⟡﹒Granny Eiko 賢い

Eiko is the oldest member of the Iro azayaka (色鮮やか) "Beautifully colored" pride. She is also the wisest member of the pride, even wiser than King Daisuki himself. She knows the best places to hunt, what prey to hunt & what prey to leave be, how to care for cubs, how to fend off hyenas from lion kills, etc. She's had more than her fair share of run ins with cape buffalo, and has plenty of scars to show for it.

Eiko has had only 2 cubs in her lifetime, mainly due to her age when she first joined the pride around 9 years old. She was chased from her pride because she was too young to be bred, probably by a new male, and therefore had no use to him. When Daisuki took her in she was already pregnant with a cub; normally lions would kill off these cubs the moment they were born, so they could breed with the female, but Daisuki is kind-hearted & he let the cub stay. He's lucky he did, because Eiko's eldest daughter Zen is absolutely beautiful & one of Daisuki's favorite lionesses. Eiko's other daughter went to join another pride, & hasn't been seen since.

Eiko is growing older now, & can no longer bear cubs for the pride. She's too old to hunt but provides plenty of wisdom for the younger cubs she protects while their mothers are out hunting. Daisuki is usually out patrolling his territory & fending off rival males, so the older lionesses stay at home to protect the cubs & let the younger, more fit lionesses do the hunting.