Name: Nightbane [his real name is Nguvu, but only those closest to him call him by that name]
Age: 5 years
Species: Barbary Lion
Length: 11 feet long
Height: 6.6 feet tall
Weight: 720 Lbs
Personality: Calm, generally quiet, calculating and strategically minded. when he plans a hunt, more often than not he gets his target. He can also be a very kind hearted Lion, having been known to show mercy on weaker opponents who seem inexperienced; a trait believed to be picked up through his life thanks to being shown mercy by an elderly male lion when he tried to gain himself a meal but failed. a young but experienced lion, he's been in many hunts and fights, and has won more times than he has lost, having picked up every loss' causes as lessons, adding to his increasingly large collection of fighting tactics...
Description: covered in tawny tan coloured fur, his underside is off white, with a few small residual rosettes on his stomach near his back legs, the only remnants of his childhood. his mane is fairly large and rich. it is a dark chocolate brown colour, though the parts of the mane surrounding his face is purely gold, fading into brown further back. a small scar goes over his left eye and comes down a few inches from his mouth, stopping in the middle of his left cheek. he has rich green eyes that could drown the one who looks into them within their depth, captivating them before he quickly kills them. as with all Lions, he has the inherited ability to freeze a target in pure fear by making eye contact. a long used and well known tactic of lions, his green eyes only enhance the effects, having been reported to literally freeze a target in place under his gaze...
Nightbane aggressive
History: Nguvu was once one of 4 brothers in a pride. their father, Shujaa, was a strong, and brave leader. he had tried to make his pride the most powerful in the region, teaching his sons bravery, loyalty, and unity. he had hoped to make all four of them stay together within the pride. to act as the pride's protectors when he himself inevitably weakened. Unfortunately it was not to be. Maovu, the eldest of the four siblings, wanted power. power he could not achieve so long as his father ruled the pride. being the eldest, he knew his younger siblings looked up to him. so he began to plant the seeds of his plan in their heads, making them believe that there was much power to be gained, and that they could only gain it through him. he eventually gained the loyalty of the two youngest siblings, Kubwa and Jino. Nguvu however, was fiercely loyal to his father and refused to listen to his older brother's temptations of power and strength. he was also the bravest and most confident of the siblings. unlike his two younger, more feeble siblings, Nguvu was a lion who had faith in his abilities. he was also the most favoured of Shujaa's sons. Maovu knew that Nguvu couldn't be swerved from his stance, and proceeded to give more attention to the other two siblings, teaching them skills he had learned himself through experience, making them excell and almost surpass Nguvu, the older sibling only barely keeping ahead of them in his actions. eventually, when the time came, Maovu took charge, challenging his father for the pride. the elderly Shujaa fought ferociously, leaving Shadow with several scars, a slash across one of his eyes, another across his snout, and yet another on one of his shoulders, the first two being the most prominent. but his age brought with it weakness. he didn't have the stamina his son had, and was beaten swiftly. However, despite the fact he was beaten, Shujaa still had support in the form of Nguvu. the Lion stepped forward to protect his father from his treachorous sibling, but Shujaa asked that they don't fight. Nightbane, respecting his father's wishes, didn't fight. but he couldn't bare to stay with his traitorous brother, and decided to leave with his father, to watch over him until death finally came for him. it didn't take long for the elderly lion to succumb to his injuries, dying several days later. Nguvu went on for several years alone, eventually gaining the nickname Nightbane by one of the young lions he met during his time alone, named for his ferocity and his preference of night hunts. liking the name and the fact it helped him forget his past, he assumed it as his own and began to introduce himself by it rather than his true name...
Name: Maovu [occasionally nicknamed Shadow]
Age: 6 years
Species: Barbary Lion
Length: 11.2 feet long
Height: 6.8 feet tall
Weight: 700 Lbs
Personality: Intelligent, cunning, malevolent, manipulative and cold hearted. he is selfish and powerhungry, and is not above betraying, lying and killing those around him if it will give him a greater hold on those around him. the only thing that keeps him from moving from pride to pride killing off their leaders is the fact that the collective hatred that would likely build would lead to his own followers inevitably betraying him. to those around him, he is loving and protective, giving the impression of a wise and caring father and leader. beneath the thick layer of deception hides a cold, selfish creature whose only goal is to further his position in life. he uses his two younger brothers, Jino and Kubwa, as tools to confirm his strength, while granting them the occasional share of the strength in order to maintain the facade that he captured them with, that his strength is for them, and that he is capable of achieving things for them that they would never be able to achieve alone. there is a degree of truth in that, as the two younger siblings, despite their intelligence and strength in their own right, do not have the skill in manipulation and leadership that their eldest brother has...
