Parvana:
Parvana had cried most of that morning.
She'd stayed in the back of the den, curled up with her sisters and mother, her older brothers even coming back to cuddle with her for a time, none of them able to form any words of comfort. Their loving gestures were all they could do. And even then, it was little comfort.
It seemed like before she knew it, her father was taking her out into the low light, heading towards a neutral grounds. She was going to meet her new pad, possibly the male she would be with for the rest of life.
She felt like she was walking to an execution.
Faiz:
Faiz glanced back at where his daughter, his baby girl, was walking at his side and a little farther back, the picture of an obedient Banu. Her head was down and wreathed in flowers, a charming blue one tucked at her ear. His mates had dressed her in flowers and a few pieces of jewelry he had left from his mother. She looked like a princess.
A princess who was going to start crying any minute.
He paused and she stopped, looking up at him with his own eyes. He bent his head down and nuzzled her.
"I love you, my little butterfly. Could you give your papa a smile, please?" he asked, giving her one of his own. He watched as she did her best to give him a small smile and he nuzzled her again, his heart breaking at the thought of her going to one of Tariq's b*****d sons.
The moment gone, he slowly pulled back and they started walking again.
Obadias:
Obadias had sat up with his brother, unable to sleep but not telling him why, only that it was personal and that the other male wouldn't understand it even if he did explain. The two males had sat outside the family den and spoke at lengths of nothing important, until Obadias had been unable to keep his eyes open anymore and had gone to sleep out of sheer exhaustion. He had woken at first light the next morning, but had no rushed out to the meeting with the other Vizier and Obadias' future banu. At first, he had paced outside the den, waiting for his father. After waiting a while, Obadias soon realised his father was no longer in the den, and with a wince, soon realised he wouldn't be waiting for him at the meeting sight either.
With a sigh, Obadias left the family den and hurried towards where he had been told he would meet the other vizier. He wasn't surprised his father wasn't coming with him, but even his brother was busy, so he was to meet his new female alone. His face was set in a heavy frown, looking every bit his father's son as he trudged towards the meeting place.
Faiz:
Faiz reached the meeting spot first, naturally, and sat down with a heavy heart. He glanced again at his daughter, giving her another small smile.
"Stay behind me until I say so, okay, Parvana?" he requested and after receiving the nod he expected from her, he returned his gaze towards the other vizier's den. What would this young male be? Certainly not good, considering his father. It made his blood boil, knowing that one of daughters, much less his sweet little butterfly.
If the male was anything like his father, he would crush poor Parvana.
Parvana:
Parvana walked around her father's form and cuddled against his back. She didn't know why it felt like she was leaving him. She was still in the same pride and he was her father, so it would be okay for her to still see him and her mothers. But... not as often. She knew it would happen eventually, but she didn't feel ready.
And most of all, she hated that the male coming for her wasn't Obi. She knew she didn't have a choice, it was the way of the pride, but she could have hoped fortune would smile on her and bring them together. He could have asked her father for her, offered a trade.
But no, she was to be given to the son of the other vizier, a male she feared and how could the son be any different? Her brothers were much like their father and none of them were horrible to any of their females. How could a male raised by the horrible vizier not be as bad as his father?
Obadias:
As he got closer to the meeting spot, Obadias slowed his pace, purposely drawing out the trip. His stomach was twisted in knots, wishing the meeting would not happen. Why was he the one who got given a banu? He was the youngest son, not even the eldest, so it did not make sense for him to be given, no forced, to take on a banu he had not chosen and did not want. Had he chosen, he would have chosen Parvana, but it was too late for that. It seemed it would never happen.
The meeting place was in sight now and he could no longer put it off. At first, he did not see the Vizier, but soon the figure caught his eye and he sighed, carefully molding his face to a calm and relaxed expression, though the frown still lingered in his eyes. Approaching the elder male, he paused a respectful distance away and bowed his head to him in greeting. The Vizier was not someone he had considered in great detail, so he did not even know of his banu and could not place any of his children in his mind. His future banu was no where in sight.
He hid a wince, as he made the effort to be polite, "Greetings Vizier Faiz," his voice was cool. His mother had told him of the male's name, as he had not really taken notice of his father's ranting. Reluctant or not, he did not wish to aggrivate the father of his future banu.
