|
You and Queen Eclipse got in some trouble with a vicious warthog. After escaping, she suggested you ought to invite the hog for a visit the next time you have guests, for it could liven up any party. You share a chuckle.
Queen Eclipse watches you amusedly, and states dryly that she did not know broken feathers were in fashion nowadays. You hastily remove the offending debris from your mane.
---
Like the other Queens, Eclipse came to Sun Pride after meeting King Amadu'o at the Oasis. She refers to her fellow wives as her "sisters", though no one is quite sure if she is being sarcastic or if she means it. She does tend to be snarky and cynical, but at the same time, Eclipse is always on the front lines to defend any member of Sun Pride who is in danger. Her ferocious temperament is easily directed toward the pride's enemies, a fact for which her pridemates are quite grateful.
Eclipse's best friend outside the pride is a female leopard who is known as Isosha the Maneater. This savage leopardess has become a frequent sight in Sun Pride's territory, allowed to rest in their trees and even feed from their kills. This is partly due to Eclipse's personal favor, but the whole pride became significantly more indulgent toward Isosha after a particular battle with poachers. Sun Pride are maneaters and cannibals themselves, so they had no issue with the leopardess's reputation for preying on humans. However, King Amadu'o has a special loathing of poachers. He has decreed that humans who kill poachers or do anything to harm their works are not to be killed or eaten, and that poachers are to die on sight, immediately. Sometimes, the King finds himself in battle with too many poachers carrying guns and roars to his pride for assistance.
One day, this happened, and the whole pride came to joint he fight, except of course those who were nursing and the broodmothers, who remained behind to protect the cubs. As Sun Pride's furious warriors bore down on the poachers to defend their King and their territory, the high shrieks of a leopard were heard among the deeper roars of the lions. Queen Eclipse, running at the front of the war party, was flanked by Isosha, who dove into battle alongside Sun Pride as if she were one of them without fear or hesitation. The enraged leopardess tore into the poachers with a ferocity that impressed the combat-hardened lions. By the time the poachers lay dead, their blood feeding the Earth, it became clear that no lions had been seriously hurt in the fight, and this was in large part because of Isosha's loud and fierce contributions. She frequently distracted the poachers, drawing fire that otherwise would have been aimed at Sun Pride lions. Luckily, she suffered only minor injuries in the fighting herself.
After this display of courage and combat prowess, King Amadu'o decided that Isosha was welcome in Sun Pride territory and that no lion was to attack her or drive her from her kills. If she was hungry, she would eat last - but she would be allowed to eat of the pride's kills. The lionesses roared approval. While still a leopardess and therefore not truly part of Sun Pride, Isosha is now a common sight around Sun Pride's territory, especially wherever Queen Eclipse happens to be. The two aren't quite inseparable, yet when one is in danger the other will invariably appear as if by magic. Together, Eclipse and Isosha are a formidable fighting team. Every time Sun Pride goes off to battle, the two of them run at the front of the war party to this day, side by side.
No one is sure why Isosha is so devoted to Eclipse in the first place, or why she was willing to throw herself into combat with poachers alongside lions. Some say that she and Eclipse are lovers. Others say that Eclipse must have saved Isosha's life somehow, or perhaps the lives of some past litter of leopard cubs. Yet others believe that the two have bonded over their shared ferocity and sadistic joy in killing and eating humans. And there are those who claim that Isosha just hates poachers so much that she will attack them under any circumstances, regardless of who else might also be fighting the humans. Whatever the reason for their original connection, the two are solid friends today and have an impressive combined kill count. Poachers and trespassers beware...
|
