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 Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:43 am
 Mel was returning to the den after an afternoon out. She was helping Uggi carry an antelope, the product of a successful hunting lesson and looked mighty proud of herself – even though, in all honesty, she hadn’t done that much in order to catch it. She’d just spooked it in the right direction and then kept it down after Uggi had already taken the beast down. Well, at least she was doing a good job dragging it back as the carcass was a lot heavier than it looked.
Home, at last. The adolescent dropped the carcass and plopped down, panting, her eyes searching for her father. A small bird with bright wings dropped from the sky and landed on the young girl’s head, gently pecking at one of her ears, causing it to twitch a couple of times.
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 12:16 pm
 "Mel, are you back?" Amani called, coming out of the den. "Oh, what a wonderful catch! You're becoming quite the huntress," she complimented her step daughter. "Just wait until your father sees what you've accomplished!" She paused, "Of course, we won't mention that you had help unless he asks," she added with a wink.
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 1:35 pm
Mel smiled somewhat abashedly at what she perceived to be an undeserved compliment.
“Ah, well… Uggi did most of the work. But I think I’m almost ready to do it on my own.” She spoke between heavy breaths with a wide smile. She was actually very eager to catch a big prey beast for the first time but her father had three very capable huntresses and hunting in groups was a much more effective method. Still, she’d love to come back one day with a gazelle in toe, one that she’d caught all by herself, as a gift for her father. “Is dad here?”
She laughed at momma Amani’s last words and stood up to join her father’s beybanu at the entrance of the den where she sat down. One loud, deep breath seemed to ease the strain on her lungs and Mel’s light green eyes eyed her surroundings with languid movements. The little bird flew to a nearby tree, not yet comfortable around all the lions that surrounded Mel on a daily basis.
“The pride is growing nicely. There are cubs everywhere.”
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 1:54 pm
"And hopefully there will be more," Amani said, her happiness clearly belonging to more than just her usual good temper. "Mel, honey, do you even remember your oldest brother, Behnam? He was gone for quite a while on his voyage, but he's back now!"
Her tail twitched and she seemed positively close to bouncing, which was a bit odd in the very classy female. "Oh, his new banu is lovely," she said. "They'll make adorable cubs some day!"
She paused, flushing, "Oh, forgive me, your father is out again, but I'm sure he'll be back soon."
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 2:11 pm
“Behnam? He is?” Mel asked, quickly turning her head to Amani, her father momentarily forgotten. “I… huh… I don’t really remember them that well. Behnam was… is grey with gold markings. And Sarfraz is brown… with purple ones? I remember I loved their bright markings but I don’t remember playing with them that much.” Probably because she had always been a complete daddy’s girl and her brothers had left when she was quite young.
“Oh, do you think he’s planning on taking more banu? Or having cubs soon? I’d love to babysit them! An aunt! I’ll be an aunt!” he spoke excitedly, already picturing herself surrounded by beautiful cubs with bright markings.
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 2:19 pm
"Exactly!" Amani said happily. "Oh, I'm going to be a grandmother!" she said, then stopped. "You don't think I look like I'm a grandmother yet, do you?" she asked, frowning and looking for something shiny to see herself in. Since this was Nywele's den, it wasn't hard to find. She loved her Pad dearly, but the god was a bit... well, he liked his mirrors, she would give him that.
"Oh, what does it matter?" she said finally, looking away from her reflection. "You will make a wonderful aunt, of course! But you could give me more grandchildren," she added teasingly.
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 2:48 pm
“Of course, you don’t, momma Amani. Your coat still shines brightly like any lioness in her prime.” She giggled, standing up as if unable to contain her excitement. “Oh, what does she look like? Is she pretty? What color? Do you think it would be alright to visit once they’re settled in?”
“Thinking about it makes me a little nervous now.” Mel sat back down when the conversation turned to herself. Her brothers were off on their own quests and soon, she expected her father to be approached by males that had spoken to her or simply seen her in passing. And, unfortunately, Mel’s gift often gave her a little too much insight into what went on in complete strangers' harems. “I hope I find a proper Pad like dad. Someone… kind, gentle. Sometimes I See things that I wish I hadn’t… and some banus look so sad.”
