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 Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:20 pm
Ice blue eyes peered back down at their reflection and Aali sighed softly and sprawled beside the great lake. He was so troubled of late and he knew he needed somekind of pick-me-up, not the kind that Aysel gave despite how wonderful she was. The joy of his females was bittersweet seeing them often reminded him of his troubles despite the joy they brought him. What he needed was a little male bonding time, some time spent with his pridal brothers.
He would have sought out his half brother, Faiz, but his poor sibling was overburdened with his own issues. Besides Aali hadn't forgotten that while he hadn't yet picked his third vizier he did still have Tariq. Others might not have been in agreement with his choice, but Aali trusted the dark male for some strange reason he seemed almost insanely loyal. Good? Bad? He needed more time spent in the company of his Vizier to understand him better and ensure his choice hadn't been hasty. Still he couldn't deny that Tariq was a perfect balance to Faiz they seemed opposite in almost every way, perhaps the fresh perspective would be helpful. He lapped at the lake before standing and moving to find the black striped Vizier.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:51 pm
Pink eyes half-lidded, the black lion stretched, ears folding back as he did so. When he relaxed again, his eyes fell on a familiar large shape in the distance by the lake. Rolling to his stomach, Tariq squinted, making sure it wasn't just a mirage he was seeing.
Nope, it was the Sultan.
Grinning, Tariq stood, shaking the dust from his midnight pelt. From the looks of it, he was heading right towards the Vizier. So Tariq decided to meet him half way. He didn't get much time to talk to the Sultan lately. Things had been almost frantic with the raids, females at the borders, rebellious females, cubs...Life was busy, and so of course the Sultan was, too. Even Tariq was. He had his own share of issues to deal with; namely his harem. But at least there was time for talking, at least for right now. Talking was important. A vizier must always bond with his sultan...
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:26 pm
A smile moved across his muzzle as he spotted the dark Vizier approaching him, it was a good sign that they met halfway. "Greetings Tariq, Mind if we share the shade?" He nodded towards the patch beneath the tree that the other male had been occupying.
The dark Vizier had such a dark reputation and he was sure that the others thought he must be insane for having chosen him. Still there was something to be said for the other male, his harem was well under paw. He would never speak of Faiz troubles to the other males, but Aali wondered if Tariq couldn't help his brother reign in his more...active ladies. Particularly his errant beybanu, the memory of her laughing with an outside male was one he had to tamp down quickly.
He trusted Faiz to deal with his own harem, just as he trusted Tariq's advice new opinions were welcome. Especially since he felt he could use a little hard handed advice for dealing with less amenable females. "You must forgive me for not seeking out your company sooner or more often...the Raids were trying."
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:55 pm
"Of course," Tariq answered, a white grin flashing across his face, he doubled back and made his way to the tree he had previously been lying under, glad to be back in its shade. He waited for the Sultan to make himself comfortable first, then followed suit.
"They definitely were." Tariq agreed, reaching a paw up to scratch an itch on his side before lowering it to the dirt once more. "Raids aside, life in itself is trying." he said, pink eyes shifting to rest on Aali. "No forgiveness needed, because there was no slight at all." he assured, leaning into the cool bark of the tree's rather strange trunk. "How are things? Did you seek me out because you need me to do something, or just discussion?" he asked, turning his head to look at the other male.
There were those Tariq got along with, and those he didn't. There were those he agreed with, and those he didn't. There were those who liked him, and those who despised him. Through all of that, the sultan Aali was someone Tariq could safely say he got along with. He was one of the few lions he would inquire after, asking about health and what have you, really out of friendly concern. Not to make up appearances; but genuinely. He had a well-deserved reputation of black-heartedness, but that didn't mean he didn't like his fellow brethren, especially the Sultan.
He'd give his life for that pride a hundred times over if it came to that, or even if the Sultan asked him to.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:26 pm
Aali moved to lay down with a wry smile and chuckled. "Trying times often strengthen us though." Or reveal our weaknesses...He thought to himself bitterly. But maybe Tariq could help him with that particular weakness, he wasn't too proud to ask his Vizier for advice, after all that was why Sultan's had Viziers.
