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 Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 1:17 pm
 The nook under the roots of the old thorn tree was just small enough for a cub to crawl inside on her belly. Nesrin hid there when she needed to get some relief from her family. Everyone including her father knew of her special hiding place. When she went missing her aunts knew where to look. At first they were concerned about her spending so much time by herself, secluded under the dappled shade on her pile of browning leaves and twigs, in her cool dark place where family was a background murmur. They sat beside her and asked what was wrong. Nothing. Now they just left her alone, for the most part. She seemed content there.
The grass danced, bobbing with the wind’s gentle strokes. Nesrin watched with her head on her paws, eyes half-closed or half-open, depending on how you looked at it. She wasn’t mute. Some people teased her, smiled and inquired if she knew how to speak. Of course she knew how to speak. Most of the time she didn’t feel like talking. Grown-ups found that hard to understand.
Puzzlement goes both ways. She didn’t understand them either. In fact she spent most of her time trying to figure them out. When she wasn’t doing that she was daydreaming about a different world, one where people made sense and everyone knew who their mother and father were and the answer to every question looked as beautiful as a sunrise. Oh, he knew his sister wasn't a mute. He growled at the ones who teased her, talked to them. He'd heard her talk a few times before. So she didn't want to open her mouth, big deal. Things were fine how they were with her. It seemed she found a system that worked for her, so why should anyone tell her otherwise. Watching the grass himself, Malik's yellow eyes looked to the sky and sighed.
In all honesty, the pink male didn't remember his mother. She'd left before he could get to know her. He didn't know why Dad ignored them completely, but it made him uneasy. Malik didn't know what to do with his day. He couldn't take over the position of his father, because he wasn't being taught. With a hard sigh, Malik moved away from his family and towards where he knew his sister was. Getting on his belly in her line of vision, he gave a half hearted smile.
"Nesrin... Did they pick on you today?" he whispered to her, waiting to see some kind of sign of yes or no. He usually knew what to look for with her. The oldest brother from there litter, that's what he was. He observed her like he did everything else. He wanted to protect every single one of his sisters. "Do I need to beat someone up?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 1:47 pm
Even though he was right in front of her her eyes didn’t light up until he opened his mouth. One second she was in Wonderland, the next she was in her special hiding place being stared at by her pink brother. She shook her head, eyebrows knitting.
Why did he always want to beat people up for her? She knew better than to criticize what males did – her father was the living embodiment of patriarchal authority, and she didn’t dare cross him – but even if might makes right, in her heart it always felt wrong. When her father struck one of his banu her heart shriveled up and her tail curled between her legs. Sometimes it made her want to cry, but she never did that in front of her family. All the attention made her feel vulnerable.
Ok, he had done something wrong. He felt it in the air around her, and his brows knitted together. Sighing softly, he looked to the side and rested his chin on the ground. Malik didn't say anything with his father struck another Banu. He didn't mind it, that's the way he was supposed to ask, wasn't it? Though, it did.... Feel weird. He wasn't sure he could ever strike a Banu.
Looking back at her, he nosed her nose against his and then sighed. "Sorry, Nes... Were they picking on you?" He needed to know. "I won't hit them, I swear. But I will talk to them. I don't.. think I could hit anyone..." He didn't have a problem with his dad hitting, but he couldn't.
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:25 pm
When people tried to comfort her it usually wound up making her feel worse. Everyone seemed to think there was something wrong with feeling gloomy all the time. His bump made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Nesrin recoiled slightly and looked away. She didn’t handle affection well, especially when it was misplaced, but her tone was soft and forgiving. He was just trying to help. “No one’s bothering me, Mal.” She hoped that made him feel better and tried to smile for his benefit.
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Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2009 5:24 pm
When she recoiled away from his touch, Malik tried not to look hurt. She was always like this. That's why none of the other mothers payed her any attention, he suspected. Still, it hurt his feelings and tried not to let it show. Sighing quietly, he backed away and sat up, looking to the family playing in the distance. So no one was picking on her. That was good. That meant things were cooling down now. Scratching behind his ear with a hind leg, Malik pondered something.
"Nessy-doll. Do you want to go get some water with me? It's a warm day, despite the breeze.." He was trying to draw her out so he can spend time with her. Malik was going to be persistent; he wanted to be the only one to get her affection and attention.
Nessy-doll. Malik knew how to get to her. Besides she was starting to feel aware of the stiffness of her limbs, especially as she crawled out on her belly and stretched her stubby legs. “That sounds nice,” she yawned.
She shook herself off and cleaned away the dried leafs and twigs sticking to her belly. Even though she didn’t think much of herself she liked to stay clean. As they stepped out of the shadow of the tree she blinked and squinted at the bright sunshine, but didn’t wonder how long she’d been under there. It could have been a few hours.
Nesrin didn’t mind having company. It was crowds she couldn’t handle. Unfortunately her family was one big crowd. She couldn’t even count how many siblings she had and there could be more on the way.
