Obadias was lurking about just outside the family den, his shoulders slumped a little. Parvana had been sweet recently, and the had continued their meetings in secret, but the male wanted to do something special. She had seemed a little down recently, and he wanted to make it, whatever it was, better. Unfortunately, the young male knew very little about females. He had only intereacted with his mothers and with Parvana, so he needed to talk to someone who would know. Anwar knew everything, the young boy believed. His brother would know what to do. He would just have to find the right way to express what he wanted to know. 'There's this girl I know, brother, and she's very special and pretty and..no, that wouldn't work.' The male shifted, looking nervous. He didn't want to start rambling unnessecarily. Pesars or Pads where not meant to be friends with unclaimed Banu and that's exactly what Obadias was doing. He glanced into the family den, trying to spot his brother. 'Right, uh, let's see. I know this person...and they're very special to me...and I want to get them something...wait. Is this making me sound like it's a guy I'm trying to impress?' He paused, and groaned. Damn it! This wasn't going well.
So maybe, just maybe, Anwar was a little sleepy today. He had just…there had been far too many thoughts chasing through his mind last night. Too much too think about to even consider sleep an option, he’d wished that Obadias would come to him for help again, to give him some respite.
There was that tension between mother Ukoo and mother Otep making his fur prickle whenever they were near each other, as though sparks were about to fly. Then the pink cubs in the den, whom he had yet to figure out. The flying lion who claimed to be a waterbuck in disguise when Anwar had slipped after him… and now this island thing with Zarha… Too much to think about to sleep.
But, Anwar discovered as he stretched and padded out of the den, not too much to keep him from noticing Obadias’ distress. What could it be now? Another dream perhaps?
”Something wrong, Brother Obadias?” he queried softly, moving towards his darker sibling. Something to quiet the storm in his mind perhaps…
Obadias had been caught up in his own thoughts, attempting to figure out what, exactly, he was going to ask. The male was struggling though, on how to word it so he would not get in trouble. His brother wouldn't turn him in, though, he knew, but he didn't want to put his brother on the spot that he may get in trouble because of him. He sighed and shifted akwardly, glancing up in surprise when he heard his brother. He hadn't noticed his brother's approach.
“No,” Obadias said, before changing his mind, admitting, “no. Not really. I mean, nothing serious.” He paused and frowned. “It is serious but not dangerous serious.” He made an irritated noise and shook his head, trying to make sense. “Brother Anwar,” he finally blurted out, “what do you know about girls?”
Anwar hesitated when he saw the sharpness with which Obadias looked up at him. Surprised then. Oops. Oh well, he was here now, and Obadias clearly saw him. It wasn’t even as if he were actually trying to be sneaky this time. Maybe it was just becoming a habit, perhaps he just always walked with quiet steps and subtle rhythms, vanishing into the rustle of the brush and the roll of the pridelands.
He waited patiently through the ‘no, wait, yes’ his brother stuttered through, concluding that this was a different sort of ‘problem’ than he usually dealt with for his sibling. But at the question, about girls of all things, actually made him blink.
“A bit,” he offered after a moment. He’d met a few, interacted with sisters, spent a bit of time with their mothers… enough to know some things anyway. “Why?”
Obadias was relieved to hear that his brother knew about girls and tried to firm his shoulders. He always acted like a child around his brother, allowing him to watch out for him but Obadias didn't want that. He just wanted to learn and be able to do this himself. He opened his mouth, and paused again, frowning heavily. Damn. He still hadn't figured out how to word this question yet. He would just have to stumble through it on his own.
“There's someone...” he said slowly, trying to figure out how to say this properly. “She's-” damn, he hadn't meant to make it so obvious it was a girl, “- been feeling down recently and I want to make it better but I don't know what's wrong and I wanted to know, you know, how would I get her to be happy?” Parvana deserved to be happy, he knew. She was a wonderful girl and really pretty and, he paused his thoughts, and would have been bright red if it was possible. Damn. Why did he always start rambling about her when he thought of her? He shifted, trying to refocus on his brother.
Anwar just waited, watching as his brother shifted, squared his shoulders, then frowned and seemed to reach for words. No rush. Just…tell him. Everything. And yet… and yet if Obadias wanted to ask him anything…that was fine too. Somehow. It was odd. But he could make an exception to the norm for Obadias. Just for his brother.
“…oh.” Anwar blinked again. So…it was…that kind of question. Shoot. Well… “She’s our age?” he asked, frowning slightly. It did make a difference after all. But…hang on…what was it he’d done when Pari was upset… hmm, no, that probably wouldn’t have worked for mother Ukoo too. Yes, it did make a difference….
