Name: Erica

Name meaning: Eternal ruler

Age: Varies

Gender: Female

Parents: Unknown

Siblings: Unknown

Crush/mate: Kane (old) Ni (new)

Cubs: Kane Jr, Lyla (Kane's) Ty, Secret Jr (Ni's)

Personality: Erica is a sweet, gentle lioness who would never wish harm on anyone. In fact she is very much like Sarabi, and she can fight when she needs to. At first she was small, shy, and scared, unable to say boo to a goose, then when she met Ni, Erica became more open, and became sweeter. Much sweeter. Erica is very good at medicine and spent a long time learning about it

Likes: Her family, peace, sunny days, relaxing under the shade of a tree

Dislikes: Wars, evil, fire, facing her past

History: Erica was caused by two rouge lions mating. Her mother never knew that she was pregnant, and neither did her father. When Erica was born her father found out and left. Her mother was upset about this, and abandoned Erica to find her mate. Erica was left to die.

But one day a lioness was passing by when she heard a weak, pitiful mew, and her heart melted at the sight of Erica. But she was very weak, and the lioness acted quickly and firmly. Erica was parched, famished, freezing, unable to do anything but mew for help. The lioness took Erica to her den and asked someone to warm her up. She then went to the king and pleaded that he let her stay, but the king only agreed once he was sure that it was a female, as it was a females only pride.

Erica grew up with her new mother, Taylor, and loved her to pieces, but she wouldn't make friends with any of the other cubs. They seemed so scary, and Erica was shy. One day, when they were trying to get her to play with them Erica got so scared that she ran off, and bumped into a strange male lion. He seemed really nice, he wasn't scary at all, he talked to her quietly at first then as they got to know each other it turned into a casual conversation. Erica had never met a male cub before, the only male she had ever met was the king. But soon she decided to go home, and promised to meet him at the same time tomorrow.

Every since she met the mysterious male cub, Erica grew more open to others, and she soon made friends with some of the cubs in her pride, and would play with them before she went and met her secret friend. And for a long time their friendship remained a secret. For a very long time. But then something changed.

Erica was still a cub but was falling in love with her old friend. She saw him every day for a pretty long time. Taylor ovbiously got worried because one day she had the king follow Erica, and when she got home Taylor yelled at Erica for meeting a male like this. Erica yelled back that she was growing up and she loved him and there was nothing that her mother could do about it. Taylor banned Erica from seeing the male and had Erica's best friend keep an eye on her, but Erica begged her to let her go see her friend and tell no one. Erica's friend let her go and Erica met up with her crush and discovered his name at long last. Ni.

But when she went to see him the next day, he had brought a friend along. Erica told him to stay there and rushed to fetch her best friend, who she brought along. The male's name way Kane, and in a day Erica fell in love with him. She told Ni and her best friend, Secret, about how she had a crush on Kane, and didn't take into note about how Ni looked a little upset. The two met up every day right up until they were young adults, one year out of teen years. Erica and Kane became mates, and Erica told her mother about it only because she trusted her, although her mother was not pleased and wanted Erica to mate with the king so that she would not be thrown out, but Erica refused.

But then when Erica went to meet Kane one day he never came. Erica waited all day. And the day after that. And the day after that. Day after day after day for three whole weeks but he never came he never came he never came. Erica would come home and cry desperatley onto Secret's shoulder, who would comfort her. Erica never noticed how guilty her best friend would look. And Taylor looked worried whenever Erica came into the den but she never noticed.

