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You come up to Ayomide and hear her talking about escape plans to another pride mate. As you approach, she suddenly gets quiet and looks a bit guilty. Perhaps some extra patrolling is in order tonight.
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Ayomide's great talent compared to the rest of the pride was noticed when she was still small. As soon as she reached adulthood, she was promoted to Chief Huntress, a day she had both looked forward to and dreaded for her entire cubhood. When the time came, Ayo was overcome with jitters and, in a fit of contrariness born of anxiety, she nearly ran away from the pride. However, her best friend (the gay piebald rogue male named Cinder) talked her out of it and convinced her that not only is the position her duty, it's an honor, and moreover, her pride needs her. Ayomide likes the idea of being needed. So, on the day she turned two years old, she dutifully turned in her ceremonial fox skull and received a lion skull mask in return. This mask, alongside her other accouterments, marks her as the Chief Huntress of Moon Pride.
Ayomide is both highly talented and thoroughly trained, having spent her whole cubhood and adolescence being groomed for this task. However, for now, she lacks field experience, and her training focused more on the practicalities of hunting rather than the art of command. The young lioness is still growing into her role. However, she has been surprised by the willingness with which older lionesses follow her orders. Power tastes better on her tongue than she expected it to when she was a cub (and she'd never thought it would be unpleasant.)
So, other than that one moment of balking the night before her second birthday, Ayo has thrown herself into her job with unfailing commitment. Cinder does his best to make sure she remembers that being the Chief Huntress doesn't have to be her whole life; that she's allowed to have other interests, too. Occasionally, the two go on brief binges of silly behavior or other forms of self-indulgent excess in order to blow off steam. This is most apt to occur the night after a particularly successful hunt, when Ayomide knows she won't be working again first thing in the morning (or, if it was a really good catch, perhaps not even for a day or two).
Not everyone is thrilled about Ayomide's ascension to authority. Some of the older lionesses think she's too young for the job. However, Lord Mwezi'o made his will for Ayo's future clear shortly after the cub was born, and no one wants to seem like they're questioning the wisdom of Moon Pride's much-beloved king too harshly. And it can't be denied that Ayomide is, generally speaking, doing a good job. For the most part, the other lionesses expect that she will grow into her role and become a fine Chief Huntress.
Eventually.
For now, she's still a little rough around her edges. It's hard for a lioness with the heart of a rebel to take on the responsibility and authority of leadership. She's doing her best, though, and there's no reason she can't pull it off. Time will tell.
Old desc:
Ayomide's great talent compared to the rest of the pride was noticed when she was still small. In recognition of the fact that she will be Chief Huntress when she is old enough, she has been granted ceremonial armor made of bones and hyena skins. She wears her accouterments with pride but is secretly anxious about the day when she takes over the Chief Huntress role. She knows she will be a good hunter, maybe even a great one - but what about leadership? She's not nearly as confident in her ability to lead. In fact, she's not even sure she wants to lead. She's got a contrary streak to her nature and the fact that she's been so praised for her natural ability and pushed so hard to take a given role in life has made her resentful, even though she does really enjoy her hunting training, wearing her ceremonial gear, and the attention and prestige it brings her amongst the other young lions, and even the adults. Ayomide has not told anyone of her discomfort with her assigned role, but sometimes it is so intense that she actually finds herself hoping that a stronger cub will be born, or a stronger lioness will join the pride. She would miss getting to wear her hyena skins and her bones - she especially loves to practice moving silently with them on, so they don't click or clack - but she wouldn't entirely regret the loss of the office they represent. Still, now that she is an adolescent, she has started receiving field training, and this has done much to alleviate her private distress. She is starting to fall into her role now whether she fully likes it or not. There's no denying the thrill of the hunt, and now that she's witnessed the current Chief Huntress in action, giving orders and being crisply obeyed, Ayomide craves that power and authority. It speaks to her deeper nature as powerful, dominant, and - to some limited minds - "evil". In short, Ayomide is beginning to grow up. She is frequently accompanied by a magpie which leads her to corpses and vulnerable prey in exchange for being allowed to share in the bounty once the lioness has broken through the tough skin with her mighty jaws.
Recently, while on patrol, she met and befriended a young roaming bachelor male by the name of Cinder. Rumors, of course, quickly began to fly among the lionesses of Moon Pride. In truth, if Ayomide did wish to take this bachelor as her mate when she comes of age, Mwezi'o wouldn't be too upset about it, as he isn't a jealous King, and there is room in his pride for males willing to submit to his authority. But so far, the two show no signs of romantic interest in each other. Instead, Cin and Ayo spend their time together wrestling, practicing their hunting moves, talking shop (that is, hunting), and generally being "bros" (Ayo being a female notwithstanding.) Cinder does not seem to be interested in joining Moon Pride, and keeps his distance except for Ayomide, but he's a loyal companion to the Chief Huntress-in-training. One reason for the rumors about their relationship is that the big male keeps an eye on Ayo from a distance sometimes, and seems to hover over her protectively when they are together. He doesn't think of her that way (in fact, Cinder is gay) but he values her friendship deeply. She is one of the only lions he has confessed his sexuality to, in fact. So while he knows that Ayo is quite capable of fending for herself, he can't help wanting to watch over her and make sure she's safe. Anyone who did attack Ayo would quickly find themselves answering to her huge piebald friend.
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