Obadias watched as his brother frowned and frowned as well. Their age? Well of course! He wouldn't be this interested in one of the elder females. Just...no. Plus, most of the banu were already claimed and that would just make things far too awkward. He didn't know if he was even really allowed ot interact with the other banus, now he was not longer a cub, but that didn't matter, because Parvana wasn't claimed...yet. He refused to think about the pang in his heart as he thought of the female being given away to some male.
“Yes,” Obadias answered his brother, shifting lightly on his feet. He didn't want to answer questions, he wanted his brother to answer his. He felt bad thinking it, but he wanted Parvana to feel better. “She's unclaimed too,” he added, guessing his brother would ask after that too. Claimed banu and not-their-pad Pad friendships did not work well, at least, not in the eyes of the others in the pride.
“Hmm.” Anwar batted at a blade of grass as Obadias explained. Their age, okay. And…unclaimed? If this were just a ‘I want to make my friend happier’ thing, why would that be so important to mention? Perhaps… it was a little bit…more…
…well. In that case, this was a lot more important than he’d thought.
“Sometimes…girls like…a flower…” he started, thinking of the way their sisters had brought Mother Ukoo dozens of sweet-smelling blooms. “But…lots of people give flowers…” the young Pesar continued. Something else. Something more. Something that would make Obadias special… “You should take her somewhere,” he said suddenly, the idea springing to his mind. “Pari showed me a place, we’re almost too big for it now but…if you brought her soon…”
The island was not for sharing, not yet. Besides, it was too far. But the holes in the ground, Pari’essi had loved those… It had been a little bit of an adventure finding them.
Obadias didn't seem to notice his brother working out that it may be more then friendship on the dark cubs mind, as even he had yet to quite work that part out. All he knew was he really, really wanted Parvana to be happy again and Anwar was his best chance of making that happen. His brother knew everything.
He perked up at the mention of flowers, though deflated lightly with a frown. What was the point of giving her soemthing everyone else would likely give her? It would have to be something special! When he mentioned somewhere Pari had showed him, he glanced at him curiously. “Really? Where?” He asked, looking eager. He hoped it was somewhere nice, like the lake which they played at most days or at least, met up to talk now they were a little older. Would taking her someplace make her feel better? “Shouldn't it be a gift or something?” He asked, a sudden thought occuring to him. If they were almost too big, did that mean this gift was as fleeting as the flowers? It wouldn't last, though they would remember their time there.
“…well…” Anwar frowned, pawing at the grass again. Frustrating. He wanted to help his brother, but he didn’t know all the answers. And he didn’t want to tell Obadias that he didn’t know! Oh, what to do, what to do… “More than one,” he finally decided, hitting on the idea quite by accident. “The flower is sweet.” He’d heard mother saying it was sweet that the girls brought her flowers. “So do that. And then take her to the place, even though it’s only for a little while longer. And then…then I’ll show you a new place after that one doesn’t work.”
He could find another place to be. Someplace strange and fun and exciting. Someplace new. An adventure, something to explore. That was, Obadias’ friend, a special friend it sounded like, would never grow bored of him, because always there would be something new. Oh yes, this was a brilliant solution. Anwar was so smart he impressed himself sometimes. He’d certainly impressed Zarha! Just a little bit, just for a moment. But he had.
Obadias' eyes lit up at the idea, already planning it in his head. He wasn't the type to plan ahead often, but with this, he wanted it to go just right. He'd make plans to meet her at the lake and take her some flowers to surprise her with. Pretty ones, blue like her, and that would make her smile! Then he would take her to that place that his brother told him about, and that would keep her mind of whatever was worrying her, likely it was just because her brothers would soon be leaving on their quests outside the pride. It was perfect.
“You will show me a new place to take her afterwards?” He asked, sounding surprised. Brother was so kind to him, helping him with this. He would surely impress Parvana with his brother helping him. Wait. He meant, cheer her up. Not impress her. Why would he need to impress his friend? He shook his head, his own thoughts confusing him. “Thank you, Brother Anwar!”
Something about the way Obadias’ eyes lit up made everything seem so very worth it. So what if it took him a while to find a new place in the pridelands to visit? Who cared, he liked exploring and finding things anyway. He just didn’t usually seek the out to share them. But this was his little brother…his precious little dreaming brother. He could do it for Obadias. He would do it for him.
“Of course, Brother Obadias,” Anwar said gently, as though he wasn’t going to have to search and plot for this. “You know I’m always here for you…” Especially for when he had ‘nightmares’. Secrets to share. But…anything else too. Anwar would always do his best for him. Always.
