Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sun overhead was typically blinding. The grass, only slightly dried by the blistering heat, hissed its dry edges against itself in the wind in the normal way as well. Even the birds in the tree overhead seemed recognizable, chittering among themselves the same empty-headed conversation as always. Badiah laid on her back beneath the tree, examining the birds, the grass, and the sun glaring between the branches at length. Even she was synchronized with the dry dullness of the day. Her orange eyes were half lidded, and her tail twisted with its normal discontent through the grass. She felt she had been lying under the tree for weeks, impatiently watching time pass – only, what was she waiting on? She sighed and rolled over so she could sit up and see over the grass.

For the time being, it was Mirsajadi she waited on. Word had it that her uncle had returned to the pridelands a few days ago. She had just found out this morning, and she had been looking off and on all day for him. Now, in the heat of the day, she had come to rest on a hill overlooking the lake. She could have asked where his den was of course, but it wasn’t the strangeness of a young Banu actively seeking out an adult pad that made her abstain from seeking help. She didn’t want to see whatever Banu he’d found yet, not until she’d had a little time with him alone first at least. She was curious to see what sort of female he would have thought good enough to bring back, but talking to her uncle without the other lioness’s presence was more important to her now. Since Mirsajadi had left, Badiah had picked up the habit of keeping to herself, especially when it came to adults. She didn’t care for their criticisms, their rank, or their size. Unlike her siblings or peers, she couldn’t refute their proclamations or rules by clobbering them – no matter how stupid they sounded. She looked forward to reaching adulthood, to learning to hunt and wielding her claws. She knew that, even as an adult, clobbering another lion – especially a pad – would only earn her a very short victory, but she longed to be big enough to at least ignore the sods. If she couldn’t have victory, she at least wanted defense.

Maybe that was the thing she was waiting on, the thing bigger than Mirsajadi’s return. There was freedom in coming of age; a limited freedom, but freedom all the same. Until the intermission of childhood ended, she would have to console herself with patience and what few good relationships she could gather. Yawning, she blinked at the glare of the lake and glanced along the shore, trying to spot a pad’s shape in the grass.

In the silence, it wasn’t difficult to hear the distant and faint noise of a lion moving through the whispering grasses, though she just wasn’t quite big enough to make anything out. Bad had always been too curious for a banu. She had always like exploring, and though by now she had already explored all of the Ukuucha’Wafalme lands that was safe to do so (and a little more that she didn’t admit to her mother), the same drive to know had not been snuffed. Lazy and comfortable as she felt beneath the shade of the tree now, this same curiosity nagged her until, rolling her eyes against herself, she reared back, leaning a paw against the tree for stability. Her ears began to flatten irately, but no, there! Her eyes widened brightly, and her ears sprang u[ once more before disappearing beneath the tops of the grass.


Mirsajadi’s only warning for her approach was the sound of something running through the grasses, and the faint jingle of beads. Suddenly, the young lioness burst into view, the feather extenders hanging over her ear twisted about one another from her haste, and her eyes gleaming with barely contained excitement. She’d grown considerably since her uncle had left, and it was clear at a glance it wouldn’t be long until she would come of age for suitors. Furthermore, judging from the firm and sleek shape her body was taking, it was hard to say who would fare worse if a pad she didn’t favor pressed too much: him or her. “Mirsajadi, you’d better have finished growing or I’ll become cross,” she said by way of greeting, grinning hugely.

While Bad had never been to the rogue lands and knew of the dangers there only in the fantastical terms of stories, she did know her uncle was not usually a very personable sort. Unless there had been some radical changes while he’d been away, she knew he tended to avoid others when possible. It was a habit she had begun picking up to a lesser degree as well, in part because of her disruptive visions, but mostly due to the unpleasantness of dealing with fools or threats. So, while it was said she lacked social graces from spending too much time alone (though in honestly her indifference was deliberate), she did note it the initial strain in Mirsajadi’s face and attribute it to his standard aloofness – and then dismissed it. He hadn’t known it was going to be her that sprang from the grass after all, but clearly things were fine now. She was Bad, and she was special.

“But if you have stopped, then there will be no meeting between my wishes and yours,” she answered glibly. She went silent for a moment to simply look at him – intact, healthy, and handsome; quite a different figure from the adolescent with the newly budding and flopping mane that had left. It was cheering to see he had done so well. “I’m glad you’re back,” she said more plainly. Not wanting to gush too badly, she took a moment to brush straight the twisted decoration hanging from her ear with a paw and cocked her head curiously at her uncle. “You found a banu then?” she asked. He could have found more than one. However, she didn’t expect Mirsajadi would have taken just anyone, and diamonds in the rough were difficult to find.

Bad wrinkled her nose at him in mock-irritancy, both at his subtle check and his reference to his new banu’s intelligence. Of course it was obvious; she’d just been trying to prompt him for information. “Beauty doesn’t fell buffalo,” she commented as if quoting, “but if she’s got a brain it might surface more from being around you.” Maybe he was just being reserved, but it was too bad Mirsajadi didn’t have more praises for his new banu. Though, maybe that was for the best if he wasn’t deluding himself about her either. Bad hadn’t held out much hope for tales of love and romance anyway. She wasn’t sure how much stock she put in the ideas anyway, especially since the stories about them usually involved pads dominating their banu in some way or another. The tale that bristled her fur the worst was of a pad capturing a rogue female against her will and the prisoner eventually coming to love her abductor. She couldn’t believe it. Just let some muscle-brained male try and force her to anything like that and she’d…

It was enough to curdle her blood.

Bad raised an eyebrow. “Just around. Maybe from hunting lessons,” she shrugged, having not kept precise track of where the phrase had filtered in from. She was more in favor of the sentiment than the wording. While she had the distinct feeling she was growing into comeliness, she personally doubted she would ever become stunning. This was hardly devastating to her considerable ego, especially since she was more appreciative of hunting. So far she had only chased and downed small game such as hares, however. Once she had found an idiotic gazelle too far within the pridelands for its own safety, but unfortunately her legs were too short to have kept up with the speedy beast, even after she had crept quite close to it. However, she fully intended to be the most skilled hunter of the pride when she grew larger. In the meantime, she wasn’t particularly concerned with her uncle’s pickiness in phrases.

Even before Mirsajadi’s yawn, it wasn’t difficult to notice his lack of interest in the subject of his new banu. Not surprising, really. He’d probably been quizzed to death about her since returning. Bad was fine letting the topic rest’ she could always ask to come by his den later to meet Aylin if she cared to. For now though, the mention of their ‘condition’ pricked her ears.

“Oh?” She had learned a few things herself, but she wanted to wait Mirsajadi out on this one before letting on to that.

Bad’s tail twitched, a faint giveaway to her surprise. Maybe he knew more than her about this after all, but that was better than having an edge over him. She’d rather learn than dominate, at least in this case since she liked and trusted her uncle enough to play second to him. “Most of what it implies,” she noted. She hesitated for a moment, but it was better to explain what she did know so they could collaborate. “I see things more frequently, and sometimes it makes sense, or at least I recognize someone. But sometimes they look older or they’re in a place I don’t know or it’s the wrong season…” She shook her head slightly. Details, stick to the point. “And I met another banu who said she had visions because her father is... winged. He’s supposed to be a god, though I don’t know anything about that. I didn’t tell her I was the same though.” She said the last with grim resolve. She had at least tried to keep her secret.