Lion Head Mesa fah

hoping for @Aquillius !

there was a son of the man Germanicus under their roof! the whisperings at last reached Toula, who had been despondent during the earliest days of mourning.
but in the newcomer was a distraction most welcome to her; a person who might not think to mention the late Pharaoh at all! and someone perhaps she could learn from, somehow—or teach! as she had Akashingo's newest Hem.
the thought invigorated her. the boy being one of her people now, she must welcome him!
before greeting Ra, she spoke with the fellahin to prepare meals for herself and the boy, and to freshen her own chambers to receive him. Toula again allowed herself to be groomed, though still wore a black cloak around her shoulders. sure that all was in order, she requested that one of her fellahin retrieve the boy, and bring him to her!

One of the skuttling little creatures, the fellahin, had found him just as he had left the barracks, offering a summons to him from someone named Toula. A princess, which was as unfamiliar to him as a pharoah. Either way, she sounded important.

Aquillius cast a longing look towards the exit of the catacombs, to the silence and comfortable buzzing of his morning training, but he did as requested, turning to follow the fellahin with a short, marching stride. As he walked, he was quick to realize where he was being led. Opulence dropped like gold from the walls, the smell of finery almost making him sneeze.

He believed he rather preferred the musk of the barracks. Unfamiliarity made his skin crawl.

It was only when he was left awkwardly in the doorframe and the little coyote went skuttling away that he looked to the woman who summoned him. Pretty, he absently noted, golden furred with dark lined eyes that made the blues more vibrant. Surrounded by the finery, she made quite the picture.

The eagle-son dipped his head low in greeting, as low as his own pride would allow.

…good morning. He would speak after a moment of thought, unsure of what else to say.

he had come! and the fellahin was swift to announce him, and introduce her by name and all her epithets before scuttling away into the backdrop.
Toula's gaze was soft as she beheld him, warm and open and admiring of all the things she could plainly see. imagining, too, the stories behind the wounds he had come to bear. he looked every bit the fierce Mazoi that he had been titled as!
I know your father, she wanted to say at once! but then he might ask after her own, and—
they were their own people, were they not? perhaps it was best to not speak of fathers! and speak instead of themselves.
good morning, she answered in turn, and then asked of him, how are you settling into Akashingo, Mazoi? formal, and polite, as ever! in him, Toula dared to hope for a friend; the dignified romans and the egyptians had always been aligned in their history here (as far as she was aware!), and Toula hoped to continue to keep this pleasant peace.

His brain was struggling to keep up with all the titles. That certainly was a lot of them, he thought to himself as he haunted the doorway like a b-rated slasher. He didn’t know if it was allowed for him to step inside, so he just…didn’t.

I am settling well. It is good to have purpose. Although, it was awkward to carry out a conversation from the door. But he didn’t budge, just standing there with his shoulders pressed together, back straight.

He allowed himself a little side to side shuffle, very brief, before he was still as a statue.

he stood at the door. for a while, he was perfectly still. Toula could not refrain from imagining him a part of these halls, a stony fixture—a gargoyle statue, foreboding and fierce!
it was only when he shifted that the illusion broke. but Toula found herself in good humor from it, and gestured towards the furs on the floors. please, make yourself comfortable, she invited, and then drew toward another pile of furs atop a small, unassuming plinth—more like a stone chaise lounge than plinth, perhaps—and lay comfortably across it. eat, if it pleases you, and she then picked one of the sweet meats for herself, enjoying the taste of it upon her own tongue. it was nothing too lavish; Toula could not permit anything so grand in this period of mourning!
do you enjoy the duties of Mazoi, then? she inquired, truly hoping to know him better! was it in this way that he found his purpose?
Toula then came up with an idea, but held her tongue and waited for his answer first!

She gestured for him to enter, and he followed the order, ever a loyal hound, the obedient creature. He moved to a pile of furs, reclining back on his haunches. His tail, the only full and voluminous part of his body currently, lay flat beside him, black hairs spilling like oil across the red floor.

His eye took in the chambers, flicking from points, before falling to the Princess again.

Yes. It is what I was born to do. He was a soldier, had heard the drum of war in his ears since the first day he’d ever knew sound. He grabbed a piece of meat, rolling it to his cheek where he could suck the flavor off it, eventually chewing it down to swallowing size.

born to do! what confidence he had in himself! Toula considered him with an openly appraising eye, smiling softly again.
do you think yourself capable of training another? she asked in her next breath, Toula wondering if he had the patience to share his craft or only enjoyed to perform it. the latter was fair, but Toula was all too hopeful he would take to the idea of training—
a wholly selfish desire! but Toula had it in her heart now, to learn how to protect! perhaps the Mazoi before her would be the one for such a task. or perhaps not; she would never fault him for such...
but she hoped all the same.

The princess asked if he could train another, and one of Aquillius’s ears flicked, as though he was trying to hear what she said again.

He looked down at his feet, contemplation in the set of his brow and the backward sway of his ears. He’d never thought about training another, but, perhaps in a fit of delusional self confidence, he believed he could.

I think I could. He remembered his father’s teachings well. Though, he didn’t know if anyone he taught would respect him much. He was, after all, still a lanky teenage boy. And nobody enjoyed those ordering them around.

he believed that he could. Toula appraised him with bright eyes, and then added: do you think yourself capable of training me? she was no soldier, but she wished to learn the ways of the guardian! Iset had sent her dreams that seemed to insist upon this idea. 
the Amiirad was eager to answer Her through this!

He blinked at the question, looking at the girl critically for a moment. Sweeping her form with his eyes, cataloguing her appearance and thinking of what his father would have done in his place.

I believe I could come up with a program that would work for you. He said after a moment too long of staring, averting his eyes for a second to regain the small loss of composure.