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 Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 3:28 am
The stars had just come out as Zarha made her way toward Anwar's family den. Knowing she might run into Vizier Traiq, Zarha felt tense. Fortunately, he did not seem to be around. She expected Anwar to come say goodbye to her before she left, but she wasn't going to wait for him. She would spend gods know how many weeks waiting for him after tomorrow so she wouldn't waste any time waiting for him now.
She kept silent as she circled the dens, aided by her dark coat, hoping to catch a glimpse of Anwar's dark olive coat. After making sure no one was around to see her Zarha cautiously sniffed the ground. Anwar was still here. His scent was fresh.
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Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 11:54 am
Tomorrow he would be gone. For the first time in his life, the young lion would venture beyond the lands he'd been born into. All his childhood curiosities would find opportunities that sneaking to study the borders could never satisfy. Some were nervous, most were actually. But Anwar was not one of those. No...because he had a plan. He was quite confident in his abilities to find the proper answers, and while he was hardly the strongest or fastest, he was pleased to think of himself as one of the smartest. His whole life had been devoted to gathering knowledge, certainly he knew what he was doing. And with Obadias at his side, with the secret power that only Anwar was privy to, they would make their journey with speed and efficiency.
In fact, Anwar mused as his crimson eyes wandered the first stars, one of which would soon be his, there was only one rough patch in his plans. Zarha. He was never entirely certain how he felt about her, other than the steady desire that she would be his. Her wit, he clever plans, her scheming that both matched and complimented his own... A rare smile curved at his features, though it was hardly any kind of innocent joy. She would be his. And together they would do such things as others did not even dare to dream...Obadias had Seen it. But that was private, a matter Anwar continued to brood over. Someday though...someday...
The young lion's ears pricked forward, his head turning from where he'd lain in the shadowed mouth of his father's den. It wasn't long before he caught a glimpse of those familiar muddied markings, though the rich black of her fur was a mere shadow in the night. Zarha. It was almost as though his thoughts had called her to him. Smoothly, silently, he rose to his paws. His brothers were settling down to sleep, as he himself probably should have been. But sleep had never felt important to Anwar, rather, it was a thief that snuck up on him, stealing the time he could have put to much better use. He did not need sleep...what he needed was to know...
"Good evening, Zarha," he said softly, somehow pleased that she had come to see him. He'd been debating whether or not it was too late to look for her tonight, wondering if a quick farewell at the feast was too abrupt. He so hated times like this, when he had no chance to experiment before it counted. He would only ever leave on his quest once after all, though he might return to the rogue lands time and time again. Perhaps Zarha should come with him one of those times... there was much waiting for them beyond the boundaries of the pride. Much like their island had been waiting for them, far away out on the lake.
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Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 2:13 pm
"Anwar," Zarha replied with a voice as cool and dark as night. Lately she was becoming more sparing with her expressions. It was not that she was becoming withdrawn - she was every bit as outgoing now as she had been as a cub - she was simply becoming more in control, more sly with herself. After checking that they were alone, she casually walked up beside him and coyly brushed her cheek against his. She turned around all serpentine, her tail tuft brushing Anwar's front leg, and sat down beside him with a light sigh.
"So... this will be our last night together for a while. I'll see you at the feast of course but I wouldn't want to take up too much of your time. You'll have a big day ahead of you." There was a faint sadness in her voice. Anwar had been her best friend growing up despite the pride's standards for males and females. She feared she would be terribly bored with Anwar away. And she would miss him.
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 6:16 pm
There was something about her, something he just couldn't place. Something different, something that somehow made her more important, more significant, than any other banu could ever dream of being...and most of the pads too. Possibly all of them. Zarha was...special. His tail flicked briefly as she brushed her cheek against has, and then the fluff of her tail at his foreleg before she moved to sit beside him. Anwar settled back on his haunches as well, the faint smile fading from his features as he did so.
"I won't be gone long," he said, his voice filled with quiet confidence. He knew where he was going, he knew exactly who he was going to find. And he knew he could bring her back with him. Because he knew things. He knew things, and Obi saw things, and with his knowledge and his brother's visions at his pawtips he could accomplish anything he pleased. He would return rapidly, perhaps even be the first to do so, and his father would be proud of him...surely he would have to be proud of him then.
"Perhaps...when I return...perhaps we can go out sometime," the young lion suggested tentatively. She was not his yet, not officially. But she would be. When he returned, he would make her his own. His banu...no. She was the prize, the greatest of his harem, greater even that the fallen star he would soon claim. She was Zarha. Clever and cunning and brilliant and beautiful... "I'm certain there would be much to see beyond the borders." He would speak to her father. Pad Vu would surely not deny him, no one could outmanuver both Anwar and Zarha.
Together they were unstoppable...
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 6:55 pm
Unlike Anwar, Zarha was never able to access her sibling's seer powers. Afsar would never trust her enough to truthfully share her visions, except when she was bragging about them, and Harb's visions generally showed peril in her future. She dismissed them as inaccurate after finding Anwar. He would never abuse her.
