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 Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 2:58 pm
Finally, he was FREE!
The sweet taste of freedom washed over the juvenile as he hopped from his den, finally free of the little, snivelling cubs that he was always having to look after. He knew it was his job - he was the eldest son, and had to help look after all of his half siblings. Especially since there were nine of them. Ilyas didn't even know such a big number was possible! But he'd been helping for days now, and the young lion was grateful for some time to himself.
Although...he wasn't so young anymore. His mother had pointed out the other day about how his roar was deepening, his muscles gaining mass as he grew larger. The fur around his face was beginning to thicken, becoming a proper mane instead of the head tuft he was accustomed to. So many changes, lately. He just hoped he could keep up with them all. Padding towards his secret watering hole, the one only he and Farrah knew about, Ilyas jumped into the water with a grateful cry, suddenly feeling like a cub again. He giggled gleefully, splashing about and rolling over, his fur soon soaked. But it felt good - really good. Refreshing on such a hot day.
He smiled. Maybe all the change wasn't so bad. After all, he did have to admit. Those little blue cubs were kinda cute.
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:17 am
He might not be small, but she was. Afsar grinned as she snuck away from her mother and father and into the pride. She loved them both dearly, but momma was always with her. Sometimes the pale female just wanted some alone time. Was that so much to ask? Apparently so, with her mother.
She knew Molemogi just wanted her to be happy and content, but it was so.... ugh. It suffocated her at points. That's why, on a hot day like today, she would go swimming all by herself. Vu had taught all of them how to swim not to long ago, and Afsar wanted to try it out.
Frolicking. That's what she was doing. Tan and off white paws lifted off the ground as she bounced her way over a watering hole. Splashing in the distance caught her attention though. Blinking those green eyes, she tilted her head and gave a bit of a smile. Someone else was playing in water? But.. wasn't this the only watering hole? That smile was replaced with a confused, curious expression.
Off she ran towards the sound and the cry, stumbling and skidding over objects that were in her way.
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 1:43 pm
The water was the same colour as his eyes. That was what Farrah had said. Trying to see if it was true, Ilyas was trying to decipher the colour from his relfection in the water, but now he was confused. If they were the same colour surely his eyes would like, all blend in and he wouldn't be able to see them?! But...but he couldn't really see much, since the water kept moving and wouldn't stay still long enough for a proper reflection to form. Stupid water.
Sighing, Ilyas glanced up, frowning in mild confusion as he watched a pale young lionness, tripping and skidding over twings and stones as she ran towards him. ...Was it him she was running towards? He glanced behind him, expecting to see some large, intimidating lion who was her father, but there was no-one. This was...odd. First reaction had been to run towards her and scold her, but she was a pale orange colour, so definitely wasn't one of his siblings. Who was she, then?
As she came closer and within earshot, Ilyas blinked, ears flickering back, "Uhm...Hello?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:30 am
The voice! Or.. A voice! It caught his attention, that maleish voice. Clearly it was a male, because that was what was getting closer and closer as she ran. Soon enough, Afsar had to dig her paws into the dirt to stop running, unless she wanted to run straight into the water. Trying to stop didn't help, however. She still found herself stumbling over her own paws, rolling and landing in the water. Coughing and sputtering, the female took a minute to clear her lungs before scrambling to the shore.
Ugh! Wet and cold, wet and cold. Well, she wasn't warm anymore, that was for sure. Shaking herself off, the pale lioness looked to the odd colored boy and tilted her head to the side.
"I'm Afsar. Who're you?" Clearly she didn't keep up with anything in the pride other than her family. She didn't know he was special in anyway. Tail flicking the last bit of water off of it, Afsar stretched and sighed when she was finished. "...Hi! Sorry if I bothered you."
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:38 am
He couldn't help it.
He laughed.
It was just so comical, when she tripped over her own paws a barrel-rolled into the water, crashing with an almighty 'SPLASH!', before spluttering and coughing as she found her feet again. Ilyas rolled onto his back, soaking himself once again in the shallow water, but honestly not caring. He was enjoying himself, which was all that mattered. He hadn't been able to do that for a while. She managed to stand up and watch him, cocking her head to one side, Ilyas finally scrambling back to his own feet and watching her curiously.
