Name: Moto (Fire; Swahili)

Gender: Male

Breed: African Lion

Age: 5 Years/Depends on Use

Mother: Unknown

Father: Unknown

Sibling(s): Unknown

Half-Sibling(s): Unknown

Adopted Sibling(s): None/Open

Crush(es): Asali

Crusher(s): Asali

Mate(s): Asali

Cub(s): Moyo, Maembe, Jabali, Alba

Personality: Moto is very much a loner. He's lived by himself most of his life, and even before that time, he'd always lived with just one other lioness. As a result, he prefers to be alone and aloof, and doesn't have any friends. It's hard for Moto to grow used to being around others, and because of this, he often acts coldly towards his pridemembers. Deep down, Moto is a respectable lion, who's willing to do what's right, even at the cost of his life. He's very stubborn and driven towards his goals, though his stubbornness is a key quality, as he hardly ever refuses to dismiss his beliefs, which often makes him difficult to work with. When he was younger, he'd been known to have a short temper, and to this day, there are still small glimpses of that, as he's quick to retaliate and punish others. When he does grow to become close to another though, you can count on his loyalty, and willingness to protect that person, and later on, his pride. There is a very protective side of Moto, in which he's willing to defend those he loves even at the cost of his life, and he strives to keep them safe from whatever danger he can. Despite his loner nature, he's a surprisingly good teacher, and even if at times he can seem a bit harsh, he's only doing what he thinks is necessary to help them grow and learn.

Likes: Protecting His Pride, Food, Taji, Teaching Others

Dislikes: Rogues, Hyenas, Cheetahs (except for Busara), Scavengers, Going Hungry, Disobediance, Strangers

Pride: Pridelands

Past Pride(s): None

Rank: Head Protector

Past Rank(s): Rogue

Leaders: Amani and Bakari

Heir(s)/Prince(s)/Princess(es): Taji and Radhi

Moto was born to a rogue lioness who's pride perished due to humans, hunger, and sickness. Out of a litter of three cubs, Moto was the only one to live past a week, since his brother was taken by hyenas, and his sister died of a sickness. His mother wasn't very happy with it, but still took care of him. As he grew, he was exposed to the dangers of this world, and when his mother was out hunting, hyenas attacked. Luckily, his mother was nearby and got rid of them, but he attained a scar on his right flank.

When he started growing his mane, he began to do more progressive things, such as help his mother hunt, or protect their kill from scavengers. He grew quickly, and had earned hard muscles after countless days of traveling, hunting, and fighting to stay alive. His mane was starting to grow more quickly, though once it had fully grown after 2 years, he realized it was smaller than most other's, but knew it was just as effective. Then, a fire sparked in the dry grass during the beginning of the rainy season, and his mother was caught in a ring of fire. He desperately tried to get through, but it was no use, and he was forced to watch his mother die in front of him. Now, he had to take care of himself on his own.

It was tough at first, living without contact with others, apart from his prey and scavengers. He slowly got used to it though, and was able to mostly avoid rogues by staying away, though it left him hungry more often than not. When he was 4 years old, 2 years since his mother had passed, he ran into a group of rogues trying to settle in some lands. Thinking him as a tresspasser and more competition for food, they attacked, giving him four scars on his shoulder, and one under his eye. He quickly retaliated, and ended up causing the death of one due to the injuries he inflicted. He quickly left, growing short tempered with others, and not giving out his trust easily. When he was 5 years old, almost a year after the encounter, he came to the Pridelands, and encountered the King Bakari, as well as his majordomo, Busara.

After talking for a while, he was convinced by the king to join, and took up a place as protector. Though it took a while for him to get used to them, after a while, he did grow fond of them, and tries his best to keep them safe. As time passed, he became more acquainted with the pridemembers, but due to being alone most of his life, he was still wary when it came to contact. He grew to knew Asali, a lioness of the pride who had sought him out, and started joining him on patrol when she could, despite her still staying a huntress. Moto was quite wary of Asali, but over time, he became more accustomed to her hanging around him, even if she did annoy him at times. Soon after, she requested he teach her how to fight, and since the safety of the pridemembers was at stake at the time, he agreed.

Moto was happy to train others, but Asali seemed to want to be much closer than he had expected. Over time, he grew to care for Asali, and much much later, the two officially became mates, and Asali became pregnant. She gave birth to their first litter, consisting of Moyo and Maembe. Moto was quick to love the two cubs, and began training them almost immediately, in hopes that they'd follow in his pawsteps to one day guard the border alongside him. He saw great promise in both, though more often than not, he was scolding Maembe for stepping out of line, and letting his feelings guide his actions. When the two began official training when they were young teens, Asali once again gave birth to two cubs, this time a boy and girl named Jabali and Alba.

He adored his cubs greatly, but always saw Maembe as the problem child, causing mischief and anger. Their relationship grew badly with one another over time, but as Maembe grew older and began to mellow out, the two went back to being father and son, and as a young adult, Maembe looked up to his father more. One day, Moto learned that his daughter, Alba, had attacked another pridemember after an insult, and thus was banished for five days. Furious with her behavior, Moto argued with her and Asali before Alba left, and he became more enraged when she returned, a cub in tow. He argued that she was still far too young to even take care of herself, let alone another living being, and his relationship with her began to diminish, as he thought the cub shouldn't stay, or that another lioness should take her instead, and despite pushes from Asali, he refused to acknowledge the cub, Nyimak, as his granddaughter. Life continued on, and saw the birth of his first grandchildren-Mtoto and Thambo-and he slowly began to become accustomed to Nyimak.

His other son, Maembe, eventually had two cubs of his own, however Moto had little time to get to know them. Their first day out of the cave, he led Moyo and Maembe along a border patrol, where they were ambushed by a large group of rogue males. Fearing for his sons' lives, he ordered Maembe to fetch help while he and Moyo fought them off. Unfortunately, due to Moto's old age and the number of rogues, he was overpowered, and died protecting his pride just before Maembe returned with help.

Relation To TLK: Lives in the Pridelands, the king is the grandson of Kiara and Kovu.

Original Image, Lion King (c) Disney