"If none of it is real, then it can't hurt me."

~******************************************************~

Name: Kanya

Meaning: the pale one

Pronunciation: Kah-n-yah

Gender: Female

Appearance: Kanya is a dark golden-orange lioness with a dark red nose and red eyes. She has the build of a stereotypical pride lander lioness, albeit slimmer. She has a red stripe on her forehead that extends only as far as her neck, and a beauty mark like her sister Uru. Kanya has lighter golden underfur and lighter colored paws. Her under neck lighter fur does not extend all the way to her muzzle.

Siblings: Uru and one stillborn littermate.

Crushs: Zakar (The Bravest in Scar's Lion Guard), Ezekiel (c) Sierra, and Graesin.

Mate(s): Graesin (current) , Ezekiel (formerly) (c) Sierra

Cubs: Zira

Personality: Kanya is a dreamer. She often gets caught up in many hobbies and duties that she undertakes yet has a difficult time ever seeing anything through to the end. She has an appetite for anything and everything, and so often she becomes distracted and quickly entranced by many things and lions. They become obsessions, but the obsessiveness goes away quickly. Kanya has been called ‘flakey’ and ‘indecisive’ due to her constantly changing opinions, likes, and wants. She is the perfect example of the idea of their being two distinct sides to every coin, as she can go from wanting to adventure through every land one day, to wanting nothing more than to stay in and nap the next. When her mood becomes sour, Kanya becomes guilt-ridden. She blames herself for her mother’s death and can become mopey and upset if the subject is brought up. Despite being a romantic who constantly daydreams about finding “the one”, Kanya is terrified of any sort of commitment. From the traumas she experienced early on in life, she fears losing lions and so does her best to never really get attached beyond a crush. While she would like to settle, she cannot imagine herself being able to as she runs from every possible would-be romance.

History: Kanya’s life began in tragedy; her mother, Emye, was a much older lioness when she became pregnant with Kanya and her sibling. The process of giving birth to them became extremely complicated, and both Emye and Kanya’s littermate did not survive the difficulties. Due to the love her father bore her mother, Kanya’s father became resentful and turned away from the newborn cub. He would not allow her to grow up beside him, and so sent her away by messenger to grow up with her sister Uru, who was the newly made Queen of the Pridelands. Kanya thus grew up without both her parents but was instead looked after by her older sister. This was a difficult arrangement for Kanya, who could see that despite how loving and caring her sister was to her, she was still treated differently then her nephews. Kanya gained a rebellious streak as she grew, often bickering with Uru because she felt as if she was being mothered by someone who did not want to be her mother. The fact that she did not get along too well with Mufasa did not help the matter, as the older cub was always eager to “teach” her lessons about life that she had no interest in hearing. Due to her similarity in age with the princes, she was often mistaken to be their sister instead of their aunt. Of all her nephews, Kanya enjoyed spending time with Vikai the most. This was mostly due to the younger lion’s empathy to her and her constantly changing views. The two would often sneak away to adventure when she felt the need. Due to her daydreaming habits, Kanya often became caught up in ridiculous scenarios of her life with many lions that she admired, namely Zakar (The bravest in Scar’s guard). While being the longest-standing crush of hers, Zakar is by far not the only one. Kanya often became entranced by any lion that was kind to her. The more she grew, the closer Kanya became to Mufasa, as the two moved on from their childhood bickering. She looks up to him more as an older brother than as her nephew. The two’s bond strengthened even more after the passing of Uru, as Kanya came to realize she regretted her bratty behavior towards her only sister. Since she was not in direct line of the throne, she was often forgotten about and allowed to lead whatever life she pleased. Because her mother died in cub-birth, Kanya both hates and is terrified of ever having to go through it herself. She uses this as yet another reason why she won't give any lion a chance to establish a relationship with. When she was barely into her adulthood, Kanya met a charming lion named Ezekiel who she fell for, not realizing the harmful intentions of the lion. She believed he loved her, and so Kanya eventually gives birth to his cub, Zira. After finding out that Ezekiel does not care for her as she thought, Kanya grew bitter and rejected her daughter as she had no wish to be a mother. She felt that the cub had stolen away her own life. It was constant reminder to Kanya of her naivity and of the fact that she had been taken advantage of. To some extent she checks up on her cub every now and then but she clearly has no love for her daughter. As a slightly older lioness and member of the royal family, Kanya was tasked by Mufasa to escort a delegate from a neighborhing pride. The lion in question, Graesin, was much older, and a well established captain of the guard of his pride. Despite his inital hesitance with her, Graesin was kind and understanding to Kanya's plight. This led Kanya to love him. When it came time for him to return to his pride, Kanya left with him. Zira is essentially left to be raised with the royal family. Kanya's youngest nephew Taka was most especially keen on taking care of her daughter, and so Kanya gave her up to her nephew. 

Relation to TLK: Uru’s younger sister, aunt to Mufasa, Vikai and Taka ; mother of Zira.

Original images and background © Disney

Kanya and Render © me