Nafasi

Nafasi was a slender, elegant female African leopard, a resident of Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. She was Tumaini's sister and Africa's aunt. This character was created by Aspi-Galou on DevaintART.

Before the events of the comic
Nafasi was born a few minutes before her brother, Tumaini, hidden from outside dangers by a small den dug in the ground and covered with a dead tree trunk for a roof. During their years of innocence, their mother, Simulizi, taught them everything a leopard had to know to survive. The brother and sister were inseparable and attentive students. A pair of troublemakers and jokers, they playfully pestered their mother, who saw them grown up with pride. This bond persisted up to adulthood, despite some friction that sometimes cut both brother and sister. Early on, Nafasi noted with incredulity the strange attraction that his brother vowed to nature and its inhabitants. She herself was curious, but not to the limit of obsession as it was for Tumaini.

Aged one year and a half, Tumaini and Nafasi bade farewell to their mother, who was pregnant again, and went to live their lives as full leopards. They did not separate immediately and traveled together, each finding their own territory: two areas that were very close to one another, as if they refused to cut their bonds.

Nafasi had to admit that the presence of her brother soothed her. He was like a memory of their days of innocence. She had known hunger, fights and disappointments. Her red color didn't play much in her favor when it came to hunting. However, she was a formidable opponent and those unlucky enough to cross the borders of her territory were ruthlessly pushed away. She did not tolerate the presence of anyone but her brother. Tumaini never crossed the border, merely lounging on a tree while watching her water-green eyes.

Later on, Nafasi began her experiences as a mother. She let a male seduce and mate with her. Her first litter counted three young. But the latest, feeble, died overnight, and only two remained. Two small energetic and healthy males, the pride of their mother. But alas, her inexperience in maternity gave her a horrible pain. A wrong choice for a hiding place to leave her young upon going out hunting generated a terrible tragedy. When she returned, it was too late for one of the two. But she had time in extremis to hunt down the guilty hyena before it killed her second child too. He was still alive, but seriously injured.

Under the pained and helpless gaze of her brother, Nafasi tried all night to keep her cub alive, cleaning the wound, encouraging all his strength to live, to live, but in vain. At dawn the next day, she found herself with a corpse between her paws.

And since this painful incident, Nafasi's behavior changed dramatically. She became sour, bitter, less tolerant. Even her brother was the victim of her incredible anger. However, Tumaini remained quiet to show her his benevolence. Nevertheless, the strong bond of their childhood had finally vanished. Now, he was just like any other male in her eyes: an intruder.

Time passed. Nafasi was luckier and bore several young. Some survived as some died. The experience gained from her first defeat as a mother had borne fruit. Now she was relieved that her lineage was safe. But she was always terribly awful with other leopards. One day, she saw another male had taken the place of her brother. A young, fiery male, powerful, aggressive, full of strength and power. Nafasi mated with Tofauti complacently, eager to bear his offspring, that promised to be strong.

That same day, she felt something poking her hip, causing her to panic and run away. Soon, however, her legs were heavy, her vision blurry and her eys cloudy. She quickly fell to the ground, unconscious. When she awoke, strange odors covered her, and she was wearing a strange thing around her neck. Weird, hairless monkeys were watching her wake up at a respectful distance, without trying to hurt her. Nafasi left, forgetting about her collar.

That same collar would be the end of her life.

She had just given birth to Tofauti's cubs when Tofauti himself, nagged by the desire to mate, came to see the red female. And seeing the necklace around her neck plunged him into a terrible rage, characteristic of his madness. Nafasi did not understand. Death roughly reaped her while the male plowed her throat with his sharp claws, unintentionally crushing their three defenseless cubs, the latest victims to the madness exuding from Tofauti.