Ugh, today she was bored. Again. Lazily kicking a rock to the side Mzuka descended upon the lake that the Ukuucha'Wafalme had made it's home beside, strolling leisurely down to the waterside and lowering her head to take a sip. Mmm, it was a warm day - one of those where you couldn't see the sky due to hazy clouds, but the atmosphere was humid and hot anyway. For that reason her paler coat colour didn't matter - she was hot anyway, and the water was nice and cooling. An idea reached her, and her eyes flashed a little as she turned around, checking no one was watching. An activity such as a bath was one that should be kept relatively private, or perhaps not so if you were sharing it with a loved one...

Mzuka sighed as she stepped into the water, the effects of the cool water instantaneous as the concerned sigh turned into a more blissful one, purrs rising in the female's throat as she sank into the water, sitting herself down before rolling onto her side. Ah, this was nice. It was a shame Faiz wasn't here too, though. He was always so busy - she really hoped he was alright with all the jobs and duties he had, and that he wasn't overworking himself. Her mind cast back to their last conversation, and she wrinkled her nose a little. She didn't mean to make his life difficult. It was just...she was just being herself. But if she was making him that upset, she'd have to tread more carefully. She didn't like seeing him upset.

Another blissful sigh escaped her lips, the rowdy female truly letting her guard down as she allowed her eyes to flutter closed, smiling sweetly at the joyful feeling of it all.


The clouds blocked the sun that day, much to Tariq's pleasure and relief. A black coat was quite a shame when you were somewhere like Africa, especially in the hot area the pride resided in. He never complained outwardly, though. But he had a guess many knew of his tension whenever it was a particularly hot, sunny day, merely by his snappy attitude whenever such a day would arise; which was often.

Pink eyes glared at the sky, and for a moment, the male questioned why he wasn't nocturnal. Many a lion was up at night, stalking the borders or hunting, but not in that pride. That wasn't what he did. It just wasn't how he was raised. But he should've been...The night was just so much more...Inviting. And as he walked on the dusty ground, paws noiselessly moving along, he wondered if there was a place in the world where it wasn't hot? Maybe it was cold...Like water. Like--

...Water...

Something lit Tariq's eyes just then as his gaze found the lake he had been heading towards. Faiz's favorite plaything was inside. She had quite the expression on her face. It was a rare kind of sight that he guessed not even the other Vizier saw too often, if ever at all. But that was good...Very good...

Mouth drawn seriously and eyes wandering over the female's form hungrily as she smiled and dipped herself in the water, Tariq'ra'd moved closer and closer, not making a sound in his movements. He stopped close to the water's edge, black coat taking some shelter in the shade of a grove tree. And he watched.


Mzuka, honestly, had no idea she was being watched. Tariq had been very quiet in his approach, and had stood down of the wind. To be frank, even if he'd stood upwind she didn't reckon she'd have noticed - she was too consumed by the pleasant feeling of a bath. She hadn't had one for...well, for a long, long time actually. The last time she could remember was before Aali was Sultan, and she and Faiz had ventured down to the lake. He'd wanted to bring Liua, but she'd convinced him not to.

Oh, it had been such a fun afternoon. Rolling onto her back in the water into what was in fact a much vulnerable position, her rumbling, throaty purrs increasing in volume as her head cooled dramatically, she giggled out loud at the memories of such an afternoon. She'd pretended to drown, and had Faiz come rescue her. Except then he'd done the same to her, and it had all ended up with a little water fight. Ah...good times. She wished she could do such things with Faiz still. But he was always too busy.

She sighed.


The shade of the tree the lion was standing under blended in with much of the male, save his eyes. The two pink orbs seemed to glow brightly in the darkness; windows to his thoughts. It was plain by looking into his eyes just then that he wanted that female. He pictured himself in the water with her, and what it would be like if she were his banu. He'd be enjoying her smiles and her giggles, and she would be thinking of him; not Faiz. Goody-two-shoes Faiz.

But just because the delightfully-blue female wasn't his didn't mean he could...observe her.

Tariq took one step forward, temptation tugging at his dark mind. Soon he felt a paw in the water. The sudden shock of coolness made him draw his paw back out. But the thrilling thought of "what-if" sent his heart racing, and he grinned, wondering what would've happened if he had gone in. What would've happened if Faiz had caught him bathing with a female that didn't belong to him? And what would've happened...

If Mzu liked it?

Typical white grin lining the male's face, he couldn't take being silent anymore, devious thoughts making him antsy for an amusing conversation. So he called out to the blissfully-oblivious female.

"Afternoon, Mzuka'hila." he called sultrily.


She sighed again, rolling back onto her side, colourful images dancing before her eyes as she faded away into a land full of colourful creatures and imagination. And Faiz. Faiz was always there, watching her. But he gave her cuddles and hugs and HOLY s**t SHE WAS BEING WATCHED.

