[PRP] Back to the Past (Aziz'Din/Ban'ma)

[Painted Moose]

The bright daylight brought a smile to Ban'ma's face as lounged in the bushes were Asha and Kilua had left her in. With the foliage as a cover she had felt safe enough on her own for a while to allow the others of her ragtag group to go off on their own. She'd been napping for the greater part of the morning, but now, with her paws itching for adventure, she chanced rising up.

The immediate burning deep within her chest reminded her of her injuries. The large, ugly scar that went through her chest, and out her shoulder was sign enough, let alone the limp she now carried. Ban'ma was healing, albeit slowly, and the time away from her family was doing more damage to her spirit than the injury. She needed OUT for a while, just to put it off her mind.

So, with a little haphazard bounce in her step, the spry (in spirit) lioness made her way out across the land to a little watering hole. Getting used to the gimp was difficult, especially since she'd never been very balanced before.

Velveteen Angel

 

[Velveteen Angel]

Painted Moose

Aziz'Din wandered leisurely, enjoying the silence that was anywhere that his female companion was not currently. In the pride, he would have been allowed to put her in her place, but in the rouge lands, it just felt like abuse. Perhaps he could loose her? He mused, lost in a dreamy state of being alone without the whingy, spoilt female he had taken back with him to the pride, and then been stuck with once the pride had fallen apart.

He couldn't leave her behind though, she would probably die on her own...which he wouldn't mind too much, but he imagined she would come back from the dead and haunt him for ever if he did.

Why wasn't he a crueler pad? He huffed, and continued towards the watering hole he had spotted. Tiny as it was, it was still water.
 

[Painted Moose]

Velveteen Angel

Ban'ma could hear the sounds of birds near the watering hole; their splashing, almost fun behavior that made her wonder if they were cleaning the dirt from their feathers. She smiled, picking up her pace a little, hoping to catch a glimpse before they took off.

They were still there once she got there, and hadn't taken off yet. A little impish smile caught her maw, causing the slightly less nimble lioness to take shelter in the tall grass on the South side of the watering hole. She waited for the right moment, tensing her paws, shaking her rump, and then when the moment was right she took off at a run, giving into a roar than ended on a shriek when her limped run sent her flailing into the water.
 

[Velveteen Angel]

Painted Moose

The birds taking off when he approached the water hole was somehow unsurprising to him, as most birds disliked the company of lions. Mostly because 'company' often turned to 'dinner' to some hungry souls, and often the birds didn't like what was being served. The yell, or holler, was what caught him off guard though, and the splash of water that occurred once the source of the noise fell into the watering hole was...hilarious.

He let out a booming chuckle, expecting to see a young cub or at most a young adolescent dripping wet in the watering hole.

Instead, it was a familiar pelt, and familiar bright colour. For a moment, he thought perhaps his eyes were playing tricks on him, until he glanced closely at the figure as he cleared the last few metres to near the water's edge.

"Banu Ban'ma?" He asked, incredulous.
 

[Painted Moose]

Velveteen Angel

The laugh that came from her was more natural than any other in the past couple of weeks, but it was the other sound that captured her attention. Ban'ma raised herself in the water, the little tuft of mane above her eyes sloshing around her ears. The sound was unlike anything she had thought to hear in a long, long while.

"Pad Aziz'Din?" That pelt, those eyes, and that laugh...it had to be him! Were she still in the desert she might have thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but as it was Ban'ma waded through the water closer to him, her grin spreading wider with every step. She burst out in an excited laugh, playing her limp off on the uneven terrain below the water. "What a sight for sore eyes! How have you been? You look as if the rogue lands have been treating you well."  

[Velveteen Angel]

Painted Moose

Aziz moved closer to the edge of the water as she made her way towards him, meeting her half way. "I cannot believe out of all the rogues in the lands, I find a former banu such as yourself," he mused, slightly baffled by the odds but still, he was pleased to see Ban'ma. He had worried for her, a little, when the pride had disintegrated, but there was so many other things to concern himself with at that point, so he feared he gave her only a passing thought.

"I am as well as can be in this...bizarre place," he admitted. Aziz was not a rogue at heart. He liked order. He like structure. He liked having the weight of his father's position to throw in people's faces. As a rogue, he was a nobody.

"How are you, Banu Ban'ma?" He asked. "Is your Pad with you still?"
 

[Painted Moose]

Velveteen Angel

Ban'ma chuckled, stepping higher with her right foot to find a bit of level ground in the water. "I don't know if I should take that as an insult or a compliment," she teased, her eyes bright and excited. "Honestly, though, what are the odds? Whatever the case, they've favored me on this day, to bring you to me." She'd been in sore need of a visit from a familiar face, and that she had got! Though it did worry her that he seemingly had no one else with him. Was he on his own, as she had once been?

"I am glad, though I share your concerns." At this angle, there was no way she could hide the ugly, viciously fresh scaring on her chest and shoulder. "I'm afraid that I haven't seen my Pad for quite a while now..." She smiled sadly, more than a little worry in her face. Though she and Achal had grown more distant in the years after Tsubame's death, she'd never expected to be separated from him. "Needless to say, I have had better days, but I am hopeful."

She turned her gaze to the area around him, then back to the male. "Are you on your own, Pad Aziz'Din?"  

