Lion Head Mesa controversial

After endless, defeated wanderings the prince found himself on familiar ground. The sharp incline of the mountain rose ahead of him, this time basked in a layer of snow, making the prospect of traversing the slope more treacherous than it had been during the summer months. 

Climbing the mountain wasn’t his first problem, however. He could not step foot into the territory anyway , not without permission. Thus his first problem was seeking an invitation, and if he were lucky, a home would be blessed upon him too. 

It wasn’t just the mesa that had changed in the past months. Sapair was different, too. He had come alone this time, his priests having succumbed to illness. They were weak. He didn’t need them slowing him down. The black wolfdog had taken ill, too, and though he had survived, he now lacked his usual handsome , robust demeanor. these days his face was gaunt and his bones jutted harshly beneath his pelt. His eyes, though, still held light and vitality, shimmering with the creature’s stubborn insistence to survive. 

He tossed his muzzle upward and emitted a long howl to the evening. Then he sat on his haunches to wait.

come the new year, zaahira planned to go searching for the lost amiirad. while she was hesitant to leave the mesa yet again, she basked now in the return to her old routine.
nights filled with the sour burn of fermented berries, days of working muscle and teeth with heaving breaths — and of taking her former patrol routes just outside the grounds, the memories of which etched into her dna.
she was halfway through her early afternoon patrol when she'd heard it.
the last time she had done this here, she had been thinner. fragile. now, her figure blossomed with hardlined muscles and a bristling winter coat. her eyes found the stranger with a harsh flicker. she felt as though she should recognize him.
you have come to akashingo, claim of pharaoh muat-riya isetnofret toula. you speak to jodai zaahira bint-sinir. the rough-edged voice comes with a raspy, impatient chuff. what do you seek?

The soft crunch of footsteps on snow was first to alert him that his call had been heard. Sapair ensured his shoulders were confident, but his tail and ears remained lowered. 

Her beauty, he did not expect, nor did he expect the roughness of her voice as she greeted him. She was a creature who immediately commanded respect, and he dipped his snout slightly in a bow. This was a gesture that Sapair may not have afforded another wolf, not right at the beginning.

"hello, jodai Zaahira. I am baka Sapair, and I have come asking for refuge, came a voice raspy but soft, like the movement of a snake. 

"Be it temporary or permanent, I will contribute however I can while I am here. However I am needed." He recognized the name of the leader Toula... the woman he had attempted -- and failed -- to court during his previous stay. intentionally, he omitted this portion of the story. it was not something he could, or even wanted to lie about, but divulging it to Zaahira now seemed unnecessary.

sapair.
what can you offer to our kingdom? one eyebrow raises; her gaze is hard as stone. the palace now had half of its numbers, there was a brand new head beneath the crown, and the situation at muat-riya's border had all still on edge. there were to be no chances taken.
you say you will contribute however you can. what is your specialty? are you a soldier? a priest? a doctor? or a rat?

No doubt as a part of protocol, she asked what exactly it was that he could contribute. It was unsafe to allow hospitality to anyone who requested it. Sapair knew that from his days as Prince of Shetsoma. Still, his lip twitched in irritation, though he was careful to keep his voice even as he answered.

I can fish, hunt, he said, forcing a smile. But my training is in combat. Once my strength has returned, I can become part of your pack's defense. He knew he did not look well. Hopefully, she would believe the words he said. While Sapair was not above lying to get his way, the statements he had made to Zaahira were true.

she did not trust him.
do you plan to refill any resources we may use on you while you recover? there was not malice to her tone, but instead the hard-edged truth of indifference. new mazoi were an investment, a tool — one that the palace may not be able to afford. and if you are to become mazoi, are you prepared to follow any order that is asked of you?
zaahira thought to test him, right here, right now. to lunge with no warning, to see if his reflexes could still protect him. for the moment, she only watches him.

He felt belittled by her next words. Under different circumstances , he would have responded with defensive anger. In his former life, after all, Sapair was a Prince. Not only did he never need to refill resources he used, but others - wolves inferior to him - went hungry so that he might eat. 

But his life depended on being accepted into this pack. Otherwise, he would starve. It was a harsh and difficult truth for the prideful creature to face.

All he did to betray his irritation was to tilt his brow upward. of course, jodai, he murmured. I will make it so that my presence will hardly be detectable. And, anything asked of me - consider it done. he gave a few wags of his silky black tail and lowered his eyes.

alright. then i will see you to the erpa-ha.
ultimately, his admittance to the palace was not her decision to make. while pharaoh and semer-wati remained in muat-riya, @Senmut was the figurehead who she called upon now. she gestures for sapair to follow her through the passageways, and asks a passing fellahin to bring him a preyskin for warmth.
she wished very much so that she was not doing this. the last thing the palace needed was more conceited men stealing their oxygen.

as the celebrations were over, senmut wore no adornment nor paint. a servant bowed their way into his presence while he stood pensively in the chambers he had once occupied as a young training priest.

in quiet grace he came to meet zaahira and her charge. "jodai." and then his green eyes shifted. "baka sapair of shetsoma." the slender muscles of his body were controlled, as not to show his suspicion at this return. "by now you must know that our former queen chose no pharaoh, but was ordained by Ma'at to become one."

sapair had clearly been ill. senmut wondered if it was punishment from the gods for abandoning the progression of muat-riya.