"my time in mereo is nearing its end." qiao announced to
@Germanicus, having found him strolling down the halls. he was such a stately creature, untrusting yet too cunning perhaps for his own good: it made him difficult for qiao. she bowed unreservedly as he took note of her.
she had been treated well here, if at arm's length. she had not gone hungry, her bed had always been dry, and the wolves here perfectly perfunctory.
an hour before, qiao had returned with meager wintertide herbs to restock
@Aquene's cache as a parting gift.
@Ruenna had been left a deerskin shawl: its warmth was piecemeal, yet its true strength was the incantation woven in between every blade of winter fur: a protection spell, for qiao had liked her most of all.
for
@Glaukos, a fat and delicious hare. she figured any sentimentality would be lost upon his individual person.
@Arsenio had not been so easy. for him, qiao left a small bundle of herbs to hasten virility.
but of germanicus, qiao had come empty handed. his last gift had been refused, and qiao was not a wolf who made the same mistake twice. for this, he got the rarest gift of all -- qiao's unwavering directness and honesty.
"your subjects have treated me well, my lord. there is little else i can do. i have restocked what i could of your herbalist's cache, and in the spring i hope to return with herbs to barter with aquene. for each wolf i have met, i have left them some small token of my gratitude. but what for you, my lord?"
the emissary from akashingo was departing.
germanicus silently begrudged her approval of the detailed report.
for a long while he was quiet.
"if you will accept my apology then i will consider that to be your token."
the eagle was silent. he walked on beside her. germanicus did not think he had acted rashly. but qiao had proven herself to be helpful in mereo, even if he did not trust her. he had seen the others move into acceptance. her offer to aquene did not go unnoticed.
perhaps after all qiao wished to return.
they walked in silence for some time. qiao assumed the general to be collecting his thoughts. he was not a man who delivered words unthinkingly -- each word he committed into speaking was done so with meticulous care.
when he spoke qiao slowed to a halt. she turned to face him, her olive eyes whole and genuine. "always trust your gut. i will accept your apology nonetheless, but you did what you believed was right. the second you start doubting yourself, the wolves eat you."
"ramesses may not be vying for superiority over this land yet. but make no mistake, lady qiao, he intends us to remain an outpost."
he would not doubt himself.
a silence again and then he spoke. "i had meant to accompany you back to the palace, but it is necessary that i stay in mereo." germanicus did not elaborate as ruenna came to his mind. "might i trouble you to carry a message?"
the pharaoh's designs were not yet known to qiao, but it did not take much to put two and two together. she dipped her head in silent agreement; yet being the operative word.
upon being asked to carry a message, qiao's olive gaze lifted. it is no trouble. what would you like me to say?
"there is an injured boy there. crowfeather. i meant to visit him long before this but events have not been conducive to my departure. please tell him this and offer my deepest apologies. tell him that i have not forgotten him and that he is often on my mind. explain that there are pressures upon mereo currently which do not make it a good time for me to depart, but that i will arrive as soon as i am able."
germanicus turned his eyes upon qiao. it was an intimate message. he waited for her to recognize this.
a less tactful creature would have seized the imperator’s message and thrust it with probing questions. who was the boy, what was he to mereo? qiao understood not just from his gaze, but the way he spoke, that this message bristled with sensitivity.
she thumbed the roof of her mouth with her tongue, thoughtful. that can be arranged. this boy, is he held against his will?
"he is not. he was injured by nyra, leader of the saints. we routed them from these lands but he returned alone to fight."
he still did not understand why. "he was badly wounded and very close to death. i am sure that if he has recovered his ability to walk, it is very recent."
being in akashingo was its own prison.
the imperator closed his mouth. he cleared his throat. "thank you, lady qiao."
qiao received this news with a purse of her lips.
at the very least, when she returned to akashingo crowfeather would be under the best of care: her own.
but if he was important to the general, then he was of interest to her -- for reasons of her own design.
a brave soul to return to battle alone. he is lucky to still have his blood inside of him.
she remarked with a flick of her ear. when i return to akashingo, i will seek him.
she began to make small gestures of preparing her leave. mereo had been kind to her, and for that, she would not leave some darkly uttered spell at their doorstep to disfigure their children or spoil their caches. i thank you for your hospitality -- and will return in the late spring to establish trade with aquene. if there is nothing else, imperator.
she waited to be dismissed, head held deferentially low.
"thank you."
germanicus would not dwell upon his guilt. but he would carry it.
"travel lightly, lady qiao. mereo will welcome you back in the warmer times."
the imperator nodded. his yellowpaint eyes would follow her until she faded from view.
if she was a spy for pharaoh after all, she was quite diplomatic indeed.
dismissed by the imperator, qiao collected her things. germanicus' token hung in her mind as she bade mereo farewell.
it would be a lonely road back to akashingo, but a road nonetheless -- and roads had the unique ability of fostering introspective thinking. on her trip back, qiao drew the imaginary lines of her future plans.
mereo would see her again before the ice had fully thawed.