Hey guys! This is another chapter. Sorry if the chapters so far have been short. Hope you like this on though. More to come!
She bounded out of the washroom, tugging Masrur by his wrist with Ja'far's sleeve also securely in her grasp. They tripped and stumbled a bit, seeing as they were nearly bent over. She weaved through the halls and straight into Sinbad's room. Masrur and Ja'far skidded to a stop, digging their heels into the concrete. The small girl detached from the two and ran straight up to Sinbad's desk. He was surprised and he fumbled with the scrolls that were strewn out across his desk. Some of them drop to the floor in the commotion and let a large smile cross his face.
"Well I see you've cleaned up..." he said, slowly leaning down to wrap his arms around her. She slowly retreated before excepting it and snuggling herself in to him. "...And may I say, you look beautiful." he nuzzled her and she giggled again.
He looked up to see Masrur and Ja'far bowing at the entrance. "I see you've made some new friends." he acknowledged them both and they stood slowly, making their way to the desk as well.
"Big brother Mas-chan and Ja-kun take care of me..." she giggled, reaching out to catch Ja'far's pinkie into her tiny fingers.
"Yes, of course they will." Sinbad smiled down at her and brushed her purple locks from her face.
"I didn't know you had hair like mine." he said, looking up and noticing Ja'far's ink-stained robe. "Her mother dyed her hair so badly that it was black. I managed to get most of it out, but the ends are completely ruined." he frowned, combing through her hair with his hand.
"I see." Sinbad nodded slowly. They sat there in silence for a while.
"I almost forgot." Ja'far snapped his fingers. "Your name, dear." he gestured to the girl.
"...name?" she said, repeating his words.
"Of course, my dear, you must have a name." he said smiling again.
"Yes of course. It breaks my heart to see you go on without a name." Sinbad place a hand over his heart. Her small hand reached out to overlap his large one. He smiled and blushed a bit.
"My name...is...Marjaani..." she smiled, playing with Sinbad's various jewelry. The room went quiet again.
"It means...die my dear..." Sinbad scowled at the name. "That sounds horrible." he said cupping her small pale face in his hands.
"Well, look on the bright side. It means "coral" in Swahili." Ja'far scratched the back of his head. Sinbad grimaced and looked down at the little girl who was captivated by the gold he wore.
He smiled at her small pale face, her big gray eyes, her short purple hair the tickle his skin, and her tiny fingers that laced around one of his own. Without even thinking about it, he leaned down and kissed her right on the nose and wrapped his arms more tightly around her. Now to Ja'far and Masrur, this was a completely different Sinbad all together. Although they had seen him be warm-hearted and kind, they hadn't really expected him to be so fatherly to...well anyone.
Sinbad stood and carried her out of his room, Ja'far and Masrur following behind. Marjaani giggled as Ja'far made a few funny faces, and she reached out to grab the Fanalis's red hair again.
He didn't mind of course, although it was an odd sensation that he couldn't really explain. It wasn't really pain, nor did it make him laugh as much as it did her.
They exited the great hall and made their way outside, where Sharrkan and Alibaba were doing some swordplay. Every so often, either man would lunge at the other and their weapons would clank against each other and bounce back again. It was loud and noisy and Marjaani didn't like it. She snuggled back into Sinbad's chest and began to whine. Sinbad couldn't possibly resist. He wrapped his large arms around her and pressed her to his chest.
"It's alright. Don't be afraid." He tipped her chin up so she was looking him straight in the eyes. She smiled and cupped his face in her hands, brushing aside some of the strands of hair that were covering his eyes.
Sharrkan took another swing at Alibaba, his sword hitting the dagger's blade. The sheer power sent Alibaba shooting back a bit. Alright, a lot.
When they both regained their composure, Sharrkan was the first to notice the small timid girl hiding behind Sinbad's large arms.
"Oh well, aren't you pretty." Sharrkan leaned forward, his sword gleaming in the sun. The glare hit Marjaani's face, and she sunk deeper into her father's arms.
"Oh no! Don't be scared! I'm not gonna hurt you." Sharrkan began to flail his arms about.
"I don't think that's helping." Sinbad said, looking down at Marjaani, nuzzling his nose with hers. He placed her softly on the ground, but she was timid not ready to be away from him just yet.
"Ok, ok. Let's start over." Sharrkan slid his sword back into the holster and stepped forward towards the little girl. He knelt down beside her and place a large hand on her head, ruffling her hair. It stuck up everywhere after that, and Sharrkan laughed.
"I'm Sharrkan." he introduced watched as she played with loose locks of her hair. She looked up momentarily, and tugged at the golden chain that hung from his neck.
"Sha-sama. I'm Mari." she pointeed to herself, then began to reach up towards the man white hair.
"Watch out. She's a grabber." Sinbad laughed, seeing as Marjaani had already caught a fistful of Sharrkan's hair and was pulling on it playfully. Sharrkan smiled though. He found it quite adorable.
Alibaba stepped forward, also placing his dagger back in it's place. He knelt down next to Sharrkan and began to introduce himself.
"My name is Alibaba. It's nice to meet you." he smiled and pinched one of her cheeks. She giggled and toppled over into his lap. She took a rather familiar liking in Alibaba's decorated dagger, and before long she was making woosh sounds and running about.
"Baba-kun! Sha-sama! Teach me how!" she pleaded with them. This caught Sinbad by surprise. Not only was he feeling a bit hurt that she hadn't asked him to teach her swordplay, but he was also bewildered by how much she wanted to learn.
"Alright!" Sharrkan's fist shot into the air. "But you gotta be fast." he said, leaning down to nuzzle her forehead.
"I am fast!" she giggled at him.
"And strong." Alibaba added.
"I am!" she jumped up and down.
"And focused." Ja'far added, while Masrur gave a nod.
"Mhmm!" she smiled at them.
"And...completely adorable." Sinbad said, stepping forward and completely picking her off the ground. He swung her around and kissed her. She of course giggled and tugged at his purple locks, before kissing him back on the cheek.
Sinbad's face turned bright red and all four men around him laughed. Well smiled, on Masrur's part.
"Now." Sharrkan began. "Let's begin, shall we?"