[Velveteen Angel]

Painted Moose

"A compliment, I assure you," Aziz said smoothly, and it was. He missed the pride, and to find someone who was like-minded in the ways of the pride was a welcome gift. Not that he expected her to bow to him, or any such thing, but to know that she would respect him was an advantage. Rogue girls were weird.

He frowned as she spoke of her pad. "I am sorry to hear that, Banu Ban'ma. I hope he is well as well," he shook his head. He hoped many others had stuck together, but to here that some banu had lost their pads - and in a strange place for many of them - it was a distressing thought.

"I am fortunate to have retained one of my Banu, from my adolescent quest," he said, cringing a little. Nia...was one he wouldn't mind losing. She was spoilt rotten and even as the son of a sultan, even Aziz had better sense than she did. Still, he could not abandon her...
 

[Painted Moose]

Velveteen Angel

Ban'ma could only nod her head, sharing in his sentiments. Hopefully wherever Achal was he was taken care of, and not on his own. Though her love for him as a mate had waned, the love and devotion she had for him as a lion and the father of her cubs still burned strong.

"Beybanu, actually." She corrected him, having missed the title herself. "I was...moved when Tsubame passed on, though now I suppose ranks and titles mean little in this land."

The striped lioness flexed her paws in the porous ground beneath her paws, stirring up the water around them. "That is fortunate indeed." Though, judging by his expression, she felt that he would have rather have left the female behind. "That is good to hear, but not as well as I would have liked. Surely one lioness cannot possibly hunt well for the both of you? There wouldn't be enough food to go around, even for the best Banu."

Pondering the situation, she nodded her head and stepped closer to him, moving herself out of the water with a limp. "Forgive my rudeness, but I insist we find your Banu and that the two of you spend the evening with me. Those that I stay with vary in species, but they are kind, and generous. There may be more mouths to feed, but there are also more claws to bring in meat, and you need not worry about tiring yourself out for a small portion."

She smiled, then turned with an almost pleading look at him. The last thing Ban'ma wanted was for him to leave, or think ill of her for pressing her views, but she would help him, as best she could, while he was here. "Please? It would allow us to catch up, and you might have a night of peace."
 

[Velveteen Angel]

Painted Moose

Aziz cringed a little inside as she prompted him of her newest rank change. Ah, he had forgotten. Tsubame had not been a close friend of his, but he had know of her of course. He had almost forgotten of her passing. "I apologise," he said, bowing his head, "Beybanu." He knew the ranks didn't really matter in the rogue lands now, but he would still keep up with them. Afterall, they meant nothing to the rogues, but they meant something to Aziz. A last cling to home.

Thinking of Nia, the flirty, flamboyant female he had claimed and winced. She was not a particularly good hunter, and so he ended up hunting most of the time. At her insistance, he was almost relieved. He missed having a harem to take care of him and the other females - he didn't mind hunting but he missed the status quo. "I would be honoured for that to occur, Beybanu Ban'ma," he said smoothly, and he meant it. He was not really a firm believer in the idea that banu and pads could be 'friends' but to be fair, if he were to have a friend who was a banu, Ban'ma might be the closest thing that he had.

"Nia would surely appreciate the effort, as well as...perhaps a hunting lesson," he mused. Actually, Nia would probably hate it. He just hoped she wouldn't start anything with Ban'ma - he would hate to discipline the spoilt brat because he knew his anger would get the better of him, and he thought that disciplining in anger just got ugly.

 

[Painted Moose]

Velveteen Angel

I think we can end this with the next post. c:

Ban'ma sighed a little, and gave a soft smile as she moved a bit closer to him. "Do not be. It's an easy mistake to make for an incident I ache to reverse." Surely Tsubame could have held the family together tighter than Ban'ma. She was the one meant to be the glue, and Ban'ma...all she wanted was someone to talk to her, make it all go away.

She shook her head and broadened her smile. There was no real point in dwelling on the past when there was so much life left to live! She could see that now more than ever. She had to bring herself up, if only to get a smile out of him. The son of a Sultan deserved the sun, not an empty stomach and a tired heart.

"Then I suggest you follow me, Pad Aziz'Din," The striped lioness grinned, moving past him with a little wink and a laugh, hobbling a bit. "Let's go find this Nia of yours and bring her into the fold, hmm? I'm not the best huntress in these fine lands, but surely I can help her get started." As she walked, Ban'ma held her wet man a little higher on her head than before, a broader smile more present than before. She tried to carry herself with dignity, as if she were a true Beybanu once again, doing something good for her pride. It made her feel...whole again.

 

[Velveteen Angel]

Painted Moose

Fin!

Aziz'Din shook his head, his mane moving with him. It had grown in thick and full since he had last been in the rogue lands. "You may ache to reverse it, Beybanu, but there is no doubt that Pad Achal thought you had deserved the name. No pad would give that title to anyone not deserving of the name." He had no doubt about that, as he had seen Ban'ma many times in the pride. She deserved the rank, though she did not deserve the circumstances that lead to that rank being given.

"Lead the way, Beybanu Ban'ma," he motioned his paw, allowing her to go first. "But do not get too used to leading me," he said, with a laugh. He was glad for it though, he liked the relationship of the old ways. He liked that sense of friendship, and that sense of belonging. Now if only they weren't going to get Nia, everything would be perfect.