"They haven't learned to miss me when I'm gone,"
Personality ;;
Ryiah is a lion who doesn't garner unwanted attention. She slips away whenever the chance arises and keeps to herself as much as humanly possible. It's easy to see why she distances herself. One moment she's your best friend, one who you've known for years- the next, she's a spitting ball of hate who's barbed tongue knows exactly how to strike you where it hurts the most. After the damage has been dealt, she's unaware of what happened. Broken pieces of imagery and sounds are the only clues she leaves for herself to piece together why a friendship has ended seemingly out of the blue. Around her, she sees how lions now avert their gaze or step out of the way. It's not hard for her to notice those small differences, and every time it happens, she has to grit and bear it even though holding in her emotions is like trying to prevent an avalanche- sooner or later it all comes crashing down. And though she wants to distance herself- and she tries- it's hard for the little lioness to stop trying to talk to others. She wants to be surrounded by loved ones she knows she can depend on, lions who trust her and understand the words that she throws around in moments of anger are only that- words. It's easy for the little lioness to get worked up and anxious about the future, what if she never finds the peace she's looking for? In those moments she needs someone close by her side to help her calm down, and even with that someone there, she might remain a jittery mess for some time afterwards, much to her despair. So despite her attempts, Ryiah finds herself yearning for friends. She's still a cub- she's curious and wants to know anything and everything. But she's mature in her personality, and rather than putting anyone else at risk, she'll take things into her own hands. In the same way, she's not above taking the blame for something she had no part in- risking her reputation she so painstakingly tries to raise, in the heat of the moment, that means nothing if she's protecting another. Because she knows what it's like, being a victim of circumstance but unable to have others believe you, she finds it hard to place blame on any soul. It's easy to see how in any situation, you can become a monster. It's that thought alone that keeps her sobered and mindful not to judge others too quickly, or to jump to a conclusion about who someone is without the 'why'. That being said, she doesn't believe that just anyone can change who they've become... and at a certain point, they can't move beyond who they are now. |
Likes ;;
✓ Honesty // She prefers a hard truth than a gentle lie ✓ Life // She doesn't just take care to mind the lives of those around her, but she also takes special care to mind the plant life she's discovered within the Pride's lands. ✓ Discovering // Probably an obvious like for a cub, but she truly does find that discovering a new anything, whether land, plant, or animal is truly exhilarating. She wants to know as much as she can. |
Fear ;;
Despite what you might think- her greatest fear isn't losing what semblance of normal she gets with her elements. Her greatest fear is losing herself- her memories, her family, everything that makes her... her. That might seem irrational- after all, how could something like that happen? How could everything just be wiped clean? But after visiting the Pride, she's realized it already has. The lake cubs, the dream lionesses, each group losing their memories only to come back years and years later, almost everything forgotten. Just thinking of a future similar to that, unlikely as it may be, sends her into a panic. If she can't manage to choke back the thoughts, she needs to step away and be by herself for the rest of the day. It's an irrational fear and she knows it- but that doesn't stop her from worrying. |
Dislikes ;;
X The Unexplainable // Most things are black and white to her (though she does acknowledge there are greys.) So she finds it troubling when there's no obvious reason to the 'why' of something. X Bruteness // Being unnecessarily forceful truly gets on her nerves, she believes in 'innocent until proven guilty' X Extra Chances // There's only so many times one can try to prove themselves before it's over. You can only rebel against who you are for so long. |
-- Seemingly 'weaker' elements, love and hate are not to be underestimated- not by Ryiah nor her peers. Unfortunately, she's unlikely to let those around her forget. Though its never intentional, she doesn't have a firm grasp on either of her elements- so those around her are often subject to the mood swings her waging elements bring. And that's not to mention the unstable results of those two particular elements have on Ryiah herself.
Her personal feelings towards her elements? She hates having both of them. One or the other would be easier to learn and dedicate herself to, but having both makes her dangerous. She wants nothing more than to be a lion others can trust, but because her presence plays such a mental role in those around her, she can't be. Nevermind the fact that her dreams of being an ambassador or playing an important role in the Oasis are dashed- who would trust her to make decisions when she can skew with the opinion of those around her? She's withdrawn because of this- from a happy oasis cub, oblivious of much, to being more than keenly aware how she hurts others. Her elements have taken so much from her, and she's not at peace with that. Gleam // a combination of love and hate // Both a conscious and unconscious ability- mostly used when Ry wants to know what a target lion is feeling- those feelings suddenly rush inside her. Sometimes this ability happens without her intention, and because she's unaware the wave of feelings will hit her much harder, sometimes even leaving her breathless. If she's not careful, the target lion will know that she can feel what they are feeling. |
Aura // love or hate // A subconscious effect of her talents- those around her are subject to whichever element is 'dominant' at the moment. This can lead to unsettled lions itching with dissatisfaction, or a sudden blanket of contentment covering the room.