Faiz:
Faiz watched the young male approach and was surprised slightly at his age. What in the world was his little brother thinking? He didn't seem much older than Parvana, maybe he wasn't older at all. Tariq was a large male, like him, and his son was not too much larger than Parvana or her brothers.
But at least he was polite.
Faiz dipped his head a bit, though not as low as the younger male. He was, after all, a Vizier and this male was just a Pesar, not even a grown pad.
"Daughter." He kept emotion from his voice, feeling that if he allowed it, his voice would crack.
Parvana:
Parvana emerged from behind her father at his call, knowing that the time had come, that her future pad was there to take her away. She thought she recognized the voice directed to her father, but she could barely hear him. Her heart was pounding in her ears and her mind was elsewhere, with her family and red eyes under a green-brown mane.
She kept her head bowed as she walked around her father, keeping it bowed as she paused by her father's side. Her eyes opened and she looked at the male through her lashes, through her short mane.
And the whole world stopped as her eyes widened in shock.
"O... Obi?"
Obadias:
Obadias kept his stance firm, gaze at somewhere near the other male's shoulder. He was trying to act as respectful as he could, maintaining the lessons he had been taught since a young age. When he heard the male speak, he closed his eyes for a brief moment, before his eyes slipped across to where the female was stepping out from behind her father - so that was where she had been hiding, he mused - before his heart nearly stopped.
The colours...were so familiar. The blue that his eyes had been trained to seek out whenever he was searching a crowd, or scanning a landscape. For a terrible moment, his mind thought the worse and he feared that he had recieved one of Parvana's sisters in the exchange. Which would have been worse then a strange female, he decided, waiting on baited breath for the female to raise her eyes.
It was the nickname that really cemented things in his mind. No one else would call him that, except - "Parvana," he said, almost without concious thought, his eyes lighting up though he struggled to keep his face blank, so as not to beam ridiculously at her. She was the banu? His banu? He would be her pad! Had he been a lesser male, and not raised within the pride, he might have fallen over in relief.
Parvana:
Parvana was a good Banu, a good daughter and a good female of the pride. She was supposed to be clam, poised. She shouldn't have moved until her father formally gave her to Obadias. But after all the worry, all the tears, she couldn't hold herself back when he said her name.
Before her father could question their words, she was up on her feet and closing the gap between her and her friend. She knew she shouldn't have done it, but she stopped just short of running into him and nuzzled her cheek against his.
"Tell me this isn't a mistake," she pleaded in his ear, having completely forgotten her father was still there.
Faiz:
Faiz watched in almost slack-jawed confusion as both young lions spoke each others' names and his daughter broke all protocol and ran at the vizier's son, nuzzling him as if she were a relative or already one of his banu. But he was a clever male and it took only a moment for a reason to dawn in his mind.
"That conniving son of a jackal," he muttered under his breath, a small smile growing on his features. He'd have to smack his brother over the head if he was right. There was no way he would have let any of his daughters go to any of Tariq's sons. Aali must have seen the pair of them together and found a clever way to settle the trouble between him and Tariq and get the two youngsters together.
He cleared his throat loudly, cocking a brow as his daughter flinched and looked back at him in a chagrinned manner.
Obadias:
Obadias told himself he wouldn't have broken protocol if she hadn't doen it first, but he had been close to doing what she had done as she began to move. He wouldn't have cared if she had barelled straight into him, as long as she was nearby. He nuzzled her cheek in return, pressing his close to hers and closing his eyes, the smile he had been supressing slipping out finally.
"Even if it is a mistake, I'd like to see them take you from me," he said, his paw coming to rest on top of one of hers. If her father had protested, he would have had to give her back, but he wouldn't let her go easily. He had almost lost her once, he wasn't going to again.
Caught up in his joy at Parvana, he had forgotten the Vizier watching and when he heard a throat being cleared, he froze, but did not move away from Parvana, his paw still covering hers. They had broken rules, Obadias knew, but he tilted his chin up, and met the Vizier's eyes.
"Vizier Faiz," he spoke, trying to speak respectfully and properly, but he was fairly sure 'proper' had all but disappeared when Parvana had left her father's side. However, when he went to speak again, he froze, unable to find the words which would convince the other male to see it Obadias' way. He was not gifted with words like his brother and could only stare at the male, hoping he would not be cruel to them, despite their disregard of the rules.
