[PRP] It's So Shiny! (Svetta x Azhar'Hilel)

[hibi-tea]

Svetta had worked digging through the dirt all morning for her treasure. Her paws and much of her sky-blue body was covered in a thin layer of sand and dirt from her expedition and although her mother would be very upset that she got this dirty, what she found to give her mother was much more important than appearances.

"Lookit it sparkle!" Svetta squeaked to herself happily as she flopped down onto her back and held up her shiny stone to the light, a brilliant purple color filtering through the stone and hitting her face. "Mommy will love this for sure!"

Looking back to the hole that Svetta had developed she made a face. She couldn't exactly leave it there. Other Banu or Pads might not see it and trip over it and fall in. Than what? Looking over into the hole again Svetta made another face. It had taken her the better part of most of the morning to dig deep enough to find the pretty shiny stone for her mother. It was going to take the rest of the morning just to cover it back up.

"Maybe if I just creep away," She wondered aloud, biting her lip hesitantly.  

[Mogami]

Azhar knew he had reached adolescence. His mane had started sprouting from his chest and the long white hairs would soon become rather noticeable in no time. His father and his banu were teaching him many things about the outside world and knew he knew that wouldn’t be long until he was on his way to complete the quest. It was a little bothersome, to say the least. Not that he wasn’t a little excited at the prospect of being on his own and seeing many different sights and creatures but leaving the comfort of home was always difficult. And, of course, he seemed to never have free time what with hunting lessons and all sorts of other activities that were now part of his daily routine.

His thoughts were silenced when he spotted little blue banu playing with something shiny. Blue… Was she related to Tsubame? Azhar had never quite overcome the sudden death of the pretty blue banu he had met not that long ago. He almost felt responsible to keep an eye on the little cub. Girls weren’t supposed to be on their own without having at least a brother escorting them but Azhar cared little for such things. He was more interested in her lineage at this point.

“Hello, little banu. What have you got there?” he asked curiously, moving closer with near silent steps when he noticed she seemed a little anxious.

((I almost made him a juve 'cause this feels kind of ***** but it's more honest this way... ^.^' But it's not like he'd even consider taking her before she became an adolescent lol))  

[hibi-tea]

Svetta jumped when she heard the voice behind her and turned her head slowly to meet the gaze of who had addressed her. He was an older male, and probably of Pad ranking by now so instinctively (as mother had taught her) she bowed her head the the male. This didn't stop Svetta from peeking up at him, however, and noted the pretty color of his coat and markings. They looked like stars on him and it made her smile.

"Uhm, Hello Mr. Pad," Svetta said, quietly pulling out the shiny stone she had found. He had requested to see it after all, and being as she was a good little Banu she would show it to him, "It's a shiny rock. I found it in the dirt. I'm going to give it to my mommy."

Svetta looked up from him down to her dirty little paw which grasped her shiny purple stone than looked back up to him again. She wiggled her maw a little uncomfortably and quietly piped up, "Uhm, Mr. Pad? Did you fall from the sky?"  

[Mogami]

“That’s a nice gift.” Azhar said gently, wondering if the little girl meant her real mother or another of her father’s banu. He was about to ask for the name of her parents when she spoke again and his expression softened instantly.

“I’m not a Pad yet. But I’ll be leaving on my quest soon. I’m Pesar Azhar’Hilel, son of Pad Anwar.” It felt as though she was leading the conversation in a direction he hadn’t expected but he didn’t mind it much. Especially when it such an interesting question, one that he actually had thought about before though not about himself. “No, I didn’t. But my mother did… or at least she says she did.”

He smiled a little. This cub was very small so it was unlikely she knew Azhar’s mother but he asked anyway.

“Do you know a banu named Star? She’s my mother. A fallen star.” Whether he believed it or not was impossible to tell.  

[hibi-tea]

"I'm Banu Svetta," She said, looking up at him with a smile and a little proud step.

Svetta loved calling herself a Banu. It made her feel a tad important, even if she knew she wasn't. She would always remain Banu Svetta, but not in the way the other Banu were Banu. Svetta had already decided at such a young age that she wasn't worthy of any Pesar or Pad. She was not good at remembering how to address other Banu, Pesar and Pads, and her play skills weren't nearly as good as her sister Alouette's. No, she knew she wasn't going to be anyone's Banu.

Despite not having directly met Azhar's mom, she knew who his mother was instantly. She had heard talk of the fallen star in the pride, and while some thought it fantastical ideas she thought it was the truth. After all, her Grandpa was a God! A big, big, big, big male with wings. If he could exist, so could the fallen star.

Her eyes lit up and her smile grew wider, "Your mommy is the Star Banu? No wonder you make me think of starry skies, you come from them."

Svetta giggled a little before realizing she hadn't told him who her parents were. It was only polite to respond with her own father's name. She dipped her head a little in an apologetic fashion, "Oh, uhm. My, my Dad is Pad Behnam. And my mother is his Beybanu, Kokojicho. Though, uhm! You wouldn't guess it, e'cept for the spots..."

Svetta gave a nervous chuckle and set her shiny stone back on the ground before pawing at it quietly, "I... I don't much look like them. My sister's are pink and purple and brown. And, uhm. I'm blue. Like the sky."  

[Mogami]

“It’s a pleasure, Banu Svetta.” Azhar answered formally though his tone was much lighter than usual. He had to admit he found the girl rather endearing and wondered if perhaps it was trait directly correlated to the color blue. No, that was silly.

