For
@Khaba! I meant to post this yesterday; other tags for reference.
The princess had told Nazli of a
mazoi who was at once gargantuan, swarthy, and powerful in a way that thrilled her; she'd sent the girl to fetch her prize bird from earlier in the day, prepare it, and feed the man.
(
I want him looked after.
@Makono did not need to ask twice.)
The girl waited by the barracks. When she saw the man, there was no doubting it was the particular creature whom so interested the princess - and so immediately terrified Nazli, who could not control the tuck of her tail.
She waited for him to pause and approached with a feeble gait, trying to be as animate as her usual self but finding it difficult; this man could've fit in well in Mereo, she thought.
Rather than speak or even offer the bird that she clutched now in her teeth, she merely stared.
He had returned only a short time ago to the quarters made especially for the mazoi. The beast had found that perhaps a short nap would have been beneficial between patrol outings, but alas, sleep did not find him. So, out again he would go.
Prowling from the mouthed entrance, Khaba paused for a moment to shift his shoulder slightly. It took only a small rotation before the cuff seemed to crack, settling with ease into place. Laying in such an odd position in the cramped space made his bones ache. But, it was nothing a good stretch couldn't mend.
Though intent on continuing forward, the mazoi found he could not. A smaller wolf stood in his way.
Lip curling, the beast sent a fuming breath in their direction, demanding that they move so he could be on his way. He had no patience for an audience with any today, not even if it were the pharaoh himself.
Remembering herself a moment later, beneath the gaze of the giant, Nazli shrank back and in the motion she placed down the bird.
Licking her lips and wanting to curl up snail-like within herself, it took a real effort to focus on her task.
Sir, I — this is for you, um,
She made a motion towards the bird which now looked tiny and inadequate for the man, mirroring how Nazli felt of herself.
The princess, Makono, sent me to ah, service you. I mean to be a servant, to -- do as you request, if there is anything you need.
She stumbled more and more over her words and hoped it did not reflect badly upon the princess.
One of the fellahin. The first he'd formally met.
A young one, at that. She was close to the age of the amiirad, but not nearly as confident and calculating. She fumbled on her words many times, struggling to compose herself before the eyes of the beastly mazoi.
Where the girl had set the pheasant, his gaze shifted. He realized his hunger then, mouth beginning to water. Perhaps he could take a moment to eat before he would begin his patrol. So, he lent forward and collected the meal tightly in his jaws and turned to the entrance of the tight hollow. Before entering, the man's tail swung towards the girl, beckoning her to join him within. If she was here to serve him, he would put her to work with some thing or another.
He took the offered bird, eventually. This man was calculating; that's what Nazli presumed, anyhow. The way he peered at everything and took his time to move about was a little bit unnerving. The lack of verbal cues left Nazli feeling quite awkward for a moment, but she was swift to adapt. Not everyone that the servant aided would speak their mind as openly as the princess.
The mazoi motioned that she should follow, and so she fell in to step at his heel, eyes averted as was the custom. This was the first time Nazli had been welcomed within the heisha - the barracks where the warriors slept and trained.
Being sure that she had followed, the mazoi turned to face the fellahin.
There were pelts that he had collected from recent hunts. A white fox, a brown coated rabbit, and a fawn's hide. Directing her towards them, he reached out to rake a paw across it. Dirt and leaves collected upon them. He wished that she would brush them clean. They would be gifts for the amiirad and he hadn't yet had time to clean them for presentation.
While she worked, Khaba would turn away to have his meal.