Welcome to Gaia! ::

The name of the pride means "We will heal the land", basically. And ... essentially, that is what they do. Some time ago, there was a group of humans who essentially screwed up the land in a certain section of Africa. They over-hunted, over-planted, brought in strange and exotic animals and plants from other lands... and destroyed the natural balance of nature.

By the time they figured out what was going on, it was too late to do anything about it ... not to mention they were lazy. So they simply moved on - went back home, or took other land to settle in, leaving the area an utter mess.

This is where the pride comes in. Before the humans came, there was a small group of lions that lived in those lands... and once the humans were gone again, they moved back in. Only to find their ancestral lands had been changed - mostly for the worst. Over time, they learned how to help in various ways ... for they did not want to move. They were proud, and would rather find some way to FIX things, than give up and go somewhere else - especially since they'd already been driven away once.

The creatures from other lands they decided to either pen in certain areas (if they were basically harmless), or kill (if they were dangerous). They started to hunt down and dig up plants that had taken over ... and moved yet other plants that had done well and were not dangerous to specific areas. For the most part, they wanted things back like they HAD been before... but they did not want to outright kill anything new - just for existing.

In order to make the most difference, the group split up into several different Clans - scattering across the land. Each Clan was in charge of a certain section of land, and the first thing they always did was to clear out an area and set it up to live in while they took care of things. Once the land around them was fixed, the Clan would pick up and move to a new area and start all over.

Familiars are a VERY important part of the lives of the pride members. Every lion should have one. It's far easier for a bird to spot things, or for a rabbit to look for 'wrong' plants than for a lion to do either of those tasks.

Having multiple familiars is not frowned upon, but it's more common that the offspring or siblings of current familiars would be given to the younger members of the pride, or newcomers.

In no particular order....

Mating & Cubs - Relationships are fairly casual, for the most part. Flings are fine and dandy, and NO cubs from flings are ever looked down upon. Most cubs are raised collectively by whoever has free time to watch and/or teach them. Some parents choose to be more a part of their cubs' lives than others.

Tattoos & Items/Jewelry - Scouts and Hunters sometimes have tattoos which help them blend into the environment around them a bit better. These tattoos can be simple or elaborate. Other items and jewelry are very common, and Elders and Mages in particular tend to have LOTS. All of the pride members tend to be a bit .... magpie-like. Aside from the Scouts (who need to blend in), the items, tattoos, etc of the other lions tend to be bright and colorful.

Tokens - Whenever a pride-member wants to have any kind of planned-out assignation with another member, they give the other a token. This token can be anything from woven grasses, to a bird's feather, to a pretty river stone. However, if the token is from the lion's familiar (a bit of fur, a claw, etc) - this means they want to get more serious. To indicate that they want to become permanent mates, the token would be something from the familiar crafted into an item the other member could wear (ex: a feather wrapped in leather with some beads that could be tied into the mane).

Colors - The pride doesn't really 'discriminate' for or against any particular colors. The original members were mostly bright colors, or white. By this point, though, those traits could have been 'bred out' a little since they've been mingling with other lions outside.

Religion - Among the gods/goddesses that the pride knows of and more commonly worships are: Balance, Earth, Healing, Herb Lore, Nature, Plants, Predators, Prey, Water, and Woods. The pride doesn't really have an -overall- patron god or goddess. And any pride member who wishes to pay homage to a deity other than those above would not be put down for it at all. It's more a personal choice than anything.

Gather Fests - At a certain time every (x) many seasons, all of the Clans gather together in a spot chosen by the Elders to exchange news and plan out general directions to move off in until the next Gather Fest. This is also a time when the young of the Clans can choose to swap Clans for various reasons. They might have a personality conflict with someone in the Clan they were born into, or they may fall in love, etc.

The pride does NOT have any one leader - rather, each Clan is 'ruled' by a council of Elders. At various times, the Elders meet and exchange news and talk out large-scale problems. So, these ranks are per Clan. Depending on the number of Clans that exist, there could be lots of Elders, etc.

Elders (4) - The leaders of the Clan. They do not have to be the oldest lions but they are usually wise, strong, and experienced. Major Clan problems are brought to them to be thought out and hopefully solved. Sometimes, they are Seers, but not always.

Mages (unlimited) - A Mage MUST be a Seer. Mages can do just about any other job they want, or can swap around between jobs if they so wish. Usually, they choose to do what suits their particular brand of Seeing best.

Head Planters (2) - The leaders of the planters. They generally handle any problems the planters have, and report to the Elders at the end of each day.

Head Beasthandlers (2) - The leaders of the beasthandlers. They generally handle any problems the beasthandlers have, and report to the Elders at the end of each day.

Head Scouts (2) - The leaders of the scouts. They generally handle any problems the scouts have, and report to the Elders at the end of each day.

Head Hunters (2) - The leaders of the hunters. They generally handle any problems the hunters have, and report to the Elders at the end of each day.

Planters (unlimited) - The planters deal with any strange vegetation found by the scouts. They know quite a lot about plants and are skilled in digging up unwanted things, and re-locating harmless plants.

Beasthandlers (unlimited) - These lions deal with any odd beasts that are found on the pride's lands. There are some who are better at hunting and killing, and others who prefer to work only with the gentler beasts - relocating them. Others do both jobs equally well.

Scouts (unlimited) - Scouts are those who go looking for trouble-spots, and also keep an eye out for outsiders. They report their findings to the Head Scouts.

Hunters (unlimited) - Pretty much the default rank. Everyone has to eat, after all!

Healers (unlimited) - From time to time there are injuries in the pride ... and these lions are skilled in treating those injuries.

Crafters (unlimited) - Artists, musicians, those who make more practical items, all fall into this category.

Helpers (unlimited) - Familiar rank

Nestlings (unlimited) - The young of the pride. This rank covers the cub stage

Fledgelings (unlimited) - This is the rank for juveniles and adolescents

Wingsisters/brothers (unlimited) - This is the rank usually given to outsiders encouraged to wander outside the pride lands. They are allies of the pride but not -technically- an official part of it, so far as the pride-members are concerned. If an outsider wishes to advance out of this rank, they would need to prove themselves in some way.

I am totally digging this Pride idea 8D I want in >3

Really loving this idea. I need someone to put in here for sure!