Lion Head Mesa dying for pie

omg i am soo sorry this took so long for me to get up! for @Toula specifically though anyone is welcome to come and find her!

tuna had remained in the steppes for a bit, perhaps a bit too afraid to venture and see what else these wilds had to offer. perhaps that was the sin she always held, one of fear for the new things she seems so desperately wanted to experience. her hunts were fruitful the warmer it became, and recently the girl had been carrying the skull of the shy deer whom she stumbled upon in a sickly state and seemingly abandoned by the herd.

it filled her with meat, but less so with jest. she was growing tired of being alone and wanted to go where the others flourished! so it was no surprise that the girl skipped with excitement when she could smell the scent of others as she headed toward the mesa. and while tuna was not raised in the most orderly household, she did know that there was a single rule that she knew better than to cross.

never enter someone's home without permission, especially empty-handed!

so the skull is picked clean and the girl thrums out a call for anyone who may come to her. she's far away enough from the border to not be seen as a direct threat, but just close enough to maybe bring some form of attention to herself. she had come from the southern tip of the steppes, still standing on the grainy sand beneath her as she waits for someone.

the palace quieted, though not in scrutiny he hoped.

akashingo was silent. senmut roamed on.

a coyote called at the border. the self-appointed vizier went to seek out the voice's owner.

"this is the domain of pharaoh. who are you?"

another breaks the silence.

tuna certainly had no idea why this creature before she spoke in such a tongue, nor what pharaoh even meant. but she did know that hospitality came first and that it was rude to be close-minded. so, she comes forward to place the skull before senmut and back up for good measure.

"tuna perez," she comes to say politely, "am not from 'round here, came in through the sand that'a way." her muzzle would come to point to the steppes for a moment before returning to the man before her small frame. "was hoping to find ah home with others, i brought this as a gift." 

a small tap of her paw in front of where she lay the skull. "does... does pharoah's land have room?" a bold question, but perhaps it may hold an answer that she was hoping to receive.

it was not a name he knew. senmut was more interested in the fine health and pretty eyes of the would-be palace creature.

the skull was given a contemplative look.

"our queen is in need of attendants for her court. you would be expected to be with her at all times and serve her in all ways. she is kind and very pious. in return, you have the protection of akashingo and the opportunity to move higher."

the bright green of his eyes gave nothing away. "what do you think of this prospect?"

it is one hell of a deal.

while tuna never adopted the role of an attendant before, it couldn't be worse than all the babysitting she did for her parents. this time, instead of little annoying puppies, all she'd have to do is look out and possibly entertain a full-grown adult who could voice their needs without crying! it almost sounded too good to be true.

"well," she comes to say with a roll of her shoulders in a shrug, "i ain't got nothing tah lose here. she sounds like my type of lady to spend time with too." thankfully tuna naturally got along with most she's crossed paths with, and so long as this senmut didn't lie of what personality the queen harbored, tuna had no reason to not agree to the terms.

besides, she was no dummy when it came to hearing about the possibility to rise. perhaps not for tuna, as she lacked the drive for power, but she'd never turn down an offer to be respected more.

"when can i meet her?"

"today."

the priest motioned to her offering. "bring that and follow me."

the stretch of redsand road leading to the three great steps was expansive. senmut led in silence, climbing said steps with nary a falter, headed into a small cave-like opening behind the open-air throne room that led down beneath the mesa.

it was quieter here among the crimson hallways.

he did not take tuna to pharaoh. instead, he took her along a corridor that widened into a lovely underground courtyard and announced himself to the fellahin at the door.

"the divine queen-elect will see you now," senmut murmured to the joiner, and together they stood into a lovely little throne room decorated with a hundred little baubles.

he lowered himself before @Toula, forehead to the smooth floor. "divine of Iset, a gift has come to our gate."

