"We have a god, Bes.
He adores the infant, he guards the birthing chamber. But Bes saw that many babies were stolen from life too soon, and so he made himself—"
The scent that ringed this place brought with it words from long ago. They clashed with the constant cacophony that was Sheogorath, but ultimately won out, and as they did, the pale-golden face arose in her mind.
'Pharaoh,' he'd called himself. And had he gotten all that he had wanted?
His smell was as strong here as Maegi was weak. She'd dragged herself once more from the sea, clinging wraithlike to the foothills of the mountains, heading toward Blackfeather Woods and an intended death (again).
Yet here she stood. Weak-limbed, each bone in her body casting rippled shadows across her ivory pelt. Lackluster, mismatched eyes. A broken heart to match her battered face.
"—Ugly. Warped. Deformed. All so his gruesome face would scare away the clutching spirit, the black dog who waits to devour the innocent hearts. His sacrifice was that even now the children whom he means to protect fear his features."
Would that Bes had granted her the same power—to keep her children safe.
She howled for
@Ramesses.
big eyes
ramesses was pleased that the snow did not stray so far into his realm. he was intrigued to know if it was the same within mereo. but the desire to depart akashingo was not in him. satsu had not yet confirmed that she would make herself mother dowager within the next months.
he was restless.
he went alone out of the mesa, against the suggestion of those around him. he was a brilliant figure of light against the cold red dirt.
but he was not alone.
and she was not a stranger.
ramesses was resplendent as he answered her call. "maegi. the poisoner." was that how she wished to be remembered? pharaoh watched her with hard lapis gaze. she had been winnowed since the last time he saw her. the ruined mouth was more stark against the shadow-smudges of her eyes.
but ramesses knew her.
He hadn't changed a bit. Well, no—he had, but for the better. He'd always carried himself like a king, but now he held the self-assured air of a king with a castle. His own lands. A family, perhaps.
Pharaoh,
Maegi replied. Her voice was soft, run ragged by saltwater, barely a breath. Her eyes swept over his form, then onto the landscape behind him. You look well. And your home—
Well, she was familiar with this place. Had been here a few times.
She sniffed, and canted her head directly north. You're very close to where I was born,
she remarked, but kept her eyes trained on him.
"You ought to be headed there soon—"
What do you call it?
she cut in.
she was world-weary and ravaged by the long excess of worry. wind blew snow across the frozen grass of the long-buried grassland. "this is akashingo," he told the former island-woman.
where had she been? what had she done in this time since all of them had been away?
"is it your birthplace which calls you, or the mesa?" pharaoh was cautious but there was a welcome in him that was not easily extended. the sea was very far from these lands. her figure showed the travel's demand.
and yet he knew her to be a woman of a darkened holiness, a counterpart to the lightbringing priests of his own court. maegi did not work beneath the eye of Ra. his intrigue rose anew.
"you should come inside. allow me to treat you as a guest." in her he had found a sort of kinship. ramesses could see only benefit in repaying this.
Akashingo,
she repeated. It tasted like spring dew on her tongue; refuge. Perhaps because this was the first place in a while that she felt at ease, as if her very being settled into the soil. Not anxious, not depressed, not angry—
Just. . .tired, really. Very tired.
It was with this utter exhaustion that she nodded. My birthplace,
Maegi admitted, but I'll not say no to some rest.
She would follow where he led her, all the while her gaze swiveling, noting each fascinating little bit here and there of this territory.
All the while, trying to ignore the pull of the woods, and the wicked, gurgling laugh of Sheogorath that accompanied it.
she was honest. ramesses found it an appealing characteristic.
as the mesa grew larger before them, he saw the knowing eyes of sihaya watchful upon he and his guest. sayyadina came next, her beauty resplendent as she fell into step along his other side, silent save for the welcome of her eyes.
"akashingo has a guest."
pharaoh smiled. they had come to the wide stone steps leading up to the open-air throne room. he climbed them easily and looked back for the pale wolf.
"i will have the fellahin prepare the wellspring. the water will be cool this time of year but it will not freeze you." he moved downward beneath the mesa, into the familiar redstone hallways and rooms and rounded clearings. "you will join me for a meal. and then you will be sent to sleep. or with whatever company you prefer." pharaoh grinned and did not elaborate.
Her eyes scanned the majesty of what Ramesses had to offer. Much more than anything she'd seen in a while. She followed him, obediently, into the depths of the territory.
"Too far"—
Mou screamed. But she didn't know whether it was her mate or Sheogorath. She sank down upon the open ground which Pharaoh led her to, exhausted. This must be her home. . .
So tired,
she whispered, barely pressing her muzzle to the proffered water before descending into a great sleep.
rolled w it!
pharaoh was not ready for the swift, insensate nature of their visitor. she collapsed beside the wellspring.
pharaoh bent closer to lazily sniff over her body and then turned to sayyadina. "have both mazoi put her into a room. call tavina."
when maegi awoke she would be ensconced in a small outlet off a main hall.
one might recognize it as the room last inhabited by maggie.
assisted if she was able to walk and carried if not, she would open her eyes to a high redstone ceiling and feel the softness of pelts beneath her.
and tavina, turning to set her purpled eyes on the new patient.
that was, if her ka wished to return. ramesses would await the physician's report.