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 Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 11:34 pm
 
Parvana:
Parvana was unhappy.
It was one of her days with Obi, and she knew she would need it. She had heard her uncle and father talking, things were bad between her papa and the other vizier after her papa won a new female from the other vizier. She hadn't seen the new female yet, but knew that it had happened. Uncle Aali wasn't happy with her papa and the other vizier, and told her papa to let bygones be bygones and even the score by giving one of his daughters to the other vizier.
Papa hadn't liked that, not one bit. Uncle Aali knew how her papa worried for them and softened the suggestion by telling him to give a daughter to one of his sons, then, and named her specifically. Her papa had asked if he had a choice and she supposed it must have been that he didn't, for the next thing she knew she was being told she would be joining another male's harem soon.
It wasn't fair! Why did it have to be her? She wasn't pretty, she wasn't even the first born of her own litter, let alone all her sisters. Why did it have to be her when in her heart of hearts she wished she could have gone to Obi.
She promised herself she wouldn't cry when she saw him, and hoped she wouldn't blurt out that she was probably not going to get to see him again.
Obadias:
Father had been furious, Obadias noted from where he stared angrily down into the lake, loosing a bet to the other male and having to give up one of his daughters. Poor Uggi. He hadn't seen his sister since the day she left, and he hadn't seen the male she had been given too, he just knew that it had been the other Vizier. Huffing to himself, he thought of the way his father had carried on, hearing that one of his sons would be given a female from the other males daughters. It wasn't the same thing as having won the earlier bet, but Obadias knew his father saw it as a way of getting is own back a the fellow Vizier.
Glancing up, towards the pride, he hoped to spot Parvana. This was their day together, so he was down by the lake waiting, but he was not as eager as he knew he should be. His father had told him that he would receive the Vizier's daughter. Why? Anwar would have been a better choice, the male was much smarter and well put together then Obadias. Why him? Obadias wanted to choose his own banu! He should have been excited, it would mark the day that he moved closer to being a Pad but he didn't want this other girl, he just wanted to spend more time with Parvana.
He had hoped that he could convince his father to let him take the young blue female has his first banu, when they were older, but now he would receive another. It just wasn't the same.
Parvana:
Parvana caught sight of Obi as she climbed to the top of a rise, doing her best to smile when she saw him. She didn't want to spoil their day, would lying to him if she looked sad be such a horrible thing? No, she wouldn't lie, not to him. She would simply say she was sad because her older brothers were going to leave the pride soon and she would miss them, that was all. It was true, she would miss Zeki and Ilyas, but that wasn't the only reason she was sad. She just wouldn't tell him the whole story.
She ran the last bit towards her friend and almost barreled into him, which would have sent them both into the water of the great lake. But she managed to stop just in time and did her best to smile sweetly at him.
"Morning, Obi."
Obadias:
Obadias perked up at the sight of the familiar blue coat. The lingering irritation and sadness of his situation was still there, but he was determined not to let it effect his time with his friend. He would simply pretend nothing was wrong, if nothing was wrong, then he wouldn't have to tell her what was going on. He didn't want to think about the other banu, Parvana was what was important at that moment. He grinned lightly at her when she barrelled towrads him, worried for a moment that she would hit him, but she didn't, so he stepped fromt eh light water and gently nudged her cheek with his nose. Her smile was sweet and gentle.
“Morning, Parvana,” he greeting, pulling back and shuffling in embaressement. He hadn't meant to do that. It felt like a good idea at the time. “Any trouble getting away?”
Parvana:
Obi touching his nose to her cheek made Parvana warm up even more, made her glad she could have this time with him, even though it looked like it would be coming to an end. He looked a little embarrassed over it, but she didn't mind. She stepped forward and gave him a little nuzzle in return.
"A little bit," she answered while she nuzzled. "But everyone's really busy with my older brothers right now. They'll be leaving soon."
