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 Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 1:09 pm
 It hadn't been all that long ago, it seemed, that Mirsajadi's older siblings had left the den to go in search of their first banus. Well, not all of his older siblings had left. His older half-sister, Hester, was still at home, waiting to be claimed or given to an appropriate pad. But Mirsajadi didn't pay his female siblings much heed, and he paid his female half-siblings even less attention. They were older, and most definitely not his or worthy of his attention.
Just the same, the den felt very empty without them. Mirsajadi didn't mind at all. In fact, he was thrilled, because he reasoned that meant he would get lots more of his father's attention this way. It hadn't proven to be true so far, but Mirsajadi lived in hope. One day his father would notice how superior his brown-striped son was and he would praise him and raise him above all his other offspring and name him his heir. That was Mirsajadi's dream.
He was, just now, lying in the grass, relaxing and dreaming this future with his eyes closed. He imagined the dismay on his brothers' faces, particularly his smug older brother, Anwar'Mazin, who kept secrets from him and gave him cause to fear that one day their father would learn of Mirsajadi's hallucinatory fits. He imagined his father's proud grin and his mother's delighted smile. Not that his mother mattered, of course, but he imagined it just the same. And everyone would exclaim what a wonderful cub he was, and there would be a whole generation named after him.
It was a pleasant dream.
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 2:02 pm
 Gubari was out on his own for the first time since his birth. Fila was busy with taking care of his siblings, and his mother, Molemogi, had gone out to see their father for a short time, giving him the opportunity to slip by unnoticed. As he padded along through the den he caught a glimpse of another cub, one who seemed a bit bigger than himself. He didn't notice the cub had been asleep and thought it a good idea to approach him and possibly make a new friend.
He took a charging leap towards the other cub, a big smile across his pudgy little face. Gubari's steps could be heard clearly as his tubby little body made his paws thump against the dirt beneath him. Before he got close enough to see the cub was sleeping, he opened his mouth and let out a mighty, but tiny, little roar, "HHHIIIIII!"
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 2:21 pm
Startled, Mirsajadi was instantly on his feet with his back arched defensively. His eyes were wide and red, his bared teeth were sharp and white, his flexing claws were very pointy, and behind him his tail lashed back and forth in agitation. The fearsome display lasted for less than a minute, however, as Mirsajadi came to the realization that he was not under attack. At least, if he was under attack, he wasn't in any particular danger. Not from this chubby creature.
"What's wrong with your eyes?" he asked, sitting back on his haunches and trying to shrug his fur back into place. Being woken from his current favorite fantasy had not put the striped cub in the best of moods.
"And why are you so fat?" One paw darted forward and he poked the dark pesar in the stomach, feeling for himself how pudgy he was and being somewhat amazed, but mostly appalled. How in the world could a person manage to be fat in this pride? What was wrong with his parents? Clearly the pesar's father and mother had failed him.
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 2:50 pm
The young Pesar's reaction caused Gubari's hackles to raise in return, but instead of hissing back as if they were going to fight, his ears flattened against his head and he attempted to make himself look as small as possible. That in itself was hard considering his very tubby appearance. Once both were settled down comfortably, the other commented on his eyes and Gubari instantly placed a paw on one to see if he was alright. A quick one-two let him know his eyes were fine, though he wasn't aware his eyes were different colors.
"I'm not fat, I'm fluffy," Gubari said, poking at his own stomach, though even he knew that he was far larger than some of the other cubs. "I like to eat..."
Brushing off the other Pesar's mood quickly, he offered him a smile and a playful paw or two before offering him his name, "I'm Gubbi, my Daddy is Vu and my Mommy is Mollie and my other Mommy is Fila."
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 3:29 pm
Mirsajadi blinked when the younger pesar brought his paw to his eyes and did something with them. He wasn't sure what he thought he was doing, but he didn't stop him. It had obviously been a response to Mirsajadi's question about his eyes. Maybe the cub didn't realize that his eyes didn't match? Well, to be fair, Mirsajadi wouldn't know what color his eyes were, either if he hadn't been told by his mother.
"You must like to eat a lot. I bet you have really hungry brothers and sisters," Mirsajadi said.
If he had known the meaning of the word delusional, he would have applied it to Gubari, who he guessed must be a coward based on his reactions to being threatened and then insulted. There was a difference between being fat and being fluffy, and Mirsajadi had felt for himself that Gubari fell into the former category. And the cub's name was Gubbi. That just made things too easy.
"Or maybe you ate your brothers and sisters, Tubby Gubbi," he teased, grinning as if he wasn't saying hurtful things. "I think I can hear them crying, 'let us out!'"
"My name's Mirsajadi," he said. "My father's Tariq'ra'd."
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:45 pm
Gubari looked absolutely horrified at the idea that he would eat his siblings. He loved them all very much, from the oldest to the youngest and would die a little on the inside if he found out that anything had happened to them. Anything at all.
Frowning at Mirsajadi, Gubari offered him a small growl at the nickname that the other Pesar had magically conjured out of thin air for him. He was not tubby, he was big boned and delightfully fluffy. At least that's what he told himself when he was feeling subconscious.
"I'm not Tubby Gubbi. I'm Guubi, and it's nice to meet you," He muttered. "Daddy mentioned Pad Tariq'ra'd before."
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 7:56 pm
Mirsajadi shrugged, indifferent to the younger cub's resentful scowl. He had been amused by his horror earlier, presumably at the thought of eating his siblings, but mostly because Mirsajadi imagined that the look was horror at being found out, and not horror at the barbaric nature of a cannibalistic act.
