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 Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 10:59 pm
 It had taken much longer for Naim'Namir to return then he thought. Not because it was difficult finding a Banu, but because it was difficult finding a Banu he was willing to spend the rest of his life with. Rana was perfect for him.
He paused just inside of the pride borders and looked back at her. A lioness who's spirit was as beautiful as her body was. With a smile he said, "Welcome home Rana."
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Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 6:01 am
 She wasn't entirely sure how long they'd been traveling now, but once she heard that word it seemed almost foreign to her. It'd been a while since she had a place to really call 'home' after all. Her feelings were a mixed bag of relieved, excited, and nervous at that point, and after he said it she came to a stop. Home. It would take some time to get used to, of course, but she already liked the sound of it. Rana let Naim's words sink in as she took a good look around, a smile on her maw.
"Home," she said quietly to herself before turning her attention back to the other and repeating it. "Home. I could get used to saying that," the lioness said with a little laugh as she took a few steps forward to stand beside him. "Our home..."
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Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 5:52 pm
"Yes Rana, our home." Namir was glad that she seemed happy if a bit nervous. He was nervous as well since he hadn't been back for so long, what had changed since he was gone? That and he knew that it would take at least a little bit for Rana to get situated. Question upon question rolled through his mind but they faded as he heard on the drifting wind the giggles of little cubs. Home, he was really home.
He gave her a quick nuzzle and asked, "What would you like to do first Rana? Find a den? Meet my parents? See the pride's land? Meet others? Right we can do anything you want." Namir personally thought that finding a den would be a good first step but then again he didn't really know where to find a good one although he did vaguely remember some caves in the rocky areas near the lake.
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Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2010 12:54 am
What first, he'd asked. Really, there was a lot for her to do. The biggest one, at least in her mind, would be getting situated. That would take time though, so it currently wasn't too big an issue. In actuality she was most nervous about meeting his parents. Her biggest fear was not fitting in with them, so that was only natural. Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat as she let the thought linger, she took a deep breath and replied. "Mm, I think I should meet your parents first. It might be good if you saw them too, since you've just gotten back.."
Her voice faded as she added on to the reasons why they should go see his family first until she was staring quietly down at the ground, a little embarrassed at how nervous she was getting the more she thought about that inevitable meeting. "Ah, but it might also be good if I got to see the pride's lands too, to familiarize myself with the area so I don't get lost. We could find a den in the process, and um..."
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Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 9:35 pm
Namir watched as she thought and saw the nervousness that showed in her deep breath and he knew that what she was about to say was something she was worrying over. "You know Rana, they will love you. And while I can't wait to see them I know they can wait, its you who is important right now." He nuzzled her and tried to comfort her.
When she suggested seeing the pride's lands first Namir thought that might be a better idea, "Darling I think that would be best and not because you will get lost but so you will be on familiar ground, at least mentally." He felt so bad about Rana's nervousness and wished he knew just what to say to release it. "And your right we can find a den in the process. A place that you can go to and no one will bother you."
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:07 am
Rana felt a bit of the nervousness go away at his touch, and she smiled. "Thank you..." the lioness said, somewhat shyly. She wasn't too used to showing or being shown this sort of affection, but she knew she'd get used to it in time. She nodded when he seemed to make the decision for her, what with her being too nervous to really decide what they would do first, but she was a little relieved that they would be taking in the sights before meeting with his family.
"Alright," she answered, taking a deep breath to calm herself even further. "I think it might help me relax too, so let's do that." Rana looked around again, wondering where they ought to start with their little tour. "Mm, so do you know a good place to start Naim?" she asked him. "It seems like a lot of ground to cover in just one day..."
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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:45 am
Namir smiled, glad that Rana seemed to calm down and lose some of her nervousness. "Hmmm. Well they always say its best to begin at the beginning so lets start here." Namir gestered at the land around them; the stone, dirt, grass, and trees in the distance. "This area is, while still pride lands, is what I like to call the border area. My father told us to stay away from here unless with an adult until we were old enough to take care of our selves because of its proximity to the border, which we just crossed." Namir remember that while he obeyed his father he did often come close to this area as a cub. "After that is where many of the outlying dens, most old and no longer used, and as we get closer to the lake many have there dens there. Then the lake with the rocks and boulders and even a few cliffs on the outlying areas."