Obadias:
He was pleased when she returned the affectionate gesture, the nuzzle was only small but it was kind. He would miss this, he thought, knowing his future banu would not be pleased to discover he was spending time with another unclaimed banu. He looked surprised at her comment, glanced down at her and resting his head a top hers comfortingly. He'd forgotten about that with that drama recently. He felt terrible, knowing she would not be happy knowing her brothers would be out on their own soon.
“Ah, I'm sorry,” he said, meaning his forgetfulness, “would you rather be spending time with them, before they leave?” He didn't want to keep her if she wanted to spend some more time with her brothers.
Parvana:
Parvana let out a small giggle when he placed his head on hers, but then he sounded down.
"Oh, no, it's okay. I don't get to spend much time with you, so I'd rather be here right now. It'll still be a bit before they leave, and I know they'll be back soon..." She trailed off a bit there, her smile slipping as she sat down and scooted closer to her friend. Just as she would be with her brothers, she was sad that this was technically a farewell to Obi. It was okay when she was a young lioness and still in her papa's harem, but when she was in the harem of a male that might be her pad for most of her life, she certainly wouldn't be allowed to see Obi, or treat him like she was doing now. She wouldn't be able to get close to her friend anymore. She held back her tears as she thought of how unfair it was. She knew it was never going to be her choice, but why did it have to be her, so soon?
Obadias:
Obadias was glad when she didn't immediately rush off back to her brothers. He didn't know when he would see he ragain, or if he would before he was given his new banu. This may be their last day together, at this level of closeness. “I'm glad,” he told her softly, before hurrying on, seeming to realise his words could be taken a different way. “I mean, not that your brothers are leaving, just that you want to stay here. I don't want you to leave yet.” He cut himself off, realising he was rambling. He was glad she couldn't see his face, it was morphed into a look of embaressement on the young juve. He seemed to realise her mood was similar to his own, but he assumed it was because of her brothers. Pulling back, reluctantly, he glanced down at her face. “Hey, let's not worry today. Let's go for a walk, we can walk in the water and maybe we could find some interesting things in the water.” He tried to get her to brighten up, hating to see the sad expression on her face, though his eyes mirrored with the same look.
Parvana:
When Obi pulled back, Parvana could see he looked as sad as she was. She couldn't help but wonder what was troubling him, but couldn't tell if it would be alright to ask. He suggested they take a walk in the water and she knew it was better not to press. Better to think of other things and do happy things than dwell on the bad. If she didn't get to see him again, at the least she would have happy memories to think of.
"That sounds like fun," she agreed with a nod and her best attempt at a small smile. She stood and nodded again, tilting her head towards the water.
"You lead?" she asked. She liked it when he sort of took charge, in little things. She didn't like making decisions that affected others so much, outside of her pridal duties. She hadn't grown enough to start really hunting, but she was learning and would learn from her mama how to organize hunts.
Obadias:
It was a silly thing to be pleased about, he thought to himself, a flicker of pleasure in his eyes at her suggestion that he lead, followed quickly by a pang of regret. She would be a wonderful banu, so well tempered and sweet. She wasn't afraid to let him lead, but she would still talk to him like he was normal, not someone to fear or pander to. Whoever became her Pad would be truly lucky, he knew, still wishing it was him.
“Of course,” he said, stepping back down to the waters edge. He started to move on, across the edge, dragging his paws in the water. He barely checked to see if she was following, since he knew she would. He glanced back after a few moments of silence, just to reassure himself that she was still there.
“Look,” he pointed out a flower growing on the edge of the water. It was a light blue, lighter then her coat, but he lowered his head, biting at the stem and lifting it up to her. He grinned around the flower, a look of cub-like delight on his face as he tucked the flower behind her ear.
Parvana:
Parvana followed him happily, walking completely at his side so that her paws were in the cool water. She remembered back when they had first met that she had walked a little bit behind him, but that had changed as she got to know Obi. She wouldn't call herself his equal, but they each had important duties to the pride and she had picked up on the fact that he didn't mind it if she walked right next to him.