Finally one day Erica sat and waited. She waited up until noon but no one came. Finally, Erica saw a familiar figure running up to her, his head down. It wasn't Kane, but Erica knew him very well indeed. "Ni!" Erica cried ouut and ran to him. She threw her paw around him in a hug, and he clung to her. She felt tears drop onto her fur. "Forgive me."  He muttered. Erica pulled away. "Where's Kane? He never comes!" She asked. "Erica, please forgive us for leaving you like this for so long but, things have happened. There is something that you must see. Please follow me." He muttered and raced off, his head down. Erica raced after him, and Secret must have seen because she followed. On and on and on they ran, until finally they came to a stop. There was a limp figure lying motionless on the ground. Erica knew him at once. "Kane!" She cried and flung herself on him, sobbing. He was covered in cuts. "We were attacked by another lion, and although it was three against one, including my best friend, Tanglemane, he was very strong. I'm afraid to say, that Kane never made it through the fight, because the lion killed Kane first then we drove him off." Ni mumbled. Erica continued to sob but thought. The king would be the only one who could do this, he was the only one who would hate him. According to the wounds he had, his attacker must have hated him. "No! KANE!" Erica screeched into the still night with rain pouring down. More tears fell from her eyes, like a dam had broken in her head. Secret knelt down beside her and licked her comfortingly, but she too buried her muzzle into Kane's lifeless body with tears dripping down her face. "Kane..." Erica choked. Ni sat next to her and put his arm over her. Erica sat up and nuzzled him. "Thank you, Ni." She whispered. Ni nuzzled her back. "I'm sorry, I did everything I could but..." Ni trailed off, sadness obviously inside of him, too. Erica clung to him and Secret and cried all night. At last she said goodbye to him as she and Secret headed for home. When they finally arrived home Erica collapsed onto the ground, exhausted, and fell asleep. She had a dream of her and Kane playing together as cubs, but then they were adults and Erica watched, paws rooted to the ground, as the king killed Kane. Kane would smile at her and croak a weak, final goodbye before he went limp. "No! Please, don't leave me! Kane!" Erica cried out and broke down into tears. She woke up and found her mother looking at her anxiously. It was the following morning. Erica saw the king passing her den and became angry. Bounding out of the cave, she pinned the king with tears pricking his eyes. "MURDERER!" She roared in fury. "You killed Kane!" Erica got into a fierce fight with him, and it only ended when Secret fetched Ni and they tore them apart. Erica broke down into sobs of pain and fury as Ni blocked her way, but he conforted her while Secret glared fiercly at the king. The way Ni looked after her, Erica knew at that moment that Ni was her love. She gently licked him, glared at her mother and spoke to the king. "I'm leaving the pride." She choked, her eyes still teary. Secret nodded. "I'm leaving, too." Erica walked off, her head held high, with Ni and secret by her side. Taylor hugged Erica for the final time and smiled at her, although tears were spilling out of her eyes. Then Erica left.

Erica and Secret became rouges with Ni. Erica only told Secret about her love for Ni, and in return Secret told her about how once, just once, Kane mated with her. Secret didn't want to, but Kane told her she wanted him to be happy and mated with her. Erica smiled and said about how she didn't mind a bit. Maybe Kane was a bit of a cheater after all.

For two months everything was peaceful. Secret had Kane's cubs, and they found a den for them to stay in for a while until they were old enough for them to travel. Erica loved the little cubs but sometimes sighed, envious of her best friend. How she wished that she had a cub with Ni.

But then, three months after she had run away, Erica got the shock of her life. Seret shooed Ni out of the cave and stayed with Erica, who was shocked to find out that she was having cubs. It was only until after her cubs arrived that Erica knew who's cubs they were. She remembered once mating with Kane. The day before he never turned up. Erica cried at the loss of her mate, but at least she had two beautiful cubs to remember him by. She named the girl Lyla and the boy  Kane Jr. Because he reminded Erica of Kane.

When Ni came in to see the cubs he smiled at them and congratulated Erica. She suddenly couldn't take it, and told him about how much she loved him right from the start, and about how she thought that she loved Kane but she really loved him. Ni was shocked, but nuzzled Erica and told her that he loved her, too. Erica smiled and nuzzled him back. She had found a new mate.

Finally the cubs were old enough to travel, and they left, continuing to move. They had no idea what they were looking for, but they were determined to find it. Until the day came.