Afsar? She reminded him of that guard he'd met, the other day. Vu. Maybe she was related to him. Something in the back of the juvenile's mind nagged him - Papa had always told him to be strict with females, and to make sure they addressed him properly. He knew the young lionness should be more polite, probably using his title...but he didn't really mind. Besides, she didn't look all that much older than his younger siblings. He could forgive her for that. Smile brightening, he watched her streth before finally replying, watching her all the while, "I'm Ilyas, son of Vizier Faiz! ...You look like the Guard, Vu."
His smile widened to a grin, Ilyas flashing his teeth in a charming manner, "You didn't bother me! You were really funny!"
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:42 am
The laughter was contagious. Even though Afsar knew he was laughing at her, she couldn't help but laugh. That's what cubs did, right? They laughed and played all innocently. When he calmed down and introduced himself, she beamed. She had no idea what a Vizier was, but it seemed important! Which made this older cub important.
Then he mentioned her father's name and she grinned widely. "Vu's my daddy! And Banu Molemogi's my momma. I don't know if you've heard of her or not. But like.... She's super important. My daddy's Beybanu and ...well... only banu.."
She shook her head after she spoke and then shifted at his charm. "I'm a bit clumsy! But daddy said he finds it special. He said momma wasn't clumsy when she was a cub, so it is a good change for him. When did you meet my daddy?" She shuffled close, always up for a good story. Afsar knew her father met the Sultan before, but not this little boy!
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:49 am
Oh, she was laughing too! That was...that was nice. Ilyas liked Afsar, he decided. He always liked someone who could laugh at themselves, like he could. Momma Tuliua couldn't really, and Faiz was always too busy for jokes. But having a friend he could mess around with would be fun! And he'd been right! Vu was her daddy! He frowned, shaking his head a little to show he hadn't heard of her mother, but smiling again soon after. Vu's Beybanu? Oooo, cool!
"My Papa's important. He's a Vizier, like...an advisor to the Sultan! And he's Sultan Aali's brother! Sultan Aali's my uncle! AND I'm Faiz's first born son!" Ilyas rattled off everything he found important about his heritage, which was quite a lot. He liked showing off, it was true. But Afsar seemed quite willing to listen. Boucning from side to side, he giggled as he kicked some water at her, clearly after a game. But then she seemed to want a story, so he sat himself down, content to do as she wished.
"I saw him patrolling the borders - he brought me back to the inner pride when I wandered too far." he began, trailing off. Should he ask? Did it sound stupid if he asked? Well, you'd never know unless you tried... "Afsar, can we be friends?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 7:42 pm
As her new found .....Pesar? She didn't know what he was yet, but still. As he rattled off how important his family was her chest began to swell. She wanted to outdo him, but she knew that her family were only members of the pride, not to important. Not yet, anyway. Between the four cubs her parents had, Afsar knew one of them would amount to something good.
So he was related to the Sultan? That was so cool. "I met the Sultan once! With my momma. I got into trouble, though. I think he thinks I'm to hyper... or something. Spirited? I don't know. He said he was sending one of his Banu out to help us, 'cause daddy's only got one."
Then she listened to how he knew her daddy and she beamed. She knew her daddy was an awesome guard, and looked really cool with those intimidating scars and everything. But his question caught her off guard. Was that a normal question?
"Of course, silly. Why couldn't we? I mean, Pesar's and Banu can be friends, right?" She tapped him on the nose after she got a bit closer and giggled a bit before tackling him. Her little teeth went straight for his ear to chew on, tail flicking happily.
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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:14 pm
He watched her, expecting a much more amazed reaction to how important he was. But hey, he supposed not everyone really understood just how important being so closely related to the Sultan made him. He'd forgive her, he supposed. Because she was nice, and he liked her. Ilyas smiled brightly, nodding enthusiastically as she retold her tale of meeting Uncle Aali.
"You do seem quite...spirited. But I like that! That makes you more fun, like Farrah! Not like all the other boring Banu who only want to be good." he nodded. It was nice, but it did get boring when all Banu were the same. Like as much as he loved his mother, he did have to admit, he could see why Papa favoured Momma Mzuka. She was more exciting, more willing to push the boundaries. She was different from all the others, stood out. Ilyas wanted a Banu like that.
Her agreement to his offer of friendship caused his smile to widen further, the male giving a merry little squeak as he proceeded to bound around her, swatting her away when she made an attempt to chew on his ear. Aha, he saw her coming! "I say we can, so we can!"
When she was playfully swatted away, she was not perturbed. Oh, no! It just made her want to try even harder to play with him and chew on him like she did with Harb! She moved a bit away and got into pouncing position. Rear up in the air, tail straight up, lower half pressed to the dirt. He wouldn't be able to get her away from him now! Running at him at her full speed, she jumped and hoped to land on his back. But, being the amateur she was, she over jumped.