Faiz:
Faiz kept his face stern for a moment, letting them be reminded that they had definitely broken some rules. But he couldn't keep it for too long and a small smile took its place.
"You had better take good care of her, son, do you understand me?" he asked, dipping his head again. After seeing Parvana so upset over this arrangement, it made his heart swell to see her happy again. And he understood now, that she hadn't been crying just for losing her family. She cried for losing her friend.
Parvana:
By the look on his face, Parvana really expected her father to be upset with her or even try to break off the deal. But she should have known better, her father was a caring, wonderful male. And when he told Obi to take good care of her, she smiled at him, then to her dear friend. Tears of happiness actually gathered in her eyes and she ran back to her papa, leaning into his front legs as she nuzzled against him.
"I love you, Papa," she mewled, her smile in her voice before she returned to Obi's side, facing him as she smiled in a relieved and elated manner.
Obadias:
Obadias' felt his shoulders slump slightly in relief when the disapproving look fell from the Vizier's face, replaced with a small smile. Parvana had spoken of her family as a loving one, and it seemed it rang true with her father. It made him grateful that his father had not been with them, he would have been much less forgiving of them breaking the rules, and also of his son's rather obvious fondness for the female.
"I do and I will, she deserves nothing less," he told the male honestly, smiling at Parvana as she ran to her father's side, her joy at the blessing obvious. His smile grew as she moved back this side, and he pressed his nose against her cheek, just once, before glancing back at her father. He took a steadying breath, he hadn't even spoken to Parvana about this, but he knew now what he wanted. "Vizier Faiz, I would like you to be the first to know that Parvana will not be my banu," he placed a paw over hers once again, "she will be my beybanu." When they were cubs, he had told her that any male would be silly if they didn't think her worthy of that position in his life and Obadias was certainly not a fool. He would want nothing less for her than to be the main female in his life. He only hoped that she agreed, having not spoken of it before with her.
Faiz:
Faiz didn't know why he believed Obadias, but he really did believe the young male would take extra special care of his daughter. Maybe it was the conviction in his voice or the way he openly treated Parvana in a situation where most other males would have remained formal.
But when he announced he wished Parvana to be his Beybanu, his favorite and the leader of his harem, he knew that she would be well cared for. Most males didn't officially choose their Beybanu until after they returned from their Coming of Age trial.
Faiz dipped his head again in approval of the decision. He was still wary of the male's father, but Tariq was a Vizier and should know to respect his son by not touching his banu, much less his Beybanu.
That thought in mind, he turned away towards home.
Parvana:
Parvana was struck speechless by Obi's admission, taken by surprise at his decision to make her his Beybanu rather than keep her as a banu until he was older. All she could do was give him a modest dip of her head in acceptance of the gift he was giving her. She was a Beybanu, like her mother. She remembered his comment, but she didn't know that he had remembered, much less meant to really take her as his Bey. When this had started off so badly, it had ended better than she could have ever hoped for.
She glanced over her shoulder at the sound of her father moving and watched as he walked away, back towards home.
"I can't believe it was you," she breathed, turning back to Obi, her new pad, nuzzling him thoroughly. "I didn't know Vizier Tariq was your father."
Obadias:
Obadias was pleased when the male put up no defense against his decision to take Parvana as his beybanu. He knew that most males waited, but Obadias knew no one he found outside the pride would make as good a beybanu as Parvana, and she deserved that position in his life more than the others would, though he would care for them too. He waited until her father was out of sight, headed back towards the dens, before he turned back to his - he was still not used to saying it - banu, Parvana.
He smiled at her, the hapiness he had been supressing earlier showing openly on his face. "And I didn't know your father was Vizier Faiz," he said, with a laugh. "Oh, if only we had spoken names when we spoke of our family, this stress could have been avoided." He nuzzled her cheek. "But this is more than I expected or hoped, for it to be you. It turned out...perfect."
Parvana:
Parvana cuddled up to Obi and nuzzled him back, unable to suppress her joy.
"My uncle, he must have done this on purpose. He saw us together once, but I didn't think about it until now," she replied, thankful to the gods for giving her an understanding father, a clever uncle, and her Obi. What could have been the worst moment of her life was suddenly better than she could have ever imagined it.
"Will you take me home now? It's been a long day." Part of her really did want to go. She just wanted to lie down and cuddle with Obi, her new Pad. And yet she was afraid. She had been taught to be wary of Tariq, and rather than that, she was more afraid of him. Obi would protect her, she was sure, but she had no idea how to act around him. What if she wasn't timid enough?
