Lion Head Mesa crossbow

somethin' quick since she's supposed to pop soon? set closer to that ramesses thread <3

she had sent off sayyadina to fetch @Tavina — figuring it might be best so as to not cause any fuss from either woman. treva did not need pressing, dire help. however it seemed she had been squared away by the pharaoh to discuss plans of motherhood.

whenever the women returned to her den, they would find treva intensely preening the edge of one of the hides that made for a bed.

the fellahin who brought her to the mazoi was beautiful. her loveliness stole tavina's thoughts directly to nala.

treva herself was rather stunning, and she was swelled with the children. more babes for akashingo. but these would be royal. 

"my lady." she nodded sayyadina away and came closer. "how are you feeling?"

she smiled, tired but warm. the exhaustion of the late stages wore on her heavily now.

tired, always. this was perhaps her worst symptom of all. although the ache of her hips and back seemed to wear on her too now.

i'm...supposed to speak with you. plans for motherhood. a soft roll of her eyes, but a smile lingered all the same.

"ah. yes. will you be delivering your children here or in my examination rooms, and would you like me to ask jawahir to also nurse them?" 

the coyote had now fed two litters not her own. it was a dour, ugly punishment for a fall from ramesses' favour.

"have you experienced any contractions yet? at this time they would only be false, just preparing your body for the real ones. but occasionally they can indicate preterm labour."

no, no, she whisked the notion of anybody but herself feeding the children. they were supposed to be hers, and she was supposed to...care for them. right? raise them, at the very least. i'd prefer to be here and...no other nurses or anything.

then there was talk of contractions.

maybe? it's hard to tell. perhaps she need not confess this was her first time as a mother. certainly it showed in other ways. sometimes the back and hip pain feels like a...pulse, a wave.

tavina nodded. "ultimately the choice is yours. but you should be warned that ramesses demanded of satsu the same thing, that she take a wet-nurse. he will want you at his side as soon as possible. however, this is not his decision to make, and you will have my full support regardless of what pharaoh desires."

she gave a firm tip of her muzzle and a wink to the noblewoman. the sesh moved closer. "that is what i mean. it signals that the time is coming." she gave treva an apologetic smile. "will you roll to your back? i would like to examine your belly, if you don't mind."

mourning is not over yet, she whispered softly, uncertain if it was more for herself or for the coming words. maybe he won't much such a demand until the time has passed. wishful thinking and this she knew for the thoughtful look on her face.

all of this replaced by the sudden instruction to expose her belly!

oh, um, awkwardly she rolled, feeling much the weight of things shifting. and now with belly up, she swore she could feel more of the life. one (was it but only the one? or was that one the fussiest?) seemed content to push and shove against her sides, lively and fussy for this sudden churning movement.

the children moved enough for tavina's skilled eyes to see the restless ripple. she put one paw out, pressing its flat against various points on the noblewoman's belly. "they are quite active," the sesh commented. "healthy children, outgrowing their home."

"you will have at least two, i believe. or one very large child," she joked, though it was clear she meant the former.

they had long outgrown their home, thought treva. her bones ached from the added weight of them and the changes of her body.

i don't know which would be better, she laughed softly, rocking gently with the weight of herself. another kick, this one enough for her attempt to right herself if tavina was done with her inspection.

do you think he'll want to be at the birth?

tavina helped her to shift into a more comfortable position. "he will not come into this room. but he will wait outside until he has the counts and he has been told your status. in some days after that, he will come back to name any sons you have delivered."

and she hoped for siptah's sake that treva only gave him half-sisters whose company he might one day enjoy as he did that of makono and ashikaga. any other boys would be an immediate threat to him.

and she would be invested in all of them. "can i bring you anything, my lady? even if it is something small or savory."

he would not come into the room.

it was all treva needed to hear. not out of any ill, but for the sure sensation that she would want no one but tavina in the room. especially not any men. there were things to be pondered too, especially if her due date was looming by the waves in her body.

fish, she proclaimed like it was the grandest idea to have hit her at once. except she looked around at all the stone and sand. although...that might be a lofty request? she laughed as she pulled herself into a seated position.

any rich meal and...share it with me,

a question as much as it was a request.

treva surprised her. tavina blinked once and then chuckled. "very well. and it's not so steep an order. i am a decent fisher. i'll send nazli along with some honey and fresh berries, then join you for the main course."

it would be good to leave the cloying shadows of the palace. she felt that treva might feel the same. "i know you are uncomfortable, but walking is the best thing to start labour. perhaps we could go and eat just outside the mesa, in the air." but she would leave the final choice to the noble.

treva suddenly felt a great hunger at the discussion. a type of hunger that had not gripped her in some time. perhaps the poking and prodding of the children had brought forth a surge of energy that needed to be replenished.

the recommendation to go out into the air?

i trust you, soft spoken as she lifted herself. a declaration that felt overdue. pick your favorite spot.

