Wardrobe

Villager: Kaju

You blink, taking a moment to register the sight in front of you. You'd seen the lion cub pets, but that's what they were, pets. This one was bigger. Much bigger. Now that you think about it, you'd seen him minding the souvineer shop while you were here, but you hadn't actually had the chance to go shopping yet. Still, this had to be a villager, right? Not the animal, despite the striking resemblance? Now you're curious.

You call out for the probably-a-villager to wait, and he does, turning around to face you. The small green turtioli with him - and that one was definitely an animal, not a villager - takes the opportunity to lean out from around the lion cub’s legs, looking up at you curiously.

"Hi. What's up?"

Oh. Well that answered that question. Definitely a villager.

Evidently your stunned surprise must've been written all over your face, because the lion cub takes one look at you before laughing.

"You thought I was one of the little lion cub animals at first, right? No no, I'm just a feral lion - besides, have you seen any of the cub animals get this big?"

You have to admit that no, you have not. Kaju nods.

“Exactly.”

"Who am I? I'm Kaju. Nice to meet'cha!"

"The turtioli? Oh, that's Avocado! I found him in my closet and we've been roommates ever since."

The young lion giggles, and Avocado strikes a proud pose. A very cute pose, but he does it proudly nonetheless.

"Where am I from? Well, I'm actually from the Mystic Gardens; the Depths, specifically. No, really! There are prides of feral lions living in the Depths, and I'm from one of em. We don't have any mayors, but we do have kings! Each king rules a pride, and each pride fights fiercely to defend their kingdom; whether its from other kingdoms or monsters. We don't drive out all monsters from our territory, though. Just from camp. I mean, we have something to eat now don't we? Dread Bulls are the best, though Baku are good too, even if they taste weird. Depends on what they last ate. Golems, though...yeah."

Kaju snorts.

"Good luck eating one of those."

"Why did I decide to leave? I, uh..."

The lion cub winces.

"I didn't. See, we follow something called the Laws of the Wild. When a male lion hits adulthood, we have to leave the pride. Keeps inbreeding and stuff from happening. Instead, we go out and search for another pride, and challenge the current king for it. If we win, we get to keep the pride, and he has to leave. If we lose, well. We don't. And sometimes they die."

Kaju shrugs.

"That's just how life is in the battlefields."

"But see, when the change in leadership happens, all of the old king's cubs are kicked out of the pride, or worse. We're just competition at that point - he's not gonna raise the cubs of rivals, not when its his own genes he wants to pass down. My new king, well, he went with 'worse'. I managed to get away, but as a half-grown cub I didn't know how to hunt or fight. We don't learn how until near adulthood, to prepare us for life without a pride. It was really, really scary - Dread Bulls tried to bash in my head, Baku were constantly after me to eat my drive to live, and the golems, well, they were absolutely terrifying at the time. They're big and huge and most lions never fight them without backup. It takes a really strong warrior to take em out, and I wasn't. Not then."

"I was being chased by a pair of Fire Golems and a Baku when I accidentally left the Garden and ended up at a little beach town in Olde Foxbury, one with docks and boats and stuff. I couldn't go back to the Gardens, and I figured anywhere was better than where I was, so I snuck onboard. And of course, partway through the journey to wherever we were going, we got attacked. A siren started singing, and it was just the most beautiful thing. I had to go, to hear it, and I didn't even realize I was moving until I was up on deck."

Kaju shudders.

"Sirens are scary. Just ask Southpaw, he survived one too. They're horrible."

"Anyway, we were all milling about the top deck, looking for the source of the beautiful voice, before the siren suddenly dove down from the cloud cover, mouth and talons stained with blood. Fresh blood, soaking the front of her dress. And you wanna know the worst part? I didn't care. Her voice was just so beautiful, and she looked like an avatar of destruction. Like an angel. I was just in awe, we all were, until she turned her face to me and smiled."

"Smiles aren't...they're different for me than in your culture. For you, its a sign of friendship, of happiness and welcome, but for me, baring your teeth like that is a challenge. A threat. And suddenly instinct kicked in, and even as my mind was captivated, my body moved. I dove underwater to dodge her attack, but was thrown about by the waves in her wake. I remember getting caught in an undertow, and being swept away from the ship the siren was now wrecking. I panicked, and grabbed one of the beams floating in the water, and that honestly saved my life. I had that to hold on to, so I didn't drown. Because otherwise? I honestly would have."

"I got lucky, and ended up drifting close by the island here. I wasn't conscious at the time, mind you, but Priya found me and got me to shore safely. I woke up in Seraphina's clinic, confused and scared, but he reassured me that it was okay, that I was safe. I had to stay for a bit longer, since I was dehydrated and stuff, but I was soon good as new. And that's how I came to live here, on the island!"

The little lion cub beams at you. It’s a toothless smile, one with his mouth and eyes closed.

"This place is great - there's no prides or kings or even a leader, really! Big decisions and stuff are made by group consensus, and littler things people solve between themselves. Sometimes they get someone else to mediate, but yeah. Its much better than the stupid Laws of the Wild. I'm glad I left the Mystic Gardens. It's...well, that was all I knew before, and there's this huge stigma to leaving the battlefield, about how dangerous and stuff it is, and its basically giving up any hope of becoming a king, and that's just horrible. Or it was. Now that my world has expanded, I can't ever imagine going back to living like that even if I wanted to."

"How am I doing now? Great! I've been training in being a warrior, and I'm really, really good at it! Good enough that I can take on a golem completely on my own. Zinnia even deemed me good enough to take on a Harbinger some time back, which was huge. Those things are no joke. Being able to kill one, that's the real mark of an expert warrior."

"Huh? Have I ever gone back to the Mystic Gardens?"

Kaju just looks uncomfortable.

"No. And I don't want to, either. That's the one battlefield I avoid. I just...I don't want to have to deal with all that. And besides, other kings would take me for a rival, and we'd have to fight, and when I win I'd have to take his pride and kingdom and I don't want a pride and kingdom. So no. I'm never going there."

"Yeah, when I win. Like I said, I'm really, really good. Harbinger-slaying good. And the prides, they...nobody's ever had to face something like that before. Killing a golem on your own is their mark of an expert warrior. A lot of lions can't do that without at least one partner to back them up. And I...can. So yeah, I'd win. And I really don't want that. Not to mention they'd be humiliated to death at losing to a half-grown cub..."

"The souvineer shop? Oh yeah, I run that when we have visitors over, like you. Normally that's where I'd be, but Sir Milo and Ricky got sick, which means Allegra can’t battle, and on top of that we're a little short-pawed on getting materials for our costume shop, and that takes priority. I'll open it back up as soon as I get back, promise!"

Kaju waves his tail at you in farewell, before turning and bounding into the sea, Avocado scuttling right on his heels, letting the waves wash over their heads as they disappeared into the depths. You suppose things are different for Kaju, now that he has a charm that allows him to breathe underwater, like the rest of the warriors and explorers here. Well, those who needed it, anyway.

Hmm...maybe you could ask to get one...they probably weren't just sold in the souvenir shop, but maybe you could commission Kimeya for one? It was worth a shot, even if your wallet would hate you for it.