Name: Shani (meaning 'marvellous')

Parents: Mufasa and Sarabi

Siblings: Simba

Mate: None

Cubs: None

Pride of Origin: Pridelanders

Personality: Shani is, despite her unhappy past, a very lively and happy cub. She loves Leo like a father even though she knows he isn't her true family. She, however, knows the danger she lives in and is always exceedingly careful to remain hidden. As she grows older, she becomes more curious as to where she came from and her real family but she doubts she will ever learn the truth.

History: Shani's birth was a miracle but also a burden on Sarabi. THe cub was born only a few months after Mufasa's death and so Sarabi had to keep her pregnancy hidden from Scar as any cub she bore would be a challenger to the throne. Sarafina and the other lionesses made sure that Scar was kept as far away from her as possible, claiming that she refused to leave the den and was sick with grief. When she went into labour, they claimed that she was simply having a very vivid nightmare and that it did happen sometimes.

So, Shani was born but Sarabi knew that she couldn't keep the young cub hidden forever. It was with great reluctance that she decided that her last surviving cub would need to be smuggled from the Pridelands and raised elsewhere. All she had to do was wait for the right oppertunity.

Fortunately, help arived in the form of a rogue lion known as Leo. Initially, he refused to have anything to do with the cub and refused to help no matter how much Sarabi begged him or how the other lionesses explained the danger that could befall Shani. Eventually, his resolve weakened and he agreed to take the cub and flee.

Leo took Shani and fled east to his former home, the desert inhabited by the Oasis Pride. When he arrived, he sought out his twin sister, Queen Chaniya, and made a deal with her. He would be allowed to live on her lands and raise Shani and, when she reached maturity, she would go and live in the Oasis Pride permanantly and he would disappear forever. Chaniya agreed to his terms and cast a blind eye when some of their food stock disappeared mysteriously or there were reports of a rogue male and cub living in the rockier regions of the desert.

Leo raised Shani like his own daughter, but he never lied to her and claimed he was her true father. All he told her was that she was born in a land far away and her mother gave her to Leo so that she wouldn't be killed by their pride's leader. Shani accepted this easily and didn't really ask many questions but she was curious as to why her mother never tried to find her again.

But, Shani grew and eventually it was time for her to leave Leo and enter the Oasis Pride. Shani very reluctantly said her goodbyes to Leo and went with Chaniya who claimed she had found her, wandering lost and alone on the border, and that she was to be given sanctuary in the pride.

For a time, Shani was content living in the Oasis Pride. Chaniya was a kind lioness and treated her like she was extended family (which, in a sense, she was). However, she grew more and more homesick and wished that she could have said a proper goodbye to Leo or asked him about her birth family. She felt like she couldn't truly be at peace as a member of the Oasis Pride until she did that and so she went to Chaniya. The Queen listened to her as she explained her feelings and her motivations for wanting to leave the Oasis Pride, only temporarily, and seek out Leo. With a heavy heart, Chaniya allowed her to go so long as she returned safely.

Shani searched for Leo for some time, returning to the various places they had lived in hopes of finding him there. Her search was in vain as it seemed Leop had completely vanished and Shani began to despair that she would never see him again. It was then that she happened across the path of a rogue male known as Jalali who claimed to be a warrior. Seeing an oppertunity, Shani asked him to accompany her on her search for Leo as she was afraid to venture far into the desert lest she get lost. To her surprise, and relief, Jalali agreed to accompany her.

Relation to TLK: Daughter of Sarabi and Mufasa, sister of Simba