Duara

Duara was the queen of the Lowlands for nearly 8 years, and ruled by Nyota's side during that time. She was a part of the Highlander/Lowlander War, and lost most of her family during it. She died a month before her 13th birthday, leaving daughters Dyota and Wiana to rule the Lowlanders.

Appearance
Duara's coat was a soft, sandy gold kind of colour that was not overly common amongst the Lowlander pride - typically made up of darker lions. Her undercoat and muzzle was a muddy-brown colour, with perhaps less saturation than the typical brown which tears it apart. Her nose was a burgundy, dark pink colour, the same as the pads of her paws - which, themselves, were coloured in the same, muddy shade of her undercoat. er most striking feature were always her eyes; a soft, dark purple that could almost be called blue at times, which were always filled with such wisdom that one could not help but trust the lioness. She was built like a Lowlander lioness, stocky and taller than most lionesses in the Southern kingdom, but it did not detract from the kindness of her features.

Personality
One of the only times that Duara would display hostility was towards strangers that had a certain aura of mistrust to them - a sixth sense she would always argue that she had, knowing the trustworthiness and loyalty of a lion. She was always one to treat a difficult situation with a calm, level-head, though she was never the type to accept nonsense if she deemed a scenario serious. She could be cold if her family or her homeland was threatened, and though her bite packed a punch, it was her words that could dissuade others from ill-mannered behaviour than anything else. Though kind and loving without a fault, there was always a bitterness that lingered in the background for Duara, and it showed in her darker moments that she was truly unhappy with the past that she had suffered through.

Much like her mate, Duara also suffered abandonment issues but had always been able to cope with being alone better than Nyota due to the simple fact that she never had siblings to play with growing up and did not suffer as much loss as her beloved. She had a soft, tender nature to her as well that made her suitable for being a queen, as she could deal with unpleasant situations carefully around her pride members. She was quick-witted, strategic, worked well under pressure and above all else she was protective of those she cared about. When younger, Duara was rather playful, though as age took her, such playfulness was limited to her words rather than her actions. A hard-worker without fault, Duara was loved dearly by much of her pride.

History
Duara, named circle for the shape of the full moon the night she was born, was the only cub that her parents would ever give birth too. Her mother found it difficult to fall pregnant, and was extremely joyful when she finally had Duara. All her parents ever longed for was to give her another sibling for her to play with and act like all the other cubs in her pride, but just when her mother finally was with cub once more, mayhem rained down upon the Lowlanders in a great battle that destroyed everyone that Duara loved, including Nyota's brothers whom half-adopted her into their family and often kept her company when she was bored, as well as Nyota herself. But their pride was always destined to fall, and it had been so ever since Nyota's brother was killed by an assassin and her father became consumed by his need for revenge.

Duara was the special cub that her parents had dreamed of, and such she was doted on and loved dearly as she was raised to be a strong, Lowlander warrior lioness. She never expected anything to happen that could tear apart the happiness that had resided in the Lowlands when she been young. Her parents love was bountiful, as they had tried and tried and tried to conceive many times before she had been born, and Duara had always felt as if the world was her oyster. Nothing seemed to be able to go wrong so long as she had her future mate and best friend, Nyota, around. The two of them were the perfect match - Duara's playfulness leveled out Nyota's stern nature, due to her royal grooming. She was the loyal subject, Nyota the revered princess, all was well. But all was not well, and the youngsters would soon realise that. War had been brewing for many years, and with one last death it erupted like a volcano and ensnared the lives of nearly every Highlander there was, ripping Duara away from her family, her friends, everyone.

In the end, there was only herself and Nyota. The Lowlanders had won, but what had been the cost? Everything. Duara and Nyota were completely alone in the aftermath of the war, and with Nyota the only successor to the throne, she was the only one who could become queen. Soon, life began to filter back into the jungle, but for a long time the trees seemed dark and foreboding, every rustle of movement was a threat. Duara had lost her beloved mother and father, her friends, and Nyota too had lost her entire family. The two best friends became even closer, for they were all the other had left, and it took a long time before they ever truly recovered from the sudden loss, the loneliness they had both felt when all was said and done. Lions began to enter the jungle once more and became members of the new Lowlands, but there was always a ringing in the back of Duara's mind, the scream of war as chaos ensued.

It wasn't long before, inevitably, Duara and Nyota realised that what they had mistaken as platonic was truly romantic, and they confessed their feelings for one another. The in-love lionesses mated, and though they were an unusual couple, they were completely content with one another. Duara became the other queen of the Lowlands, and the two found ways to reproduce despite the fact that neither of them were males. For a long while, they were happy with their cubs - despite the trouble Nyima always seemed to wind up in - until, one day, Nyima fell in love. Their eldest daughter renounced her claim to the throne and disappeared to the desert, to be with the lion that she had fallen for. Duara was sad to see her go, but happy that her daughter had found love. In her place, Dyota and Wiana had become the heirs to the throne. After that, there was only happiness and peace in the Lowlander pride. Nyota passed on, an old but content lioness, and Duara knew the moment her mate had died that she would not last much longer.