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 Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:57 pm
“A large family? That must be great. My mother had five cubs but beybanu Amani only had three and my two big brothers are in the rogue lands. It must be crowded in your den… and fun.” It sounded amazing actually. With Asali often being tired, Uggi somewhat shy, her father busy and some of her siblings having… odd moments, the little cub was looking forward to anything that could liven things up at home. Like her big brothers’ successful return or… “I suppose banu Uggi will have cubs eventually but she’s still a little too young for that.”
One of her eyes twitched as Mirsajadi accepted her apology. She was expecting a simple “don’t worry about it” but he did say it right after and the cub was immediately disarmed by the charming grin. Mel was amazed at how quickly he could stir contradictory feelings in her.
“I guess we all want to please our fathers. It must be hard being a boy, it’s not easy living up to your father’s image. Especially when your father is the Sultan’s advisor or grows wings and flies.” At this she actually giggled. Oh yes, it probably wouldn’t be easy to outdo Vizier Tariq or Pad Nywele. Their children, if intending to surpass their fathers’ greatness, certainly had a difficult road ahead of them. “Though I suppose not everyone is competitive like that. I think I would be, if I’d been born a boy. I don’t like to lose. I guess I'll be following sister Vashti's example and train to perfection.”
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Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 7:42 pm
Great wasn't the word Mirsajadi would have used to describe having a large family. Annoying or frustrating might have been more apt. Or competitive. But to admit that would be akin to admitting that things weren't perfect in his father's den, and that was hardly the case. The only problem was that Tariq'ra'd had entirely too many children who were all desperate to win his approval. The competition could get pretty fierce between siblings and half-siblings.
"It feels a little crowded sometimes," he admitted, deciding that was something safe to say. "A lot of the time when I go out walking, it's because it feels like there are too many people around. Not because the den's too small or anything. I just like to have a lot of personal space and quiet."
Mirsajadi would have agreed that it was hard being a boy, but that would have made it sound like he was whining, or like he actually found it difficult. In the case of the former, he simply refused to do that, and in the latter case he would never admit it even if it was true. But it really was hard to even imagine living up to Tariq'ra'd. The striped black lion was such an impressive, important figure. Mirsajadi felt completely justified in idolizing him, and utterly relieved that he did not grow wings and fly.
"The wings would definitely make it difficult," Mirsajadi noted with a chuckle. "But as long as you don't mean to try to grow a pair for yourself, I think you'll probably have no trouble doing as your sister is. Just between the two of us, I think you might even be better than her, if you work at it."
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 5:22 pm
“I suppose too much of a good thing is no good at all, is it...?” Mel agreed with a soft smile finding it somewhat amusing that Mirsajadi had made a point to mention that being crowded had nothing to do with the size of his (father’s) den. She was particularly happy to know that he’d taken the time to talk to her despite being so open on his enjoyment of personal space and silence. It made her feel important and appreciated even if she couldn’t help but to wonder if maybe that small comment was the pesar’s way of ending the conversation. No… he was a boy and if a boy was tired of talking, he’d remove himself at once.
The cub looked at her tear-shaped markings willing them to transform into full-fledged wings and was once again disappointed in that regard. Others would probably find it ridiculous but Mel still hoped that maybe - just maybe - one day she truly would grow wings like her father. Despite the forced resignation that such ideas always brought the cub was rather pleased that she’d made the pesar chuckle, taking it as proof that she was being pleasant company.
“I’ll have to work reaaally hard.” Honestly, Vashti was someone hard for Mel to compete with. Like Mel, her coat had different shades of brown, bore their father’s markings and she had pretty eyes. In addition to all those similarities, her older sister was the daughter of the beybanu and, as such, the Sultan’s niece. She was Nywele’s first daughter and – as if that wasn’t enough – she’d been honing her skills for a very long time now. To say that Mel could surpass her older sister so casually made the cub wonder if Mirsajadi was being sincere or if he’d had a disappointing meeting with Vashti. And both options made her somewhat defensive. This time, however, she knew better than to let it show and make the same mistake again – she would not let the conversation turn uncomfortable. Her tone remained light even if her smile faltered for an instant. “Vashti is growing into an amazing banu.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 12:41 pm
"Who said she wasn't?" Mirsajadi asked. "I'm just saying it's entirely possible to surpass older siblings and half-siblings."
