Basic Information

Name: Itembe

Name meaning/origin: Zulu origin for 'trust' or 'confidence'

Age: He's slightly older than Vitani; his age is also based on use in fancreations

Sex: Male

Species: Panthera leo

Breed: African Lion

Personality: Like his name suggests, Itembe is very trustworthy not only to those who know him, but also to complete strangers; once he puts his mind to something, Itembe cannot be stopped. He is somewhat reclusive and can be described as "antisocial" because he prefers to be by himself or with one or two more others rather with a large group; Itembe's like this because of an incident during his younger years that only Vitani knows about. Itembe can be quiet the charmer without knowing it and he tends to get himself in trouble from time to time. Itembe is quiet fond of Vitani and enjoys her presence very much.


Relationships
Parents: N/A

Blood-related Siblings: There were two, but he doesn't know what happened to them...

Half Siblings: N/A

Extended family: N/A
Love interest: Vitani

Current mate: No one

Future Mate: Vitani

Cubs: Two girls: Nadira and Atiena



Friends: As a cub he was very close to Zira's cubs: Vitani, Nuka, and Kovu; now older, he is still close to Vitani and somewhat trusts Kovu and some of the Pridelanders. Other friends are open, just comment/PM me

Enemies: He was once considered King Simba as an enemy, and still contemplates if he should view the King as one now that he's a Pridelander or not. Other enemies are open, just comment/PM me



History

Itembe was born in the Outlands roughly around the same time Vtani was born in the Pridelands. During his first few months of life, the Outlands consisted of only a few lions and lioness. along with Itembe, who was the only cub at the time; Zira and many other lioness from Pride Rock entered the area and the dark colored female soon won her "rightful place" as leader over the Outsiders.
Itembe didn't like Zira from the start and kept his distance from her cubs, thinking that he wouldn't like them either. One day a few months after Zira became "Queen", Itembe was in the termite-infested dens as he tried to seek shelter from the blazing afternoon sun; the young cub furiously swatted at buzzing termites flying around his ears. Soon, he tired of the insects' little torture and got up to leave. As he did so, he literally bumped into a female cub, causing the two to tumble over onto the lower shelf of the termite-den. Itembe quickly leaped to his feet and opened his mouth to complain when the other cub tackled him to the ground and they rolled over so that she had pinned the brown lion cub under her. "Why don't you watch where you're going?" was her sharp-tongued question. "It's dark," Itembe retorted, "I couldn't see you!" A few seconds of silence followed after that, leading to the girl getting off Itembe. Sitting up, Itembe was finally able to see who his ex-attacker was due to a ray of afternoon sunlight shining in from a hole in the mound high above the two; the other cub had dirty tan fur, dark and light brown markings along with a stubby tuff of hair in the center of her head. Itembe felt his cheeks heat up slightly and wondered if he was starting to get a cold (even though that seemed very unlikely); the female felt his eyes on her looked up. "Uh," she started. "I'm Vitani." Vitani. Itembe had heard that name before...she was Zira's daughter. The slightly older cub cleared his throat and said," My name's Itembe. Uh, nice to met you." Soon, Itembe and Viatani left the cave to go play; the two spent the entire day together before Itembe's mother called him home. He and Vitani said her good-byes before departing. As Itembe walked home, he began to think that Zira's children weren't that bad after all.
Up until the day that Itembe was old enough to actually leave the Pride, he and Vitani spent most of their days together, occasionally getting interrupted by Nuka or Kovu, Vitani's older and younger brothers. When Itembe finally left, it was because he was forced out due to the fact that Nuka was starting to get very aggressive with the only other males of the Outlander Pride; Itembe himself and Kovu. When it came time to depart, Nuka gave Vitani's friend a very nice going away gift: a large scar stretching from Itembe's hip on his left side down to his ribs. The dark-colored lion didn't even have the chance to tell Vitani goodbye before he departed.