She was up like a shot as loud, large splashes sprayed water over the surrounding area, Mzu stumbling at first before she finally got to her feet, instinctively taking a rather offensive stance. Her upper lip was curled back slightly, the purrs lowering to growls as her claws started to unsheath... And it didn't help that it was that weird other Vizier. She'd forgotten his name, but he was the one Faiz told her to stay away from - told all of his harem to stay away from. Why, she wasn't exactly sure. She'd heard some...pretty horrible rumors. But that was all they were, right? Rumors?

Either way, he'd scared her SO much. And she couldn't help but feel slightly vulnerable, here with a supposedly crazy lion, a fair distance from the dens. And a Vizier, nonetheless. It'd be his word over hers, every time. Forcing herself to drop the offensive stance, not wanting to get into trouble, Mzu couldn't help the slightly gravelly tone of voice that escaped her maw, indicating that the growl was still stuck in her throat. "...Afternoon."

She should probably tag a 'sir' on the end. ...Ah well.


When the water exploded with flailing and gasps, Tariq laughed, pupils going thin as he grinned. He exhaled silently, keeping himself from laughing at her further, and watched with a strange sense of glee when the lioness turned on him on the offensive.

Tariq smirked smugly, eyes half-lidded as he examined the female's dripping-wet face. She was a short-speaker, concise and somewhat stiff it seemed. Slightly rude, perhaps. She wasn't exactly big, but wasn't small; not like Faiz's other shiny toy. Now she was small, at least compared to Tariq.

Mind wandering back to the subject at hand, Tariq curled his tail up at the tip, tuft brushing against the earth. "Having a nice swim?" he offered pleasantly, eyes still lite with that strange...something that entered his gaze as he regarded the blue lioness.


He laughed at her, and Mzuka forced herself to resist the temptation of lunging at him. Ugh, of all the perverted things to do! She could go tell Faiz - then this stupid a** wouldn't know what hit him. She'd been in such a vulnerable position...on her back, her belly bare for the world to see. She should've known better. So only acted and played like that with Faiz. What if he'd...ugh, she shuddered at the mere thought of him joining her. Maybe Faiz was right - she'd have to stay away from him, or at least be very careful.

"It's rude and impolite to surprise someone," she stated bluntly, not polite in her words but not exactly impolite either, "And it's considered ill manners to watch a lionness of another's harem in such a vulnerable position." She was clearly rather pissed off, but behind that there was still the mild fear - what if everything Faiz had said was true? ...Another shudder, although she attempted to conceal it. She'd chosen her words and her tone carefully, so it was clear she wasn't happy, but at the same time he couldn't really punish her for being rude.

Well, not unless he was really mean...


Well, well, well.

Faiz's plaything was quite the little spitfire.

Leave it to that push-over goody-goody- to pick up a female who would walk all over him. Now, if she were in Tariq's harem...If she were...She'd never say those things. O'tep was the kind of female who would say those things, but with more venom, and threats, and curses. But he was working on her. She was close to breaking; he could feel it. And seeing this female here, staring at him in that disapproving way with a stream of back-talking words bubbling forth from her rude lips, Tariq wished she was in his harem.

He'd teach her a lesson she would never, ever forget.

Eyes fixated on the female's, he held the gaze, not blinking once. There was something like a small smile on his face, but when one smiles, it usually fills the person who sees it with some sense of happiness. Tariq's smile was different. It brought forth no joy, though it was clearly a smile.

"It's also impolite and rude to back-talk a Vizier." the male stated quietly, in an almost happily-informative way, as though he were teaching a small child. "And it's considered ill manners for a banu to wander off by herself and bathe in vulnerable positions without her pad's permission. Or am I mistaken?" he asked, something cold in his tone, but he still had that smile; that strange smile.


His smile...it was so creepy. It wasn't a happy smile at all. There were no creases in the skin by his eyes, or on his cheeks. It was just a hollow smile, without any meaning...although she was sure there was actually a meaning. Mzuka's grassy green eyes regarded Tariq carefully, making sure to watch him for any movement. She didn't want to be surprised - from what she'd heard, she wouldn't actually put it past him to just come up and do whatever that evil mind was thinking. He didn't care aboutpride rules, not really.

"Then I apologise, sir," came the words through gritted teeth, Mzu making an effort to make the 'sir' not sound too sarcastic. She failed pretty spectacularly, though. His next words surprised her, though, her eyes narrowing as she noticeably took a step back, into the deeper water. She could swim just fine, but she didn't know how well he could swim. And right now, she really just wanted to get out of here.

"Beybanu!" she corrected almost instantaneously, with an annoyed, almost growling tone. She continued to watch him closely, eyes occasionally darting to the side to search for a means of escape. Could she just leave, or would that be too rude? Would that set him off? She growled softly to herself - how did she get herself in to these situations? "There was no-one present when I began," she spoke bluntly once again - again, not polite, but not impolite either. Almost as if she was purposefully trying to annoy him, "And most males would usually leave once they spotted me."

