GIFT FROM CLAIRE COOPER

Name: Winda (meaning 'hunt' in Swahili)

Parents: Unknown

Siblings: Eupe (older sister, deceased)

Crush: Asante

Mate: Unknown (deceased)

Cubs: Female (stillborn)

Personality: Winda is a tough female, she knows what she wants and she'll go after it with all she has. She is stubborn and hates to be told what to do or how to live and tends to ignore good advice when it's given. She doesn't trust easily but she will protect anyone she loves no matter what.

History: Winda was born in a small pride, her mother died giving birth to her and her father, as Winda's mother was his favourite female, never seemed to forgive the cub. She was originally given the name Laana which meant 'Curse'.

Growing up, the only person in the pride that seemed to care for her was her older sister, Eupe and the elder lioness often protected her younger sister from her father's wrath. The two sisters were very close to each other and were never seen far apart.

When Winda was a teenager, her father made an agreement with a neighbouring pride, that they had bad blood with, to stop fighting and have a friendship between the two prides. One of the terms was that either Winda or Eupe would have to become the mate of the other pride's 'prince'. Winda was chosen by her father seeing as he wanted rid of her but it shocked the old lion that Eupe wanted to accompany her sister when she moved pride

Winda hated her new life in the new pride, her mate was a horrible brute of a lion a good few years older than her and he made her life a misery. She became pregnant with his cub soon after she arrived but gave birth to a stillborn daughter. This sent her mate into a murderous rage, he tried to kill Winda but Eupe stepped in to protect her and was killed instead. In a fit of rage, Winda killed her mate and fled with Eupe's body before the pride found out what happened.

After burying her sister, she took the new name of Winda and wandered the savannah on her own. Her hate turned to bitterness by the time she was an adult lioness.

One day, she came across a male lion, around the same age as herself, who had inadverntantly messed up her hunt. Annoyed, she confronted him and his upbeat 'glass half full' attitude really grated on her nerves but the lion insisted that he would stay with her until he made up for messing up her hunt. No matter what she did she couldn't get rid of him.

Relation to TLK: Crush on the son of Mohatu