Abeni

Abeni was taken from her birth pride as a young cub, before she was even old enough to undergo their naming ritual. A nameless cub captured by man, she was injured and frightened. She later learned that these men were known as poachers, and their traps intended to kill. She was lucky that the traps were checked shortly after she got caught, and that upon seeing a young cub they chose to take it back, worth more in sales alive than dead.

Abeni doesn't speak of how she escaped the humans, but as a young she showed up on King Nebulous' lands, a man cub in tow. The pride was wary that the man cub would attract its elders, but wanted to shelter the scared lioness, and as time passed without man's appearance they began to relax. Abeni was named by the child she sheltered, her name meaning 'we asked for her and behold, we got her'. The child relied on Abeni for everything; she was his saviour.

Abeni grew quickly into an adult, the man aging, as they do, much more slowly. A cub for many years, the man would be protected by Abeni for her entire life. The pair battled poachers to protect the pride that sheltered them from the cruel humans. They also spread word that not all men were bad, that the pride were right to be wary but to make sure any aggression was started with good cause.

The man learned quickly and was more intelligent than the lionesses raising him. He taught himself to craft straps and pouches, so that Abeni could carry his food around for him. Having seen first hand, when he nearly starved, that humans could not go so long between meals as lions, Abeni puts up with having this attached to her.

One of Abeni's cubs, with dense black patches, went on to become a ruler: https://www.lioden.com/lion.php?mid=81325