Instead, she tripped over her front two paws when she landed and rolled for a few moments before sliding to a stop on her back. Blinking, not hurt, the green eyed female stayed there for a moment to get the dizziness to go away.
"Hey! Not fair!" She said, flipping herself over to get onto her paws and looked at him as if it were his fault. It didn't stay that way, for long. No, a smile broke out and she started laughing. Momma always said to learn to laugh at yourself, it'd make your life easier!
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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:26 pm
Ilyas noticed her determination, grinning as he himself lowered his body to the ground, ready to jump out of the way. But it seemed it wasn't needed, as she over-judged the distance and tripped over her front paws, eventually landing in an uncomfortable-looking pile in the mud. And he laughed - properly laughed. He liked laughing, but usually he couldn't laugh like this. It was improper - Pesar and Pads shouldn't laugh horrendously in case females got the wrong ided. But right now, Ilyas didn't care, instead rolling onto his back and giggling like a small cub again.
"It wasn't my fault!" he defended himself, slowly clambering back to his paws, flopping down onto the ground, feeling too lazy to stand up properly. "I like you, Afsar." he stated, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, "You're...different. I like it."
"Awww.." She shook the mud out of her fur and huffed, feeling mud dripping off her nose. Snorting a bit more, Afsar listened to him laughed and grinned. That's what she was aiming for; laughter. Who cared if males shouldn't laugh? He was a cub, let him act like one! At least, that was her opinion on the matter. They should just have fun and not have to worry about anything until they were near adults! Her green eyes closed as she sneezed, mud tickling her once again before she moved over to him and flopped down in front.
She pressed her head close to his and started grooming between his eyes and his mane tuft; this is what she did for her brother! "I like you, too, Ilyas! 'cause you're not like the other boys, like my brother. He's a stick in the mud and doesn't let me have any fun! I mean, I do want to be good, but it isn't me! So.. I act like me!"
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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:42 pm
She sneezed, and he giggled again, before it melted into a purr at the sudden grooming. Ooo...that felt nice. Were friends supposed to do stuff like this? He often saw Mommas Mzu and Tuliua grooming Faiz, but they were mates. Surely friends shouldn't do this? But ohhhh, it felt so nice! Not wanting it to stop, he leaned into Afsar, listening but not really responding, too lost in the really nice feeling, purring continuously.
"Acting like you is....it's gooooood," he purred softly, leaning his weight on her fully, pretty much collapsing on her as the volumes of his purrs increased.
When the other collapsed on him, she giggled and laughed a bit, squirming. Afsar did resume her grooming of his face, moving to behind his ears and his cheeks that she could reach. Her tail thumped against the ground occasionally as she swayed it, eyes going half mast. This was pretty relaxing, grooming. Now she saw why her momma was always grooming them. When she felt a little bump in his fur, she'd use her teeth and nibble, but not on his skin. She didn't want to hurt him, after all! Then Afsar smoothed it down and then chuckled.
"You're acting like you, so I can do the same! It is how things work 'round here. Arm for an arm. Tooth for a tooth, blah, blah." Her momma said that to her sometimes. And, if your siblings jumped off a cliff... That whole line.
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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:49 pm
He knew she was giggling, and felt the vibrations of her tail thumping against the ground. He occasionally let out a squeak when she nibbled, but more because it tickled. It never hurt - she was being careful. But he didn't care about any of that - all he cared about was that she didn't stop. He saw why Papa liked his Momma's doing this, now.
"I don't think there's a problem with you acting like you - I like it," he mumbled, loud enough that she could hear, but only just. Blinking his crystal blue eyes open, albeit slightly lazily and groggily, he glanced up to her, smiling sweetly. "We need to meet up again, Afsar. Reckon our Momma's would like to meet?"
She nodded a bit when he spoke and felt her stomach get butterflies as he smiled like that at her. "Uuh.. Yeah. My momma's quiet. She don't talk much, but only to daddy. And O'tep. Momma talks to me about her sometimes. I mean. She talks, but its.." She sighed and rested her head on the ground a moment, thinking of how to phrase it exactly. "Momma's shy. She talks to daddy 'cause she's known him since they was our ages. Momma's younger than Daddy." That sounded about right. With a nod, she leaned up and licked him straight in the nose.
