride. Though she is happy to see her sister doing better, it leaves Ua feeling a little lost and aimless as she now tries to figure out how to form proper relationships with the rest of her pride since Jino does not need her to the same extent she once did, and makes Ua wonder if she did for sure do the right thing by hiding the fact that she knows who their mother is.
When Laani came back with two orphaned cubs, Cuore helped take up the task of caring for them. Of course, how much he did was fairly minimal in terms of actual care taking - that was Tenga's job - but, having always been the healer that generally handled cubs and that side of health, Cuore was very involved with watching them. However, Cuore has struggled to connect with little Jino, who is simply too aggressive and destructive - though she declares it to merely be passion - for him to really understand and interact with. He really can't get over the fact that she and Ua are actually sisters when they act so differently from one another; in comparison to her littermate, Jino is a tiny terror. Cuore knows even Tenga struggles taking care of her, which is something that has brought the two a little closer, though he still can't bridge the gap to friendship due to his fear of Jiwe. Actually, Jino's behavior makes him connect her with the idea of a more extroverted Jiwe, which only added to the intimidation he already felt towards them both. Now that Jino has grown up, Cuore hasn't grown any closer to her, but instead has grown even more intimidated by her. He feels bad, because he adores Ua, but her sister has only grown even more bitter towards the world. She is consumed with the knowledge that her parents abandoned her and is desperate to know who would do such thing to helpless cubs. She has closed herself off to everyone in the pride except for Ua, and Cuore isn't sure what he could really do to try and help the lioness. Instead, he just watches from afar, heart aching for the brown lioness who obviously desperately needs love she refuses to let herself get.