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When his voice echoed out, she quickly rolled from her side onto her belly, and her eyes went wide. He had surprised her, though it was fine.. She didnt mind being surprised, not when it was one of her best friends. He was growing rather beautifully, and this time she noticed how big he was getting. He was still that cute little cub she had met, but he had become a handsome juvenile. Though his topic of conversation made her pause, and smile. It was a halfsmile, that turned one side of her maw up, and the other side stayed where it was.

They had brought up her name? Surely not.. Why would anyone consider her a catch? No one had spoken of such things to her. Not that she would hear those kinds of things. But she was Faiz's daughter, and no one had spoken for her yet.

"Really?" She asked, her voice tinged with that dreamlike quality most girls got when she was thinking of being loved, and being in love.

"My name was brought up? Why?" She asked, though she hoped it was that someone was planning on trying to make her their banu. Or.. Even Mirsa, even though he was still rather young. How could one not want their best friend as a mate. But still, the thought she pushed from her head. She knew better than to dream of a juvenile, that was wrong!..Right?

Mirsajadi smirked, pleased with himself for having startled Zoey. She was usually so observant, it was a real challenge to come upon her unawares. On the other hand, she hadn't been expecting him to make an appearance and her attention had been elsewhere. At a guess, he would have said she was daydreaming about one of those idiot pads and pesars he'd mentioned, but he wasn't going to voice that guess. If she wanted to have mushy thoughts, that was fine, but he didn't want any part of them.

"Really," Mirsajadi agreed, flopping down a meter or so away from her. "And why do you think they'd mention your name, stupid? You've got to be one of the best catches in the pride, what with your father being who he is. Only Nywele's daughters can really compete there, and only those he got on the sultan's sister at that."

In truth, for all that he was a clever young thing, Mirsajadi didn't completely understand the complexities which made up the political atmosphere of the Ukuucha'Wafalme, but he could parrot what he'd heard said by people he considered wise or clever. Sometimes he learned more that way, when people agreed or disagreed. He didn't know if Zoey would know more about it than he did. She was older, but she was a banu, so it was even odds.

"Also, some of them seem to think you're pretty." He gave her a slantwise look which made sure she knew he found the thought amusing. He supposed she wasn't unattractive, but he wasn't old enough to look at females that way.

She pushed him with a paw, since he wasnt too far away from her. She knew he wouldnt be moved at all, but at least she would show her amusement. She chuckled, and nodded. It didnt bother her what he said. She knew that he hadnt meant it badly, and when he spoke of someone liking her for more than her father, she assumed he was right. After all, the sultans daughters were wanted for being just that. The sultans daughters. She shook her head, and looked at him with a bemused look.

"Oh but I LIKE the color blue!" She squealed, her girly giggle coming from her throat. She had always enjoyed how she looked. She looked like father, and a good mix of her mother as well. She was pretty, or so she had been told, and she knew
that she was attractive, but she didnt really.. feel that way all the time.

"The smart ones you mean." She grinned.

Mirsajadi had grown used to Zoey's habit of touching people casually. He didn't flinch, or show any outward sign of discomfort. With Zoey - and only with Zoey - he could deal with spontaneous contact that he didn't initiate. With anyone else, they were asking for a nasty reaction, and he was more than capable of providing it. When it suited him, Mirsajadi could be cruel, and he'd been honing that skill so that he would be more like his father, whom he admired greatly.

"I'm not sure I'd call any of them smart," Mirsajadi drawled, rolling onto his side so that he'd be just out of her reach in case she decided to push him again. He also watched her forepaws from the corner of his eyes so that if she tried again he could send a paw darting out to catch her at it. He'd lately been trying to improve his dexterity and coordination so that he would win tussles with his brothers - and others - more often.

"And who cares if you like the color blue? You're not going to be choosing your pad, probably. Your father isn't that ridiculous." Though to hear Tariq speak of him, Faiz was an utter moron. Mirsajadi tended to leave fathers out of their conversations, given her family's opinion of his father, and his father's opinion of her family.

"But there was one who said...Oh, what was it? He said your coat was like an evening sky and your eyes its crowning sapphires or some nonsense like that. He's mixing his descriptions awfully. There are no crowning sapphires in the sky." Mirsajadi was not impressed with the other male's attempt at a poetic turn of phrase, obviously.