Namir hesitated just a moment before asking, "Do you want to try to avoid others for right now? Because we can do that." He was a bit nervous himself but not because he thought that Rana would not fit in but because he was worried that she wouldn't like it there.
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 6:19 am
Rana took another look around as he started his explanation. It was more or less just dirt, grass, rocks and trees. If he hadn't told her that she'd crossed the border into the pride's lands she wouldn't have known it. The female nodded somewhat absentmindedly as she continued to observe the area around them. "I see.." she said after he finished. Glancing over at him, the lioness smiled somewhat. "Something tells me you didn't always listen to you father though," she commented with a bit of a giggle. Somehow she felt a bit calmer.
At his question she shook her head and took a few steps so she was ahead of him. "Mm, I wouldn't really mind meeting anyone as we go around," came her answer. "The only ones I'm worried about meeting are your family and the leaders of the pride..." The thought brought back a bit of the anxiety that had died down just moments ago.
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:15 am
Namir smiled and sheepishly admitted, "For the most part I did but this really is the best place to go hunting rabbits other then the rouge lands that is." Namir remember hunting rabbits quite clearly and he remembered meeting... he killed that thought right there since he was with Rana and they had just returned. He would not think about her until Rana was settled and everything was ok on all points. He knew that Rana was ok with sharing him with other females but he didn't really think that she would be ok with sharing him right off so with a hesitant smile Namir focused back on the surroundings.
Namir quickly joined Rana and began to escort her deeper into the pride's lands. "Hum," he took a quick look at the sun which was nearly overhead, "most are either at the lake or at their dens trying to stay out of the heat, or at least under the trees. There should be a few on patrol too so we might meet some but not positive about that." He looked over at her when he picked up a bit of her anxiety again, "Rana everything will be fine. My folks will love you and the Sultan will too, of this I am certain."
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 2:29 am
Rana laughed at his reply, recalling that she had two younger brothers that shared the same spirit about hunting as he. Her family had been on her mind a lot as of late (or at least since she met Naim and agreed to return to his pride with him), and although the memories were still rather bittersweet she realized that she wasn't as lonely as she had been before whenever she remembered them. That was, of course, most likely because of Naim's company, but nevertheless she found that reminiscing had a calming, rather pleasant effect on her, and she was rather fond of it. "You know," she started, "You should give the same restriction to our cubs, even if hunting rabbits is better out here."
Rana, the observant creature that she was, caught a curious vibe from his smile just moment earlier, though it was only in passing. The look was less than reassuring, but since it was gone almost in an instant she decided that whatever particular worry had been on his mind just then was better saved for another occasion. They'd have plenty of time to discuss it in the future, after all. So she put it out of her mind and focused on the current task at hand.
"So if we're going to be looking for a den then it's likely that we'll run into those cooling off in that particular area, right?" she asked, walking a bit ahead of him again. The female nodded when he tried to reassure her yet again and, rather than lingering on that anxiety and letting it fester until she had a nervous breakdown in front of his family or the sultan, decided it'd be for the best if she simply take his word for it. Thus far he hadn't said or done anything that warranted her doubting him. "Right.." she said slowly, "You're probably right."
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 9:31 pm
"Yes I think we should." Namir agreed with Rana without even really picking up on the 'our cubs part' when he did his steps faltered for a moment. Cubs? Namir knew that he would be a father one day but the thought of cubs right then was quite unexpected, not that he didn't want cubs. Namir didn't think he could rival the amount of cubs some of the Pads had, like his father for instance, but he did want cubs. As his steps smoothed out as his surprise faded Namir couldn't help but grin, "Our cubs will be told that its off limits but I have a feeling they will be curious just as I was."