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Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 3:08 pm
Company she would have. Malik loved to be with his little little sisters, and he wanted to build a strong relationship with each and everyone of them. His brothers, not so much, but he could protect his sisters. Looking to Nesrin as she cleaned herself, he tilted his head to the side and smiled.
"Ready?" he asked, stretching out himself before he started towards the watering hole. He didn't have to tell daddy where he was going daddy didn't care. And Malik didn't connect with any of daddy's Banu very well. Yes, he was lonely because of it, but he knew they couldn't love him like they should. He knew something as wrong with him and his siblings.
Nesrin smiled and nodded. Her father never paid much attention to her either. That was part of the reason why she preferred to keep to herself. Spend enough time alone and eventually you get used to the idea. She usually felt depressed, but that was the way of the world and she no more minded it than she minded the sun being bright. At this age she hardly knew what depressed meant. The adults accused her of being sad all the time, but if that was wrong then Nesrin didn’t understand what was right.
As they padded along she became entranced with the speckled shadows of the trees and the feeling of tiny pebbles underneath her paws. The little details always side-tracked her. She could find beauty in the shiny black eye of a mosquito. No one knew how she saw the world. She didn’t want to bore them with her poetry. They probably wouldn’t care, or so she assumed.
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2009 5:57 pm
He cast a sideways glance at his sister every once in a while, trying to figure out if she was really alright, or just acting because that's how she thought she should act. Then he noticed that sh was paying more attention to the details around them and that made him arch a brow. So she liked to look at things closely? Malik wondered what kind of Pad she'd go to with that attitude. "Nessy-doll, are you really OK?" His voice sounded worried, like she was sick or something. "Anything on your mind at all?"
“Hm?” Nesrin was looking at a tree. Her expression seemed peaceful, lost in another world. “I guess so. Mal, do you think Tariq is our real father?”
She wasn’t thinking about what his reaction to her question might be like or if he even wanted to consider such a thing about the pad they called their father. Malik wanted her to talk to him about something, after all. The issue of their parents had been on her mind for a long time now.
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2009 6:04 pm
Malik shook his head to her question and sighed softly "No.. He looks nothing like us. We have yellow and he doesn't. None of our den mothers have yellow on them, either, or pink. So... " He let his voice trail. No doubt she would understand what he was trying to say. "That's why he ignores us. That's why we get the odd looks we do in the pride. I bet even the Sultan hates us." He sighed deeply and turned to lick her forehead a bit. "But don't you worry. I'm going to be here for you and everyone. I'm the oldes Pesar out of our bunch, right?" He nosed her mane tuft and took a deep breath. This was the conversation he didn't really to have, but knew it was coming.
“The Sultan?” Nesrin glanced at Malik with subdued surprise. He came by once to see them while they were young. Their eyes were barely open at the time, so she didn’t remember much about him.
She nosed Malik softly in return. Of course, she knew her brother would always be there to protect her and the rest of her sisters. She always had a feeling they would have to look out for each other. A bird song distracted her but when she couldn’t find its source she turned back to her brother, a new idea in her head. “Do you think the Sultan knows anything about our mother and father?”
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2009 6:21 pm
"Probably our mother. I don't think he knows about our real father. .....On day, when my coming of age comes along, I'm going to go find mother or father. Our real parents, just to see." It was his big dream; finding his mother and see what she was like, spend some time with her. "Maybe I could bring her back here for you and your sisters. Wouldn't that be somthing?" He asked, distractd by the
song as wll. That was on thing they had in common. Bird songs caught their ear and they just had to listen. "Pretty bird..."
She giggled joyfully at the thought. Wow, meeting her real mom and dad! Just thinking about that filled her chest with butterflies. She might be so nervous that she completely lost her voice when she saw them face to face. Maybe her mother wouldn’t mind. Maybe her mother was quiet, too.
“I envy you being able to go out and see the world. When you come back you’ll have to tell me about all the things you’ve seen.” For now all she could do was dream. “Do you think it’s a big world out there?”
Nesrin had never been farther from the den than the lake. The lake was her favorite place in the world, but because there was usually no one to take her she doubted she would ever see the entire lake until she was older. That could be her big adventure. Even though she wished she could travel like her brothers, she had no intention of ever running away. Her place was here, among the elephant thorn trees and along the shimmering shores of Lake Tanganyika.
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2009 6:47 pm
He laughed and nodded a little more and pawed at her shoulder playfully. He was glad he got her to talk. This was the most she'd said in a long, long time. "I bet it's huge. Otherwise where would all the Banu come from? I mean... They weren't here one day, the next they are. It's a great thing!" He nodded a bit and they finally made it to the watering hole. Stepping up to the shore line, he dipped his head and started lapping the cool liquid, ltting it run down his throat. Malik loved water, that much was obvious. He was going to swim in it, wither Nesrin wanted to or not!
Standing at her brother’s shoulder, Nesrin dipped her head and lapped the cool water beside him. As she lifted her head smile smiled quietly at the way the sky shone in the surface of the lake. Looking down into the ripples of her own reflection, she nuzzled Malik and watched their mirror images wave in the water. The lake looked so beautiful today.
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