...That might've been a step too far. She hadn't quite meant it to sound like that. Damn her, and things coming out different to what she meant.


What a glorious shame.

Such a pretty, deliciously-gruff female possessed the manners of a toad. It really was a shame. But he had to let it go, for there was nothing he could do about it except to banter back. Which he planned on doing. But he let his ideas mold together, imagining her in his harem, and what would happen. He imagined. He liked to imagine.

"Ah," he breathed, head tilting as a grin lit up his face. "Then it is my turn to apologize, beybanu." he corrected himself, thrilled at the sound of the word leaving his lips in regards to that female. "I assumed you were simply a banu based on your manners." he smiled, verbally slapping her in the face in return. Vengeance was sweet. But he wasn't finished yet. A burst of amusement filled Tariq, and the grin of entertainment was genuine on his face as he stared at the lioness.

"Most males? Do you think I'm like most males?" he questioned her as he stifled a laugh, eagerly awaiting her answer.


And that smile was now a grin. Great. Grins were supposed to be the next step up from smiles but, funnily enough, it didn't make Mzu fel any happier, or any more comfortable. This lion...he was just so frickin weird. Had he been dropped on his head as a cub or something? She'd have to ask Faiz later. If there was a later. Oh, crap no, she shouldn't be thinking like that. He wasn't that insane, was he?

He was apologising? ...No. He was just insulting her further. She couldn't help the snarl that instinctively left her throat, Mzu managing to catch it but just a second too late. Carrying on like nothing had happened, silently praying he wouldn't pick up on it, Mzu raised her head, holding it high as she snorted softly, "Faiz likes a lady who can keep him on your feet. And judging by your manners, what with spying on another's Beybanu, I don't think you can really judge, sir."

She'd pay for that one, she was sure, but right now she didn't care. She'd phrased it in the nicest possible way, and had even added a nice little 'sir' on the end. ...Albeit in a slightly mocking tone. Ohshit, and she'd forgotten how far from the dens they were. His next question caught her off guard a little, and due to her current panic she simply narrowed her eyes, watching him carefully and keeping her lips firmly pressed shut.


Oh, Tariq caught it. Tariq caught everything. Months of strain and blood and fighting and cruelty left him hard and very, very sensitive to the slightest changes in his surroundings. He picked up on the quickly-hidden snarl. He even saw it coming on before he heard anything merely by the change in the lioness's expression. But don't be confused. He wasn't happy about it. He wasn't fascinated. Now, he was just pissed off.

A lioness...A beybanu? This was Faiz's beybanu? The ever-glorified half-brother of the sultan had THIS as a beybanu?

Tariq exploded into laughter. It seized him with the force of a hurricane and he could not. Stop. Laughing. It was just too much.

But she mentioned manners. And Tariq's laughter subsided, though a smile still marred his face, eyes fixated on the female. It was funny. It was--...It wasn't funny. It was no longer funny. His amusement passed at her words. She had called him rude. Straightforward or not, she had essentially called him rude; he possessed no manners. Now, it had been funny that Faiz had such a rude ill-mannered beybanu. But now...Now the hilarity was gone. Now, something else was taking over.

Smile gone from his face, Tariq stepped forward, half of his face departing from the cool shade and getting splashed with sunlight. His eyes bore into Mzu's narrowed ones and any trace of amusement was gone from the Vizier.

"Speaking of Faiz...Isn't he missing you, Mzuka'hila?" he asked slowly, words dancing off one another. "You shouldn't keep him waiting. That would be..." His eyes flashed, muscles visibly tensing. "...Rude."


He was...he was laughing? She lowered her body to the ground, watching him with...well, she wasn't exactly sure. He was mad. Stark raving bonkers. She had to get out of here - completely and utterly just get away! He stopped, and her eyes narrowed further, watching him. She might be able to making a feint for one side then dash around the other...but he was a lot bigger. And she really didn't want to risk it.

And now he wasn't smiling, and Mzu honestly wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing. His smile before had been creepy...but now he looked sort of angry. And that was even creepier. He stared at her, and she instantly felt unnerved, another shudder vibrating down her spine. His words sounded as if they should be mocking her, but were spoken in a perfectly serious tone, and she noticed his muscles tense. She stared him down, refusing to back away, eyes still narrowed. Faiz would probably still be busy - but this was a chance to escape and she was going to snatch it with both paws.

"He probably is," she spoke carefully, beginning to move in a large circle around the dark male, "What, with me being his Beybanu and all." A hint of a smirk curled the corners of her maw before she gave a nod. "Good day." And she was gone. And thank Mkodi for THAT!