since nikki asked about kiburi... how's reirei doing in the lone honeybadger au? /np, nf
unfortunately I can’t say she’s as developed as kiburi is in lone honeybadger, but I’ve certainly thought a thing or two about her.
as some have already guessed, reirei is now left with only few of her pups. I’d say maybe dogo, kijana and one or two older ones. goigoi is, indeed, dead, and it’s a topic she refuses to talk about in the present timeline of the au. she’ll often sneak away whenever she can’t sleep at night to some place she and goigoi would always hang out in. she’ll look to the sky and if she tries hard enough she can feel a semblance of his presence with her. she doesn’t think with all that the family has ever done, especially with their part in scar’s army, that any of them could end up in whenever it is the great lions of the past end up, but she likes to think goigoi gets to have that. she can’t imagine someone as sweet and caring as her husband had been could ever end up in a place meant for the cruel. if anything, she should be the one to end up there, or at least that’s what she believes.
her grief and guilt is not as apparent as kiburi’s is. she is lucky enough to still have some of her family left and takes to caring for them however she can. you will find her giving her kids the scraps they get while leaving little to none for herself, much to the despair of her pups. personality-wise she hasn’t changed much, however a lot of the snarkiness and sass with which she carries herself hides the grief and guilt she feels when she’s alone. she’s a lot more crankier than she used to be, however, earning her the nickname of “old lady” among the skinks (a nickname that is not by any means affectionate, lol).
speaking of the skinks, shupavu and reirei are canon best friends in this au. they find in each other a sort of comfort, and can relate to each other’s experiences and sorrows. the skinks have lost a great reptile ally of their’s (ushari) and though reirei never liked the guy, she’ll still show sympathy because she knows what it’s like.
she’s relentless to all survivors outside of scar’s army, knowing she can’t cope with losing any more of her babies. she’s tried mating with some jackals from outside lands before but in the end she backs out, flashbacks and trauma tied to her previous mate still too fresh. at some point she vows to never mate again, instead devoting all her time to caring for her pups. the only survivor outside of scar’s army that she’ll be civil with is jasiri— basically-leader of the rest of them. jasiri herself doesn’t fully understand why, but reirei knows the kind of pain that jasiri’s going through, caring for everyone else. they may not be on the same side, but reirei will respect a fellow caretaker any day. there may come a time when their sides might even fight, but reirei doesn’t think she could ever do anything to jasiri. not when she sees so much of her younger self in her.
a lot of the characters’ experiences right after the incident are very similar, so I don’t think I’ll talk much about it except for some of the important characters, i.e., the four mentioned here. if any of you wanna share any ideas for how the other characters may react or grieve right after the incident, please do share!! I love hearing all your thoughts about this au. again, it fuels my own thoughts for this au, haha. thanks dearly to you, too, spinny for sending this ask :] really enjoyed answering it just as much as I did the kiburi ask! /all gen.
