VoK Prompts

I(b) 6: How did this character earn their role in their group? Has it always been their designated place?
Word Count: 710/700
Earning: 1 bronze feather

In the Ukusizana Pride, lions rarely feel the need to leave. Most had been wandering all their lives in need of a place of acceptance to call home, and few ever felt any desire to leave again after that. But, for Mangazo, a lion whose family had lived in the pride for generations (and a very prominent family at that), his mind was everywhere but at home. When he was born he immediately wanted to take off and explore the world, so much so that his parents had to build barriers so he wouldn't escape when they weren't looking. Growing up he couldn't focus on any on task without his mind wondering. He would catch a glimpse of bug or sparkly rock and be off to investigate, mind already far from whatever he was supposed to be doing. His parents worried and fretted, for what had happened to this cub of theirs; the descendent of royalty no less. Even as he got older, he would often be lost to his friends and family, off finding a new hideout or following an path in the woods. The question "Where's Mangazo?" became so common that is could be conveyed with just a look, but he couldn't help wandering off. Even he knew that he couldn't keep his mind on one matter without it trailing off on some tangent. He just had so much he wanted to learn, so many questions, and the world was so big! It was only fitting that he be given the pride's first official position of 'Land Scout' because no matter what he did he would end up wandering away. Soon, he seized all liberties of his position, leaving for months at a time like a full blown explorer. He loved it because for the first time in his life he was truly free and accepted for his "strange" ways. While he was gone, the cubs at home would make up stories of what he was off doing, like discovering an ancient treasure or finding a hidden oasis or even fighting dragons to free its captives. Whatever the case, when he returned, he loved all the attention and was quite the story teller himself, weaving his own tall tales to further ignite his admirer's imagination, both kids and the ladies. He never failed to bring back something from his travels, too, be it a "meteor stone" or exotic fruit. Regardless of all the attention he received, he would stay a bachelor all his life although he didn't shy away from flirting right back with the lionesses of the pride. Ask the ladies, and they'd tell you he's "quite a wonder." They were told his stories of saving hurt animals and bringing hope to underdeveloped prides. Honestly, he just knew he couldn't stay faithful, couldn't commit, and couldn't be there for a family with his wandering. Don't be fooled, he had the guys' respect, too. When he did return, the evenings would be his to first impress them. The lions would gather with him around a fire and he would one - up all of their stories that they would tell to catch him up on all he missed. Every guy wanted to be associated with him. No one could really say how much of his stories were true, though, as they never saw him care for a wound or fight a ravaging enemy. His only hater was his older brother Thukuso, who, as the Lorekeeper, knew a real story when he saw one and refused to repeat his brother's as history. When Mangazo was around, Thukuso might as well not exist to even his family. Their youngest brother Jabuliso was Mangazo's biggest fan (and the more dramatic version of him, often repeating Mangazo's stories with even more pizazz and fluff), and it was no secret that Mangazo was treated like the favorite child both when he was at home and when he was away. Although he loved all the attention from the pride, it could not keep him there. He was wanderlust even in his older years, and even with all his wandering, though, his wondering mind was never satisfied, and he requested than when he died he be buried as far from the pride as they would allow.