"I sought you out for some advice actually, your talent in training females is well known." He grinned at the other male. "And despite the fact that some might disagree with your methods I find myself curious and open to them..."
Perhaps if he had spoken to his Vizier sooner the pretty warm winged female would not have left the prides land the day before. A true prize to escape him, but he couldn't dwell on that, besides he had four lovely ladies in his den who he could lavish his attentions on.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 1:04 pm
Tariq's eyes lit up, a grin suddenly finding itself on his maw. Whenever a conversation was about him, it was a good conversation. And whenever a conversation was about him between him and the Sultan, it was an even better conversation.
Thinking about it, Tariq hadn't been a Vizier for very long. He hadn't had many chances to have conversations with Aali like this, where he would give his advice, and in turn gather some wisdom from the Sultan. Such bonds needed to be strengthened often, as the pride was one of brothers; figuratively speaking, in Tariq's case, for he had never had a real brother. But the males in the pride were brothers enough to him, just as he knew many of the banu viewed each other as sisters.
"I'm your Vizier, Sultan Aali. I'm always here for advice, even on my death-bed." he said, smirking at the last part of his sentence. But while it may seem like a joke to many, in all seriousness, he wasn't kidding. His tail curled at his side and his mind wandered to the rest of the Sultan's words, thinking about what he could've wanted to know about his..."methods". He was all too eager to share advice with his Sultan. "Well, I'm happy to hear that, and even happier to share." he said, some sort of dark understanding in his tone.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:06 pm
Aali found his own grin fixed in place when he saw his Vizier respond so happily, it was hard to remember why it was the other males worried about Tariq. It was all a matter of perspective of course, he couldn't fault the others their caution.
"The raid went well...but I feel it was luck on our side, I know that many males have different meathods for capture. I myself question the way I decided to handle the group of females we encountered, were we overly harsh perhaps? Yet what choice did we have? So far from our lands to convince each female would have been such a major task, and if one should disagree we would have lost them all...my thoughts chase each other in an endless loop. I suppose what's done is done, but I should like to know what you thought? Perhaps I could have had us better organized? There were so many females...an unexpected treasure trove."
His tone ranged from confidence to uncertainty making it obvious just how much time the sultan had spent brooding over the raid even though it had ended in such a clear victory.
"And new females...our way has always been to capture any female who sets paw on our lands, but still I wonder if we should show more caution, we saw so many large prides in our travels...they might disagree with our ways."
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 7:50 am
While he listened, Tariq mulled over the words of the Sultan carefully. His eyes shifted to find a tuft of spindly grass on the ground, gazing at it in thought.
When the Sultan had clearly finished, Tariq'ra'ad looked up slightly, meeting the other male's eyes with a half-bent face. He still appeared pensive, perhaps trying to rush through all his answers to find the best ones.
"When I think back..." he began slowly, but quickly shifted into a different tone, sitting up straight. "I don't think back. Because what's done is done." he stated clearly. "But if my opinions do anything to ease your mind, I'll share them with you regardless. Luck was not on our side, the brotherhood of the males in this pride were...And while you question the way the raid was handled, clearly the females were from a large pride. And what would've happened if all the females had rushed off back to their pride, screaming at the tops of their dainty little lungs for rescue? We might've all been killed." he growled, obviously irritated by the thought. But he shifted back into his casual turn of phrase and continued.
"Some of those females obviously didn't take kindly to strangers to begin with, despite any polite mannerisms any of the males could've showed. Our actions were quick, and necessary." he said firmly.
