Jelani

Jelani is a tertiary character.

## Personality

Jelani is a very brave soul who never hesitates to sacrifice his well-being to save the ones he cares about. He is very accident-prone and is incredibly clumsy; having a missing leg doesn’t exactly help the problem.

## Backstory

Jelani was brought up by Janja, a single father whose mate had run off. Janja decided to train his son to be something of a soldier of the hyena clan, which Jelani enjoyed thoroughly. However, it’s only when he saves a litter of hyena puppies from being mauled by a hungry crocodile that Jelani is deemed the protector of the hyena clan. He proved himself to be incredibly watchful and responsible when it came to the well-being of the clan, and he was quick on his feet pre-accident.

As a young puppy, he meets cub Akachi and the two become fast friends. However, they could rarely meet because of the warlike history between the hyenas and lions, as many were skeptical and on edge. The cubs decided to meet at nightfall, where they’d play, hunt, tell each other stories, and confess their love to one another...wait.

Akachi and Jelani’s relationship was incredibly taboo and not many supported them, sans their respective parents and relatives (except Ashanti). The two decided that it’d be best to keep their love low-key and not draw attention to it; after all, they didn’t want a war breaking out between the clans after years of peace. One day while Jelani is out patrolling, he spots two young lion cubs by the river bank, one splashing in the water, and the other warning the other one to get out. Their names are Shujaa and Chini, none other than the princes of the Pridelands. Jelani, both curious and worried as to what the cubs (namely Shujaa) were doing out here, goes to make his way over to them when suddenly, a crocodile emerges from the water and snags Shujaa in his strong jaws. Chini tries to save his brother from the crocodile, but is easily batted aside and knocked unconscious. Jelani instantly jumps into action and attacks the crocodile, managing to get a few good hits before it released a bloody Shujaa. The crocodile then turns its full attention to Jelani and, infuriated, snaps at the hyena’s leg and drags him down underwater. Now struggling to breathe and swim with the immense pain in his leg, Jelani claws and bites at the crocodile until he lands a strong hit to eye, clawing right off of the enemy’s face. The crocodile flinches in pain and decides to tear Jelani’s leg clean off as a way of “getting back”. Jelani has never experienced true pain in his life quite like this, and he barely manages to reach the surface of the water, had it not been for the help of a hippo passing by. At this time, Shujaa is still at the river bank in a puddle of his own blood, while Chini is stirring, becoming conscious again. Jelani’s vision is beginning to swim, all he can see around him is red. A grey blur tells him something about going to find help, but the hyena can’t focus and falls, everything around him now turning black.

Jelani awakens after what seemed like a mere couple of seconds of being knocked out. He’s instsntly met by Makini, a baboon who took him in and nursed him back to health it seemed. Makini tells Jelani that he is much better than when he was first brought to her, but he still needed to rest before he could return home. Jelani begrudgingly agrees, wanting nothing more than to go home, but, sensing his distress, Makini tells Jelani that some friends of his are coming to give their thanks. To his surprise, the royal lion family walks in, all of them smiling ear-to-ear, especially Akachi. Ashanti and Mwongo thank Jelani for his sacrifice, and Shujaa and Chini tell him how much they appreciate him, and also apologize for being the reason why Jelani lost a leg...

Akachi visits Jelani everyday, and the two get even closer than before. Of course, Makini notices and, once Jelani can walk again, purposely sets the two up to go on a little expedition to find some herbs. While they were gone, the two best friends play around together like old times and before they walk back to Makini’s, Akachi gives Jelani a shy “kiss” on the cheek, and declares that he no longer wants to hide his feelings for Jelani. The following morning, the two make their way over to the royal lion family (Makini in trail for moral support) and Akachi tells his family that he has found his mate: Jelani. To their surprises, almost everyone is on board (minus Ashanti of course), especially since Jelani had saved the princes. They then travel to the hyena clan and explain all of what happened, then tell Janja and the clan that they want to be together, to which Janja agrees to.

Currently, Jelani and Akachi are raising an abandoned lion cub they found together, Famaria.