“The color red, blood and anger, has corrupted your life. But remember now what else red means: sunsets, roses, and the shine of your fur. Like a mesa rising towards the sky, you protect yourself and others from what lies below. The time will come for you to descend, but your mesa will always be there for you. Your name is Mesa Red.”
Retired
Mesa took care of many of the cubs in the pride, and watched them grow to adults. Now she has retired, and although she still loves caring for the cubs, this isn't her main role anymore.
Personality
Mesa is a motherly lioness, as would be expected of her. She loves cubs and she has a gentle way of handling them. In fact, she has a gentle way of dealing with most things. She fears conflict and chooses to comply rather than argue. She’s an obedient lioness who’s easy to push around, and she keeps a quiet good nature no matter what. She’s always been a bit nervous and jumpy, and often worries about the cubs. She also had an innocent sweetness to her, though, as though she belongs to a fairy tale. Thought she never got her happy ever after, not in the romantic sense, she still finds tales of love endearing and wishes it for others. As for her two husbands, she’s never been brave enough to get close with them.
Background
Mesa never knew her parents. Her first memory is of pushing through a low flood and stumbling upon the pride that would become her home. It was a very small pride, and Mesa was raised by the broodmother there, Frostfreeze. Unfortunately, Frostfreeze was a fickle and pretentious lioness who valued her looks above all else. Mesa took after her only in that she was very romantic. As soon as she was old enough, she started to get some idea into her head about the great romance she was going to have. When she was around two, she met Barbary Styx. He was aloof and mysterious and Mesa loved him like crazy. Soon enough she was pregnant by him, and she figured she would go ahead and join his pride. She said she would wait and give birth in her pride, then join him. He said he couldn’t wait. Finally the cubs were born, two precious little girls. Mesa joined Barbary’s pride, and said a few choice words to Frostfreeze before she left. But when she arrived, Barbary had different plans for the cubs. He wanted them dead, and Mesa didn't waste time in running. She was heartbroken and terrified, naturally, and in a very bad position. She couldn’t go back to her old pride - she had burned her bridges with Frostfreeze already. She needed to find a pride, and fast. So she went right to the first one she found, and the king there, Boffo, took her in happily. There she raised her two girls to adolescents, but soon enough they left to find their own prides. Mesa decided to take the role of broodmother, wanting to look after little cubs and hoping to be a better broodmother than Frostfreeze had been. She raised many cubs to adulthood. One day she was asked by Will to accompany him to see about a young lioness joining the pride. There she met young Horizon, who was just a cub then. Mesa and Horizon connected over time, and in fact her beautiful pride was where Mesa spent a lot of her time then. Finally Horizon chose to go with them, and they said goodbye to that pride. They were very sad, but Mesa taught Horizon to be a broodmother as well, and she was happy to see how Horizon grew. As soon as she thought Horizon was ready, she announced her retirement.
  
How do you feel about Monarch?
"I - oh, I don't know how to feel. I think he means well. And I don't hate him - I couldn't hate anyone. It's just that it's a little frightening living in a pride with no real king. William is doing such a wonderful job, but of course he's not really a king."
Who is your favorite lion?
"I love my pride and all the lions. But if I had to choose only one, I guess it would be Horizon Red. I met her when she was just a baby, brought her to this pride, and taught her to become a broodmother. She feels like my own daughter in many ways, and I'm so proud of her."
Who is your least favorite lion?
"I don't really dislike anyone. But I guess I've always been a little afraid of Inca Battle. She's just so brutal. And bloody. I can't stand to see anything hurt. She's very different from me." |