It had to be. It just had to be. Otherwise Mirsajadi stood no chance of being better in his father's eyes than any of his myriad halfblood or fullblood siblings. In truth, his littermates didn't much concern Mirsajadi. They weren't bad sorts, but he'd yet to notice any of them doing anything to distinguish themselves. He was far more concerned with his older half-siblings.
Particularly Anwar. He was far too clever, and he just had a way of making it seem like he knew so much more than everyone else. It was hard to tell what he did and didn't know. Mirsajadi continued to worry that Anwar actually knew about his fits and was just waiting to reveal the information at a moment which should have been triumphant for Mirsajadi. He'd ruin everything and destroy Mirsajadi's reputation all at once. Anwar was Mirsajadi's greatest competitor, and in truth, the tabby striped cub wouldn't be overly sorry if he never came back from his quest.
Just thinking about Anwar was enough to put Mirsajadi in a sour mood, and he had been in a good mood before. It would be better if he found something else to think about. Something other than families, his or anyone else's. He cast about mentally for something new to discuss and eventually recalled that he'd first seen Mel'Tamu perched on some rocks. Perhaps he could ask her about that.
"If I may ask you a somewhat personal question, what were you doing before I came along and interrupted you?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 11:06 pm
Surpassing your older siblings? For an instance, Mel’Tamu saw what she believed to be a very strong determination crossing the Pesar’s eyes. So perhaps what he’d said before wasn’t driven by carelessness but by a strong sense of ambition. Yes, Mel could respect that and consequently her respect for this young Pesar was slowly growing. She spoke gravely this time to show she meant every word that came from her mouth.
"I believe you will. Perhaps one day you might even surpass your father."
As for Mirsajadi’s question, that was a trickier matter. Being too honest would probably land her the brand of foolish and immature but, against her better judgment, the young banu still intended on being as honest as possible with the Pesar and after a brief hesitation Mel ended up admitting her previous thoughts.
“Well, Pesar… At the risk of sounding silly, I was wondering how it would feel to fly. Being out on my own for the first time made me feel so… free. Like a bird. Like my father. When everyone tells you can’t do something and that something seems so impossible to achieve, doesn’t it just… egg you on?” the young banu’s eyes shone as she spoke of flight. Even now, she still carried a tiny hope that her tear-shaped markings – blessed by the inscriptions that also graced a God – would one day allow her to take to the skies. But she knew better than to show the full extent of her deepest desire, fearing all kinds of discouragement and reproach that would surely be shown to her if the banu were to speak her mind. “Of course I know I’ll never be able to fly.” …but it’s a cub’s right to dream, is it not?
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Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2010 6:17 am
Mirsajadi snorted softly at the suggestion that he might surpass his father one day. It didn't seem possible. Maybe his father wasn't a god in fact, but he was most definitely a god in his son's eyes, and it was very hard to believe that anyone could in any way be his equal, let alone his better. When it came down to it, Mirsajadi firmly believed that his father, if he felt so inclined, could easily take the pride from Sultan Aali and rule in his stead.
"I can but try," Mirsajadi said. "My father is a very great lion." What matter if his father was also more than a little scary sometimes? It wasn't as though Mirsajadi didn't deserve whatever his father said or did, and sometimes he even considered misbehaving just so that his father would take note of him, but he wasn't that desperate.
On the other paw, at least he wasn't trying to imagine what it was like to fly. He'd made some pretty amazing leaps in his young life, one of them from an elevated point which had made it feel like he was flying until he landed, but he had never tried to guess what it might actually feel like to fly. The only things that flew had wings, and he didn't, which meant he was clearly not meant to fly. He would have pointed this out to Mel'Tamu, but she did seem aware of that. He decided instead to think of it as if she was playing pretend. That was something he could understand much more easily.
