Name (Full)
Kaliia

Gender
Female 

Age
Born sometime towards the end of Simba's reign as King (shortly before his death)

Type (of bird)
Red-billed Hornbill

 Current Rank Status (in Pride)
Ex-Messenger of the Pride of Peace (The Isu Keeney) , now part-time 'nurse' of cubs in both the Pridelands and the Isu Keeney.

--------------

Appearance
Kaliia's build is typical of most female Red-billed Hornbills, but her wings are short (because of this, she has trouble flying); she is often seen with bent tail feathers (damaged in crash-lands and once a leopard attack)

Colours
Black, white light buff and shades of brown; no eye colour (black pupils on white)

--------------

 Personality
A shy but clever bird, Kaliia is kind, alert and responsive, down-to-eath and very diplomatic. She is the sort of person who, rather than beat around the bush, prefers to get right down to the bare facts -  ''to the fundamental core'' as she likes to put it. Kaliia is duty-bound, honest and loyal - she detests gossip.

Likes
Lions; visiting the Isu Keeney pride; her job; helping others; plain facts;

Dislikes
Flying; hyenas; not being able to fly properly; being constantly preyed upon; gossip

--------------

Friends and Relations
Roho (mate), Zazu (grandfather-in-law), Kelly, Imammu, the Pridelanders, other lions of (friends), (Open)

Foes
Hyenas and other predators

  Relationships with Lions/Other birds
Because of her job Kaliia is most-of-the-time around lions, creatures she has huge respect for - she has many friends among the lions. Kaliia doesn't mind the company of other birds, but so far every feathered acquaintance she has made (except her mate Roho) turned out to be a gossip-lover and that sort of behaviour Kaliia detests.

--------------

History

Simba's reign was coming to an end when Kaliia was born. The nest in which she hatched had been built in an acacia tree outside the pridelands in a fairly large oasis jungle, in the middle of the desert far north of the Pridelands. Kaliia as a fledgling had a difficult time - her stunted wing growth resulted in her being a terrible flyer, prone to crash lands and - even worse - low flying. Because of her lack of height when on the wing, she was an easy target for land predators who merely had to leap up and snatch her out of the air. She narrowly missed becoming prey time and again. Once on the ground she was attacked by a male leopard and it left her with a very damaged tail feather.

During her fledging months, a small group of lions entered the oasis where Kaliia lived. They had materialized from the surrounding desert and seemed full of joy ata coming to this safe haven. They were the exiled Jafiya his mate Jet, along with their followers and cubs, all fleeing their enemy Obbler, who had sent them into the wilderness to die. Kaliia was terrified at these new predators arriving at her home. Her chances of reaching adulthood seemed very slim. She tried to keep out of sight of the lions, not daring to leave her acacia tree for fear of being eaten. Due to this, she suffered serious hunger and became very malnourished. Partly due to this, her tail feathers got broken easily when they were later snagged by a tree snake; and they never really mended.

However, her predicament changed when Wafa arrived. Wafa came in the form of a baby monkey. He had turned up in the oasis along with an elderly couple of lions called Ebon and Wafa, having been adopted by them. Through becoming associated friends with the curious Wafa, Kaliia became introduced to the lions as their friend too. She soon grew very close to Ebon and Ganua as well as Jafiya and Jet's family and friends.

Upon reaching adulthood, Kaliia became involved with Jafiya and Jet's conflict with Obbler, when the couple resumed their war with their enemy after a year or so living in the desert oasis. Kaliia, by this time a better flyer (at least, she could fly a bit higher than previously), helped by being a messenger, flying to and fro with orders from Jafiya and Jet, to their troops.

When the war finally ended, capped by the unity of Obbler and Jafiya's prides, Kaliia settled down to be a kind of baby-sitter; or a 'nursie', as she came to be known. She preffered this occupation to carrying messages - it involved less flying. However, she agreed to do the odd service to her lion friends, agreeing to take special warnings to the Pridelanders (the Isu Keeney's allies) about Lagiza. On one of her visits to the Pridelands, Kaliia met Roho - Roho was the Major-Domo of King Kovu and Queen Kiara and the grandson of Zazu, the previous steward. Like Kaliia, Roho had a couple of disabilities - a blind eye and a bad wing, after a hyena attack. They got on well, becoming mates not long after first meeting.

Kaliia now resides in the Pridelands, with a nest on the territory border. She is part Pridelander, part Isu Keeney now, sharing time between the prides and is a 'nursie' to cubs in both kingdoms. It means she has to fly a bit more . . . but somehow, now she doesn't mind.

--------------

Relation to TLK Universe: Zazu is the grandfather of her mate, Roho.

--------------