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 Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 9:10 am
 Naim'Namir was worried and for a good reason. After being home for over a month, introducing his banu Rana to his family, and seeing Farrah, Namir has finally come to a time when he has to do what every Pad in the pridelands will eventually do. He had to ask Ilyas for Farrah's paw.
Namir was worried because he went about it backwards. When he and Farrah met just days ago Namir couldn't help but blurt out his feelings and to ask her if she would be his. She said yes but he knew that by pride laws it wasn't her decision to make it was in theory Ilyas'. That was why he left his den early in the morning and headed in the direction of the other Pad's den. Namir had no clue what he was going to say when he met up with Ilyas.
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 1:04 pm
 Ilyas yawned and stretched, taking his time as he woke up that early morning. The night before had been tiring, more so than he had expected, but definitely an experience he wanted to repeat in the future. Many times. He hoped Afsar had enjoyed it as much, and wondered if maybe he shouldn't have done as many about-to-be pads did and picked up some techniques with lionesses they didn't intend to bring home.
Either way, he was in a good mood that morning, and it showed as he finished stretching and strode confidently from his den to greet the morning sun. It wasn't a hugely rainy place, his pride, but on his travels he'd managed to get rained on quite a lot and he hadn't enjoyed it in the least. It had given him a new-found appreciation for the comparatively delightful weather of his home. So, blinking, he stepped into the sunlight and looked around, thinking vaguely of how he would spend his day.
His banu would probably be going out to hunt soon. He wouldn't be joining them, for although he knew how to hunt it was not his job to do so and he had little interest in hunting. It took some of the joy out of eating, he felt. He liked to have others hunt for him and know that their effort had been for the sole purpose of pleasing and sustaining him. It added a pleasant taste to his meal, or so he imagined.
Undecided, he sat back on his haunches and then wondered if he might surprise his banu as they left to go hunting. To this end he looked around for something to hide behind or in.
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 8:28 pm
Namir spotted Ilyas outside his den a short distance away. When the other pad started to he thought maybe he had said something or made some noise but Ilyas never really looked in his direction only at the area around him. Not sure what was going on Namir remained quite as he approached. Once he was still a respectful distance away he cleared his throat. "Pad Ilyas?"
Namir wasn't sure of the protocol he should observe. Yes they were both pads but Ilyas was Farrah's brother and current pad, shouldn't he be a bit more polite?
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 9:39 pm
Ilyas jumped when someone addressed him and looked around guiltily until he figured out who had spoken. That the voice hadn't belonged to any of his banu was a relief, sort of, but that fact meant someone else had come across him in the midst of a truly childish act. Not that they necessarily knew that was what he was doing. Maybe he'd be lucky and they would be under the impression he was looking for something.
"Ah, hello. Yes. Good morning," he said, sitting down abruptly to groom his tail and restore some of his calm.
He looked at the dark-coated lion with some confusion. He didn't think he recognized him, though they looked to be about the same age. Was this someone he was supposed to know? Ilyas sincerely hoped not, because for the life of him he could not have told what the other pad's name was. Which was a little embarrassing for the son of the Sultan's adviser. He had always felt something of an obligation to recognize everyone in the pride. Failing in that was a little embarrassing.
"Is there something I can do for you, Pad...?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 12:24 pm
Namir smiled slightly. He had no clue what Ilyas was looking for but he covered up his surprise quite well, something that Namir probably couldn't do. "Good morning," he said as he took a few more steps closer and sat down facing Ilyas. "I'm Namir. Niam'Namir, Achal's son. I was wondering if I could talk to you."
Even with being a full adult in the eyes of the pride Namir felt a bit like a cub who had got caught doing something bad. He smiled nervously, "I really don't know how to go about to go with this."
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Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 1:08 pm
Ilyas blinked and stopped grooming himself. It seemed they were both less than at ease with this conversation. Clearly the other pad, Naim'Namir, was uncomfortable about whatever it was he wanted to talk to Ilyas about, and that, in turn made Ilyas more uncomfortable. But if one of them didn't do something about it, it was going to go nowhere, and Ilyas was too well brought up to allow something like that to happen.