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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:59 pm
"My momma's quiet too," he purred, allowing his eyes to flutter shut again, the smile fixed on his face as he laid his cheek on Afsar's shoulder, relaxing there where it was comfortable. He knew the name O'tep - she was that nasty Vizier's Beybanu, right? The stripey one? He nodded at her words, understanding them, opening his maw to reply when he suddenly felt wetness on his nose, blinking his eyes open with a slight squeak. "Hey!"
He blinked, suddenly on his own weight again, forehead wrinkling in a confused frown before he grinned, a toothy smile that was probably quite an amusing sight. "My Momma's younger than Papa - she's always afraid of making him upset. But he always worries about her."
She had almost, almost stayed still so they could lay like that, his head on her shoulder, but she didn't. She'd licked his nose and was rewarded with a squeak and a toothy grin. "That doesn't mean we're going to be the new momma and pappak does it?" Sure, Afsar liked him as a friend, but she was to young to think of him any other way! And they'd just met! Though, that didn't matter in this pride. If a Pesar or a Pad took a liking to an unclaimed Banu, they talked to the father or captured her. Now she was slightly worried, but not getting up. Too comfortable with his weight like this.
"Nah. I mean, we're too little." She nodded, trying to firm her own resolve about this situation. "Besides, Ilyas, you pro'lly already got at least one Banu, right? I bet she'll be your Beybanu!" She wasn't striving to be the best. Not right now. When she could, she would strive to just be accepted. Not every girl could be a Beybanu.
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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 1:10 pm
New Momma and Papa? Ilyas frowned. He had to admit, he'd been thinking about his Coming of Age. It was fast approaching, and he'd have to leave the pride. He'd leave Miri with Papa, that wasn't a problem. But the thought of leaving and having to come back with a female scared him. What if the girl didn't want to? He shook his head, slightly fiercer than intended, laying his head back on her shoulder. "I don't want to think about any of that. I've already got my Coming of Age - you're my friend, Afsar. ...Right?"
She confirmed his thoughts, and he smiled brightly once more, though it faded at the mention of Banu, "Mmmm, I've got Miri. But she's weird...she's into all this dancing and stuff. And she's really eager to please. I like her, she's really nice, but she's quite like...full on? I want a Beybanu I can play with and who loves me 'cause I'm me...not 'cause I'm like, super important and stuff." Arrogant, perhaps, but he smiled to himself a little. He wanted a Beybanu like Afsar. But he knew that would come much later, after he'd returned from his Coming of Age.
"Of course I'm your friend, weirdo!" She said, ruffling his head tuft before letting out a yawn. Afsar wouldn't be jealous over him already having a Banu. She'd known he had. It was just something she could sense. She supposed being that close to the sultan had it's perks for males. She closed her green eyes and gave a contented sigh. "Who cares if you're important? You're still just a guy. You won't be sultan or nothin' so... That don't matter," her voice was full of sleepiness. It was warm out, he was on her and warming her more, and she rather liked it. It was only naturally she was sleepy.
"If I ever get a Pad, I don't care if he's sultan or a hybrid. 's long as they treat me right, not randomly hitting me over nothing... Then I'll be happy." She didn't have her hopes very high; she didn't find herself as pretty as some of the other Banu roaming around. She knew he sister found her pretty though. Afsar wanted more black like her sister. Oh, well. "Mmm.. I think Daddy has his doubts about me getting a Pad 'cause I'm wild."
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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 1:19 pm
He smiled. It was nice to know he had a friend, like Farrah. Afsar and Farrah weren't girls who just wanted to be his Banu, or Beybanu. They just wanted to be his friend and play with him and splash around with him. He purred again, feeling his muscles relaxing under him. She was falling asleep, and he had a feeling he was too. She made a point - he wasn't going to be Sultan. He'd like to take after his father and be a Vizier, but the chances were he wouldn't. And he was alright with that. But still, there was that blood connection to royalty, and that was enough.
"I dun care 'bout my Banu either...they can be whatever species or look like whatever, as long as they're nice and love me..." he mumbled sleepily, eyelids drifting shut. Mmm, it was so nice and warm...
She didn't really hear him, it was all fuzzy and muffled, half asleep. By the time he'd finished talking, she was already asleep, a purr low in her throat, her tail over his, but not wrapped around. No, she wasn't flirting with him or anything, she was just curled up with a friend. A friend who happened to be the opposite gender. Her breathing was slow and deep, and she had a little hum in her voice, kind of like a snore, but not.
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