Sloe

𝗦𝗟𝗢𝗘
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥
Wise and weathered, Sloe cradles the history of the Acropolis in her heart. She has been here since the kingdom's birth, and spent her lifetime devoted to its growth. Together with Achaeus, the Philosopher-King, Sloe carved a life out of the Acropolis. She has learned the secrets to surviving in this harsh environment, and is revered by today's subjects as a wealth of knowledge and history.

Originally, Sloe and Achaeus were best friends. They hunted together, protected each other, and made decisions as a team. Where would the lionesses hunt today? Where should the newborn cubs be raised? Should the newest stranger be accepted into the pride? However, as more and more lions joined their pride, Sloe felt the social landscape shifting under her paws. Achaeus assembled his council of Guardians, creating a distinction between pridemates - something Sloe already detested. While Sloe began as a Guardian, she began to see herself being treated more and more peripherally. Other lions, like the strong-willed Whiteflame and beautiful Agnes, received more attention than her. Sloe grew increasingly frustrated with this treatment, and with the new hierarchy that had been set into the kingdom - and most of all, with Achaeus, and how he treated her.

Then one night, Achaeus approached her on the beach with a proposal that stunned her. He told her that he was in love with her, and invited her to become his queen. Sloe was gobsmacked... and suddenly, enraged. This Achaeus barely knew her. She resented the system he had created, and the idea of being placed at the head of it filled her with dread. And so, Sloe made a decision that broke her own heart, and rejected him.

Not shortly after, Achaeus announced that Scintillate, an able young huntress who was renowned for her beauty, would become his queen. Scintillate seemed delighted to receive the king's attention. Sloe, no longer a Guardian, looked on with deep sadness as the two wedded, bore a daughter, and Scintillate was inevitably sidelined.

Scintillate is deeply resentful of Sloe, and refuses to acknowledge her presence. Sloe has never harboured Scintillate any resentment; instead, she deeply pities her. She watched the royal couple from a distance. When Achaeus was killed, she grieved privately, alone. When Scintillate passed shortly afterwards, and Lady Banquo ascended the throne, Sloe fell into a deep silence, deeply regretful of everything that had come to pass.

Under Banquo's reign, Sloe has come to reach a kind of peace. Banquo was one of the huntresses she trained, and she has remained deferential to Sloe even in her queendom. Sloe has made her peace with the Guardians, and has even come to like Banquo's down-to-earth leadership style. In fact, towards the end of her hunting career, she professed her loyalty to Banquo by bearing her a litter of cubs: a tradition among lionesses, and an honourable act. Quite enchantingly, she gave birth to a single cub - Cicera - who was the first cub in the Acropolis to inherit Banquo's piebald pattern.

You were pacing back and forth, frustrated at losing to a puny hyena earlier. Suddenly Sloe comes up to you, and softly tells you that no one is thinking badly of you for it. She soothingly kneads your mane.

You were pacing back and forth, frustrated at losing to a puny hyena earlier. Suddenly Huntmaster Sloe comes up to you, and softly tells you that no one is thinking badly of you for it. She soothingly kneads your mane.