Maliki

Gender: Male
Age: 3 years
Species: African Lion
Pride: Shadowlands
Rank: Cub

Appearance:
Maliki is slightly larger than average when it comes to lions, his paws showing that he's only just going to get bigger. His coat is a lustrous pale golden brown in color with a thick and very fluffy dark brown mane that has grown in, it's long enough to cover one eye on one side if he so wishes and he can't do a thing with it. His tail tip shares the same color as his tuft as do the two tufts of fur on the elbows of his front legs.

His underbelly, muzzle, lower eyeshades and even the faded area near his nose are all a light beige in color. His nose is a light milk chocolate rather than the usual pink, mauve or even black that most lions possess. His upper eye shades, paw pads and the inside of his ears are a dark goldenrod, highlighting his dark teal blue eyes is bright yellow sclera and dark eyebrows.

Personality:
Being the leader of a small band of rogue cubs didn't come without its demands and they show clearly in Maliki's personality. First and foremost he always puts the wellness of others above his own, doing what's best for them, even if it's sometimes not what they want or think that they need. On the other hand he's a good listener, willing to let people talk to them and offer what advice or comfort he can though as a cub there isn't much he can really say that the others don't know really.

Maliki has always been responsible, to the point where he can be slightly too serious, he's the mother hen worry over his chicks constantly which means sometimes being the party pooper. His situation made him grow up fast, so much so that he's rarely gotten the chance to play and so doesn't understand the concept of fun if it has no purpose. There are much more important things to worry about than fun like food, water, shelter and safety to him.

Maliki can come off as aloof but really he's just being cautious, he finds it hard to trust and it shows with the way he interacts with other lions. He keeps them at a distance and in his sights at all times, even if they seem to have the best intentions. He doesn't enjoy fighting but he trains regardless, knowing that protecting yourself is a necessity and protecting others 'was' his job ,before Ni found them, as the oldest and biggest. Now he channels that into protecting the prides borders and worrying himself over the poor Pridelanders, whom he wishes he could save.

Family: None

History:
Maliki's story starts with his mother, she was a rogue from the Highlands, unwilling to assimilate into the Lowlands after their war. She had always been a rather weak lioness and lack of nourishment only made things worse for her, especially when a male rogue came calling when she was in heat. She was helpless to fight him off and simply submitted to avoid any harm coming to her, surprisingly the male stuck around after noting her weakness. He wanted to find himself a lineage and leaving the female to fend for herself would likely just end in a fruitless effort.

The male brought her food, kept her safe, and showed her the ropes of rogue life throughout her pregnancy. His help was the only thing that kept her alive and her cubs healthy inside of her, for which she was grateful and she even came to like the male during their time together. However when the day of the cubs birth came the male was displeased with the turnout, all females, after declaring disgust he disappeared. Unfortunately for him he never got to see the late cub that the mother birthed, one boy, Maliki.

The lioness's instincts made her take care of her cubs but the more time went on the more she resented them, the mere sight of them, the smell of them. As the cubs got older it only got worse and she left them on their own more, this resulted in most of Maliki's siblings death one way or another. Either by other larger predators, or trampling sometimes when errant foot of a larger mammal was unaware of the mewling ball beneath it. And then one day his mother just never came back, leaving Maliki and one sibling all on their own. Maliki's sister didn't last long, starving to death due to her small size and weak constitution already, Maliki was larger and more able to survive on less food.

He wandered the Savvannah in grief and self loathing for a while until he ran across another cub, one that shared his predicament and it struck him. Could there be more out there? It seemed unfair that the cubs had to wander on their own and Maliki quickly convinced the other cub that they should find others like them and form their own pride. A pride of cubs that would take care of each other and eventually become their own pride on the Savvannah. When they put their minds to it they found themselves finding more cubs than they could have imagined and Maliki gravatated to a leader role as he had among his siblings before their demise.

He swore to himself he'd never let his own little pride die like his siblings and so became stern and parent like with the other cubs as he found them. Thus far his wanderings have been those of necessity, finding food, water, and shelter for the cubs as best he can. Eventually the little band was found by the King of the Shadowlands and taken in, they now live with that pride and are prospering.


OOC Alias: Moxxi
Best Way to Contact: PM, AIM
Rp Sample: Not my first rodeo!

Approved!