"let's go out beyond the open-air throne room. we can dine on the steps." if treva was ready, she would step forward and offer her shoulder for the woman to lean upon.

i trust you.

"akashingo is going to end up with more children in one year than i thought was possible. lots of playmates for these ones. we're going to have to put in a school," she said lightly, keeping her pace slow.

it would be the first time she had truly been in public eye. content to be squared away in her own space, only stepping out for bathing or bathroom breaks. it had not been the way to live, this she saw now as she walked with tavina into the world.

not a bad idea, she smiled loosely, mindful of her steps. you'd be a good teacher, you know. perhaps one of the children will apprentice you.

"i have two young fellahin i am teaching. nazli and her brother zakariya. the royal children come to me. i enjoy teaching, but i wonder if more teachers should be found for how many young minds are already here."

the path wound upward and became steeper. she navigated. fellahin passed. she smiled at them. a guard let his eyes rest on the round sides of treva. and there was no sign of pharaoh. she paused to include nazli in their plans, instructing the girl to bring fruit and sweets out of doors.

through the throne room, past the now unused plinth, and down to the second roughened step. the red sand spread out in all directions, almost endless until it touched the green sprawl of the meadows and prairie beyond. ravens wheeled overhead in a flock. the cry of a hawk echoed. "if you will wait here, i'll go to the river and fish. shouldn't take long."

i think you're right. maybe we can come up with a plan for that, convince the pharaoh. she laughed softly, but did mean it genuinely. why should they not be teaching all the sudden influx of young minds? it would prepare them for...whatever future laid ahead of them all.

she tried to look away from lingering gazes. smiled weakly to those who showed kindness, a stone face for those who nosily peered at her swollen sides. she would do her best to pay none of it any mind.

take your time, the fresh air will do me good. she decided on as she settled down. worn from the walk alone, how pathetic it made her feel. a mazoi! tired from a walk!

she would spend her time sunbathing until the return of tavina or the delivery of berries and honey.

wanna fade here or keep going?

when tavina returned with a medium trout, it was to a spread of the favoured foods and treva gently sunning herself.

"you know," the sesh said, setting the fish across the step and sitting down nearby, still slightly damp from the walk which led up to akashingo, leaving the serpent behind, "you are about to have significant influence over akashingo. did you for instance know that a queen is in charge of pharaoh's harem?"

maybe a few more but we can wrap soon :3c

tavina returned and treva looked at her as if she hung the stars and moon. the arrival of the fish stirred that hunger once more. a great need. the berries and sweets had been enjoyable, delectable, but they paled in comparison to the belly of the sea treasure.

only to be caught sideways by the doctor's words.

what?! she sputtered, falling into some loose laughter.

ok <3

"oh yes," she said, adding some trout to her serving of berries. she divided it deftly between them, giving treva a larger portion she did not intend to be addressed. the other was carrying, after all. "the queen has the right to decide who goes to his bed and when, including when women enter heat. only she is owed royal children, after all."

"you also have the right to start whatever projects you like. perhaps that school." she smiled. did treva understand the breadth of the powers coming to her?

a wealth of power had fallen into treva's lap.

this she had been informed some time ago, loosely. yet it seemed with each passing milestone of her pregnancy, more and more of it came to light. in a way so fast and grand she could not understand. she decided his lovers! if it had been possible for her to blush, perhaps she would have, flustered with all of this.

oh, she laughed some more, soft but awkward. plucking a berry or two into her mouth. a burst of flavor and relief.

if you weren't already a doctor, i might have asked you to advise me. you'd be a good head for projects.

treva had not pictured herself here so soon. a position of power, womb of royalty, a meeting with a kind doctor she might have dared to consider friend.

tavina chuckled lightly. "i can multitask."

when maegi recovered, she thought it might be nice to have the three of them together. lilitu was too young and not yet a mother. there was time enough for her to enjoy the honeymoon trials of akashingo before any jading came to her.

and come it would.

"sayf is the royal architect. he oversees finding new rooms as our numbers expand. you might ask him, once you are ready to break proverbial ground." the sesh chuckled.

can fade on your next if you'd like <33

she smiled warmly, the woman was full of skills and knowledge it seemed.

sayf is good, the man had done nothing but shown her kindness and hospitality. even recommended by the pharaoh! i'd like to hear more of your ideas, though. teasing softly before she placed a bit of trout into her mouth, soon followed by a berry.

<3 thank you right back for being so great btw <33

"well. i think a school should be held outdoors."

they would talk and eat and laugh. the sesh would think gently toward treva as one who could be a friend. both of them ultimately would answer to ramesses. it did not sour their interlude, however; she scarcely thought of their ruler.

when treva was ready to rest again, it would be tavina who guided her back, past the gazes and flowers and down the path until the noblewoman was sequestered in her own chambers once more.