[PRP] It Comes Naturally [Harith / Ilyas]

[Princess_Feylin]

Ilyas kept meaning to take his sons aside and talk to them about the upcoming quest they would soon embark on. He wanted to take them out into the rogue lands for a few days to give them some practice at the skills they would need to survive. He, himself, had felt woefully under prepared when he went out, and that feeling had been confirmed when he was finally on his own with no banu to hunt for him and no idea what constituted a safe place to take shelter. Not to mention just the challenge of dealing with strange cats who had completely different upbringings and ways of life. There was a lot he wanted to warn his sons about before they left.

Unfortunately, finding the time to do that had been something of a challenge. Now that they were older his sons were rarely in the den all at one time, and when they were it was usually because they were eating or sleeping, which were neither of them ideal times to have serious conversations. It was true that he could have exercised his paternal right to tell them that they would stay in the den and listen to him while he tried to help them, but in all honesty Ilyas had been hoping his sons would demonstrate sufficient foresight to seek him out and ask him themselves.

Now there was little doubt that his sons would soon be departing. Their manes were beginning to look like proper manes and not just tufts of fluff, and their limbs were lengthening. Soon they would be considered adolescents by the pride and he would have to send them out. There was simply no more time to postpone the inevitable. Ilyas would have to seek out his sons one by one. He sighed heavily at the chore that represented and went to the entrance of the den, where Harith sat silently.

He could begin with Harith. Coming up behind his son Ilyas cleared his throat to get his attention.  

[Princess_Feylin]

"I've been remiss, Harith, in my paternal duties," Ilyas said. He paused automatically so that his son could make some sort of denial if he felt like it. The statement had come out more formally than he had intended.

Ah well. It wasn't as though he had ever had to have this discussion before. He didn't want his sons to suffer because of his unexpected sentimentality or embarrass the family by failing to bring home suitable banu, or - worse - failing to return at all. It was imperative that some basic things were explained.

"I ought to have taken you and your brothers out into the rogue lands some time ago to begin training you for when you will have to survive there on your own for however long it takes you to find a suitable banu or beybanu, but I didn't. I enjoyed having you around as cubs too much. You're not going to be cubs much longer, though, and so now I'm in a bit of a spot."

He settled comfortably and indicated that Harith might as well do the same. "I don't have the time at this point to make an excursion into the rogue lands, so I'm afraid I will simply have to try to make words suffice. First of all, have you given any thought to your quest?"  

[Princess_Feylin]

Wasn't that the truth? It was easy to get caught up in the moment and lose track of time. When did his boy get so wise? Well, maybe it was a lucky shot. Everyone got a few of those.

"That's reassuring. That you think about it. Usually the lions who think about these things are more successful." He shook his head to settle his mane before continuing: "What have you been thinking? Strategies for capturing banu, or maybe what you want in a banu?"

None of his sons had come to him to say they had found a banu within the pride that they wished to add to their harem, and so he assumed they all intended to have their harems made up of captured banu. It was a fine goal and Ilyas couldn't find any fault with it, but it would mean they would be gone for a long time. At least potentially.

"Have you talked with your brothers about the possibility of staying together for a while after you leave until you get used to being in the rogue lands?" Ilyas would never have stayed with his brother, but he had cause for that. His brother had wronged him.  

[Princess_Feylin]

"Well, that's something," Ilyas said. He wasn't about to ask his son what he thought he would say to these potential banu. That was a private thing, and most likely not something Ilyas could hear with a straight face anyway. Wooing wasn't his sort of thing. He had his two banu, and that was a sufficiency.

"And it does make life easier if they come of their own free will. Otherwise you get banu like the ones in Vizier Tariq'ra'd's harem, who are unhappy and sullen, and not good for much. Or the ones in the harem of his son Akram'raja."

The thought of Harith preferring quiet banu made Ilyas laugh though. He knew his more contemplative son probably would prefer that, but the way it had come out just made him think that the desire was a reaction to his mother's less-than-proper ways.

"It can be. But more than that, it's lonely. When you're used to having family around you all the time, you really notice the solitude. Though maybe you won't mind it so much."  

[Princess_Feylin]

"Oh, well, I think at some point in your life someone is bound to be unhappy with you, Harith, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. I certainly don't think your banu are going to be unhappy. Just make sure you explain to them what it means to be part of the Ukuucha'Wafalme. Lots of banu from outside don't understand, and so the get here and they're disappointed to learn they're one lioness out of many."

Ilyas had tried to be upfront with his banu about that. Elsa hadn't seemed to mind very much, but she had also imagined, initially that she was just coming back for the safety he and the pride could provide. That had turned into more for her, and Ilyas was fond of her. He still cared more for his beybanu, the mother of his sons, but that was to be expected.

"Longer than I should have been," Ilyas said. "And for my trouble I came back with a lioness who was beautiful, but damaged and not worth the effort. Itzel was her name. You never met her, but you might still take a lesson from her: get to know your banu, and don't be taken in by a fine form and coat."

He gave his son a hard look. It was difficult to tell sometimes whether Harith's sobriety made him more or less inclined to be taken in by others. "I'm serious about that. Not just for yourself, but for the peace of the pride. Bringing in the wrong sort of banu can have a universally negative effect."

This talk wasn't going as he had meant for it to go at all, and Ilyas had no idea how to fix that. Tumbling and tussling and playing with his boys he could handle, but doing the dad thing...Not so much.  

[Princess_Feylin]

"Like them," Ilyas agreed.

His son's question gave him pause. He knew more or less what had been wrong with Itzel, but that didn't make her any easier to talk about. He still viewed the whole affair with her as something of a failure of his. He had chosen poorly in taking her as his banu, and even now he could not deny it or allow himself to forget it.

"She wasn't right in the head. Her mind was very weak and she tended to get lost. One day she wandered away from the pride and did not return. I don't know how she slipped past the sentries, to be honest, but I never did find any trace of her beyond the pride lands. I can only assume there were outside forces at work."

He forced himself to shrug and pretend to dismiss it. "Really, as long as you don't come home with a banu like that you'll be doing better than your father. So don't worry too much about it."

Not that he expected Harith to do anything but worry, but at least he had tried to allay some of his concerns.