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 Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 4:18 pm
She missed Nadhir. Bagrat too, of course, but she was somewhat closer to her yellow-eyed brother and she couldn’t help but wonder how he was faring and if his headaches were getting easier to endure. But mostly, she had grown accustomed to his soothing presence, to their little walks together and her own constant worry regarding Nadhir’s health. She truly missed him.
She stood up, ready to make the walk home. Perhaps she could go hunting with her mothers. Or talk to Basira. She was probably feeling Bagrat's absence the most being his identical twin.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 4:51 pm
 Ilyas had grown up in the Ukuucha'Wafalme, and thus had been accustomed as a pesar to being able to go to the lake for water whenever he was thirsty. Out in the rogue lands it was different. He had rarely known whether he was near water or not, and frequently when he found water he stayed near it for as long as he could, rather than risk going without it. A few times he had been without water for more than a day, and that had been an unpleasant learning experience for him. Even so long after his return from his coming of age quest, Ilyas remained absurdly fond of the easy access to water provided by the pride's lake. It was, he felt, a treasure worth guarding.
The pride was full of things like that, though. Treasures worth guarding. He considered his sister one such thing. Farrah had just been passed from his keeping to that of a pad named Naim'Namir. He would have to tell his father that at some point in the near future, or at least his mother. They would want to know. His beybanu Afsar was definitely a treasure worth guarding, to his mind. And his banu Itzel was a treasure in need of guarding. The more time he spent with her, the more it amazed him she had survived to adulthood. Still, she was lovely and likable, if unusual.
A movement caught his attention in his peripheral vision and he turned his head to follow it. It was the motion of a dark brown lioness standing up beneath a tree. He smiled at her.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 5:03 pm
When Mel caught sight of the blue and white Pad, she smiled pleasantly in return and bowed her head respectfully. It would be a lie to say that Mel didn’t know who he was. After all, girls talked and the kind and handsome son of a Vizier did not go unnoticed to a group of gossiping young banus. She didn’t remember his name but she wasn’t about to introduce herself either. She would pause just for a few seconds to see if the male would approach her but, unless he took the initiative, she wouldn’t dare to assume it was alright to take his time. If his smile was the only sign he would give – oh, and did have a nice smile! – Mel would simply stick to her plan and walk home.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 5:09 pm
On a whim and largely because he was a fairly social creature, Ilyas made the decision to be a little bit improper and introduce himself to the lioness. He had not noticed her around the pride before, but he was fairly certain he recognized her coloration and could assume she was one of Nywele's daughters. She was a pretty little thing. He wondered if he knew her pad.
"Good afternoon," Ilyas said politely, deviating from his pat toward the lake so that he could intercept her before she began walking away.
It was, perhaps, a little unfair of him to do that. After all, banu were supposed to be respectful and polite, and that meant that if he decided to start a conversation she had to stay and oblige him, even if she had somewhere else to be. So he did rather hope she didn't have somewhere else to be. Ilyas didn't like to get people in trouble on his account. Particularly not in cases like this, where he was just acting to satisfy a whim.
"I don't believe I know your name."
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 5:52 pm
She smiled a little wider. It was only natural that a young banu waiting for her Pad would enjoy some male attention. Knowing that he was interested in her name was more than enough to stroke her ego.
“Good day, sir. I’m banu Banu Mel’Tamu.” She nodded just a little. “Daughter of Pad Nywelle.”
She wouldn’t outright ask for his name but she certainly that he would give it in return. She felt a familiar lightness in her head as their eyes met but she desperately tried to ignore it.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 5:59 pm
Ilyas continued smiling, blithely unaware of whatever thoughts might be behind Mel'Tamu's smile. Had he known she was thinking of him as she was, he might have been incredibly embarrassed. Not that he would have been able to give a reason for his embarrassment if he was asked. He just didn't really like to think of himself as an object. There was no irony in that for him. It was only natural and acceptable that banus be viewed that way.
"I'm pleased to meet you, Banu Mel'Tamu," Ilyas said.
In the back of his mind he was smirking with smugness. He had been correct in thinking she was one of Nywele's daughters. It was a little thing, but if everyone in the pride was going to go and have cubs, he felt it was an accomplishment to be able to match the correct cub to the correct parent. Not that Mel'Tamu was a cub, exactly, but it amounted to the same thing.
"I'm Ilyas, son of Vizier Faiz."