"That's different," he said. "It's a good thing you didn't try jumping. I promise you it hurts when you land."
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Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2010 11:05 pm
Fueled by the respect and admiration that Mirsajadi showed, Mel was growing rather curious of the kind of pad Vizier Tariq was. Perhaps she could learn more about him from her father. Nywele was bound to know a few things concerning the Vizier.
“You speak almost as if you’ve tried it before.” She said with a small giggle picturing the ridiculous though. The pesar had no wings that she could see and his pretty stripes hardly compared to her magic-like markings. It really made no sense that he would even dream of attempting such a feat. She felt secretly annoyed when someone pointed out the obvious to her and the cub stubbornly refused to fully accept that she wouldn’t be able to fly on her own. Just because she hadn’t dreamed about it yet didn’t mean it wasn’t going to happen. Maybe she should try it one of these days… perhaps it wasn’t something that she could accomplish just by doing nothing. Maybe she could try jumping of the rock when no one was looking. Mmm. “Thank you for your concern, Pesar Mirsajadi.” She couldn’t say that she wouldn’t try it eventually but it was best to keep that to herself.
The young banu was starting to wonder if perhaps she wasn’t extending her first little “expedition” for a bit longer than she should. The breeze was starting to feel cold and less pleasant against her thin coat and there was no denying that she was growing tired. She stifled a yawn with some difficulty, fearing the pesar might think the cub had grown bored of the conversation. But Mel was still a young cub and tiring easily was not exactly something she could avoid so it wasn’t long until she felt the need to suppress another stubborn yawn. It would be immensely rude to just walk away so the little banu struggled to keep her watery eyes on the Pesar. She would not move until she was dismissed! It would’ve been far easier to simple admit that she was tired but Mel was so concerned about following the rules that the thought never so much as crossed her mind.
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 9:09 am
"Not quite," Mirsajadi said dryly. He was reluctant to admit that he had tried anything similarly childish. His reasons, at least, had been different. He wasn't so foolish as to hope for wings. It was very obvious that he would never grow those, and he had no reason to expect to. Neither of his parents were gods, that he knew of, and he was pretty sure he would have known if they were.
"You don't have to thank me. Anyone would be concerned at the thought of a little banu like you getting hurt. Distressed, even." One of the wonderful things about growing older for Mirsajadi was that it meant an expansion in his lexicon, and so he could describe things with better adjectives than 'nice.' He'd been quite fond of that word for a while there.
He was observant, and so he noticed the younger banu try with limited success to stifle a yawn. It wasn't proper, but she was young and so he thought he might let it slide this time. Besides, she was evidently tired by the morning's events already. He should dismiss her and give her leave to return to her den for a nap. That would be the compassionate thing to do. Instantly his mind rebelled against the term compassionate, and so he substituted 'responsible' instead and it was much easier to accept.
"Well, I should be going. Do pass along my regards to Banu Vashti." He might as well be polite to the family, if Nywele really was a god. He still wasn't sure he believed that.
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 5:17 pm
Mel nodded gratefully for both the pesar’s concern and quickness to grasp her tiredness were somewhat touching. She was sad that the meeting had come to an end for it had showed her there was much for her to learn, many families to understand and many different pesars to meet. She’d learned that it was not always easy to say the right words – especially when things she’d believed to know all her life were openly contradicted – but overall it had been a pleasant experience and Mel was rather happy to have met the young pesar, the son of the Vizier.
“I will. I’m sure my sister will be pleased.” She bowed her head as gracefully as she could before she finally turned to leave. “And I will tell my father you came by.”
She felt even more tired now that they’d exchanged farewells but she felt a growing excitement of sorts. For soon she would lay down in her den and weariness would be momentarily forgotten as she eagerly described the meeting to anyone who would listen.
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