Secret's cubs were about nine months old.They were just wandering around when Secret saw a strange orange light in the distance. Curious, Secret went to look, then came bolting back to them. "Fire!" She cried and picked up one of her cubs. Erica was terrified, and picked  Kane Jr up while Ni carried Lyla and Secret's other cub. Kane Jr was screaming furiously to be put down, and Erica lowered him to the ground and took Lyla. She told Kane Jr to grab hold of her tail while running, and he did. They all bolted blindly together, looking for a way out, but the fire was fast catching up to them, and the smoke was edging close to them, too. Erica suddenly noticed Secret putting down her own cub and racing back into the flames. She was confused, until she saw that Kane Jr was no longer gripping hold of her tail. She told Ni to take the cubs to a safe place, and bolted after her friend. She tried to see through the smoke and catch her friend's scent but it was difficult. Finally she heard coughing and raced towards the sound. There Secret lay, choking, spluttering, but she was with Kane Jr. Erica picked up Kane Jr and looked anxiously at her best friend. "His foot got stuck and he let go of your tail. I found him." She smiled. Erica felt glad, but what Secret said next crushed her heart. "Take care of my cubs. Goodbye, Erica." She gasped. "No! Secret, NO!" Erica exclaimed and decided to carry her. She somehow got her best friend on her back, picked Kane Jr up and raced off, following her own and her mate's scent. When she finally found him she slid Secret off her back. She wasn't moving at all now. "NO! SECRET!" Erica sobbed and flung herself onto her best friend, licking the tops of her ears gently. "Goodbye, my dear friend." She whispered then stood up. She turned to Ni. "We need a pride." She said firmly.

They traveled for days, weeks, months, it was taking a very long time to find a pride. All the while Erica pushed on firmly, and while she was travelling she discovered ways to heal injuys and illness, which came in handy. One day they came across a pride together. "We'll split up and look for the king." Erica whispered to him and they parted. Erica padded softly for a while then saw a huge rock. Erica knew that she had found it, and began walking up the path. An orange lion cub was walking down. She stopped and stared into Erica's eyes. "Why are you here? My father won't be happy." She said then carried on walking down. "She's just a cub." Erica told herself and continued to walk. The lion cub stopped and bolted in front of her, glaring. "I may be a cub but I am strong. Don't make me report you to my father." She snarled. Erica stepped over the cub and kept walking. "DAD!" A sudden cry came from behing her. A lion with orange fur and a black mane came out, growling. "What is it, Adia?" He snapped then saw Erica. "This lioness was saying that I was just a cub and she isn't part of this pride!" Adia whined. Erica couldn't help but think that she was being irritating. "What is your buisness here, lioness?" The male growled. "I have come to ask if we may join your pride." Erica asked calmly. "We?" The lion sneered. "Yes. We. Me, my cubs, my best friend's cubs as my best friend passed away, and my mate. Please take me to see your king." Erica said firmly. "I am the king, my name is King Scar." The lion growled. "And this pride has a strict rule. No males from outside the pride aloud! I just seek for a good heir but so far no luck. Unless you have a male cub that can be my heir, or you produce me a suitble heir." Erica was shocked. "Thank you but I already have a mate." She said politely. "Then leave before I order my hyenas to kill him. NO ROUGES ALOUD!" Scar roared. Erica fled down the rock and bumped into Ni. They exchanged news, and left, never to return there.

Time went by, and soon Erica had Ni's cubs, who she named Ty and Secret Jr. Once again they had to take shelter into a nearby cave until the cubs were old enough to make the journey. Finally they came across a group of rouge lions that were talking. They jumped when they saw Erica, Ni and the cubs walk up to them, but relaxed when they got to know them. Erica explained that they wanted to make a pride, and at once one of the lionesses jumped up. "So do we, but none of us are capable of becoming king and queen. Would you really be our king and queen? We would love to follow you!" She exclaimed. They led Ni and Erica to a strange land. It had quite a big rock, but not the one like in the other pride, it was different. Herds gathered at a nearby water hole, and there was a den near the giant rock. Erica knew it was perfect, and they settled down there as king and queen. Of course, Erica knew that she had to choose one of her cubs to become king or queen, but that could be decided later. Erica was, for once, perfectly settled, and ready for a happy life with her mate.

Base (C) Mayor