Mephiles

You peer past the brambles surrounding the fifth and final acacia tree in this pride's camp. The lion inside is... not quite who you were expecting.

Rather than a mighty king or a wise-looking queen, there was a rather young-looking male decorated with leather wire and braided horse hair. His pelt, dark with softer spots and a lighter underbelly, was stained by a stripy piebald variation. Despite the hungry mutation that devoured his fur and left behind scores of snowy-white, his mane was spotless: thinner around his nape and the top of his head, his mane mostly covered his neck, chin, and a vast majority of his tail. He smelled of smoke and charcoal-- was this lion... staining his mane with charcoal to cover up any white patches from his mutation?

Merely lounging in his nest on his side, the lion did not seem too fazed by your appearance. "Oh? Who might you be?" He asked, pure curiosity lacing his voice. "You should know, we don't take too kindly to outsiders."

You tell him your name and where you come from.

The male raises his head higher and flicks his tail. Flecks of soot fall from the long fur. "Sounds familiar... don't know where I've heard of such a place before. How close is your pride to ours?

You tell the nameless king, though you don't feel too great about telling him your home's exact location.

The piebald hums. "Far away, huh? Oh," the young male cocks his head to the side, "now that I think of it, that does sound rather close to... you wouldn't happen to know of the Asaarii Pride, would you?" He purrs out.

"Actually," you tell him, "they're a newfound ally of my pride."

At that, the male before you begins to laugh. "That's why they didn't slaughter you on the spot: you do reek of Asaarii! I knew you sounded and smelled so familiar!"

Oh, cool. Good to know that you were supposed to be killed on sight in this pride's territory.

The piebald stifled his laughter and sat up from his lavish nest, tilting his head to crack his neck. "What's with that look on your face, love?" He snickered at your grim expression as you realized you could have been dead ages ago. "Well, it's a good thing they didn't carry on with it! Sorry for having such loyal huntresses." The male rose to his paws. Looking at him properly now, you realized he was scrawny, his height only described by average. "Mephiles Melchizedek is my name. Come now! I'll give you a proper tour!" With that, Mephiles worms his way past you-- he walks surprisingly fast --and out of the den.