Since he got back from his coming of age quest he had taken to leaving off the fact that he was also the vizier's firstborn in his litter. No one really cared, he had learned. It had been shocking news to him.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:22 pm
“Ah, yes. One can easily see the similarities to Vizier Faiz. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Pad Ilyas.” Mel, too, had changed her introduction over time. In her youth, she’d often announce herself as the daughter of Pad Nyelle, God of Manes. It had been a very important distinction as far as the little banu was concerned. She wasn’t the daughter of just any Pad… her father was a God. However, now only the younger generations seemed to be truly impressed by this fact as the older Pads were rather accustomed to the presence of a winged lion amongst them and Mel had long decided that whatever merit she received from her ancestry, she would much rather earn it on her own.
“Mmmm…” she winced discreetly and closed her eyes as she was assaulted by a sudden vision. Almost in slow-motion as if her mind was having trouble following the action, she had a very clear image of a beautiful yellow banu resting on the ground, her belly large with what could only be cubs. And Ilyas was there as well, looking exactly as he did now, smiling tenderly at his banu as he pressed his head against the swollen belly, stroking it softly and… well, enough already! She was used to seeing births but she found this vision strangely more intimate!
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:29 pm
"My father's markings are pretty distinctive," Ilyas agreed. "It makes it easy to pick out relatives in crowds."
Ilyas wasn't the most considerate or observant pad in the world, or even in the pride, but because he was looking directly at Mel and talking to her, he couldn't quite help noticing her wince. And he definitely heard her make a soft sound and saw her close her eyes. That wasn't normal behavior, and all he could think was that she was in pain.
"Banu Mel'Tamu?" he asked, looking around to see if there was anyone else there to witness this and possibly render assistance should it become necessary. He hoped it wouldn't. When she didn't respond immediately Ilyas took a step closer and asked further questions, because clearly if she hadn't answered the first, she was likely to answer subsequent ones.
"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" His tone and posture were full of concern for this polite young lady.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:47 pm
“Quite alright, quite alright.” He tried to assure the worried Pad. He was rather nice, wasn’t he? Mel couldn’t help but to feel happy for him. Almost as happy as he’d looked in her vision but she believed that was a level of happiness she couldn’t quite understand just yet. She shook her head once, trying to remember one of the most disturbing visions she’d ever had. That always made the good ones go away. Sadly, the contrary couldn’t be said. Her eyes rose to meet Ilyas'. “I’m so sorry to have worried you, Pad Ilyas. This doesn’t usually happen so quickly. I usually control it a little better.”
She wondered how much the son of a Vizier would know regarding the offspring of Gods. More than most, maybe?
“I’m not sure if you’re aware but as the daughter of a God, I have these… premonitions? Well, it more than that, I suppose, I see things. The past, the present and the future. Here and far away. I believe a banu named Ukoo has a similar ability. We're called Seers.” Though Mel didn’t think the older lioness was related to a God or at least that had never been mentioned in her presence. “Congratulations, by the way. On your cubs.”
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 6:38 am
"Does this sort of thing happen to you often, then?" he asked still standing relatively close to make sure if she suddenly fell or something, he could maybe keep her from hitting her head.
Ilyas wasn't quite as in the dark when it came to people having visions as one might think. Although he didn't think anyone in his immediate family had them, he had heard Afsar talk about the visions her sister Zarha had. Well, about the fact that she had them, not about specific visions themselves. Ilyas put the black and orange spotted banu from his mind. He didn't much care for her or her pad or, for that matter, her cubs. The whole family was entirely too proud and too too much delight in being unpleasant.
Just the same he would not have recognized that Mel was having a vision from what he observed. Until she told him that was what had happened, along with some very interesting information about people who experienced that sort of thing and what they were called, Ilyas had simply assumed she was experiencing some sort of internal pain. And it was still possible she experienced pain when she had her visions. He didn't know. It wasn't something he wanted, he knew for a fact.
But all that paled in comparison to the last words she spoke. Those words dismayed and alarmed him, even after her explanation, because he simply had not had time to adjust to the fact that she might have seen something which was yet to happen. So he was confused.
"My...cubs?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 5:37 pm
“I suppose. It’s usually when I sleep so I used to think they were dreams. I seem to be drawn to strong emotions.” Her smile faltered when the Pad looked confused. Oh dear. He didn’t know or... well, it probably hadn’t happened yet. For an instant, she toyed with the idea of passing it off as a silly mistake on her part brought by the sudden confusion. But it didn't feel right to just pretend she hadn't seen anything when the object of her vision was standing right in front of her.