She turned to him with a smile, eyes gleaming in anticipation. "Just you and me? I'd like that very much." She leaned against him and glanced at the stars. Her father once told her that the stars were the Great Kings of the Past looking down on all Africa. Zarha did not know whether to believe him. But if the legend was true, then certainly the Great Queens of the Past looked down from the heavens with them. One day Zarha would join them.
She turned to Anwar. "When you come back I want to know about everything you saw, everything you learned. I want to know what the world is like."
Unlike some females, Zarha was well aware that her pride was one of many. Most prides differed in their values and traditions. Zarha had no plans to reject her pride's traditions, she had long ago figured out how to thrive in Ukuucha'Waflame, even within her lower caste, so she was content here. Her mind hungered for knowledge and knowledge alone.
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:51 am
Anwar shifted slightly so that he was leaning back against her as he felt Zarha's fur press against his. It was comfortable with her, but in an odd way he felt challenged as well. It wasn't entirely unlike the way he was driven to impress his father, something made him desire to gain her admiration as well. Perhaps it was their similarities, the way he'd never found someone who could so readily understand why he would seek greatness with such drive and cunning. Someone who could appreciate how knowledge was power, someone with whom he might be willing to share both of these with when he had them. When. Because he would, someday. Paitence was key at the moment. But someday...
"Just you and me," he promised softly, letting his crimson eyes fall from the stars he'd automatically drifted towards to focus on her. "I want you to see for yourself." Not that he wasn't going to share with her. But seeing was much better than hearing about something second hand, even from such a reliable source as he could be when he wished.
"Everything. And..." he paused, tail tip curling slightly as he thought carefully. It wasn't a decision he had made in haste, not by a long shot. He had calculated her as his banu when they were young, playing on their island had solidified that idea for him and made him decide it would be fact. But this notion...well. If he were to grow in power, he would need a power beside him. "And when I return...you'll be my beybanu?"
It came out as more of a question than he would have liked, and his ears lowered slightly, the only betrayal of his frustration. She would, of course, accept. Any female would be glad of such a position. But... but this was Zarha. And she was different. She was important. Much more important.
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Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2010 1:51 pm
Her ears perked. She felt overwhelmed with the sudden desire to... well, she didn't quite know what... hug him or something. But that was too much for Zarha. Too implusive. Her orange eyes gleamed like the sun as a smile crept across her maw. She nuzzled his shoulder, purring loudly. Joy rang out in her quiet voice. "You don't need to ask," she said softly.
She lifted her head and smiled directly. "I would be proud to be your queen, Anwar."
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Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2010 2:21 pm
She had accepted. As he had, of course, known she would. He hadn't been holding that breath, it was all in his head really. This was foolishness, it didn't mean a thing. What female didn't dream of becoming a beybanu? Any banu would have been delighted to have him after all!
"It is an honor to have you," he told her softly, shifting to rub his head across hers where she nuzzled his shoulder. He was finally starting to fill out, and while it still looked as though he may have inherited some of his mother's small size, he hadn't inherited all of it, thankfully. Perhaps he'd grow into a proper roar sometime soon too. Still, it pleased him to know he had pleased her. For whatever silly reason he'd almost thought she might refuse. It was absurd, the only logical responce on her part should have been... but no. No, that was for 'any female'. And this...this was Zarha. His. His Zarha.
A small stirring of a purr may have rumbled in Anwar's chest. Just for the briefest of moments.
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 8:03 pm
For a few minutes Zarha nuzzled and purred her rumbling purrs against Anwar's body. If her father saw her doing this, or if Anwar's father saw him, they would have been outraged. The feeling of danger excited her so much she almost had to dig her claws into the earth to keep from pouncing on him. This couldn't last much longer.
Zarha swiftly turned away, her breath catching in her throat. "I should go now. My parents will start missing me soon."
She had to leave to break the tension. The temptation to do something truly bad was palpable. That would have to wait. She stood to go, pausing to look back at Anwar. She smiled with the heat in her cheeks and in her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck, Anwar."
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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 5:12 pm
Anwar knew that there could be trouble if they were caught. But the knowledge did not thrill him overmuch. His ears and eyes were as sharp as ever, and the rustle of wings in the tree to the left promised that he had other eyes to help. They would not be caught unless he wished it to be so, between himself and his wings there would be plenty of warning for Zarha. For his Baybanu. His.
Another rumble of a purr stirred in his chest, quelled quickly enough. His emotions, or general lackthereof, were under the utter control of his thoughts. Mind over matter, as it were. And his emotions didn't matter. What mattered was...that Zarha was his.
"I will see you tomorrow," he agreed as she rose. There was something there, an almost tangible thing that prickled in his his fur. It shifted, faded, when she moved away, but his eyes still found the heat in hers. The smile he returned to her was differet from the hollow expression that he usually flashed, like batting an eye, when he spoke to people. It was crooked, sure, but who was to say that he himself wasn't a bit crooked at times? "Goodnight, Beybanu Zarha." There might have been a bit of wicked playfulness in his smile then, just for a moment, before he too rose to prowl back to the den. Tomorrow he left. But he would return.
((I would swear I replied to this already...sorry about that >.> ))
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