"In the summer, the world is full of sunshine and romance. Every small affair feels like it could be true love, if only for a little while. And when the summer fades, that love fades with it. Even then, we have the memories of special moments we shared. You spend your time trying to go from one summer to another, but if you don't take the time to stop and savor what memory does, if you don't let it be special for just a little while, you may miss that Sweet Summer Love."
Original Name
Serengeti
Personality
Summer Love doesn't talk about her past. She doesn't talk about her feelings. Her secrets are her own, and she guards them as the only things that truly belong to her. She keeps everything close to her chest, and keeps her emotions deep inside, where they can be her little treasure. She has no interest in other lions, nor in most of what goes on around her. When she does take interest in something, her life is totally and only that thing. Whether it be a lion, an item, an event, an idea, she guards it jealously as only hers and can't stand the idea of it belonging to anyone else. She'd rather it be gone forever than be someone else's. She has almost no impulse control, and does whatever she feels in the moment, with no regard for how it will affect others. She has a strange energy to her, a dangerous feeling that puts other lions on edge. Fortunately, she has a tool to make them love her, if just for a little while. This strange item, rattling metal, holds an inexplicable allure.
Background
Summer Love can remember glimpses of her mother, some good and some bad, contrasting so starkly she's sure they can't be the same lioness. She was raised, instead, by the Gamemaster, who made more silver beetles than he could count running games across Nigeria. Get a thousand lions paying 10 each for a chance to win 1000 every day, and you rake it in. The Gamemaster was far from a moral lion. From the child labor of the slots game, to the physical abuse of whack-a-snake, he would do anything to turn a profit. At first Summer Love was no exception. She spent her early days hustling lions in the cups game. But as she grew older, she got better-looking. The Gamemaster got it into his head that he could sell her for a good price. He pulled her away from the hard work, and thus began the luxury of her youth. She could have anything she wanted. She was spoiled rotten, and very popular among the young kings and queens. She knew better, of course, than to reveal too much about herself - the Gamemaster taught her that. When she turned one, the Gamemaster quickly sold her off. She was confident she'd be treated like a princess in her new pride. Rose Queen certainly seemed to like her, and she turned up the charm. She was trained as the next musician, and did very well. She would have had the pride wrapped around her paw. But as so often happens with spoiled lionesses, she soon found something she couldn't have - and it drove her crazy. Sol' pride wasn't like hers. They married only once, and he was already quite content with Evening Glow. But Evening Glow hardly seemed to care about him, so Summer Love told herself. Didn't she deserve him more? She tried everything she had i her, but his loyalty was unwavering. In those days, the old Egyptian gods had begun to rise. Knowing she couldn't turn the orishas against their own Ìyánífá, she looked to those long-gone gods. The lioness goddess soon captured her attention, and she made her way to the caved-in tomb of Hathor. There she found very little left intact, but there were ancient instruments of worship for Hathor, and most prominent an ancient instrument which still seemed to glow with power. Knowing Hathor's realms, she took the instrument in hopes of learning to use it to capture Hathor's divine powers of love. She learned quickly, and the pride was enchanted by the strange sound. But she only wanted to enchant one lion. She went back to Sol to play for him, and he was enraptured. She was overjoyed, at first, to have the lion of her dreams. But soon the excitement wore off. He was old news, and she wanted somebody new. She let him go, and he slunk back to his pride in confusion over what had come over him. From what used to be a charming lioness, Summer Love has grown distant and reserved. Why try when she has something to give her anything she wants?
  
How do you feel about Rose Queen?
"How I feel about my queen is my own personal business."
Who is your favorite lion?
"It changes from day to day. I used to be in love with a lot of lions, but the glamour runs out so quickly. Who cares, after all, when you can have anyone you could ever care for?"
Who is your least favorite lion?
"There aren't any lions in this pride worth hating. What can they do to me when I can change how they feel with a few shakes of my head?" |