She smiled when he plucked the flower and tucked it behind her ear, glancing into the water to see how it looked.
"Oh, it's really pretty, thank you Obi," she said happily, smiling at him.
Obadias:
The young male immediately squished down the urge to say something silly, like 'not as pretty as you' when she mentioned about the flower. It was true, of course, but he would have been too embaressed to say it. He smiled at her instead, gazing at her reflection at the water. They looked so different, he mused, noting his dark coat and her light blue. He was stripes, she was spots. Was it a sign that they wouldn't have worked anyway? No. He couldn't think like that. They looked different, but they shared the same mentalities, most of the time.
“You're welcome,” he said, realising awkardly that he had just been dazing out. “It suits you,” he added, unable to resist saying something about it. He began to move on again, staying slower than normal until she reached his side like normal before returning to his normal pace.
Parvana:
She continued to smile as she kept pace with him, happy that she had something from Obi. And his compliment made her blush.
"I'll have to find something for you now," she said, a bit of determination in her voice. She would try fishing for him, to show how she'd been learning, but she didn't want to make herself look silly. Besides, a fish wouldn't last and... she wanted to give Obi something he could keep, a gift from her.
She kept her gaze on the clear water ahead of her as they walked, shuffling her paws about to look at the smooth stones in the sand. Finally something caught her eye and she stopped to look down at it. Slipping her paw beneath it, she brought up a pretty stone that hadn't looked like the others. It was blue, kinda like she was, so she had almost missed it, and striped in really dark blue, kinda how he was striped. It... reminded her of both of them, together.
She could have cried if she wasn't trying so hard to keep a brave face.
"Obi, look what I found."
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 9:26 am
Obadias:
Obadias had been concentrating on his own delight, so he had not noticed straight away that Parvana had paused in her movements. When she called out to him, he glanced back over his shoulders to see her gazing down at something. He smiled and quickly made his way back to her. Peering down at what she had in her paw, he blinked in surprise.
“It looks like us!” Obadias said, sounding pleased at the thought. It was like a perfect mix of the two of them. He glanced at her, not noticing her distressed, too busy hiding his own. Would this be the last day they got to spend together? He was getting a Banu, and he wouldn't be able to slip away as easily as he had been before. It just...wouldn't be the same.
Parvana:
Parvana's brave face broke slightly at his exclamation and she bowed her head slowly and sat down, still holding the rock in her upheld paw. There was sadness in her voice when she spoke, but she didn't cry. Crying upset her papa and her brothers because they didn't know what to do when her sisters or her mommas were upset enough to cry. She didn't want to upset Obi if he was the same way.
"Obi... I don't think I'm gonna be able to come see you anymore. My papa's giving me away and... I just don't imagine my new pad will like me wandering off. It was kinda okay when I'm with my papa, because I'm his daughter, not his real banu, but now...." She trailed off with more sniffles, but no tears. She would not cry.
Obadias:
Obadias didn't know how to feel when she began to speak, and he continued to stare down at the rock in her paw. She was being given away? No! He could have been able to maybe slip away if he had his own Banu, but with a new pad, there was no way she would be able to leave to see him.
“Don't be upset,” he whispered to her, raising his eyes from the rock. He acted on instinct and rubbed his cheek against hers. “We'll still see each other,” he told her, not lying. They would still see each other, but they wouldn't get to spend a lot of time together, just see each other in passing. He didn't know if that was better or worse than not seeing her at all. “Father says I get a Banu of my own soon too,” he told her quietly. “See? We're both growing up. It's...not a bad thing.” He didn't sound like he agreed with what he was saying, but he was going to try.
Parvana:
"It's not fair..." Parvana murmured despite his comforting words. She wanted to grow up, to be a proper banu and a real part of the pride, but she wanted to be able to spend time with her friend, like this. Who would she talk to now? And who knew what this lion was like. He was the son of the Other Vizier, a lion whom papa told her to stay away from. He was scary and she had overheard one of her brothers talking about how the Other Vizier was cruel to his females. What if his son was the same?
