Authors Notes: I take NO credit whatsoever for characters that I did not create. They are (c) they're creators. I created Cheza, Ramei, Nagra, Tojo, and Cheza and Raimei's mother.
Cheza was created February or March '99. She is, as of right now, my favorite RolePlaying character. Most of the contents of this story happened in the RP Chat Room on AOL, The Pridelands. Some was made up, just because of lack of memory. ^^;; This story goes from Cheza's entrance to the Pridelands and Outlands (although the very first paragraph is around Cheza's teen years) up until..big spoiler, click here. Or click here to skip the spoiler.
It ends at Cheza's death and the reunion of her mother in heaven.
If you want to use any of my characters in a SL or story, please ask permission first. All questions, comments, complaints, etc. are welcome. :) I love to hear from you guys. Notes from me are put in parenthesis with Author-sama: -what I'm putting- inside. i.e. (Author-sama: Blahblahblah.) would be an author's note. These will probably just be little funny remarks I make here an there.
If you offended by swearing (I'll try not to put anything TOO bad in..) or reading about extensive abuse and fighting, please stop reading now. There are also a few graphic births that happen..so if that grosses you out..sowwy. ^_^;;
E-Mail: SailorMoOMoO@aol.com
Okay. You're probably bored by now, and I want to keep you long enough to at least start the story. Here we go!
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Act I
Upon Feathered Wings
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Dear Heart, you must escape this hell. I don't want you to live like this. In my dying breath I give you strength, my daughter. You must find your beloved sister and break the spell at which Tojo has cast upon you. Please..answer my last wish..Raimei...Live your life for the sake of me, your mother, Mommy, who gave you life..don't let Tojo kill you..It's getting dark and hazy..but I'm not scared.......Live..live Raimei..live..
~~~
A brownish-orange lump of fur wriggled, panting heavily, hungry and thirsty. She'd travelled the desert amany days, having been abandoned at her birth. Now the little cub with the name 'Cheza' etched in her memory from an unknown force, perhaps her parents, perhaps she was just insane, she stepped foot into the Pridelands, a great, prosperous land. Most of the adult lions disregarded her, but a few cubs eyed her with suspicion.
"Who are you," a male cub, about her age, demanded.
"I'm Cheza," she said with a confident look. No, she wouldn't let them believe she was weak.
The cub smirked. "I'm Kameha. And you can't come here without my permission."
"Well that's funny," Cheza retorted with a smirk of her own. "Because here I am. And I seem to be permissionless."
Kameha growled, not knowing what to say to that. "Oh yeah..well..uh..get lost!"
"I don't think so!" With that, the giggling cub took off, with Kameha hot on her tail.
"I'll tell the King and Queen! Then you'll see!"
"What will she see?" an adult lioness said, stepping on Kameha's tail to stop him. "Hm, Kam? What will she see?"
Cheza stopped and approached the lioness, smirking at Kameha. "See? She won't hurt me!...Say, who are you?"
The lioness laughed. "I'm Vitani, Queen of the Outlands. I won't make you leave, child. But where are you're parents?"
Cheza looked down. "I..I don't know..I've never known them.."
Vitani furrowed a brow. "Hm..well little cub, if you would like, I could adopt you. I have other cubs you could play with. Zakira and Viara. They're both adopted," she added with a smile. A blue-and-black lion winged approached. "Link!" Vitani jumped up and nuzzled the lion.
"'Ello love. What have we here?" he asked, glancing down at Cheza.
"I'm Cheza!" she said proudly, puffing down her chest. "I'm Vitani's new daughter!"
Link laughed lightly. "Is that so?" he asked, giving Vitani a playfully questioning look.
"Mommy mommy!" two little cubs bounced over to the four. "Daddy daddy!"
"Oh jeez," Kameha grumped. "Not those two. I'm out of of. I'll be watching you, Cheza," he added meanly as he strolled off.
"Hi kids!" Vitani laughed as the two little cubs pounced all over her. "Zakira, Viara, meet your new sister, Cheza. Cheza, these are my other daughters Zakira and Viara."
Zakira had dark brown fur and mahogany undersides, paws, and tail tuft. Her emerald orbs were bright and friendly. Viara was similar, only much lighter in colour, and similarly bouncy and friendly. "Hi!" Zakira said, looking Cheza up and down. "My mommy..er..our mommy..is the Queen of the Outlands! Her sister, Melainia, is Queen of the Pridelands! It's so cool! Isn't it Viara?"
