Hello, viewers. This is a gift for a writer friend of mine; Azalea542, and she hopes that you all enjoy this story. It's mainly about Iago and his family/mate, with Cassim as well. So, you can say this is directly after the third movie of Aladdin: The King of Thieves. And so, I hope you all like it. -Traveler.
Miles from Agrabah, in one of the Seven Deserts, close to a well, under a tent is one small group; a human male who goes by the name of Cassim. He's deeply tanned, wears a lot of blue, and he's slender, quick-minded despite his age. He has ebony black hair with gray temples at the sides, and a neat beard, along with dark brown eyes. In human standards, he's handsome, and everyone says that he and his son closely looks like each other; that if Cassim would have been younger, they would have mistaken him to be Aladdin's brother.
He just had left the kingdom of Agrabah a few hours ago after attending his son's wedding, which still amazed Cassim every now and then as Aladdin's wife is actually a princess, but not just a princess, but the sultan's daughter, Jasmine. Why he has left, you ask? Cassim is actually wanted, for he's the King of the Forty Thieves.
The Forty Thieves were a legendary group who steals riches, food, and anything they wanted. And Cassim was the leader, but after a crazy amount of days recently, the most of the Forty Thieves were said to be chained up in jail or beheaded as they were betrayed by one of them; Sa'luk, the most hot-headed and dangerous man Cassim had ever come to know, while the rest were presumed to drown in the seas as well.
Sa'luk is dead, somewhere in one of the seas, but Cassim didn't care anymore for that man for he's grateful that Aladdin is safe and alive. Cassim's wife and Aladdin's mother isn't alive anymore as she had passed on when Aladdin was five or six. Cassim may miss Aladdin often as he's now looking for adventure, but he isn't alone as he has a friend with him.
His friend is a parrot, but not just a parrot, but a talking parrot. Iago is his name, and he's red-plumed with blue tipped feathers on his wings and tail, having a yellow beak and talons, along with gold eyes with black irises.
He had a complicated past. He used to be a bad guy, allying with the most evil of Agrabah, Jafar himself; a sorcerer and a genie. Jafar wanted the throne, the world, and he was willing to do anything to make his goals come true, but unfortunately, his downfall came by a boy who was Aladdin.
Iago is forever grateful to Aladdin for his freedom and his life, but now, he's partners with Cassim who is far better than Jafar. Together, they are a strange duo, looking for adventure and gold. Not evil, not good. Just neutral.
Cassim was unpacking his bags off his horse which he named Midnight with Iago sitting upon the saddle horn. "So, Cassim. Where are we planning to head next?", Iago drawled lightly.
"I was thinking I should get back to Sesame Mountain. The guards may have cleaned out everything, but I hope they didn't find my room. You know that we barely had time before we left that day with Sa'luk.". Cassim sighed softly.
Iago widened his eyes, slapped his forehead with his wing, "Of course! Those thieves would have gold hidden in secret spots and whatever! That mountain is huge!".
Cassim chuckled lightly, "Perhaps so to your eyes, but you forget that I know the place like the back of my hand due to being there for 20 years or so.". Iago laughed softly, "Duh, of course. So, are we leaving in the morning?".
Cassim hummed softly, "I'd rather get going before sunrise, so we'd not get caught by anyone.". Iago nodded, "Makes sense, and I was thinking that after we clean out Sesame Mountain, we could check out a oasis. I'd been considering to visit Thundra sooner or later.".
Cassim lifted a eyebrow, smiled as he asked, "Thundra?". Iago grinned brightly, "On-off girlfriend. You would like her, Cass. She's amazing, and she somehow doesn't care about the bad parts of my past.".
Cassim chuckled warmly, "She sounds nice, and besides, it's been a long time since I've been to a oasis since I was thieving and all.". Iago grinned, "Great!". He then yawned loudly, "All those past days got me bushed out. Better turn in for bed. See ya before sunrise, Cassim.".
He then lifted his wings, flew over and under the tent nearby, landing upon a folded blanket, and resting immediately with his wings outside his face to support himself. A snore then escaped Iago. Cassim chuckled quietly with amusement and warmth, happy to have a friend in Iago.
And he looked back in the direction of Agrabah, and whispered softly, "Good night, my son. Have a good time with Jasmine.". He then grabbed a rolled blanket, aired it out as he then took rest under the tent, laying upon a raised mattress of desert grass, closing his eyes to the sight of the stars.