"I donno why Uncle picked me. I'm not as pretty as my older sisters and I'm almost the youngest, not even the baby of the family and I'm not finished with my hunting lessons, so I can't even do that yet," she added, frowning up at Obi. She was jealous of the banu Obi was getting. He was a good, kind Pesar, not cruel like she had to worry about. And he was her friend. Any female would be lucky to be in his harem.
Obadias:
Obadias couldn't help but agree. It wasn't fair. If things were fair, he would grow up, and become a pad and Parvana would...be his. She would be part of his life forever and they would get to go hunting for flowers and pretty rocks everyday, and they wouldn't have to hide their friendship. He sighed heavily. He didn't want her to get a Pad! It wasn't fair. She was too nice for a random pad to stake claim on her.
Obadias, hwoever, took offense to her comment. “I think you're pretty!” He burst out, before he could stop himself, and would have been bright red after his comment, had he been able to. He shifted nervously after his outburst. “You'd make a great banu, Parvana...whoever he is, he'll be lucky to have you.” He stared down at the rock again, shy after his confession. She would make a great banu. So sweet and kind, she would be perfect, and now she would be someone else's.
Parvana:
Parvana managed to smile a little bit and ducked her head in modesty. She was certainly not as pretty as her mommas or Parisa, but she wasn't going to contradict Obi. Not only was it not nice, but it was also rude, and she wasn't a rude girl.
Especially not to her friend.
Her friend whom she wouldn't get to see anymore.
Because she was being given to the Other Vizier's son.
A shudder passed through her and she dipped her head to take the stone in her teeth, stood and walked out of the water where she put the stone safely on the shore. She settled down next to it, curling tightly, her gaze fixed on the lake as her imagination worked her mind into a tizzy.
"Obi, do males get afraid sometimes, too?" she asked the question softly, but loud enough for him to hear it clearly. She couldn't imagine her papa or her brothers ever being afraid. Especially her papa and Zeki. They were both very calm, cool males. Zeki was annoying to her most of the time, but he liked to tease his little sisters. But he never teased Thabi, his sweetheart. He was always happy and strong-like when she was around. It was impossible to imagine her big brothers ever being scared.
Obadias:
Obadias followed her out of the water, not hesitating to leave the lake. When she settled on the shore, he found a comfortable spot next to her, close enough that his shoulder brushed hers. He would get in trouble, if anyone had seen them together, since they were old enough to know better now, but he didn't care. He wanted to savour the last time they would likely get to spend time together, just the two of them.
Her question surprised him though, and he didn't rush into an answer. Did they get scared? Of course they did. Everyone got scared, they weren't meant to though. Males were the strong ones in the pride, and they couldn't show their fear, when they grew from cubhood, they stopped being allowed to be afraid. Obadias shouldn't have been afraid of anything. He was though. “We're not meant to,” He said quietly, looking out at the lake. “We're supposed to be the strong ones, and we are, usually, but everyone feels afraid at some times. We just aren't meant to show it.” He glanced at her, wondering why she had asked. “Males are scared, but we do it quietly, so as not to scare the females we must protect.”
Parvana:
She wasn't sure if she was comforted by his answer or disappointed. Maybe a little of the latter, but she felt glad that they were strong enough to stand tall when they were afraid. Parvana wished she could be like that.
"I'm scared. My papa doesn't like the father of the male I'm going to. I've heard my brother say he's cold and cruel to his females. What if his son's that way, too? I know I won't disobey, I'll do my best to be a good banu, but what if that's not good enough?" She closed her eyes when she finished, imagining a scary lion who towered over her. She was a large female for her age, and would grow to be a big lioness.. But her imagination didn't care so much about reality.