"Namir," he said, smiling warmly and gesturing to indicate that perhaps his guest would like to join him in sitting down. It would definitely make Ilyas feel less awkward if they were both doing the same thing, be it sitting or walking or whatever. Standing around uncomfortably couldn't possibly do much to make for productive meetings. Unless the goal of the meeting was to get people to just agree and leave as quickly as possible.
"Of course we can talk. I assume it's something serious? I hope you aren't in any sort of trouble, but if you are and there's any way I can help, you need only to ask." Ilyas was pretty sure that he would be able to help if it came to that, no matter what the problem was. There were definitely some perquisites to being his father's son.
"Oh, and may I congratulate you on your banu? I've heard she's quite the lioness." He'd heard nothing of the sort, but it was a small politeness to remark on the other pad's good taste.
Perhaps exchanging pleasantries for a while would help Namir to relax a bit. Personally, after the initial surprise of being caught in the planning stages of a juvenile prank, Ilyas had recovered and was feeling quite himself.
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 12:58 pm
Namir knew that he really started this conversation off on a pad paw but he could respect Ilyas because the other lion didn't let it faze him. Ilyas waved him to a seat and did his best to make things more comfortable for them both even if a small part of Namir suspected that Farrah never told her brother about him. Oddly that made Namir much more at ease.
Once he was seated Namir smiled and shook his head, "I'm not in trouble but thank you. It is just something that I feel deserves the respect for the serious nature it is." To him there was very little more important then getting this right.
"Rana? Yes she is and I am glad that I found her." Namir's face seemed to soften as he thought of his banu, and with a slight laugh he realized that Ilyas made a perfect segway into what he wanted to ask. "In fact Rana and my family is in part why I came to talk to you. I was told that Farrah is your banu." And like the thought of Rana, the thought of Farrah made Namir smile.
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 7:29 am
Ilyas smiled and relaxed a little bit more upon learning that Namir wasn't in any sort of trouble. He liked to think that if there was anything as exciting going on in the pride as a pad getting into trouble, he would know about it. Not that it would have thrilled him for that sort of excitement to occur at all, but if it did, he would have been surprised not to know about it. He wasn't stupid, after all. But the point was moot, so he dismissed it.
"All right," he said, a hint of unease returning. Something serious, but not the sort of thing which meant trouble for Namir. That didn't actually give Ilyas as much to go by as he would have liked. He tried to wait patiently for Namir to say more, and not urge him to be faster in revealing his purpose. Thankfully, good manners won over curiosity.
Remembering the name of Namir's banu had brought to mind more incidental memories of Namir that Ilyas hadn't even realized he had. He definitely remembered seeing the blue-coated lion around in the past, which was no surprise since they'd both grown up in the pride, but his more recent memories also seemed to have something in common. He just couldn't quite put his paw on what it was.
"Farrah, yes she is," he said hesitantly, still working to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It wasn't until he saw Namir's expression soften with fondness that everything clicked and Ilyas realized that the thing all his more recent memories of the other pad had in common was Farrah's presence in them.
This was a surprise, and it took him several seconds to process it before he could say anything more on the subject. A small part of him was outraged that he hadn't known this was coming, and another small part of him wanted to tell Namir to go away and leave his sister alone. But that wasn't how things worked, and he was conscious that Namir was paying his sister a compliment with his interest. If Farrah didn't object, he knew he oughtn't to object either.
"I hope she hasn't done anything untoward," he said.
Whether Namir seemed like a good pad or not, he wasn't going to just offer his sister to him. He would have to ask, and even then Ilyas would be reluctant to give an answer without consulting Farrah. She was his favorite sister, and he didn't want to give her to someone who wouldn't make her happy or treat her well.
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 8:38 am
Namir was glad that his mother was right. Farrah never actually told him that she joined her brother in his den. Having this conversation with Vizier Faiz would have been an even more awkward conversation.
By Ilyas' surprise Namir figured that the other pad knew what he was going to ask and it also put to rest any last worry that Farrah had already informed her brother of his impromptu proposal. Although it seemed that Ilyas would it make this any easier for him. "She hasn't done anything wrong," except push me in the lake for worrying her, he added silently and with a smile.
