Parvana:
Parvana walked slowly away from her family's den. She knew she shouldn't wander off on her own, would normally have a shadow in the form of one brother or another. At least, that was the theory. The problem was, if Parvana had been black like her older sister, she would have been more aptly named "Little Shadow". She was as quiet as one and almost equally as unnoticed. When you're one in nine with only one father and five brothers to watch out for you, it's easy to slip away unnoticed.
The spotted cub was large for a female, though that wasn't surprising. Her father was of one of the oldest lines in the pride and her mother was no desert mouse, either. She would no doubt out-grow her older half-sisters when she reached adulthood. Which was strange, because she was the most timid thing in all of the Ukuucha, perhaps only second to her other-mama.
She stopped in the sparse shade, having a perfect view of the great lake in the distance. She wanted to go swimming, but Papa had said she and her siblings were not old enough yet to go swimming. So, instead, she simply sat and watched as the sunlight played on the water's surface, reminding her of the marks that swirled over most of her half-siblings
Obadias:
Obadias was in a daze as he walked, having gotten little sleep the night before. He'd had those flashes again, and although his mother had stayed up with him, hoping to soothe him back to sleep, he had barely managed an hour of rest. His mother had fallen asleep when the moon hit the center of the sky but Obadias hadn't bothered to wake her again. Instead, he curled up next to her and simply watched the darkness outside of the den. It was boring but even in the numbness of his mind, he hadn't allowed himself to sleep.
He moved easily towards the great lake, trying to get away from his family. His mother sisters and the cubs were overcrowding the den and the noise from them was too much for the quiet cub. He had thought he would spend time with his father but Tariq was with the Sultan and Obadias had been too terrified of the larger lion to approach them and ask. Instead, he had turned and left before they'd seen him. Sighing, Obadias continued towards the lake, pausing when he spotted another cub watching the water of the lake. Hesitating, he continued on, hoping he wouldn't disturb the young female cub.
Parvana:
Parvana's ears, keen even for a cub, pricked and she turned around quickly, eyes wide in fright. Oh no! Females weren't supposed to wander about on their own, especially not young ones. What if she got in trouble? Or worse, what if this young Pesar was mean? In truth her mind didn't go to the second thought, too caught up on the idea of being in trouble as she was.
Plus, she didn't have the notion of males being cruel to their females. Her papa wasn't and neither were her older half-brothers, that she had noticed. Sure, one of them was always teasing his banu about wanting to trade his sisters for pretty non-related females, but he would never hurt the younger lioness. In her family, the males were kind to their banu, loving and gentle. Only stern when they needed to be.
But besides all that, the young cub opened her mouth once to say something or even apologize, but all she managed was a soft squeak.
Obadias:
Obadias knew the second that the young female had spotted him and hid a wince, wondering if she was going to freak out. Some females were picky about who was allowed near them, and Obadias suppose it was a fair thing to freak out about, since only Pads were meant to touch or be too close to Banus. Obadias had been told time and time again not to approach unescorted Banus, else he'd find himself in trouble, but he wanted to go to the lake and he had to approach her else he'd have to take the long way.
He continued towards her, keeping his eyes on the ground in hope she wouldn't complain as he passed but when he heard a soft squeek, he lifted his head and blinked at her in confusion.
“Did you say something?” He asked, not understanding why she had squeeked or if she had been the one to squeek at all.
Parvana:
Parvana shrunk back a bit, uncertain of whether or not she should run off or bow or... Well it could have been worse. At least he was a cub, like her and not an older pad. Then she'd REALLY be in trouble.
"N-no, I didn't say anything," she finally managed to get out. And by get out, one means the sound of the barest whisper. She wasn't the type to really speak up unless she needed to be heard. Her whispers were easily drowned out by the sounds of her siblings and even the lazy breeze that wafted over the lake was louder than she had been.
Obadias:
Obadias looked even more confused when she spoke again, her soft voice was barely loud enough for him to hear and that was only because he was really trying to. If anyone had spoken, or if something had fallen then he would never had heard her.
“Are you okay?” He asked, unable to help himself. She seemed so quiet and stiff, like she was scared of something. Glancing back over his shoulder, he squinted to see if he could spot whatever it was that had spooked her, but he couldn't see anything. It didn't even cross the young cubs mind that it might have been him that had scared the female.
Parvana:
Parvana started to nod, then changed her mind and slowly shook her head. It dipped down again and she drew up what little courage she had before looking back up at the young male, blue eyes meeting red.
"Please don't tell on me. I know 'm not s'pposed to be out alone, but I didn't wanna make anyone come with me," she whispered again, her fear at getting into trouble evident in her voice and eyes. As he was oblivious to her being afraid of him, she was oblivious to his concern. If she hadn't been, she'd have known that he wasn't out to get her in trouble.
But, then, she wasn't very perceptive when she was scared.
Obadias:
Obadias was concerned when the cub shook her head, worried that she was injured or something but when she spoke, those concerns were laid to rest. Except, now his confusion was back. She thought he was going to tattle on her? Yeah right, that would get him in trouble too, since he wasn't meant to come to the Great Lake alone, and he definitely wasn't meant to approach any banus either, and he had done both.
“I won't tell on you,” he said, hoping to lay her mind to rest. “I'm not meant to be out either, but it was too noisy in the den for me.”
He tried to smile to further relax her, she still seemed stiff and tense. He didn't really think it was that big a deal being out on their own but he supposed for a Banu it was worse since some Pads weren't too nice to their own, or unescorted banus.
Parvana:
At his words, Parvana's stance relaxed a fraction and she tilted her head a bit to one side. He really wouldn't tell on her? Well, if they were both not supposed to be out alone, then...