Obadias:
Obadias stared at his paws as she spoke, resisting the urge to burst out and claim that he would protect her, but he couldn't promise that. She was going to be someone else' banu, and he would have no imput into how she was treated. If she was being mistreated, and he interfered, they would both be in danger.
“Your Papa wouldn't do something that would put you in obvious danger,” he assured her, trying to sound confident so she couldnt' see his worry. “Your Papa loves you and your sisters, he wouldn't put any of you in danger. Maybe the son is nothing like his father?” He wanted to believe that, very much so. She was too kind to be taken advantage of by a cruel lion. “We're not exactly like our parents either,” he pointed out, trying to smile. She wasn't like her mother, and he wasn't just like his father, thankfully.
Parvana:
Parvana slowly shook her head. She knew he was right about her papa, but she also knew that when Uncle Aali told her papa to do something, REALLY do something, it was coming from the Sultan, not his little brother.
"Papa doesn't have a choice, though. Uncle said he had to, to settle the fight. Papa and the Other Vizier," she said the title with a slightly ominous tone, "were fighting 'cause of a bet and Uncle told Papa to give one of us to him to settle things. Papa tried to argue, but Uncle only let the propo-... offer change to one of his sons instead of the Other Vizier. And Uncle said it should be me and I don't know why..." She managed to curl up a bit more and still scoot closer to her friend, looking for comfort.
Obadias:
Obadias felt terrible for Parvana, being subjected to being a prize in a bet when she was worth so much more. “Your Uncle is making your father give you away?” He asked, sounding annoyed at her uncle. He sighed. That wasn't right. She should have been given a choice, to chose the best Pad for her.
He nudged her with his shoulder lightly, trying to soothe her a little. When she curled up, scooting closer, he tilted his head and tucked her head under his chin. Again, it was a dangerous gesture, because it was a gesture which could have been misconstrude if someone were to see them, but he wanted to comfort his friend. “It'll be alright, Parvana,” he said softly. He couldn't promise it, but he would try his hardest to make her happy while he still could. “If all else fails, we'll run away,” he said, pulling away and winking at her playfully to let her know he was joking. They couldn't possibly run away, but it was a nice thought, espeically if her Pad turned out to be cruel.
Parvana:
Parvana nodded at his question. It did sound like a ridiculous concept.
"Uncle has to keep the peace in the pride. It wasn't good that my papa and the Other Vizier were fighting. Only not really fighting, not yet at least..." she replied and smiled a bit when he tucked her head under his. She liked it when he did that. It made her feel protected.
She gasped when he made the suggestion of running away.
"We couldn't do that! They'd-" She stopped when she saw he was kidding with her and she let her smile grow a bit.
"That isn't funny, Obi. Our papas might get in trouble, and they'd send the warriors after us, too," she continued, batting at him once before letting her head return to its original resting place. She could never leave the pride, no matter how bad her pad turned out to be. She was a part of it, and it her. Her family and friends were here. This was her home.
"I don't even know how old the Other Vizier's sons are..." It's tone held more of an afterthought quality, as if she was merely thinking aloud. Of course, she was, but that wasn't uncommon when she was comfortable.
Obadias:
Obadias sighed. “It's not good when Pad's fight, it disrupts the whole pride,” he agreed, but he didn't think she should be used as a pawn to resolve the issue. However, it would benefit the pride, so the end would justify the means in the end, it seemed, but he still didn't like the idea.
He chuckled at her outrage at his joke, giving a gentle, soothing pur as she tucked her head back under his chin. “It's a nice thought though,” he pointed out, smiling though she couldn't see. “Just us, and no mean Pad to worry about, but this will be fine. This will all work out and we won't need to run away or anything.” He assured her. He wouldn't want to run away, he was loyal to his family and the pride.
Obadias tried to think of the people in his pride that he knew. His brother often encouraged him to watch the pride, taking note of families and things. “Well, there aren't many adult sons of pride members.” He didn't know who was a Vizier though, though he knew his father was. There was another male, wasn't there? “So he would have to be around our age, or a little older. Like your brother's ages,” he mused.