"Suit yourself, Guubi," Mirsajadi said, repeating the cub's name with the exact same inflection he'd spoken it in, and even exaggerating it a little. If he wanted to, he could probably turn Tubby Gubbi into a permanent nickname for the little porker, just by saying it around his brothers, but he wasn't sure if he should. It would be a really cruel name to be saddled with.
"Of course he has," the striped cub said. "I don't think I've heard of your father."
It was natural that everyone should speak about his father. Tariq was a great lion, and Mirsajadi had plans to follow in his paw prints, and then go on to become even greater. He would never be sultan, he thought. There was an amir and entirely too many of the sultan's sons around for that to be a possibility, but if he could just earn his father's approval and position, that would be sufficient as a start.
Belatedly Mirsajadi added, "It's nice to meet you, too. Of course." Whether he knew it was a slight to say it like an afterthought or whether he was just casually unkind was anyone's guess. Gubbi had woken him up from a very pleasant dream, after all.
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Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 3:51 pm
"My dad is Misilivuma," Gubari said, a proud smile coming across his face. He felt his father was the best Dad, and lion, in the world. It didn't matter if he a one banu or many, he loved each and everyone of his children and spent time with them; because of that, he was the best dad there would ever be.
"My Dad is great. He spends time with us all the time. Does your Dad spend time with you?" Gubari asked, genuinely curious. He figured if his father had so many banu, he must be a really busy dad, playing with each and every one of his kids.
Gubari was a little simple when it came to his perspective of the world. However his Dad acted was how he thought all dad's acted, the same was true for how he felt mom's acted. The complexities of harem life didn't strike him yet, so the things that Mirsajadi knew in comparison to what he knew were so strikingly different you could write a book on it.
"Do you like to wrestle?" He asked, looking hopeful for some cub playtime.
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:17 am
Mirsajadi's gaze slipped to one side. He didn't personally know Misilivuma, and he was pretty sure he hadn't heard of him either, but his father probably did know him. It was part of his responsibilities as an vizier to know everyone in the pride. Mirsajadi was incredibly proud of his fierce, distant father. But...Tariq did not spend a lot of time with any of his children.
"He's really busy helping the sultan a lot of the time," Mirsajadi said, easily justifying his father's disinclination to play. "If he wasn't, I'm sure he'd be the best at playing ever."
Actually, Mirsajadi had doubts about that. His father played games, but not cub games. He played the kind of games Mirsajadi played, but for higher stakes and with much more complicated rules. Mirsajadi's games were little things compared to that, and he was very much aware of it, but someday he would be able to show his father how clever he was.
"Not really," Mirsajadi said honestly, though a hint of boredom had crept into his tone. He truly disliked wrestling, and it seemed all anyone wanted to do with him lately was wrestle. But wrestling was a way of learning to fight, and he knew his father could fight. He would have to learn sometime. It may as well be now, with Tubby Gubbi. He wasn't likely to be beaten - unless he got sat on.
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:14 am
"You should tell him to spend time with you," Gubari said idly, not realizing the implications in his words. He didn't know what Vizier's did, or the importance of their job. He only knew what normal Pads did, and normal Pads went out on patrol, came home, took naps, got up and played with him. So he figured the same would be true for Mirsajadi and his father.
"The Sultan can do stuff on his own, can't he? I mean, he's the leader and stuff. What's he need your Daddy for?" Gubari rambled, his eyes wondering up to the sky as a lone bird flew past. That was a weird looking bird.
"Wrestling is fun. My Daddy is super good at it. So is his friend, Pad Kame'bufuu. Daddy says Pad Kame'Bufuu was a warrior, whatever they are," Gubari said, his mouth a little ajar as he continued to follow the bird with his eyes, falling backwards in the process, "I wanna be a warrior."
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:53 am
"I don't tell my father to do things," Mirsajadi said, quite taken aback by Gubari's suggestion but attempting to hide his surprise.
In truth, he was shocked by the very notion. The striped cub couldn't even imagine Sultan Aali telling Tariq'ra'd to do something, actually. His father was not the sort of lion to be bossed about, and Mirsajadi had no doubt that woe would betide any lion who tried it. Mirsajadi didn't want that lion to be him.
"And I'm sure the sultan can do stuff on his own, but not nearly as well as he does it when my father helps. My father's really smart, and he can tell when the sultan's being not as smart. And sometimes hard decisions have to be made, and my father helps the sultan make them."
He wasn't one hundred percent sure about that, but it sounded right. Tariq didn't talk about his work a great deal when he was home. Not to or around his children anyway, and probably not to his banu, who were even more worthless. Mirsajadi might have felt sorry for him, not having anyone to talk to, but he knew that was a sissy sort of feeling to have, and he wasn't a sissy. He was strong, like his father.
"Warriors fight and protect people," Mirsajadi said, noticing that Guubi's attention wasn't on him and being a little annoyed by that. "You'd have to lose weight to be one. Unless you plan to protect people by putting them in a cave and then sitting in front of the entrance to block it?"
He laughed at what his own wit, which he thought both clever and funny. It had cheered him sufficiently that he could smile as he said, "Look, I'm leaving now. Don't worry to much, Tubby. I forgive you for waking me up."
Before the other pesar could come up with a response, Mirsajadi turned and departed wearing his father's grin.
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