Still, he chuckled genially, trying not to look too amused every time she spoke.

“Pad Behnam… ah, so your grandfather is Pad Nywelle. That explains the pretty gold in your spots…” It wasn’t always easy to remember all the names in the pride but few could forget the existence of the God living among them. He ignored the mother’s name mostly because he’d heard some contradicting things regarding that particular banu… beybanu. He had better things to do than criticize other Pads’ choices and this was hardly something one should bring up in front of a little banu. At least now he knew she wasn't related to Pad Achal. “Don’t worry, I don’t look much like my parents either. Actually I look more like my grandfather and some uncles.”  

[hibi-tea]

Mogami

Svetta nodded to affirm Azhar's comment and giggled at Azhar's compliment. Her smile was bright and it felt nice to be complimented by someone. Usually she was just told by her sister how much of a bad Banu she was and how she'd likely turn out Kajira like their other sister. She heard very few compliments that didn't come directly from her father or mother.

"Uhm, uhm," Svetta started, trying to search her memory bank for who exactly Azhar looked more like. She knew there were several black Banu and Pads in the pride, but she only remembered few of their names. She couldn't find her answer in her own mind, so she thought she'd pick his, "Your grandpa is, uhm... One of the Viziers, right?"

Svetta was just beginning to learn who everyone was in the pride. She was looked after quite strictly most of the time, but now she was getting bigger and needed to mingle with the rest of the babies and children. This also meant she needed to learn thing the other babies and children were learning.  

[Mogami]

“Yes, Vizier Tariq'ra'd.“ he was somewhat impressed that one so young would be able to make out that connection. “Well, done, little banu. Your parents are teaching you well.” He paused, his thoughts lingering on his older relative for a few moments before he continued.

“My grandfather is a little strict so if you ever meet him, be on your best behavior, okay?” The dark Vizier was very different from Faiz or even the Sultan so it wouldn’t hurt to give the little cub a friendly warning. He would like to say his grandfather was simply misunderstood but sometimes Azhar wasn’t so sure that was the case.

“So… do you think your mother is going to like the gift?” he asked, eyeing the shiny rock again. “Maybe she can make a necklace out of it.”  

[hibi-tea]

Mogami

Svetta nodded to Azhar vigorously. If she was being warned that his Grandpa was a strict Pad, than she knew that it would be best for her to take his advice and be on her very best behavior if she ever saw him. People don't just go about giving you advice for no reason after all. At least, that was what she was told once by her sister.

Looking back at the shiny rock she had found, Svetta gave a big grin and nodded, "I think she will like it very much."

However, something about the way Azhar had eyed the gift made her think maybe he would like it even more. She could always find more shiny rocks for her mom. And it wasn't like she wasn't constantly dragging home little presents she found for her mom and dad. Little mice here. Some flowers there. Bleached bones she found in the sun (although, it didn't occur to her at times that those might be other people's things they were just storing).

"Uhm... Pesar Azhar?" She said, looking up at him with her soft pink eyes she raised a paw with the shiny stone in it towards him, "Did you want it? You keep lookin' at it. I... Maybe you would like it more?"

"...I can always find Mommy another one," She added, with a smile.  

[Mogami]

“Oh, little one!” Azhar said quickly, feeling an unusual amount of warmth towards someone who wasn’t part of his family. He found the cub to be simply adorable, both polite and sweet. “You found it, you should keep it. But thank you for the kind offer.”

He almost patted the cub on her head but he managed to refrain from touching the little lioness. He was an adolescent, soon to depart on his banu quest and not a little cub who had found a new playmate. While Azhar wasn’t always the most strict male when it came to gender roles, he most certainly would not touch a banu from another Pad’s harem – even one as little as this.

“Go show it to your mother. I’m sure she’ll like very much.” He said after a brief pause, smiling back at the cub before he turned to leave. “Have a good day, banu Svetta.”  

[hibi-tea]

Mogami

"Ok," Svetta replied with a grin.

Azhar was very kind to her, and it filled her with an unusual happiness. Perhaps this was the praise she heard the older Banu talk about that only came from the Pad you were chosen to be with. Svetta hoped she would be able to feel this happiness in the future. She liked the compliments, and she liked how whatever it was she was doing made others smile.

For now she would put these thoughts somewhere else in her mind. Since Azhar declined her offer for the shiny stone, and she kept ownership of it she would need to go show her mother the shiny stone at once.

"I hope so," Svetta said cheerfully as Azhar gave her a smile and turned to go elsewhere. She hoped she would run into him again. Maybe she could get him to help her look for the shiny stones some time.

She grinned wide, innocence and joy dripping from her voice as she told him, "I hope you have a good day too!"  

[Mogami]

Azhar glanced back at the cub one last time and nodded before he finally walked away. He had to admit that he was rather impressed with the little girl. He looked around, taking in the warm breeze that fluttered past him. His peaceful home. Filled with happy families – and, granted, some not so happy ones -, plenty of prey animals and water. It was safe and beautiful, this home of his. He honestly had never thought he’d missed it but as the moment to leave approached, the young lion became more attached to little things from his pride he’d never really noticed before. He looked back at the little blue cub one last time, watching her disappear in the distance before he finally picked up the pace and made his way towards his father’s den.

- FIN -