"He just wants us all to be happy I think. I dont know if its all his banu, or just his girls. He treats his daughters very well, and we all are rather happy under his rule. Which is why im rather scared of who I might end up with. Im used to be treating rather decently." She replied, her voice soft as she thought of her future. It could really end up poorly.. She just had to hope that someone would come along that she would like, and she wouldnt have to try to nix the poor suitor. Or that if he was bad enough to be nixed, that her father would do it before mentioning the male.

"Your quest shall be fun. you will have to tell me of whats out there beyond our borders." She said, interested in the world out there though she knew she would never venture the lands herself. She had no desire to leave the pride whatsoever, but she did have that drive to want to know more..

"I hope not. I hope I get someone who respects me.." She smiled, though she heard his growl she dismissed it. She wasn't sure why he had done it, and dismissing it just made it easier to continue her conversation.

"Aw, youre no fun." She grinned, knowing he was not the type for story book endings, but logic and fact.

"No one would dare treat you anything less than decently," Mirsajadi said, manfully swallowing all the righteous fury he felt toward any hypothetically abusive pad who might claim his friend. "They may not be smart, but most of them aren't stupid."

He frowned and amended his statement: "Most of them aren't that stupid, anyway. I don't know if they'll respect you, though. They might just look at you and see crowning sapphire eyes and your father's relationship to the sultan."

He grinned slightly at the thought of his quest. He was less excited, at present, about the prospect of capturing banu than he was at the thought of leaving the pride and seeing what was out there. He knew he would come back with excellent stories and the best banu ever. Probably he'd have to fight off huge pads to get her, and she'd be totally devoted to him, like one of those simpering banus in the stories. He wouldn't mind being simpered over, as long as the banu doing it could do it mostly silently.

"First you tell me my quest will be fun, then you tell me I'm no fun? Maybe you should go with Ibrahim. The two of you seem to have the same ability to pick a theme and stay with it." He laughed.

She grinned and nodded. "But only if you listen to them. You're free to ignore everything I say if you wish. Those kind of stories though are what make me happy." She nodded, and blew a stray strand of forelock out of her face.

She would not be the one to ever call Mirsa a girl. He was entirely too manly, though she wondered if it was because he tried to hard. She doubted it though, she knew him enough to know that he was just like that. A strong brute of a boy. She chuckled at that thought, but locked the thought up in her head. She wasn't too sure how he'd take to being called a Brute.

"So ultimately you're telling me that you are the one I need to end up with, so that I have someone worthy."

She teased, though she was joking. She had no idea how close she was in mind to what would happen in the future. But for now, it was not conceivable to the female.

"Oh Mirsa, in your dreams." She teased back.

"In your dreams, maybe," Mirsajadi retorted.

He sniffed as if disdainfully and said, "Personally, I have no intention of making someone as difficult as you are a part of my harem. I can only imagine the trouble you'd cause. No doubt you'd convince my other banu that all of you had thoughts worth hearing and - worse - that I wanted to hear them, which - I assure you - is not the case at all."

And here his father's upbringing and attitudes came to the fore. Mirsajadi was willing to concede that Zoey had thoughts worth hearing, but he didn't believe that any other banu did, really. Zoey was an oddity, an aberration, and he didn't care to learn if there were others like her in the pride. What need had he for them, when he had her?

"Though," he mused, returning to her one point, "I probably am the best my generation has to offer."

"Oh poo." She said, standing back up and stretching out her toes. She wasnt being silly! She smiled, and nodded.

"Uh-huuh. So does that mean youre leaving then?" She asked, sad their conversation was going to be over. But her own belly ws growling, and she hoped her father and the banus would be home soon.

She, was okay asking for food at the moment. She wasnt a master hunter, but she supposed when it was time, she'd get the hang of it.

"It does," Mirsajadi answered. "Mostly because I think I'm expected at home for lunch today, and if I'm not there people will be upset."

The way he phrased it was meant to make his presence seem more important than it actually was. In fact, it was likely no one would take note of his presence or his absence, but he preferred to make it seem as if that wasn't the case.

"I'll see you later, I expect," he said, getting to his feet. "So I won't bid you goodbye, but rather good day."

He had only recently learned the distinction between the two and he had decided that he liked it immensely and would make an effort to use the two means of saying farewell correctly. Even if no one else noticed the distinction, he would know, and he would feel pleased with himself.