Parvana:
Parvana considered that for a moment before shaking her head once.
"Zeki complained when I was little about how when he was little there was no one around to play with besides Ilyas and their sisters, and our mommas, so if there's no one older, then they'd have to be younger. I guess that's a nice thought. It'd be horrible if he was someone big and older... Well, maybe not horrible, but not too good, either," she qualified at the end, trying to be polite towards the male she didn't know. If she acted nice towards him, even when just talking about him, maybe that would help her luck.
"I think my big brothers and sisters were the first born in our generation. And then a big boom with lots of other cubs," she added, tilting her head a bit. Then it would make sense that the Other Vizier's son would be younger than her brother. Unless he was much older, which she hoped not.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 12:03 am
Obadias:
Obadias tried to make her see advatanges to her situation, because he needed to reason it in his own head too. He nudged her shoulder slightly. “If he was older, he would be able to protect you better though, and he would likely have other Banu to teach you all the stuff you need to know in life,” he pointed out, but agreed, “younger would be better though.” Not for any particular reason, but Obadias just didn't like the idea of some old Pad getting Parvana.
He peered at her, trying to remember the cubs. There was the Sultan cubs, he remembered, but they were all fairly young still, he thought. Well, there was his brothers. He paused. What if? No, it couldn't be. “What else did your Papa tell you about the Pad?” He asked, sounding curious. Maybe it was the Sultans cubs. Other than his brothers and the Sultan cubs, he could only remember blue males, probably related to Parvana, and that hybrid.
Parvana:
Parvana turned the ideas over in her head and shrugged daintily. He had good points, Obi usually did, and it could be alright either way. The older pads just intimidated her more, was all.
She shook her head at his question.
"Papa didn't tell me much at all. Only that, because of the bet, he was going to give me to one of the Other Vizier's sons, one Uncle was picking out. I don't think my older brothers know yet. They can get kinda hot-headed when it comes to the Other Vizier. They warn us just as much as Papa does to be careful if we see him," she explained. Parvana wasn't the most clever of young females, at least not where appearances were concerned. She knew Vizier Tariq was all black with stripes and dark pink eyes, but didn't make the connection with Obi's similarities in appearance.
That he was much kinder than she had heard his father was likely aided in keeping the idea from her head. For how could her dear, kind friend be related to, much less the son of the cruel Vizier?
Obadias:
Obadias sighed. No new information then. Would her uncle and father really give her away to a hybrid? It was almost an insult to think like that, since she was obviously worth more than that to Obadias. It would be a waste to give her to a hybrid. That left only the Sultan's cubs and his brothers then, since he was fairly sure the older blue males were her brothers. He had watched the pride daily when he was a cub, mostly with his elder brother, but he could recognize most of the pridal cubs, but the thought of her being given to one of his brothers? It was a worse thought than her being given to a strange. He would be related to her if that happened, kind of.
“Well, at least there's not really old crabby male around the pride to worry about,” he joked lightly. “Only young available males.” He smiled at her, but it was a little weak. “I bet your Papa will make the best choice when it comes to giving you away.” It was a sad thought, he tried not to show it.
Parvana:
Parvana smiled and even laughed a little bit at his comment. She didn't know any old crabby males, but she could picture one in her imagination. He was gruff and graying and said words like "Whippersnappers" though she had no idea what that meant or where she might have heard it.
"I hope Uncle does. I think he loves us almost as much as Papa does, but he loves the pride, too..." she commented and looked over her shoulder. The sun was starting to sink now, though it was only about halfway towards the horizon. Twilight was when her papa was supposed to give her away. She needed to go home, to be with her family. They'd probably scold her for running off, though momma knew she had a secret friend in Obi. Momma had wanted to meet him and now she probably wouldn't get to.
