Do your OCs have any pets?
Torren and Ritava do not, and Keres had a feline mount at one point, but that was different. Siva on the other hand....did have a pet kind of.
So during that time when she was using the serpent holes to survive on her own, Siva would sometimes go on scavenging missions to scrounge up supplies. On one of these trips, she came across a wild mutt wolfdog. It was a little feral, but after feeding it a couple's times, the dog warmed up to her. And so whenever she left the serpent hole, the dog would be waiting for her to tag along. She named him Mishaal, meaning bright since having him around gave her hope. This went on for a couple years, he helped her on some hunts and she protected him and helped find him shelter for when she was not around.
But with the years, he got older and his health gradually declined. He spent his last moments fighting off hellhounds and eventually succumbed to his wounds. Siva was left devastated, and mourned for a long time. Even after the apocalypse was over, Siva was still sore when it came to pets due to Mishaal's death.
Here is a rough sketch of what he looked like (He had a missing eye)
Thanks for the ask
