art by Sinbad
Intro
Upon approaching this pride, the first lion you were greeted with was a small gray leopon, dressed to the nines in cloth drapings and feather ornaments. Tiny though she was, she didn't seem particularly frightened of you. She seemed virtually fearless, actually. She greets you with a swish of her tail and a warm smile, welcoming you to the Rustlebrush pride, just south of Caterwaul Falls, and introduces herself as Aegis, the diplomat of the pride.
When asked about what a diplomat was for, Aegis is happy to explain. "When one of our past pride leaders,
Coalfoot, started to get older, weaker, and more overwhelmed during a drought, I was trained with how to handle lions from other prides. We get a lot of travelers and visitors passing through here, so it's my job to introduce them to the pride and show them around. If you want to know more about how it started, you should consider meeting
Nuska, our history keeper. Here, I'll show you the way." Aegis turns her head and takes a few steps closer to the pride, beckoning you to follow.
Biography
Aegis was introduced to the pride at an older age than many. But, on the plus side, that meant she had experience. And it wasn't like she acted old, really. She acted responsible, and experienced, and she made for a very good watch-leopon, with her fearless nature, but she still acted spry, quick and active. For the first year or so that she lived in the pride, she was a hunter, with the more normal lionesses. It wasn't long before a drought hit, though. The heat dried up the water, and the pride started to grow thirsty. The hunters had to work even harder to bring back prey, and the pride king at the time, Coalfoot, was working himself to the bone. Being that he was a primal lion, and therefore very very fluffy, the heat was taking a toll on him. He was fretting over the state of the pride which, at the time, had only come to this land in his lifetime.
Because of Coalfoot's exponentially decreasing skill to handle visitors, Aegis offered to become something of a communicator for him, in his place. At first, Coalfoot was reluctant, but as the pressure grew, he conceded that it would be beneficial to himself and for future pride leaders to have a diplomat to handle visitors.
Over time, Aegis went through training with Coalfoot to learn what to say, how to interact with lions from prides outside of their own, and so on. And with Aegis focusing on tending to outside lions, the pride leaders could put more time into the pride itself. Aegis never did seem to get old. Perhaps it was a blessing from the shaman spirits, so that she could continue to help the pride long after she would normally live.
Interactions
You better have another pon
You rubbed against Aegis, ensuring her that it doesn't matter who her dad is, that you will appreciate them just the same.
Upon your approach, Aegis pauses licking her paw and boops your nose, giggling.
You were startled at the sight of a feline too small to be a lion stalking around on the outskirts of your pride. You were about to chase off this intruder, then you realized it was just Aegis practicing her pouncing.