"You aren't going to make this easy for me are you?" With a soft laugh and a deep breath Namir answered his own question, "Of course not. I wouldn't either in your paws, I'm glad my father has to deal with this and not me. Very well then." Again he paused for a breath, "I would like to formally request Farrah to join my family, my den, and my heart as my beybanu." Like many Pads in the pride Namir knew that Ilyas would likely consult with Farrah before agreeing to his request but there Namir wasn't worried. Unless of course Farrah decided to change her mind, which was something that Namir had never considered and now could not get out of his mind.
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 8:21 pm
Ilyas had reached the decision very quickly that he liked Namir. The lion seemed like the sort he would happily call friend, and wouldn't mind calling brother. He still wasn't sure he was good enough for Farrah, but was anyone really good enough for his sister? He thought not. And yet he really did have to give her to somebody. Why not bestow her on a pad who seemed to genuinely care for her? It would be better than using her as a bargaining chip in an attempt to achieve a slight increase in his own power and authority. Not to mention Farrah would hate that.
He suppressed a grin at Namir's first query. Was he going to make it easy on him? Of course not. Why should he? It wasn't as if it was easy for Ilyas to agree to lose his sister to a pad he knew very little about. Just generally liking him counted for something, but this was Farrah they were talking about. His littermate and longtime companion. He was surprised at the severity of his reluctance to pass her into another pad's keeping.
"You know I can't agree right away to your request," Ilyas said. "Farrah deserves to be consulted, and if she is not interested or if I learn something in the time it takes her to make her decision which makes me question your suitability, I won't agree. However, you have my permission to ask her if she's interested, and I will let her answer stand for mine."
It seemed very likely he was going to lose a sister, and the prospect didn't please him overmuch, but he knew he really ought to consider Farrah's happiness, too. At least, that's what he was trying to do here. It took a great deal of effort not to add the stipulation that he wanted to continue to be a part of his sister's life. Once she left his harem, he had no further claims on her time. He would just have to hope that she chose to keep in touch.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 8:18 am
Namir knew that Ilyas was right and he respected him for saying that he needed to ask Farrah. The blue pad had no real illusions of his pride, he knew that while most love and cherish their banu not everyone has such noble hearts. Luckily for all Namir hasn't dealt with anyone of that thought process.
Namir liked Ilyas, and not just because he was Farrah's brother. He had the thought that they could be friends if given a chance so with a slight grimace he told the pad who could get them both in trouble, "You have every right to ask and say as you do but I also feel it is part of my duty to tell you that in a moment of weakness I have already asked Farrah." He rushed on trying to explain but also putting a good spin on the story so she wont get in trouble. "Farrah took exception to me not informing her of my safe return and during our discussion I asked her, with your permission, if she would be willing. She agreed but also knew that I would ask you before anything more occurred." Namir looked at Ilyas trying to read his expression and reaction to his slightly backwards way of going about things.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 8:41 am
Ilyas nodded and kept nodding. He was trying not to hear this. He fully intended to forget it as soon as Namir took his leave. He didn't want to think of Farrah as not telling him about something like this. She was his favorite sister and one of his best friends. This was the sort of thing best friends shared with each other. It was definitely the sort of thing a banu shared with her pad, and while Ilyas and Farrah were friends and siblings, they were also pad and banu. She should have told him.
"I see. Thank you for telling me."
He wanted to like Namir, but right now he was no longer in the mood to like him. He felt like he had been gone-around and deliberately kept in the dark for longer than he should have been. The best solution for stopping himself from reversing the decision he'd come to about Namir having permission was to end this conversation quickly and work on forgetting how he'd been left out of the process.
"If you'll excuse me, I'm meant to be visiting my father this morning," he lied, reasoning that it was a lesser evil. "I would not like to be late."
With that almost-curt dismissal, Ilyas set off toward Faiz's den. His mother probably wouldn't mind a surprise visit. Likely his father wouldn't even be there.
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