"Yeah! Sure is!" the other chirped.
Cheza giggled. "I'm going to love it here!"
~~~
Cheza loved her life in the Pridelands and Outlands. She had lots of friends and was well known amongst the adults. Even Kameha had settled down and become her friend. In fact, Cheza ahd developped a crush on the wiley cub.
"Kam!" she called. "Kam! Let's play!"
"Okay!" Kameha laughed and growled playfully as the two circled each other.
"Huh?" Cheza blinked, feeling an odd pressure at her sides. "Wh-What!?!" A set of huge, white wings exploded from in between her shoulders. Cheza and Kameha screamed.
"What happened to you!?!" Kameha asked nervously after several seconds of astonished silence.
"I don't know.." Cheza's voice shook. She glanced at the wings at her sides. "But these are cool!" Giggling, Cheza flapped her wings, all traces of fear gone.
"Yeah! I wish I had wings!"
"Hello Kameha," an incredibly sweet voice said. "Hello..Cheza.." The cub gave Cheza a disdainful look. She was white with cream undersides, paws, and tail tuft.
"Hi Chloe," Cheza said cheerily.
"Hey Chloe!" Kameha seemed delighted to see her, and Cheza picked up on his eagerness to impress her. "How have you been?"
Before Cheza realized it, Kameha and Chloe were walking away, chit-chatting and just all around flirting. Cheza slumped her shoulders sadly. It was obvious he picked the snobbish cub over her. Trying to stay cheerful, Cheza decided to try out her wings. Unsure if she could even fly with these, she beat the air until, with the help of the wind, she was floating in the air!
"Wow!" she exclaimed. "This is great!" She flitted around here and there, carefully testing out each new skill. She floated and zoomed above Kameha and Chloe, grinning with pleasure at their gaping, speechless expressions. "Huh? Wh..What!?!" Cheza suddenly couldn't feel her wings..in fact, they'd disappeared! Screaming, Cheza fell from the height and crashed into the tall grass.
Chloe smirked with delight to herself. Now I have Kameha all to myself, she thought gleefully.
Cheza struggled to her up, a sharp pain going up her leg. Oh no! Her mind was exploding with pain and fear. I think it's broken..What will I do..? Mommy..Daddy..help..!
Much to Chloe's intense dismay, Kameha had raced over to his friend. "Cheza! Cheza are you alright?!" he called, trying to find where she had landed.
"Kam!" she cried, biting back pain. "I..I think my leg is broken! Get my mom!"
"Right!" Kameha dashed away to find Vitani and Link.
Weeks later, Cheza was doing better. Wings had sprouted from her sides in erratic patterns. Each time they stayed for a little bit longer and were gone a little bit less. Her leg was healing fine, thanks to the help of Rafiki, and lots of rest. Vitani and Link had forbidden her to so much as lift a paw while she was healing.
"You want to get better, don't you?" Vitani had questioned when Cheza wanted to play. "You'll ruin that leg of yours and never walk again."
"Not to mention it will hurt worse than before," Link reminded her of the pain. "It would hurt just to stand. You're staying put."
"But Mommy..Daddy.." Cheza pleaded, her green eyes begging.
"The answer is no," Vitani said firmly, and the two walked out.
In time, Cheza's leg healed and she once again romped with her friends. While she was injured, however, something drastic had happened.
"Chloe's your girlfriend?" Cheza questioned, raising a brow at Kameha.
"Well..yeah.." he said, slightly nervous. "What's wrong with that?"
"Kameha," Cheza said. Kameha knew he was in trouble, as Cheza always called him Kam, never Kameha. "That girl is the biggest snob in the Pridelands and Outlands combined. She hates me because you're my friend."
Kameha sighed. "Cheza, I really like her. I'm still your friend, even though she can't stand you. I'm sorry." He walked off, to be with Chloe, Cheza assumed.
Cheza slumped, sighing miserably. She was getting older and at the time, boy problems seemed like the biggest disaster ever. (Author-sama's note: Typical typical teen. -giggles-)
~~~
Over time, Cheza began to deal with her best friend, and crush, loving her worst enemy. Cheza had other things on her mind, however....
One dark and stormy afternoon, everyone was inside the termite mound in the Outlands, because it was simply too bad of a storm for anyone to go out. Vitani was plump with cubs growing inside of her, and that day she was going through a lot of pain.
