Wolf RPG - flowers before men,

atm @Senmut

since all had returned safely from war, Akashingo had felt especially blessed. she had made the right choices; she felt the warmth of Ra upon her as she sang her morning prayers.
but Makono had not returned. now, Toula was not sure she ever would. nothing could keep her away, she believed. and Toula communed with the Gods, praying feverently for an answer. she did not want any of this to go away; she wanted no man to command things any differently. a man might have wanted blood. not yet did Toula know or understand the perhaps more darker whims that men might have when in a position of power.
but the thought of blood—that was enough. more men might come here, wishing to be her King—and when they knew, as she did, that Pharaoh was dead…
she had always thought Makono would be back. but she had not returned, and she could delude herself no further.
Toula sought her most trusted of companions, and brought with her the most trusted of her fellahin. that had been driven into her; she would ever maintain her sense of her propriety. all others were dismissed, and to him she said, Pharaoh is lost to us, and he might take her meaning as she intended it.
of all that had come, she still trusted Senmut the most for this task—but she wondered if she herself was suited for it at all. have there ever been two Pharaohs, at once? ruling together? her eyes were bright as she observed him.
it might fall to him, if it was him that she wed should no one else suit. but Toula was keenly aware she needed to give the others more time, and more chances to interact with her. she had been busy preparing for war, for her coronation—
and now, this!

the land was limp in the mounting heat. senmut had recalled everyone inside from servant to guard. he now lay inside his own chambers almost stricken with the heat, half-draped in the catskin pelt of his rank, the space filled fragrant with the aura of wilted flowers being playfully waved by a fellahin draped close to him as he reclined —!

the hemet-nekheb herself darkened his doorstep, and so swiftly that senmut was still disarrayed when he pulled away from jawahir, and they both fell before their queen. he sent the servant away with a gesture; he welcomed the queen into his own attending-room, petals floating from his shoulders. "there has not been, great one," senmut breathed, taking up a place at her divine feet, scribe eternal and face burning to have been caught so.

"what do you consider in your mind, divine queen?"

I hope it’s ok to cameo? <3

The Queen of Akashingo as she stands upon the stone is illuminated even in the dimming light of the Erpa-ha’s bedchamber. The coyote woman is a soundless witness to the proceedings, sitting well behind and to the left of her Holiness, ready to attend at once to any given order.

Though dormant in her bearing, there is great intrigue about her ruler’s quest for answers here- is it an intention to claim role as Pharaoh?

She is only still.

no matter who it is, I do not wish for things to change, she admitted openly to him. it is not that I do want my decisions questioned—if they are wrong, I always wish to know. but I feel as though we thrive, in the direction I and the Gods seek to lead us toward. and that perhaps if I were an equal to my husband, in title—there would always be that balance, Toula breathes. it was not ambition; she was content as Queen. but for her people, she would ascend higher still if it meant keeping to this way of life.
she has always been a mouthpiece of the divine, divine herself. it did not feel far fetched to want this, for Akashingo more than for herself.
but she did not want it alone, not forever—
she, innocent still, was unaware as to what she has nearly walked in upon. gently she moves to pick a petal from his shoulders, letting it flutter to the earth at their feet. Toula relaxes before him, her trust in him implicit even as she recited her teachings within her head. but also, her mind goes back to the days she looked up at him as a little girl, her father with them!

yeee <3

two pharaohs. was one not enough? had not one pharaoh after another torn down countless tradition? endless dynasties?

her reasoning was sound, but senmut could not convey how changing Ma'at more might pit the empire against itself. "when the world was younger, there were two pharaohs. one to rule the upper part of the kingdom, and one the lower. when at last they were combined, the land was unified."

he lifted his head, wondering what the fellahin might carry forth from this room. "you are the final link to the divine, great one. only you can legitimize a pharaoh. only you can carry a new dynasty. no one is your equal already, even as hemet-nekheb."

and there was no brother to make Consort if she did become pharaoh. senmut was far less royal than the sphinx beneath their roof. "send harakhte out upon some mission or another. make him prove himself. he upholds our hierarchy. he understands the court. he is careful and pious." encouragement, though wary. "prove he can hold our gates no matter how far they extend, divine one. in this, see if he can approach your equal."

for so many reasons, Toula trusted the made prince before her. but as he spoke, the greatest one came to the fore. he did not move or work for himself, but for Akashingo. just as she herself did. Toula had no desire to break from tradition, nor to dishonor and offend the Gods.
I shall, she breathed. one must be worthy of Akashingo, the greatest of jewels. and it was time she created bonds that might come to grow to something more. the man was charming, certainly.
and more would come, too. she must see and feel with her heart who was right for the task.
but then there was the happiness of Senmut to consider, and she moved to what she hoped might be a lighter conversation. have you loved any other than the Gods? as one might love someone they wish to wed? her ears pressed forward as she listened. she could not speak with her mother, or father, or sister, or brother on such things—they were all gone.
but he was as family to her, and she loved him as surely as she had (and still did) them.

senmut's mouth ran dry and he glanced away. "once, divine one. but i never considered that the feeling was — felt, opposite my own." there had been many reasons why he had not acted; that his queen did not know the worst of them was a relief.

"now that you have made me a prince, if you find no man of character to sit upon the Horus Throne, then i shall sit there for you, great one," senmut said quietly. she knew this of course but he felt odd about it, and knew it would sunder many near-familial intimacies between them perhaps, if their bond should shift so drastically.

his mind reeled with thoughts of nazli, she too keenly aware always of one's station, and now his so lofty, his above hers over and over. senmut's heart ached.