Having finished that, Tariq glanced to the sky for a moment. "Other prides disagreeing..." he murmured. He glanced down to Aali. The pride was not a completely secretive one, but they were not ones to parade around, screaming of their existence. It was a difficult situation. But at the same time, a simple one. "I'd like to think it's evident that a pride lives here based on the sights and smells around the territory, don't you?" he questioned. "If a female is stupid enough to stumble into our borders and get herself caught, that's her loss. At least we're not like many other prides, killing trespassers on sight." he grinned. Why he found that amusing was extremely hard to say.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:25 am
Aali relaxed and slowly smiled Tariq's words were most helpful in bolstering his confidence. Of course Aysel had been supportive as well but Tariqs opinion as a fellow brother meant more at the moment. He nodded softly watching the Viziers movements and again he felt that his choice had been a good one. Faiz and Tariq both showed confidence in their choices, varying personalities of course but they both shared the careful thought processes he needed in advisors.
"Your opinion does much to help me, I know it is perhaps foolish to think back on it...with things going so well now I won't dwell on it any longer." He nodded firmly, he had to grasp that his choices right or wrong would lead the pride, and there was no point in trying to make everyone happy with them.
Aali chuckled then and rolled his eyes "I'm sure some misguided females might consider death a better alternative to being cared for...it's incredibly foolish. I suppose your right though, the borders are reinforced often enough those who enter do so at their own risk."
Finally he sat up a bit his eyes curious, there had been so many rumors and of course Aali had spotted some of Tariq's females so it wasn't all rumor. Still...from the lions mouth was probably the surest way to understand. "How goes it with your banu?" He might have asked if some weren't better suited as Kajira but if Tariq wanted to keep them...well he wouldn't argue unless it put others in danger.
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:15 pm
Tariq flashed a grin, shoulders relaxing with some sort of happiness at a self-fulfilled purpose. His opinion had helped the Sultan, and he was very glad to hear that. So often was he looked down upon, glanced quickly at, murmured about, whispered about...But when it came right down to it, he was a Vizier. And his job was to be of council to the Sultan. That was all that mattered, really. So long as he was fulfilling his purpose, he was satisfied.
He smirked at the Sultan's reasoning about "misguided females" and couldn't help but laugh. Some females were foolish. They didn't know how good they had things once they came to the Ukuucha. The rebelled and scoffed and put up a fight, even ignoring or mocking their would-be Pads. But why? For no real reason at all. If they acted nicely, they would be treated nicely; very nicely. Ahh, yes...But those were the misguided females.
And ooohhhh, had the topic shifted to banu? Wonderful~!
"It goes excellently." Tariq answered, grinning. "The Kajira O'tep is pretty close to becoming a banu." he said quietly, as if informing the Sultan of a secret no one else knew. "She might even be more than a banu if she would just let herself go a bit more...And as for the others..." he began, pink eyes wandering in thought. "Well..." He glanced back to the Sultan and grinned. "They're doing very nicely."
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Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 6:45 pm
Aali had to admit he was mildly surprised by the cheerful tone Tariq used, while most Pads considered it a chore to have a Kajira among their harems he actually seemed quite pleased at the chance. Granted Tariq had a way of turning Kajira into Banu.
"You'll be keeping her then?" Aali asked his voice laced with curiosity. "You must be quite proud of your harem have you chosen a beybanu?" He thought fondly of Aysel.
"The raid seems to have produced more Banu then Kajira, a most fortunate surprise." He smiled and nodded most of the females seemed to have settled under their Pads guidance.
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Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:06 pm
Something in Tariq's chest wrenched at the thought of even a slight possibility of not being able to keep O'tep. He lost his glimmer of humor for a moment and seemed deadly serious.
"Yes." Came the hard reply. There were many times Tariq sounded as though he were making jokes through serious matters, but all past joking behavior aside, it was quite evident through that single, solitary word how serious he was. Then, as quickly as he had shifted moods, he shifted back into his previous state of mind, shrugging his shoulders back and lolling his head to the side like a juvenile.
"I was taught never to be proud, Sultan," Tariq answered shortly, smiling open-mouthed as he regarded the large male. "With any luck, O'tep will be my beybanu. She just needs..." His eyes wandered away, then back again, a glint flickering inside their pink depths. "...One more push." he finished, unable to mask his undertone of deviance.
