“A mother’s milk is sweeter than anything. A mother’s milk nurtures and protects. You have been a mother both literally and figuratively, and shared your sweet milk. You have been like a mother to this pride, and so your name is Honeymilk.”
Retired
Honeymilk was once the lead hunter, but she's finally reached retirement. She's still somewhat in charge of running the pride and is restless, always wanting to help out. She's not much one for retirement.
Personality
Honeymilk was the former king’s beloved, the one who ran the pride in many ways. She’s lost much of that power now that they have a new king, but not the respect of the others. She’s a very careful and intelligent lioness who knows how to plan and is very selective. She’s a stable, steady lioness who likes things to be organized well. She’s also a tough girl, and can take a lot of pain, showing no emotion and never letting anything get under her skin. She can be a bit callous with the others, so practical that she has little patience for their dreams and aspirations.
Background
Honeymilk's mother didn't belong to the same pride as her father, but they were very in love. Honeymilk went from pride to pride when she was younger. Her dad was an excitable ball of energy with a tiny pride, and she grew very close with the two other main pride members, the immortal oddballs Angel and Squeal. She was trained as a huntress by these two. Eventually she grew up, and, enamored with the idea of getting married, set out. As a young lioness, she was very practical, and she was looking for a practical man. She was a good huntress and good-looking enough, so she had good prospects. She quickly found a small pride ruled by the king Erebus. She was not a favorite wife but was a devoted huntress. She served his pride for a long time. When Erebus died, a queen took over. Lacking an interest in a wife, Honeymilk chose to join another pride. Honeymilk made her way to the trading place to offer her services as a huntress. There she met Boffo, who was certainly not the kind of king she was looking for: he was a big goof with no talent for running a pride. But she found him endearing, and he had no real pride at the time. Feeling that she could help him, she chose to join him. Over time their pride grew, but she remained the favorite wife and main helper to Boffo. She ran the pride for years. But eventually Boffo got old. He had already chosen an heir, young Monarch of the Veldt. Honeymilk had helped to train him, but as time went on she grew less certain about him. Eventually Boffo passed away of old age, and Honeymilk was grief stricken, but she knew her duties. She found Monarch difficult to deal with, though, constantly absent. She pushed him to be a better leader, but one day he simply vanished. The pride was left without a king, and while Honeymilk was a good leader, she was already growing old. So she insisted that William take over, helping him along the way. They were struggling, none of them officially trained to be a king. Other kings were encroaching on their territory, and soon enough an evil king came to take over. It fell to William to defend them. Naturally, he was easily defeated. But the king didn’t stop with defeating him: he was set to kill William. Honeymilk jumped in without a second thought, and she fought the bloodiest battle she’d ever fought. She was torn up, ripped to shreds, half-dead. And the other lionesses intervened. That king was strong, but he couldn’t fight off fourteen angry lionesses. They chased him off, and with Sweet’s help, Honeymilk recovered. At that time Monarch returned. Hoenymilk was furious, but he wouldn’t say where he’d been. He’s returned as king now, though Will still runs most of the pride. And Honeymilk has sworn she’ll never forgive him. She was assigned a replacement to train, Swingtime, when she was about eleven. Swingtime, Monarch's daughter, was a proud and sassy lionesses that Honeymilk never liked. She trained her because she had to, but they argued often. When Swingtime was ready to take over, Honeymik took her retirement.
  
How do you feel about Monarch?
"That boy led us to ruin. He abandoned his pride. No true king would ever value his own wants and needs over that of his pride. He is king still only because we have no replacement, but his title is strictly ornamental. He does no real work. I'm too traditional of a lioness to ever mutiny, but I've often felt the temptation."
Who is your favorite lion?
"Sweet William has done more for this pride than any lion or lioness. He was never meant to be king, and I can only imagine how much he's struggling. But he's done his best, which is more than I can say for Monarch. He truly cares for his pride."
Who is your least favorite lion?
"If it wasn't already clear, I have nothing but contempt for that coward Monarch of the Veldt. He's done nothing good for this pride, and nothing good for those who put their faith in him. Though I can't say I like his daughter much either."
|