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 3:01 pm
"Oh, baby," Amani said gently, rubbing against her step daughter to comfort her. "We won't let you go to such a male, I promise. And if he does mistreat you, whether by accident or design, I will go straight to my half brother and have things straightened out. No one hurts one of my babies," she said, her purple eyes almost glowing dangerously.
It was odd to see such a sweet female look that dangerous, but there was more than one reason she was beybanu of the harem.
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 3:29 pm
Mel gladly took the cuddling, rubbing her neck gently against Amani’s. She noticed the dangerous gleam in the beybanu’s eyes and while she recognized that it felt out of place on the usually gentle lioness, she was very grateful for it. It eased her worries almost instantly knowing that no one – not her father or her mothers – would allow anyone to ever hurt her. She had always seen herself as a very desirable banu – daughter of a God, beautiful and polite - but she had slowly come to realize that having good qualities didn’t necessarily guarantee a good Pad. Still, with all her family members looking out for her, it was hard to believe she wouldn’t get the perfect Pad. After all, who’d want to anger a God or the Sultan’s half sister?
“I know, momma.” She said softly. “Just silly worries. Dad hasn’t been approached yet, has he? For any of us…?”
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 3:36 pm
"Not yet, precious, but I'm sure he will be... once they get their courage up," she said a bit dryly. "If anything, you can stay with us until you find a pad you absolutely love. One you have good dreams about," Amani promised. "Or perhaps you can help your brother out with his cubs if he doesn't have enough Banu before they're born! Cubs are quite the handful."
She was in no big hurry to give away one of her girls, regardless of the fact that she wasn't truly Mel's mother. If it were up to her, she'd keep them forever! But then she wouldn't have grandchildren to spoil, so maybe not... She frowned at this dilemma, wondering which was better.
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 3:49 pm
“I bet dad will greet any males looking all big with his wings in sight.” Mel remarked with a hint of mischief, picturing a group of mean and arrogant Pads fleeing from her father’s might.
“I guess a big of practice wouldn’t hurt… though I’d love to see you having cubs again. You and daddy have such pretty markings. Or momma Uggi!” She wasn’t sure how she felt about joining her brother’s harem until a suitable Pad came along. She truly hoped someone would come to claim her while she was still with her family… not just yet… but soon. Maybe. “Did you love daddy right from the start? When you met him? Could tell he was... the one?”
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 3:56 pm
"I never told you my story, did I?" Amani asked, smiling slightly. "Let's make ourselves comfortable, this might take a little bit," she said, leading to a comfortable spot in the grass, where the sunlight caught on her purple markings.
"As the daughter of the Sultan, I was a very precious banu to have," she started out slowly. "This was before our current sultan took the position," she added. "I was given to one of my father's most favorite viziers as beybanu. He was a... a wonderful lion," she said with a fond smile. "He took me in more as a daughter than as a mate. I went from one father to the next, pretty much."
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 4:21 pm
Mel plopped down and leaned against the beybanu, bright green eyes glimmering as she looked up to meet Amani’s gaze, a dreamy expression suddenly taking over. She loved a good story, especially one with a happy ending.
“Oooh? Was that before dad joined the pride?” she asked quietly, trying not to disrupt the story too much. The young girl tried to picture the characters in her mind – a kind Vizier, the Sultan and Amani – as she tried to guess what would happen next. She also couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if she was in Amani’s place… would she be happy to be given to an older Pad? She’d never really thought about it before.
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 4:43 pm
"It was," Amani said. "I was about your age at the time, actually," she said. "He spoiled me, though. He was a very kind, very gentle lion," she said. "He loved to travel, too. I think... I think he realized that he was going to pass. I didn't understand at the time, though. He took me with him, a long, beautiful voyage through the rogue lands. And far, far away from our pride... he passed away."
A bittersweet smile pulled at her lips. "I still miss him," she admitted to the young banu. "And coming home to find that my father had died as well, well... It was a very hard time for me."
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 4:52 pm
Mel smiled as the beybanu described the Vizier with unmistakable fondness, unable to suppress a gentle smile of her own. Her ears hang low as Amani described their end of the last voyage together.
“He died?” she asked even more quietly, suddenly filled with an overwhelming sadness. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain of losing a Pad… especially one that a girl might’ve waited so long to find. The Vizier had been older but still. It was a crushing thought. “Did you come back alone?”
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