Keen

**Keen** is a male lion around Fearless's age. He fights against Fearless as Titanpride takes over Dauntlesspride. Fearless convinces Keen to seek shelter from Titan, and he later recruits Keen for Fearlesspride, but they later leave with Ruthless because Fearless feels like he is being replaced with Mighty. After Fearless stubbornly refuses to give up on his obsession of finding Titan, after going for a long time without finding him, Keen departs from Fearlesspride in order to join Mightypride.

Five years after the deaths of Fearless and Titan, Keen forms his own pride.

## Description

Keen is a tawny furred lion with a gold mane.

## Biography

### *Code of Honor*

When Titan attacks Dauntlesspride, Keen begs his father, Dauntless, to let him help fight Titan when he tries to claim Dauntlesspride.

Later, when Keen tries to fight Fearless, he says that he needs to leave the pride; Keen reluctantly agrees. After meeting up with Stinger sometime later, Fearless considers recruiting Keen into the pride he plans to form.

### *Blood and Bone*

Keen first appears with the remains of Dauntlesspride. When Snarl is found dead, he gasps in shock. Following Snarl's death, he participates in a hunt, where Hardy tries to convince Keen that Fearless is troublesome. Later, Keen fights alongside Fearless in The Great Battle.

### *Shifting Shadows*

One year after the events of Blood and Bone, Keen accompanies Fearless along with some of their pride-mates in a hunt. After their hunt is unsuccessful, Keen and Fearless spot some Giraffe Carcasses with their hearts taken out. Keen and Fearless wonder what had killed the Giraffes and why.

### *The Spirit-Eaters*

Keen is with Fearless and Ruthless when the trio are trekking through the Dead Forest. When they spot a flock a vultures ahead, Fearless declares that the new Great-Parent had been found and identified. Keen accompanies Fearless and Ruthless to the Great-Gathering. There, the trio soak themselves in the watering hole to cool themselves off since it was a hot day. When a pair of Leopards arrive to present their friend's body to Thorn, Keen leaves alongside his comrades for the dead forest to find Titan and deal with the Goldwolves (Since they killed the leopard). However the cubs small pride are followed by Menace who is determined to reunite with her father. Ruthless convinces Keen and Fearless to reluctantly recruit Meance into their group. The cubs eventually arrive at the Dead Forest where they encounter the Goldwolves who reveal their pack name to be "BloodHeart Pack". Menace disobeys Fearless orders to stay back and proudly confronts the wolves. After Keen (alongside Ruthless) assists Fearless in killing Sever's predecessor, they lions are spotted by Skulldrinker's Clan.

### *Oathkeeper*

Once Fearless has spotted a herd of impalas as they search for Mightypride, he and his pride get into a hunting formation. He sprints after an impala that had been singled out by another lion who he spots in the distance, and manages to bring it down. Fearless then catches sight of Keen, who is not welcoming or startled to see Fearless, but rather upset that his kill had been stolen. Keen explains that he'd been stalking it long before Fearless had brought it down and that it rightfully belonged to Mightypride. Fearless demands that his pride leave the kill to avoid starting a fight with Mightypride in hopes of talking to Mighty without issue. Keen is still defiant about Fearless's act of goodwill and notes that they're on Mightypride territory disdainfully. Keen then thanks Fearless before he asks to be escorted into Mightypride territory, meant by reluctant uncertainty from Keen, although he agrees to take him there. They drag the kill up into Mightypride's camp. As Fearless speaks to Mighty, who is less than happy by his approach, Keen breaks in, explaining how Fearless gave up the impala to him in his defense. He also tells Mighty that Fearless is loyal to his family and only comes out of respect. Fearless is surprised that his old friend is standing up for him. After visiting Valor and her cubs, Keen is sent to escort Fearless off of Mightypride's territory, and in that short time the two come to friendly terms with each other again. Fearless observes that Mightypride seems happy, seeming to pry for information, and Keen tells him that Mighty is a fair leader, though they'd been having trouble lately after losing a hunter to an ostrich kick. Fearless wishes he could help, and Keen tells him it was good to see him. When Fearless suggests a plan that involves catching prey for Mightypride in hopes of forming an alliance with them, Keen jokes and says he'd never refuse a plan from Fearless.

### *The Venom Spreads*

Keen is mentioned by Moth as she tells the story of the original three to Prance. As she is telling the story she mentions the "tragic romances" including Keen and Fearless in this.

## Personality

Like his namesake, Keen is an eager and sharp lion. He despises Titan for his crimes especially for killing his father and also wants revenge. However, he isn't as single minded as Fearless as he saw that it's better to give up on pursuing Titan after Fearless's obsession with revenge got them nowhere. Like most lions of his generation, Keen initially disbelieved in the Great-Spirit; however, after witnessing Thorn display the powers of the Great-Father coupled with previous events, he accepts the existence of the Great-Spirit.

## References

1. ↑ The Spirit-Eaters: Pages 250-251
2. ↑ Oathkeeper: Epilogue
3. ↑ Oathkeeper: Epilogue

## Quotes

*"The last creature you should be trying to emulate is Stinger Crownleaf."*

—Keen to Fearless about Stinger

"*I think we should cut the brat loose."*

 —Keen to Fearless about Menace