"I should go... Papa will probably be looking for me..." she said softly, turning her gaze to the rock she had found and sitting up. She nudged it over to her friend.
Obadias:
Obadias' face fell at her mention of needing to return him, but he knew that they would both get in trouble if they were found out together, especially with her being given away and he was gaining a Banu who he would become responsible for. He sighed and glanced down as she nudged the rock over to him. He gently placed his paw over it, brushing hers.
“It'll be alright, Parvana,” he told her quietly, giving her a tiny smile. “Somehow, it'll be alright.” He lent over and nudged her cheek with his muzzle. He had seen a Pad do it to a Banu before and it had seemed to calm her, so he hoped it would work the same with Parvana. He didn't want their last meeting to end unhappily. “Now give me a big smile and I'll walk you back to our spot.” He didn't want her to just go, so he would walk her back to the edge of where they could walk together, before people would see them. At least he could prolong her company a little, even if it wasn't the same.
Parvana:
Parvana allowed a sweet smile to form on her muzzle when he nudged her cheek. It was a sweet gesture, but just another reminder that she wouldn't be allowed to let him do that anymore, would probably not be allowed to even see him anymore. She nodded at his request and stood, waiting for him to lead the way.
She wasn't sure if should would be able to talk on the way back. There didn't seem to be much more TO talk about and everything they had discussed would be sad. And she didn't want her last moments with her friend to be sad, so she kept her smile as she thought of their other fun times talking and exploring the lakeshore and whatnot.
Obadias:
Obadias could not sum up the energy to talk on the walk back. He cupped the rock into his paw and took it into his mouth so he could carry it, but it also gave him an excuse not to speak. There was nothing he could say, he realised numbly, and tried to walk firmly but very slowly, showing his reluctance for this moment to end. It couldn't be over yet, he told himself, but he knew he shouldn't keep her any longer. It wasn't his place and he had to let her go.
When the spot came into view, Obadias sighed and drew to a stop. He put the rock on the ground, cupping it in his paw, ready to pick it back up when he himself went home. He waited for Parvana to reach his side and gently nudged his face to her cheek again, a dangerous feat so closed to the pride but he wanted to do it once more, since it would likely be the last time. “I wish you all the best,” he told her softly, smiling and pushing aside his own desire to turn around and lead her back to the lake. He hesitated, and then added, “we'll see each other again, okay? It's not the end.” He shouldnt' have said it, but he meant it. He didn't want this to be the last time he ever saw her again, but he would respect her enough to not disrespect her Pad when she was given away by being so familiar, but he wasn't prepared to loose her altogether.
Parvana:
Parvana walked as close as she could to her friend, her shoulder sometimes brushing his as they walked. He was just as reluctant to leave as she was, she could tell that much, but was thankful that he didn't try to make conversation. What more could be said?
He nudged her cheek again and she dipped her head modestly. It was such a sweet gesture.
"No... it isn't the end." She hardly believed the words, but for some reason when he had said them, she had this feeling that he was right. As if he would be the one to know.
She hoped he was right.
"Good-bye, Obi," she said before quickly running off for home, not wanting to make the parting any longer than it had to be. She could cuddle with her mother and cry when she got back to the den. She didn't want Obi to see those tears.
Obadias:
Obadias stood there and watched her go until she was gone completely from his view, his shoulders slumping more and more as she disappeared. He wished desperately that it wasn't the end, but he could promise nothing. “Goodbye Parvana,” he whispered, even though she was already gone. If anyone had walked passed, they would have seen a slumped figure, staring down at the ground but would not have seen the rock which was gently cradled. Things wouldn't be the same, but Obadias wasn't ready to let her go completely, not yet.
He stiffened his shoulders and sniffed a little, and would deny that he was blinking rapidly because it wasn't at all a manly thing to do. He took the rock into his mouth again, casting one more look towards where Parvana had disappeared and started back towards his family's den. He would be strong for them, for Parvana, he wouldn't crumble because of this, even if he had to let her go.
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