Description: a dark greyish black lion with a thick jet black mane. his piercing yellow eyes have been known to freeze his enemies solid in fear. he is strong, though somewhat thin for his size. a series of scars cover his front, his chest having marks from several clashes with other lions. his snout has a diagonal 4 claw slash from his father, and a slash across one eye, a third on his shoulder, all three being the most notable injuries he's suffered so far. despite the injury across the eye, his eye is intact. it's believed that the reason he isn't blind is because his father couldn't bare to hit his son with all his strength, though this, as is the case with alot of the guesses, is simply a rumour, and may or may not be true.
Name: Jino
Age: 4 years
Species: Barbary Lion
Length: 10 feet long
Height: 5.7 feet tall
Weight: 620 Lbs
Personality: sarcastic, cold and sneaky, Jino is known for having a habit of mocking others, and occasionally outright laughing in the faces of those who tempt him, making for a comical situation due to his unusually large teeth. he's viciously loyal to his brother, Maovu and tries as much as he can to earn his favour. his loyalty to Maovu is rivalled only by his loyalty to Kubwa, though they tend to bicker over food, Kubwa having a comically large appetite and frequently eating Jino's share of the food if it's anything short of unmovable. that is one of the reasons behind Jino's light weight.
Description: greyish tan skin and a scraggly brown mane are the most notable features of Jino. he has a few battlescars on him, as well as a sharp bend near the end of his tail, due to it breaking and healing at an odd angle. he has oddly large teeth, meaning that his fangs are never truely covered, always poking out slightly, as if in the beginnings of a scowl or smirk. he has dull green eyes, leaning towards yellow, unlike the rich emerald green eyes of his older brother, Nguvu [Nightbane]
Name: Kubwa
Age: 4 years
Species: Barbary Lion
Length: 10 feet long
Height: 6 feet tall
Weight: 750 Lbs
Personality: the most loving of the trio of lions, Kubwa seems to have a generally pleasant personality when not in a situation that calls for aggression. he's most accurately described as the loving uncle, as far as the cubs of the pride are conscerned. he is kind hearted and simple-minded, his greed and gluttony making up the demands in his life. he is however, more intelligent than most would think, and is likely just as much so as his older brother Maovu. he has a voracious appetite, and can often be seen to be eating something, be it a random meerkat, a bird that got too close, or his AND Jino's share of the pride's kill. he's fiercely loyal to his brothers, and his personality swiftly changes from that of an absent minded, kind hearted fool, to a ferocious, highly destructive, hateful creature when they're threated. however, he still feels regret for the actions that lead to Shadow rising to power, and has more than once pondered whether his leadership was really his salvation, or if it would lead him to a dark, cold, brutal end...
Description: a tan coloured, fairly large lion. he has a rich brown mane, and his pelt has a sheen notably more healthy looking than either of his brothers. he's covered in scars, the marks rivalling those covering Maovu, being the more powerful of the two younger siblings. he has a scar on his left lip, as well as across his nose, several dozen smaller scars riddling the front of his body, as well as several on his back due to intimidated opponents trying to attack him from behind to gain the advantage. his hazel eyes show an intelligent gaze, giving the impression he's always thinking of something, though his overweight nature tends to allude to those thoughts being of food...
Name: Gustav
Species: Nile Crocodile [Crocodylus niloticus]
Age: est. 95 years old
Length: 30 feet
Weight: 2.5 tonnes
Description: A large, dark skinned crocodile. his back varies from muddy brown to black, the black shown in thick bands going down his tail. his sides start from creamish yellow around the stomach to brown and black on his back, the black bands only appearing down the tail, and very faint. there are some small black spots on the line where the creamish yellow underside ends and the brown skin on his back begins. he has a few unusually large teeth in his mouth, which are symmetrical, with the large teeth being in the same position on either side of it's snout on both upper and lower jaws, though the teeth interlock. the rest of his teeth are in varying sizes, though all of them are overall, large compared to normal Nile Crocs, though that's expected to be due to the size of him. his skin is scarred with numerous bullet wounds from poachers who have tried to kill him, as well as big game hunters in the early 20th century. he is considered to be the largest croc ever seen in Africa.
Personality: A particularly persistent, yet elusive Crocodile. he drifted into the reserve through a river, coming from the waters near Burundi. more than once researchers have attempted to capture him for study, but so far, none have succeeded. now, he has entered a reserve without even being detected, researchers still searching for him back where he once patrolled, in the rivers near Burundi...