"An' I won' tell on you," she replied, matching his smile with a slow, shy one of her own. He had said that his den was too noisy. She certainly knew what that felt like. It was part of the reason she had left, to be honest.
An idea struck her and her head dipped, eyes hooded shyly as she looked down at the ground.
"You know... If we stay together... Um, we aren't alone, are we?" she asked, opening her eyes enough to look up at him for a moment before looking back down. She would never be as strong as her mother or father, she hadn't been built for it, but she was certainly a clever little thing.
Obadias:
Obadias was glad when the other cub seemed to relax. At least she didn't look so afraid anymore. His tail flicked a little in pleasure as he watched her smile back, his own smile growing slightly bigger at it. She wouldn't tell on him, and he wouldn't tell on her, it sounded like a good deal to him. “Thanks,” he said, sounding pleased.
When she dipped her head down shyly, he wondered if she had retreated back into her prior behaviour but she didn't sound afraid. When she spoke again, his red eyes, which he was proud of but they seemed to spook others sometimes, lit up.
“What a great idea,” he said, smiling when she looked at him. “That way Mother can't say tell me off for being alone, since you were with me and I wasn't actually alone.” He hadn't thought of that before but he was glad she had. It was a technicality and his mother would probably find it amusing, though he knew his father wouldn't.
Parvana:
"And you'll make sure nothing scary gets me, right? That's why my papa or brothers are always following my sisters and me around," Parvana replied, though it was mostly for the question. She wasn't silly, she knew he couldn't protect her from everything, considering his was just a cub, too. But knowing that he'd stick up for her should they get into a sticky situation would make her feel a lot better. He seemed a nice boy, like her brothers. Why they were always telling her to be wary of males was starting to trek beyond her. But then, maybe not all of them were as nice as... She didn't know his name!
"My name's Parvana. My older brother sometimes calls me Pavi, so I know both," she introduced herself, smiling sweetly at him.
Obadias:
Obadias looked a little surprised by her question, it seemed to him to be a strange thing to ask. There wasn't anything scary within the pride, except some of the older males who were a little grumpy or sometimes the Sultan seemed a little scary because of his status.
“I'll do my best to make sure nothing scary comes near you,” he said, knowing he couldn't really do much if an older male came at them but little things, he could deal with them. He smiled at her, “It's what all good males should do for females, protect them!” He truly believed it was a male's place to protect females, whether they were technically 'his' or not.
“Nice to meet you Parvana,” he replied, smiling back at her when she introduced herself. He didn't know why he skipped using the nickname, it didn't really seem right to him to take someone else' nickname for her. “I'm Obadias,” he said, “and I don't really have a nickname.” He shrugged, his sibblings had never given him one and everyone just called him by his proper name. It suited him fine though.
Parvana:
Parvana let out a soft sigh of relief. She didn't realize until she didn't have it how much she liked having her brothers as shadows. It made her feel safe wherever she went, protected. And though Obadias wasn't her brother, he said he'd protect her. And that's what counted.
She smiled at him again before taking a moment to ponder over his name for a bit. It was a little long. She kinda liked short names and nick-names.
"That's kinda big. Can I maybe call you... Obi, sometimes?" she asked, wondering if he was okay with that.
Obadias:
Obadias looked surprised for a moment, then pleased at the nickname. He wasn't overly close to his siblings, his sisters were busy with their mother and her sisters and his brothers were vying for their father's attention as much as Obadias was. He liked them, of course, but they weren't crazyclose and he'd never thought of giving nicknames within the family.
“Sure,” he agreed easily, smiling. “You can call me Obi. I've never had a nickname before,” he admitted. “I like it.”
Parvana:
With all the cubs in her family and generally long names, nicknames were very commonplace among her siblings. Her older half-siblings were especially fond of making up pet-names for the younger cubs.
Parvana was proud that she had found something he liked. Wasn't that a trait of a good banu, pleasing her pad? Yes, it was. And if her ease in doing so was an indicator of her skill, then that had to mean that one day she would be quite a good banu. At least, she hoped so.
"I'm glad you like it," she replied, that shy smile still on her maw. All in all, she was a shy little female, whether talking to male or female, young or old. It was simply in her nature.
Obadias:
Obadias was unused to being around such a shy cub, his sisters were quiet, yes and were usually very well behaved but they weren't shy. His brothers weren't, that's for sure. He wondered if there was a difference between quiet and shy, if so he might be classified as 'shy' but he just didn't talk as much as most.
“It's a good nickname,” he said continuing their conversation. “Does this mean I have to give you a nickname too?” He hesitated, then realised it might have sounded like he was insulting her current nickname. “Not that Pavi isn't nice. I just...don't think I should take your brothers nickname for you.” He shifted, feeling a little silly for having said it.
Parvana:
Parvana shrugged daintily, a mere rise and fall of her shoulders.
"Not really. If you don't wanna, you can just call me Parvana. 'M just used to making nicknames," she explained with a small nod of confirmation. Her attention slipped slowly back to the lack and her head took on that kilt again. Without glancing back at Obi, she spoke again.
"Were you going for a walk or did you have an idea on what you wanted to do once you got to the lake?"
Obadias:
Obadias nodded, “I'm not used to nicknames,” he admitted, “my family tends to stick with full names most of the time.” He shrugged. “Plus, your name is pretty, so I don't think you need a nickname,” he added as almost an afterthought.
Glancing towards the Great Lake he eyed the water, “well I wanted to swim but Father would probably kill me if I went in without him or Mother. We could go for a walk though, I haven't walked too far along the lake before. I bet we could find a shallow spot to walk in the water if you wanted to.” He looked eagerly at the lake, he did love to walk and the lake was beautiful when the sun hit it right. He didn't know how to swim, but he did like the water.
