“The name Will connected you to your mother and home, and it means more to you than most names do. You’ve worked hard and you have done well for this pride. Your kindness is noted, and your new name has been chosen: Sweet William.”
Role
Sub Male
Will isn’t really necessary to this pride, truth be told. But with Monarch’s secluded, isolated nature, Will often becomes the go-between. He helps Monarch communicate with the pride and vice versa. He influences Monarch’s decisions based on his personal experience with the pride, and keeps him informed.
Personality
Will is a kind and open-minded lion, very sweet but not really the fiercest lion. He’s very patient and steadfast, and he easily forgives other lions, never holding a grudge. His feelings are not easily hurt. He tries to see from other points of view and never gets angry at others. He easily gives way to other lions, and he hates to argue with anyone, which makes him a weak negotiator. He prefers to allow himself time for relaxation and self-indulgence, valuing his rest time. When interacting with others, especially ladies, he’s very awkward and bashful. He can be a little bit shy and doesn’t know how to talk to others, fumbling over his words and making many mistakes.
Background
William was born from a fling, raised with his siblings by his sweet nameless Mama. She called him Little Will then, and although his siblings were never close with their mother, Will loved his mama and pride. And yeah, he was an ugly little puke and he’s still an ugly puke, but he never minded when the other cubs teased him because, as his mama said, “Meet hate with love or there will be only hate.” Willy was just a cub when his king decided he should set out. Will’s mama had always known he couldn't make a good king. He didn’t have the looks for it, so he could only hope to become a subordinate or a loner. He had high hopes all the same. Meeting with a few prides to offer his services, he eventually met Boffo, who was happy to have him. Monarch was already there, training to become heir. He offered immediately to step down, telling Will that he would be a better leader. But Will knew that he was too ugly to be their king. He could see more and more over time that Monarch had no desire to be king, but he had no choice: he would never be good enough to be king. When Boffo passed away, Monarch took over the pride, but he was gone often and disinterested. Will started pressing for him to pay them more attention. One day Monarch simply went missing. This left Will as the only potential king. He was reluctant, but Honeymilk pushed him, knowing he was their last chance. So he took over. But he had never been trained, and he struggled to keep the pride afloat. He relied heavily on Honeymilk to help him run the pride. Kings were stealing pieces of territory, and they had little prey. Eventually an evil king came to take all of their land. Will had no choice but to fight, but he had no idea how to. He was beaten with hardly any effort from the king, a humiliating defeat. But the king didn’t stop there. He chose to kill William. Will doesn’t like to talk about it, but he’s never come closer to death than he did that day. He still has deep scars along his spine which he covers up, and ones on his face that he can’t cover up. It’s only because of Honeymilk that he survived. She was nearly killed as well, until all of the lionesses teamed up and chased the king away. Will was nearly dead, so it’s very fortunate that at that time Monarch returned. Will thought he would be done leading. He was wrong. Monarch hardly does anything for them, and so Will is forced to figure out how to care for them and try to get Monarch’s input. But the day had to come when Honeymilk died. Will was quite broken up, and he struggled to keep the pride running by himself. When one day he went with Mesa Red to see about adopting a young cub, he met the cub's broodmother, Harvest. They spent a lot of time together, and Will was quite sweet on her. They took the cub, Horizon Red, home, and he would see Harvest once in a while. He was always afraid to tell her how he felt, though, and so nothing ever came of it. They eventually stopped visiting, and though he saw her again some time later, he felt he was too old to have someone by then. He's still floundering with his leadership role, and he's getting old. He knows he needs to find another young lion to help him.
  
How do you feel about Monarch?
"It would be easy to say I resent him for what happened, but I really don't. Sometimes I feel like I should, but he did what he felt he had to do, and I really don't know why he chose what he did. Maybe I would have done the same thing. I can't bear to hate another lion."
Who is your favorite lion?
"I have a good friend in another pride, Karita. She's a wild one, and she gets herself into a lot of trouble, but I love that crazy girl. I don't have a lot of time to explore with her, but I love it when I do."
Who is your least favorite lion?
"I can't say that I have one. Some of the lionesses in this pride are harder to deal with than others, but I don't dislike them. They're just different than me. There are lions with cruel intentions, but I don't know them well enough to understand them. The only lion I've come close to wanting revenge on is the king who almost killed me." |
