Name: Arya

Father: Kgosi © Me

Mother: Hiari © Me

Siblings: Open

Crush: Musa © Me

Mate: Musa

Cubs: None

Personality: Arya is a very determined and imaginative female. She loves to play and have fun but has an issue with bravery. Arya hates feeling useless, helpless, or weak. She dreams of being a hero and a legend. Arya is a great liar who is able to get out of stick situations.

History: Arya is the cub of Kgosi and Hiari, born in the Pride Lands. She has always been cared for by her parents. Arya’s best friend was her cousin, Sadira. The two loved playing together and exploring. Arya often got into a lot of trouble as a cub, which worried her father a lot.

One day, Arya was out by herself just playing around when she saw four hyenas in the Pride Lands. Arya knew that was not allowed so she decided to a hero and fight them herself. Arya did not realize one small cub against four adult hyenas was not a good idea. She stood up and tried to seem intimidating. The hyenas quickly attacked. Arya tried to fight them; biting and scratching any chance she got to. It was too much for one cub. Luckily, Kgosi heard the hyenas and rushed into action. He scared away the hungry hyenas. Arya was bruised up but alive. Kgosi and Hiari scolded their daughter for doing something so foolish. Arya felt like a disappointment in her family, especially compared to all those heroic stories she was told. She deiced to find a new place and have her name become a legen.

Arya left the Pride Lands one night. She wandered around for weeks. Wise Rafiki followed to watch the cub. Arya did well. She couldn’t catch a lot of food but she survived. Then, Arya found to boy cubs playing. Arya met the two cubs, Dogo and Musa. She tried to trick them. She claimed her name was Savannah and she was a traveling lioness helping others. Dogo quickly fell for her lie, unlike Musa. Arya offered to tell her stories in exchange for some food. She also made them promise not to tell the adult, in case she was caught by the evil hunters. Dogo agreed and fed Arya, while she told made up stories. Musa challenged Arya to a fight, since she claimed to be a skilled fighter. Arya agreed. The two wrestled for a bit but Arya easily pinned down Musa, thanks to her mother’s hunting lessons. Others in Musa’s pride went to see Arya. Arya lived happily in Musa’s pride for a while.

Then, tragedy struck. Musa’s father was killed during the war, along with others. Musa was very depressed for a while and not even Dogo could cheer up his best friend. Arya felt bad for Musa but did not believe she could do anything. Still, the experience made her miss her own father. That’s when Dogo came to Arya alone one day. He asked her to help them win this war, since she had told them she was a skilled warrior. She didn’t want to disappoint Dogo, so she agreed, but knew it was impossible. That night, she left so she wouldn’t be caught. Luckily, someone was watching her. Arya was traveling back home when Rafiki, the wise baboon, came out of nowhere. Arya was, at first, not too happy about the surprise. It just made her feel worse but, after a quick discussion with the crazy monkey, Arya realized that this was her chance. She may not be able to charge into action and fight but she could help.

Arya raced to the rival pride’s territory. There, she remained quiet as she spied on them. When they spoke of a surprise attack on Musa’s pride, Arya knew she couldn’t let this slip away. She ran back to Musa’s pride. It was a shock to all the cubs when they saw Arya back, especially Musa. There, she gathered up every ounce of courage she owned and confessed everything. She told of who she really was, and then continued to warn them of the surprise attack. The cubs believed her, but they could not convince the adults. They claimed Arya was a spy and she was dismissed. The surprise attack did occur, and Musa’s pride was completely caught off guard. Arya watched in horror as her friends were taken as prisoners.

Arya knew that she couldn’t just leave this alone. She quickly traveled back to the Pride Lands to get help. First thing Arya did was go to her Uncle Kipawa, King of the Pride Lands, instead of right to her parents. Everyone was surprised to see Arya but she only wanted to request her uncle’s help. She begged him to help Musa and Dogo’s pride. Kipawa did not want to send an army out so he gathered a small, yet strong group of lionesses. Kipawa brought Arya along as well. They followed Arya to her friends, and when they reached their destination, Kipawa requested to speak to whoever was in charge. Arya, impatiently, waited but when Kipawa returned he explained that they’d release the prisoners but their land is still owned by them. Arya was fine with that; she immediately ran to her best friends Dogo and Musa again. Without a home now, Dogo decided to go with his mother to find a new land. Musa, sadly, had no more family so he had nowhere to go. Arya invited Musa to come live with her, and Musa accepted.

Arya and Musa lived in the Pride Lands together. Soon, these childhood rivals turned into teenagers and feelings started to blossom. Arya and Musa ended up falling in love. Their friend Dogo visited the Pride Lands often and in his mid-adult years, he moved to the Pride Lands permanently to live with his mate, Siara. Arya and Musa ended up becoming mates and getting married, living the rest of their life together.

Headshot base © me

Body base © SixNewAdventures

Relationship to the  Lion King: Granddaughter of Kovu, lives in the Pride Lands