Tariq'ra'd thought back to the raid, memories of immovable females dotting his mind. But they had all come down in the end. He smiled back at the Sultan, obviously firmly in agreement with his statement. "It's definitely never a good thing to have too many Kajira at once." the dark male said. Though he did love Kajira...very, very much...It really was not a good thing. Too many Kajira could mean an uprising. And it wasn't that there was ever any fear that the females could overpower the males. No, it was a sense of wishing to protect the mindset of all the banu in the pride. Kajira were like beautiful figures of toxicity, itching to pollute any clean female that crossed their path.
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Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 2:14 pm
Aali watched the look in his Viziers eyes and realized right away that O'tep was fully claimed despite her status as Kajira. A small smirk crossed his muzzle as he shook his head. "I'm afraid I can be overly proud of my ladies sometimes, I can't help it. They try and it's only natural for me to admire their efforts."
He looked a bit surprised that Tariq should want to make O'tep his beybanu but carefully schooled his expression back. "Oh? Well if she's coming along so well then that would be best...if you get in that last...push?" His voice was once again tinged with curiosity, he couldn't help but wonder what went through Tariq's mind. What made a pad want to lift a Kajira so high when she fought so hard against him? He found himself completely disgusted and annoyed by the behavior of most Kajira, they made his temper rise and he found dealing with them distasteful.
He did agree with Tariq about not having too many Kajira about though, why gather trouble? Besides the banu worried when too many Kajira were about, foolish ungrateful females looking to sow discontentment. He remembered a story from their past, a kajira having killed cubs to 'show' a banu she didn't need to be chained by motherhood. What compelled her he wondered idly, what was broken inside of her that caused such strange backward thinking? Whatever it was he hoped Tariq had luck with his own little hellcat.
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Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:29 pm
Tariq laughed. "I don't blame you. Anyone would be proud of something perfect--treasures they have acquired over time..." he added ponderously, something in his eyes shifting so that part of him seemed to be somewhere else, and not present in front of the Sultan.
His Warlord...
Her sunset-painted muscles and eyes blazing golden light...She was his treasure...
He missed her so...so much...
Claws jutting out and digging into the earth, the Vizier lost himself in a raging, glaring sneer for a moment. His thoughts and emotions had so suddenly come over him that he had lost himself in the moment--in his memories. Realizing his blunder, Tariq seemed to jerk awake, pink eyes wide and blinking like a child being suddenly woken from a deep nap. Meeting Aali's gaze, he stared a moment, trying to push his emotions away and remember what they had been talking about.
"Yes..." he said quietly, gaze wavering over the Sultan's face, thinking back to O'tep. Yes, she would become something more with one last push. His plan needed to play out. She was already on the edge, teetering precariously from hate to love for him. He would have her, she would have cubs, and she would be much changed by then. The next step would come to light with time...
"I'm not...meaning to be out of line by saying this," Tariq began after a pause, paw smearing absently against earth and grass. He hoped that opening line didn't make Aali cringe. He never wanted to make the Sultan cringe. He wanted to be a good Vizier--the best Vizier. He had to watch his toes...And his tongue. "but if you ever want advice, or...opinions on handling banu and kajira, you can call on me any time." he said. Then he smirked in his boyish way, serious air aside. "Just letting you know that as a Vizier, and--" he wandered, cutting off his sentence in an awkward way. He glanced at the grass, maw down turned.
...Friend...?
...
...Hmm...
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Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:21 pm
Aali chuckled softly at first sharing in Tariq's agreement over treasured banu before he leaned in curious as the Vizier seemed to loose focus. It was as if the dark male was in a whole different world, far away. What had drawn his thoughts to such a distant place? Aali had to try hard not to lean inward or let his curiosity ask impolite questions.
As he noticed the Vizier's eyes come back to life he tilted his head slightly. "Are you alright brother?"
"Your not out of line Tariq, I trust you, if I didn't trust you I wouldn't have chosen you to be my Vizier, your words mean much and we do not always have to agree for them to carry weight. In fact, I should like your help in seeking our third Vizier, I need one of our Pads who is not so like minded as you or Faiz. If you have suggestions I would be open to them, something to consider."
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