“I’m so sorry. I… you looked just like you do now so I assumed… you do have a yellow banu, do you… not?” Oh, this was terrible! Hopefully she hadn’t ruined a surprise. “It doesn’t mean anything really. It could be any time in the future. I saw a pregnant yellow banu and you were there with her…” This was a really good time to find an excuse to leave but she could hardly think at the moment. Well, she couldn’t be that wrong, right? He looked like a healthy Pad, surely he was planning on having cubs some day. Now, if he didn’t have a yellow banu yet, that would be awkward… what if he started looking around for yellow banu…? What she’d said something she shouldn’t have? Could she change the future by telling others what she saw?
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 12:59 pm
Ilyas nodded and tried to look like he understood what she was talking about. In truth, he'd only heard a very little about people who saw things that weren't there. Seers. And while he didn't find the knowledge uninteresting, he was maybe a little unsettled by the idea that Mel'Tamu could see glimpses into his life whether he willed it or no. And it was more than a little odd to think that she could see things that hadn't even happened to him yet. He couldn't decide whether he felt his privacy had been invaded or not. He supposed intent was a large part of it, and he doubted that she intentionally saw these things.
"I do have a yellow banu. Afsar. She's my beybanu, actually." Speaking of her his eyes softened and his posture relaxed just a little bit. Even if all he did was think of her, it improved his mood. "But, ah, to my knowledge she isn't pregnant. At least, not visibly so."
But was it possible that Afsar was pregnant anyway? They'd been together. Had that, their first time, really been all it took to put his cubs into her belly. The thought made his chest swell with pride and pleasure. It was all he could do to keep from smiling. Mel seemed very uncomfortable with her revelation, so smiling in belated response probably wouldn't do anything to put her at ease, and he didn't want her to be ill at ease. Not when she'd just given him some very good news - if this business about seers was to be believed.
"You don't need to apologize," he assured her. "If you're right, it's certainly good news, isn't it? You're lucky to be able to be the bearer of good news like that, if you gift enables you to see things like this frequently."
He was still weirded out, but he had been raised to believe that females were to be protected and cherished, and so he was trying to make Mel feel better.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 7:56 pm
Ah, good, at least the Pad did have a yellow banu. She wasn’t that far off.
“Thank you for your kindness, Pad Ilyas.” She said, looking relieved but not nearly half as much as she truly felt. She would’ve been devastated if the Pad had taken offense. “I still feel like I should apologize though. I must learn to control the visions a little better and not just blurt out whatever I see before I understand it completely.”
She smiled warmly, not just because the Pad was just as nice as he looked but also but because she was quite happy with her gift. She’d always accepted it with ease, probably because they never made her sick and provided her with an infinite number of beautiful stories. A small number of her vsisions took place in faraway places, showing her the most amazing things like lands where the ground was white or the trees so tall that they covered the world in shadows. She truly loved her gift.
“Ah, yes, I am quite lucky. To be honest, mostly I just see births.” And less-than-happy things as well but such matters had no place in polite conversation. She laughed a little.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:28 pm
"Well, it was a little strange to be congratulated on cubs I don't yet have," Ilyas admitted, some of his tension breaking as he chuckled. It was still a self-conscious, somewhat forced chuckle, but he was making a sincere effort not to show that the idea of seers kind of unnerved him.
"But I do hope you're right, and that what you saw is something in the near future, rather than the distant future." He didn't say any more on the subject. It didn't seem appropriate to discuss his harem and his efforts to increase the size of his family with this young banu who didn't actually have a pad of her own, from what Ilyas could gather.
"I also hope that your ability continues to show you good moments in time," he said, beginning to bring the conversation to a close. He had actually come here to get something to drink, after all, and had yet to do so. He was feeling distinctly dried out, and this conversation had left him more so, what with its unexpected twists and turns.
"It was very interesting to meet you, Banu Mel'Tamu," Ilyas concluded. "I look forward to telling Afsar what you told me. I think she will be pleased."
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:51 pm
Mel nodded, shifting between looking mildly embarrassed and pleased as Ilyas kept talking. It had been a little uncomfortable at the end – her fault, of course – but she had been pleasantly surprised by the blue Pad. She’d expected him to be something less than the perfect image all the gossiping young banus spoke about but he truly was the kind son of a kind Vizier. Afsar was one lucky banu.
“Thank you Pad Ilyas, I hope the same thing.” She bowed her head again when the male ended the conversation. She had to admit to being somewhat relieved to have been finally dismissed after her little blunder. “It was a pleasure to meet you. I wish the best to you and your family.”
And with those last words, the brown banu started the short walk back to her father’s den.
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