Baya's First Appearance and a Deleted Character | Brothers Deleted/Alternate Scene | Original Page 71

Because I've been behind in posting Brothers pages this month, please have an exclusive look at an original concept/alternate (or deleted?) scene that was the first pass of page 71 (even though it says page 73 on the sketch). You can see the final and completed page as it's canon to the story here:    https://www.deviantart.com/nala15/art/Brothers-Page-71-765652771 

Why the change? Well... this one's a doozy. A few years ago, I used to sketch pages out FAR in advance of what I'd colored. Today, my process is a little different and I'm only 2 or 3 pages ahead instead of the 10 or more I used to be. For this scene and the scenes before, I ended up re-drawing and changing the pacing and layout of the pages of Brothers starting with 64 and ending with this one. I wasn't sure I wanted to show Baya here as she made the ultimatum. I tried it out this way and she... didn't come across as intimidating or mysterious as I hoped she would. Also you can probably tell I was still learning how to draw her. I think her design and personality was tweaked slightly as this page evolved. 

Also here you can see a deleted character, the hyena with Baya in the last panel: Arashi He has a "smile scar" over his face so he looks like he's smiling no matter what. I ended up dropping him long before these scenes were finalized. I still like his design but he wasn't important enough to the story to keep anymore.

And because my handwriting is often hard to read and my sketch was faded by the time I scanned it, here's the dialogue for you, panel by panel. :) 

Panel 1: Uru: I don't like it.
Ahadi: I don't either.

Panel 2: Ahadi: Khalfani, if you'll come with me.
Khalfani: Indeed.
Ahadi: Just be ready for anything.

Panel 3: Ahadi: You have a lot to explain, Tai!
Khalfani: Ahadi - ?

Panel 4: Ahadi: Wait - you're not Tai!
Baya: Good save, lion. Or do we all look the same? I do hope your ears work as well as your eyes.

Panel 5: Baya: You attacked my clan today. That can't go unpunished. But I'll make a deal with you. Give us the freedom to hunt whatever we like, and we won't touch your cubs or lionesses or their kills. What do you say?

See another Brothers deleted scene here:  https://www.patreon.com/posts/40440743