Future

About two and a half years later, Itembe returned to the Outlands only to find just a handful of remaining members left alive, flea-ridden and malnutrition, but alive. After reuniting with Vitani and Nuka; at first, Vitani didn't recognized the brown lion and attacked him, but Itembe still remembered her and refused to fight back. Vitani suddenly saw his huge, pink scar and she back off, apologizing for assaulting him. Itembe told her it was no big deal, but his friend took it as one and brought him to the center of the Outlands where the rest of their pride were at. Itembe was brought up-to-date on what was currently going on; Kovu had infiltrated Pride Rock and was living with the lions there so that he could assassinate King Simba. From what he could remember, Simba was the one who exiled Zira and her cubs from the fertile lands into the decaying Outlands. Itembe immediately agreed to join in on Zira's plan, which had sparked his hatred for King Simba, and even though he still didn't like her mother, he was only doing it to avenge Vitani. Later he was teamed with Vitani and the two were sent out as scouts; all the while they were skirting Pride Rock, Itembe realized his feeling for his friend and tried on several attempts to tell her, but things came up like them having to hide from patrolling Pridelanders, Simba, or having to return to Zira to update her on the situation. Soon came Zira's attempt to kill Simba after Vitani reported back the night before; Itembe joined the lionesses and Nuka as they waited in the gorge for the arrival of Simba and Kovu. Things didn't go as plan and Nuka was crushed to death after trying to prove to Zira that he was worthy and better than his adoptive brother, Kovu. Though he was never fond of Nuka, Itembe morned his death along with Vitani and the others. After that, things happened so fast; Kovu was struck by his mother, earning a scar over his right eye, Zira devised another plan after her son ran off back to Pride Rock (where he was later exiled) to launch a full fledged attack on Simba's pride. Again, Zira's plan backfired and Vitani finally saw the light and switched sides on them. She stated that Kiara, Simba's daughter and Kovu's lover, was right, fighting was wrong, and the other lioness joined her. That only left Itembe and Zira. The brown lion contemplated in his mind: Was it wort it to stand with Vitani or go on and kill Simba like planned? He soon decided that the latter was virtually impossible and slowly walked over to stand beside Vitani. A fight occurred after that which led to Zira and Kiara nearly falling off a nearby cliff. Simba's daughter tried to help the Outsiders' leader up, but Zira, being too prideful of herself, swatted the Princess's paw away. This action soon lead to Zira falling to her death from the cliff into the raging waters below. Vitani and her brother were both very hurt by the lost of their mother, but soon realized that they had to move on. Simba accepted all of the Outsiders as members of his Pride and Kiara and Kovu were chosen to be the new heirs to the throne.
Months followed the mergence of Pridelanders and Outsiders; Itembe was still not too sure about staying at Pride Rock an opted to leave back to the Outlands but, of course, Vitani managed to keep him in the Pride before he brought up the subject again. Soon, Itembe gave up talking about how he felt and kept his little musing to himself; for some odd reason he felt like he was not welcomed in Simba's pride even though the King had accepted all of the Outlanders. He soon came up to his friend and told her about how he felt, leading Vitani to comfort him. Itembe chose the time to tell Vitani that he was in love with her, and it felt good to finally, after many years, to get that off his chest. His friend, however seemed stunned, but she smiled in the end and nuzzled Itembe. Vitani began showing signs of pregnancy two months later and was very agitated at the fact that she was not yet ready to become a parent, but her mate was there to comfort and help her through it. Three months later, Vitani left the pride to give birth to her and Itembe's cubs. Their father came to check on her, which was not a usual thing for male lions to do, but he couldn't wait for his mate to return to Pride Rock. Surprisingly, Vitani didn't yell nor attack him when he entered the den; instead, she smiled warmly and introduced him to his new cubs, Nadira and Atiena.


Interests

Likes: Vitani, the current Pride he's in (somewhat), Kovu and his mate Kiara, Nala, Simba (somewhat), swimming, hunting alongside Vitani and just spending his entire day with her close by.

Dislikes: Though he is part of them, Itembe still doesn't like Pridelanders, when he can't catch anything, Zira (he found her crazy as he grew older), Nuka.

Hates: Hyenas. All of them. He sometimes says that he hates Nuka, but maybe he doesn't really mean it...or maybe he does; Nuka was the one who scared him up after all.

Fears: That he'll loose Vitani again and he has a constant fear that the Pridelanders, along with Kovu, will turn against him.



Appearance

Fur Color: He's about the same shade of brown as Nuka

Marking Colors: Dusty browns

Eye Color: Yellow (scleras) and chocolate brown (irises); he has slit pupiles
If rendered: Use Simba, Kovu, or even Nuka. If you use Simba or Kovu, make sure to make Itembe somewhat skinny (like Nuka was)



His Relation to the Lady and the Lion King Universe: His history lies in the Outlands; he was also friends with Zira's cubs when he was younger. Itembe joined in on Zira's plan to kill King Simba; but in the end, he became part of Simba's pride and soon he and his childhood friend, Vitani, became mates.