Blind with Love // love // A conscious ability- using her element of love, Ry can manipulate a target's emotion, filling them with positive emotions, either towards her or another lion of her choosing. The target doesn't realize the sudden change of heart, and won't recognize the effects even after unless another mental-gifted lion or one that was trained to notice such things. Loathing // hate // A conscious ability- using her element of hate, much like the previous ability, Ryiah can surrender a target to a plethora of negative feelings and thoughts, either about a general idea or about another lion of her choosing. The target once again won't notice the change (or sudden stronger feelings) unless another mental-gifted lion or one that was trained to notice such things. Gravity of the Situation // love or hate; or a combination of the two // A conscious ability- Ryiah fills a target lion's mind with whatever emotions she's currently feeling the strongest. This change will go unnoticed in the target unless the change is drastically different than their previous opinions. (Such as trying to make a confident lion suddenly paranoid.) |
Views Towards the War ;;
Being a cub- she knows little about the war from what lions have told her.
However, that hasn't stopped her from listening- and what she has scrapped together, makes her lip curl in disgust in barely disguised anger. The reason of the war is ridiculous enough- how the Pride should be ruled after it's original leader's death. But what makes her truly upset is that the war hasn't been settled yet. After so many years of bloodshed and slaughter of the innocents, after so many lions who have had their homes and families destroyed, neither side has made a compromise. She doubts how one side can truly call themselves peacekeepers when so many had fallen. How many more would have to die before this war would end? |
The Oasis ;; She's nervous with the Oasis's proposal to possibly step into the war. On one hand- after so long, the destruction can end. On the other- choosing a side is a permanent decision, one that can't be remedied.
However, if they were to finally end this war, she wishes nothing more than if they would have chosen a side and ended this all long ago. The Pride ;; Before she had ever stepped out of the Oasis, she yearned to visit the Pride, if only to glimpse what her world was like before the war ravaged the planet. Upon visiting, she still thought their hearts were in the right place... but seeing so many lions whose sole purpose was to fight made her skin crawl. Not to mention how, in seemingly every lion she spoke to- their whole lives had been flipped upside down by everything. And how it had caused irreversible changes to them.
She doesn't know where she stands in regards to the Pride, but she hurts for those within their ranks. The Rebels ;; When lions speak of the Rebels, even as a neutral party, their voices drop just a decibel quieter, their postures growing just a little stiffer. She knows much less about the Rebels than of the Pride or even the war in general, simply because it's easier to not speak of such things. Ryiah knows that these are the lions who have been torn to shreds, and again, not in a physical way. These lions are the embodiment of pain, and in their wake, they leave chaos and bloodshed. The stories that are whispered make her skin crawl- innocents, cubs, any lion was not immune to their wrath. And they would do anything to win. While she's hesitant to believe such stories, nothing of the rebels she's seen has disproved it.
Ryiah knows she doesn't stand with these lions, not their ideals nor their way of making their choice future happen. She wants to believe that these lions are not what the stories say. |
History ;;
spoken words
|
brief description n history
|
spoken words pt 2
|
story
|
Relationships ;;
Setekh // "Seth" // Best Friend & Sibling // Deceased // It's no secret that both Ryiah and Seth understand the pain of conflict. Conflicting elements, emotions, thoughts and actions, these cubs are constantly battling the worst kind of enemy; themselves. It's this fact that should drive the two away from each other, as it drives every other lion away; and yet the two have an impenetrable bond that's easy for anyone to see. When Ryiah dissolves into a fit of anxiety and anger with emotions too strong to hold in, her brother is at her side, to focus her back. When Seth has his own mood swings, Ryiah will reason with him until they settle into a comfortable quiet. Their bond is a polar opposite of their own emotions- quiet, calm, without words. While they both feel the need to reason and argue and manipulate the world back into place, the one situation where that isn't the case is at each other's side.
When Seth died, Ryiah was devastated. She became inconsolable- switching rapidly from depression to a biting anger. For once, her half wasn't there to calm her.. and he never would be again. Ryiah is still recovering from his loss, and still isn't quite herself. When she aged- without her brother- she became an Oasis Wanderer, both for the sake of her family and herself. Now, more than ever, she was unable to control her raging emotions, and deemed it unfair for everyone to suffer because she was. |