Episode 2: Nothing

Episode 2: Nothing is the second episode of My Pride.

It premiered worldwide on YouTube on March 15th, 2020.

Characters

 * Nothing
 * Hover
 * Powerstrike
 * Sharptongue
 * Fire
 * Quickmane
 * Farleap
 * Silentstalk
 * Feather
 * Sister 1
 * Sister 2
 * Waterhunter
 * Starmane (mentioned)
 * Spark (mentioned, flashback)

Content Warnings

 * Public Humiliation
 * Brief Gore
 * Ableism

Summary

 * A year later, the injured cub earns her Pride Name, but it's not what she hoped.

Detailed Summary

 * Nothing is speaking with her brother, Fire, and grandmother, Sharptongue. Two years have passed since her injury, and Nothing is about to take her huntress assessment. Her relatives are somewhat nervous, as Fire tells her she doesn't have to do the assessment today, while Sharptongue asks if she's sure she doesn't want to just skip it, and recieve the name Powerstrike had picked out for her. Nothing says that she doesn't want to be named 'Hobblestep', explaining she wants a name that reflects what she's good at. After a moment, Quickmane calls her over, commenting that it was rude to keep the Pride waiting.


 * As Nothing makes her way over, she reflects on what has changed since Quickmane's reign. He had bore children with Powerstrike shortly after his leadership, and the two had two cubs, making them Nothing's half-sisters. They had both taken their huntress assessment when they were just under a year old, yet completed it gracefully, and received the names Farleap and Silentstalk. Waterhunter had also given birth to Quickmane's cub more recently, being Sister 1, Sister 2, and Feather. Sharptongue had retired from being Hunt Chief due to falling ill, leaving Powerstrike to replace her. When Nothing gets close enough to her mother, the Hunt Chief asks if she's sure she's ready for the assessment, and she determinately responds that she is. Though reluctant, Powerstrike begins the huntress assessment, calling for the whole Pride to watch as Nothing proves herself to them and the Goddesses. The assessment begin with a leaping portion to see how high one can jump. Nothing does so, and its shown that she did rather well based on her reaction. The next portion is to show the Pride how fast she can run, and Nothing begins by running around the Sisters Steppe. Quickmane and Farleap mock her for her 'slowness', making that the Goddesses haven't blessed her with much skill and that she's always been a curse. Angered, Nothing begins running even faster, though in the heat of the moment, she begins having flashbacks of Spark's death and accidentally uses her injured leg, causing her to fall to the ground in pain. Too embarrassed to get up, she lies in defeat, teary eyed and feeling horrible.


 * Powerstrike demands that she gets up, disappointed in her daughter as she scolds her. Pointing out that a proper huntress name is too late now, she declares her new name as Nothing. Powerstrike asks the Pride for the agreement of the name, and all but Fire and Sharptongue join in. Outnumbered by the votes, Nothing has now been renamed to Nothing. As Fire rushes over to check if she's alright, Quickmane blocks him, saying that they had a deal, and that he is old enough to take care of himself now. He promises to Nothing that he would return for her before leaving the Pride, listening as each member wishes him luck on his path.


 * As the Pride is dismissed, Nothing stays at her spot until sunset. Sharptongue tries to comfort her, telling her that she was brave, but Nothing doesn't seem affected by her words, saying she needs to be alone before walking off. As she nears the watering hole, she spots a Prideless lioness on the other side, an alligator ready to attack her. Nothing tries to warn her, but after realizing the lioness hadn't heard her, she runs to the other side and knocks her away just in time. After explaining the situation to the Prideless one, she seems to be much calmer and began teasing Nothing on what name she was given, laughing when she was told what it actually was. The two start some small talk, and the lioness reveals her name to be Hover before Powerstrike appears with Quickmane and Farleap, demanding what Nothing was doing with a Prideless lioness. Hover begins making fun of Prides and how 'fun' they all seemed before eventually walking off, adding that she may see Nothing around. Powerstrike comments thatshe is the worst Prideless lioness she had ever met, and Nothing murmurs in agreement, saying that she was great, though stammered that she'd meant hate after being questioned on her wording. As they begin to leave the watering hole, Nothing turns around to where Hover had gone off, and the lioness turns around as well. The two smile warmly at each other.

Trivia

 * Episode 2 takes place a year later after the events of episode 1.
 * Farleap, Silentstalk, Sister 1, Sister 2 and Feather made their first appearance in this episode.