#neji

New illustrations of kid!Ruggie and kid!Leona by Yana!! I believe it is in the third volume of the Episode of Savanaclaw manga as a bonus at the end of it.

According to the notes, Ruggie and other hyenas have entirely black hair in their childhood. I assume this is because real life hyenas have entirely black fur in their youth as well. I guess when they grow up, their hair/fur lightens, hence the gradient we see in Ruggie's current hairstyle. It looks like beastmen have more traits in common with their animal ancestors than we thought! (We've discussed how animal traits might manifest in beastfolk infants here.) The other note on Ruggie's illustration says that he wears someone else's hand-me-down clothes.

As for little Leona! It says he aspires to be the King of Beasts awww 🥺he used to be so full of hope... and the necklace he wears bears a scar-like pattern. It is apparently imbued with a protective spell, which was cast by Kifaji. We previously discussed what the purpose of the pendant the young royals of Sunset Savanna seem to wear (here!). According to the Magical Archives, Cheka's seems to have a tracking device but no protective spell is mentioned. Leona's meanwhile, has the protective spell but no tracking device mentioned. Are these customized based on the personality (and/or troublemaking level) of the royal in question? Is Cheka's pendant being more tech than magic an indication of the Sunset Savanna's advancements as they slowly industrialize while keeping mindful of nature? Or do the pendants just have both anyway and the design notes fail to convey that to us?

Cheka seems to sneak away from his retainers a lot, so I get why the GPS tracker might be needed for him. I have to wonder why Leona has a protective spell on his, though... Are there more people after him than Cheka, despite him being the second born prince and not the crown prince? And isn't Leona a mage powerful enough to be able to defend himself whereas Cheka doesn't seem to be able to defend himself and/or cast spells yet? Maybe Kifaji cast a protective spell on Leona's pendant to help Leona feel more like a normal kid? Like someone is out there hoping for his safety and worrying about him...

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