"Link..Link.." she begged, her mind fuzzy with pain. It was her first time having cubs, so she wasn't sure what to expect, since her mother wasn't exactly the most helpful one at times like this.
"I'm here," Link reassured her. Zakira and Cheza watched over their mother. Viara had since made herself scarce, and no one was sure why.
"Link..Li--OH!" Vitani flinched in pain.
"Vitani..Vitani push!"
Vitani's mind went blank from the pain, and went she awoke from the haze, Link, Zakira, and Cheza were helping to clean off three little cubs.
Link nudged them towards their mother's belly so they could eat and smiled at his mate. "Two girls and a boy. What should we name them?"
The first looked like Link, black with blue undersides, etc. She had white and cyan wings and bright green eyes. She was the first to reach her mother to eat. "Swift? She's a fast little one.." Vitani suggested.
"Swift it is," Link agreed. He studied the tan-coloured newborn. "She looks like an angel..what about Malaika? It means angel."
Vitani smiled and nodded. "Yes. Malaika is a beautiful name. And the boy.."
"It doesn't mean anything I don't think," Link began. "But what about Kanuri? It's a nice name."
Vitani beamed. "Yes. My cubs..my little babies.."
Cheza and Zakira smiled down at the new bundles of joy. Things sure wouldn't be the same anymore...
~~~
"Remind me again why I'm here," Zakira said irritably to Cheza.
"Because Mom and Dad wanted some time alone," Cheza said with a little smirk. "And wanted us to babysit." She waved her tail tuft in Kanuri's face, the young cub batting playfully at it.
The cubs had grown some, but were still too young to be on their own without a guardian. They could talk a little, too.
"'Eza," Kanuri asked, his big sky-blue eyes looking up at his big sister. "Whewe awe Mommy an' Daddy?"
"Mommy and Daddy are spending some time together," Cheza responded with a smile.
"But why?" Malaika questioned. "Why don't dey stay hewe wiff us?"
Cheza laughed a little. "If only you knew what trouble you kids are," she teased, poking them playfully.
"Oh 'Eza!" the cubs giggled.
Zakira rolled her eyes. "Cheza, you'll make a wonderful mother," she grumbled before padding off.
Cheza shook her head. She had once been close to her adopted sisters, but now it seemed less so. She hardly ever talked to Kameha anymore, either. He'd made himself scarce his Chloe broke it off with him for another lion. "Hm?" Cheza glanced to the shadows, where she thought she'd seen some movement.
"What's wong 'Eza?" Swift asked.
"Oh, nothing," Cheza reassured them. "Go back to playing."
"Sissy 'Eza," Swift persisted. "Why does you gots wings wike me, and Kanu an' Mawa dun?"
Cheza smiled gently. "I guess because we have the wings in our blood and the others don't."
"You mean dere's wings in my bwood?" Swift asked with huge eyes. "What's bwood?"
Cheza laughed. "Oh, I'll explain it to you some day."
A solitary figure strode nervously to Cheza and the cubs. He looked nearly like an adult, although his mane wasn't near done growing yet. His strangest feature was the black, tiger-like stripes across his brownish fur. "Those you're cubs?" he asked quietly.
"Who? Me?" Cheza asked with a blink. "Oh..no. These are my little brother and sisters."
"Who awe you?" Malaika asked, glaring defiantly up at the liger, then sitting on his paw.
The liger and Cheza laughed a little at Malaika's bravery. "I'm Gwazi," the liger introduced himself. "I don't come from around here. I'm pretty new."
"I'm Cheza. These are the Outlands. My mother, Vitani, is the Queen, and my father, Link, is the King," she said with a smile. "They are taking the day to be together, and on their behalf I'd like to welcome you to the lands. My Aunt Melainia and Uncle Nagra rule the Pridelands, so you are more than welcome to go there too."
"Thanks.." Gwazi said slowly.
"This is Kanuri, we call him Kanu, Swift, we call her Squeakers, and Malaika, and we call her Mala," Cheza introduced the little cubs. Kanu and Mala were fighting over who got to sit on his paw, oblivious of the fact there were four, and Swift was chasing his tail. "Nice to meet you Gwazi."
"Nice tew meet yew 'Wazi!" the three little cubs chorused.
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End Act I.