Namir caught up with Rana until he was walking shoulder to shoulder with her. "That is quite likely since the trees are the more popular areas for the dens." He guided her through the sparse tree cover and pointed out a few dens that the occupants were else where. "My parents den is over that way a bit." He gestured a little ways away from the direction they were headed. "Mom always said that Dad and her settled there because Dad respected her need for solitude since she was use to being alone. Although now that my siblings and I are grown, and the pride has gotten bigger, they aren't as far from the others then they once were." He gave his banu a quick nuzzle glad that he was home and that so far Rana seemed ok, a bit nervous but ok for the most part.
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 4:25 am
She laughed gently at the subtle surprise in his reaction to the words 'our cubs'. It might have been a bit soon to have mentioned something like that, but it was definitely something she was looking forward to. Being a mother and raising a family, in actuality it was all she'd ever need to be content with her life. And a loving mate of course, which she was lucky enough to have already found. "Maybe," she replied with a small nod. "But we should still keep a close eye on them." She paused and thought on something for a second, then cheerfully added, "As well as all of your other cubs, of course."
Saying it out loud seemed to make the reality that she would be sharing Naim with other lionesses even more...real, if that made any sense. It wasn't exactly a comforting thought, but she'd already decided that because it also meant that their family would be even bigger she didn't really mind. Rana smiled and leaned into his nuzzle, happy to have him to herself at least for the time being. She glanced around then, taking note of the surrounding area and committing it to memory.
"Mm.." she mused for a second. "I wouldn't mind having a neighbor or two actually. It might also be better for when your cubs are out and about. More eyes to watch them just in case, as well as other cubs to play with close by." The lioness turned to him and grinned. "Then maybe they won't be too tempted to wander toward the outskirts of the pride."
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Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:22 pm
Namir glanced over at her briefly. "You know they will be your cubs too even if they aren't yours by blood. All of us call my dad's banu by mama, although for some reason I always think of them as Auntie..." Namir trailed off as he thought of when he began to call his other mothers by aunt. He didn't even remember it clearly only that he got confused and started to call the others buy Auntie most of the time. Namir shruged off the memorie and added sheepishly, "but I'm strange so you know don't think anything of that."
"That sounds great for me. And your having neighbors would make it when we have cubs." Namir smiled. "I think one of the areas near the lake would work quite well." He thought of a few areas that would work quite well like the caves in the rocky area by the lake or the few abandoned dens that were by the lake.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 7:07 pm
"Not strange," she said with a shake of her head, musing on the idea of being called "mama" by cubs that weren't hers by blood. "I'd say..." and she paused and thought on it for a second. "...Um...well I don't actually know, but you're not strange." Rana laughed sheepishly, then smiled when he seemed to decide on a possible place for their future den. "Near the lake?" she asked. "That could work..." she went on, once again thinking of the cubs and whether it'd be safe for them or not.
A particular incident came to mind when one of her younger brothers fell into a little pond and their father had to go and get him. Thankfully he was alright, but he developed a bit of a phobia and never ventured too close to deep bodies of water without someone nearby to save him should he fall in again. It was more amusing than serious actually, and so the memory brought a little smile to the lioness's maw.
"As long as it isn't too close then I think that would be a good idea," she said finally, nodding for emphasis. "It'd be terrible if they fell in or something, right?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 11:16 am
Namir smiled and laughed. "Its nice to know that I'm not strange" Rana really made him happy and he couldn't wait until she met his family. He wondered how his mother and father were doing, and Maua and Ban'ma. Farrah said one of them was going to have cubs when he talked to her, he wondered who it was and when he could meet his little siblings. There was so much he missed being out in the rouge lands. He glanced over at Rana, I would not have skipped the quest for the world he thought.
"Hum... you have a point." He thought for a moment. "I think I have a good spot in mind. Not horribly close to the lake because your right, until the cubs could swim we have to make sure nothing bad happens, but its also not terribly far away." Namir remembered the den clearly. It was sort of small but since the back was mainly dirt it could be enlarged, he hoped. The front part was stone so it should be safe and it was relatively close to everyone. Now he could only hope that it wasn't occupied already.
They were getting close to the lake, he could see it in between the few trees. "The one I'm thinking of is over there." He nodded in the direction slightly to the right of where they where going where large rocks were visible in the side of a small tree covered hill. "Although I guess we could just do a den under one of the trees."
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