Toula had dreams of her own Queendom. how might she make Akashingo a better place, she wondered, past prayer and her own love for beauty? the latter, during mourning, was not so important to her—let those coming and going know and understand the breadth of their loss. but soon, they would celebrate the new Pharaoh—and herself, too, it seemed! Queen to be! 
the then princess had designs to make Akashingo better in the ways that she could; she would sit for hours to listen to the people, and the things they might wish for. this in itself was a new thing—but she wanted to hear her people!  
and in these hours, Senmut came to her. she was swift to grant him entry, and soon he and another came to her. she herself remained seated, despite the compulsion to rise and rush to greet her much adored Hem. still, her smile and bearing were warm and welcoming. as she listened to him, she brightened, eyes turning to the one he had brought with him. 
a gift! oh! Toula did her utmost to remain still and composed, thinking of her father, of her mother—of Makono. she lifted her chin in open invitation to bring the gift nearer, asking merrily, for me? and who is this that you have brought with you, Hem! her delight was apparent, voice rich with it.

she was quick to follow senmut, grabbing her gift as gently as she could manage and bringing it into the land of the reeds. often, tuna had to stop herself from running into things (such as walls) because she was too engrossed with staring at, well, everything.

beneath the surface, there were secrets that tuna would never know within the red stone walls. instead, all she would know is beauty within the underground courtyard. when they were granted access into the throne room, tuna had to stop herself from walking further than her escort.

instead, she can see the young girl on the throne with a golden air that seemingly fills up the entire space. for a moment, tuna stares and soon realizes that she was probably meant to bow with senmut. but while holding her gift, she was afraid of knocking it against the ground and possibly damaging it.

so for a very obvious moment, tuna shifted around as she could not figure out what to do! finally, it clicks that she can just do the best she can – tuna comes to pick up a front leg and drop her back so that her leg lays flush to the ground. her head respectfully dipped enough, perhaps a little too close for comfort against the stone beneath her.

and when she comes to rise and sees the invitation to bring what she has, she casts an unsure glance to the hem before slinking only a few steps closer to gently place the skull before the mighty queen. then, tuna backs up to her original spot.

now, most who grew up in such a system would probably know to hold their tongues unless specifically addressed by royalty, but tuna was naive to this world and decided that she would just do what she thought was most correct.

"ah gift," she comes to say to Toula, "for the radiaent queen ahf akashingo. i, the lowly toona, am humbled to be in your prehsence." it may have sounded a bit funny coming from her accented tongue (and someone may make fun of her for butt-kissing), but tuna wanted to start off strong with this young queen before her. so now she would fall silent and wait for perhaps the judgement that may come.

asked to skip mr senmut!

where perhaps another might have grown frustrated, Toula was endeared. greatly amused, Toula saw a pretty creature to be shaped by the ways of Akashingo. she only wished that @Nazli might be here, to teach her more! but they were thoughtful, and this was what struck Toula more than anything else. she watched the stranger, miss perez—miss toona, said she!—bow, and bring to her the gift. Mazoi stepped forward, but Toula raised an ankle in dainty, gentle pause.
how lovely, Toula admired from afar, though did stand to draw nearer to both. though it seems to me you yourself are a gift as well! Toula admits. she was charmed by the strange way in which miss perez spoke; she wanted to hear more.
it is your wish, to serve me? Toula asked; that the Hem had brought her here meant that he, himself, thought this stranger worthy of it. Toula was not yet queen, though she hoped to be a good one; and so she granted the stranger this final moment of choosing. the fellahin with her then seemed encouraging, outfitted still in the colors of mourning nearby.

a sheepish smile crawls onto her face as her large ears come to splay out in a goofy manner. and tuna must fight off the flush of heat she feels on her cheeks at the compliment.

"mah wish is t'ah make the, uh," she had to think to remember what hem had just called her, "dee-viiine queen happy, in however she needs me." tuna was signing her life away, but it was better than being lonely and starving in those wilds, not to mention this young lady before her did not seem to hold any bad blood against coyotes.

actually, when she thinks about it, no one had given tuna dirty looks since coming here, which was a big change.

last from me! but I would love a new one @Tuna <3!

how sweet! but it was as it should be, in the way of fellahin. Toula smiled, and said, welcome then, my fellahin. before anything else, I would like for you to eat, the then Amiirad turned to the longest standing of fellahin within the room, @Jawahir. please see to it that she is fed, and bathed. instruct her of the palace routes, and then return her to me,
her gaze looked back to the Hem, bright with gratitude, before falling back to the fellahin. the gifts I have been brought today are already quite precious to me. I thank you, she murmured, as Jawahir approached.