And his mothers? He hadn't really talked about them too much, what if they didn't like her? She started worrying all over again, but she stamped them down by cuddling closer to him. No matter what happened, she would get through it because Obi was there.
Obadias:
Obadias smiled and shook his head in wonderment. "He did? We must be grateful that he was so accepting of it. Most wouldn't be," he said, the last part almost silent. They could have gotten into a lot of trouble because of their actions, but it had all worked out, in the end.
"Of course," he told her, nuzzling her cheek once more, a little worried of what was to happen. He didn't know how well his father would take this, he knew his mothers would be tolerant, if not happy over him finding a banu. His brother would likely be surprised, since Obadias had not told him of Parvana at all, attempting to keep them a secret. "I still can't believe this is real, that you are mine," he whispered to her, and gently nudged her towards the dens, staying close beside her. He felt a little girlish, admiting that, but he knew Parvana would not hold it against him. He walked along side her carefully, pleased that he could walk close and not have to fear any problems caused by it. He smiled at her, a little worried over how his family would react, but he knew that it would be alright. When he returned from his quest, he would make a home with a banu and Parvana. Until then, he would enjoy the time he was now able to spend with her.
Parvana:
She moved where he nudged her, walking with her shoulder brushing against his.
"I can barely believe it, either," Parvana replied and glanced up at Obi, one of her held-back tears slipping down her cheek before she could stop it. She laughed a little and bent her head, trying to hide it before he saw it.
"And I couldn't be happier. I could be the Sultana and not be as happy as I am right now," she added, smiling up at him again and nuzzling against the side of his neck. The worry was still there, about his father and mothers, his siblings. But she also knew that she would get through it because he was there with her. Oh, he wouldn't always be there, he would have to go on trips with his father like her brothers did, and eventually leave the pride to bring back another banu or more, but she knew he would be there when she needed him.
"I'm so glad it was you." She couldn't stop saying it.
Obadias:
Obadias saw the tear she tried to hide, and nuzzled her cheek where the tear had slipped down, wiping it away. "Passing up even the sultan for me?" He said, somewhat cheekily, with a smile, before a serious look passed across his face, though the smile was still there.
"You're more important to me than any other banu could be," he told her softly. In the distance, he could see they were fast approaching the den, and he paused, to take a little more time with her.
"My father may have a reputation in the pride, but keep in mind, not all of my family is like him, and I know they will care for you as I do," he told her calmly, gently nudging his nose to hers, before guiding her towards the den once again. Even if his family did not care for her as he did, he would take care of her, in whatever way he could.
Parvana:
Parvana laughed a little bit.
"Well, I couldn't really deny the sultan anything, so I guess it's a blessing he's my uncle and the Emir is my younger cousin," she replied, knowing she would take the duty because it was her duty to obey, but she honestly would never be happier than with Obi. She paused with him, closing her eyes at his touches as she listened to his reassurances. She nodded after a moment.
"I'll admit, I'm scared of meeting your father. But as long as you're there, I'll be fine," she replied, starting to walk with him again. She stayed close to him, not wanting to lose the contact.
Obadias:
Obadias kept forgetting that Faiz was related to the Sultan, and he shook his head, mildly bemused at the thought of Parvana being part of the royal family. How odd, he thought, but smiled.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you from father, even though I am sure I won't have to." They had reached the den now, and paused again, he straighened the flowers on top her head, the ones which made her look like a princess, and made her even more beautiful. The flowers reminded him of the last time they had been together, and that she would likely see that he had the rock she had given him beside where he slept at night, he realised, a little embaressed at the thought, but he shook off that feeling.
He took a deep steadying breath and smiled down at her. "Ready?"
Parvana:
Parvana knew he would protect her, that was his duty as a male of the pride, to protect his females and cubs. And much as she knew he would protect her, she was still afraid of his father. But she nodded, dipping her head with a small smile as he fixed her flowers.
"Yes, I'm ready."
No one greeted them in the den. All were either asleep or away. And she was glad for it. She was tired from the storm of emotions that had brewed within her all day, exhausted from the excitement of finding Obi to be her new pad. It was unbelievable that when she laid down to rest her eyes and her mind, she was curled around her best friend.
Unbelievable.
And wonderful.
