Lion Head Mesa I know you wanted me to stay

leadership tags but AW — @Toula @Rashepses @Zaahira (senmut omitted due to his continued presence in muat-riya!)

the lands were warm and by the time she saw the towering land, she figured it might just be a hallucination. after all the rest of the land had been so flat and drab after the forest. the forest! she recalled it and wished to be back there now.

goodness, it was warm beneath the sun wasn't it?

by the time she reached a tangling border of scents, her breath had become heavy and hard. she felt angered by the darker hues that colored her fur along her head and limbs. it felt as if she only soaked in the sun and her thick form held it in for storage.

she was lowering herself to the ground cautiously like a melted puddle before she could even call for someone. she prayed the ones who made homes here had kind watchmen, that they might take pity on one not wholly fit for their lands.

before the sun devoured her very life essence, preferably.

the guard that surrounded Toula as of late was grand, and for good reason! she was round and full, with Akashingo’s future. she moved slower, but her routine had not changed overmuch. and so she moved this hour to Khonsu with gifts aplenty, 
but was given pause to see a lovely creature laying at her door! that was unusual, and so Toula advised one of her Sesh to investigate with a Mazoi. there was always some doctor with her, ensuring all was well during her pregnancy.
and it was! by all accounts, this had been the perfect pregnancy for the first time mother, for which she thanked the Gods by sunrise and sunset. the heat she was accustomed to, but even she could admit that in this phase of her pregnancy she tired far too easily. her visits to Khonsu were brief, true, but her gifts were many!
the Sesh moved to inspect the other for signs of life, and would jump away at the first sign of one. Toula watched worriedly, the fellahin keeping her shaded and fanned with large fronds.

heat-waved moments felt like they stretched out into hours, even days. it could have been weeks. it very well could have been the whole season and she would have never known. each minute in the scorched eyes of Ra felt like eternity to one who had never seen them before.

the truth was that it was only minutes, perhaps, at most.

scents seemed to bloom stronger in the hot, dry air. exotic perfumes that felt like only a dream to her senses! her eyes opened near half-lidded. perhaps the glorious shimmer of her purple gaze would have been brighter if they were not tiredly glazed.

she had not expected to be greeted by so many. nor had she anticipated a woman who stood at the center of all of it. the glowing image of something otherworldly. wolf and yet the aura around her made it feel as if she was more than just wolf.

God?

her voice was a hushed question but she looked at that radiant newly-motherly figure with an awe to her.

Toula moved past the line of simmering heatwaves that danced, seeing this a being in need. the moniker used was not unfamiliar, and as one of her fellahin began to announce her Toula said, ah, wait—she must be escorted to the coldsprings promptly! 
she knew the signs of one overheating—had seen it in so many, and saved them too. to the Mazoi she commanded they use their muscle to help support her. come, let us get you cooled off—then, we shall speak,
Khonsu sought to save this one, and Toula would not ignore one He brought to her doorstep!

huh? oh.

she was being helped and such kinds words were being spoken. her face might have flushed if it was not already scorched by the sunrays.

in truth, she was basically lifeless until taken to their destination. she did not know the kind of welcomed relief that awaited her! nor that she ought to be grateful for such gracious company.

feel free to PP loveday as arriving to the oasis/being tended to/whatever fits toula and her instructions! <3

the woman was maneuvered into Akashingo proper, and Toula led them inward, to the cooler waters. summon the Sesh, she asked one of the fellahin, and another came with supplies she often went to, when assisting her. the woman was guided into the waters, though only their edge so that she might acclimate, and coaxed onto her belly. Toula thoroughly soaked a rabbit skin and placed it atop the woman’s forehead.
she had not yet overheated, at least she did not think so! but that was why she called upon an expert to diagnose, while she herself combatted the possibility of it… or perhaps that itself, if she were! Toula’s movements were slower, as she tired easily these days, but when she withdrew she looked to the pretty silver thing and asked, any better?

cooling, kind touches. they did not compare to the warmth she had yearned for for so long. yet the sun had delivered that and she had payed a nearly fierce price for it.

god spoke with a voice of honey and cinnamon. something comforting, that warmth she yearned for existed in the voice of a divine one.

you — her voice could barely raise and she felt embarrassed for it. saved me?

why?

prioritizing this one! So sorry!! Been all over the place

she could speak! and the words, thank the Gods, were intelligible. the fear of heat stroke was not forgotten, but at least it felt less likely. the question surprised her though—Toula tilted her head and said with a soft smile, of course I did. Khonsu brought you to me, she hummed, He guided your travels, brought you to safety.
Toula paused long enough to take another cool cloth and, if the stranger allowed, would replace the one beneath her belly then. where was it you were headed? she inquired, curious!

<3 !!

she made it all seem so...clean. direct and perfect. all packaged up with a pretty ribbon around it. she allowed herself to be fussed over, tended to. another cool surface given to her. it helped soothe the embarrassment of not having a very good answer at all.

oh, well, um... she allowed her head to dip back down. chin gently brushed over the water's edge. nowhere, really. i saw here from a distance and thought i'd very much like to see that. i didn't expect all of this to happen.

indeed, Khonsu truly had directed this woman’s path! the Gods and Their whims can be unpredictable, Toula said, things rarely end up the way we mean for them to. but I trust that They brought you here in such a fashion so that we two might meet, she said this with a look of wonder on her features—one who fully believed their words. 
how are you feeling now? she asked, deciding to firstly be sure that the dangers of a greater sickness had passed before pressing into any other conversation—though she did long to know more of this traveler who had felt so drawn to her kingdom!

but you're a God. what are your whims?

her cheeks were too flushed (was that still from the sun or something else?) and her gaze timidly looked down into the waters. serene and clean. some part of her wished to slide down into it and bathe herself clean. as if she might wash away everything from the outside world. none of it deserved to be in this place, before this divinely kind woman.

wonderful. truly! maybe not completely over the heat, but she did not teeter so heavily upon a knife's edge now. how do i repay such a kindness? i do not wish to leave you with less.

hmm, Toula considered. she wished for nothing, not truly—but she knew that would not satisfy one who wished in their heart to repay! I think, today, nothing would make me so rich as to hear your story. tell me of you, she decided, thinking such simple enough. 
it would give the other time to cool further, and Toula could relax herself while awaiting the Sesh.

this woman did not realize the importance of her question. loveday had not met anyone who cared about her or her stories in such a way in a very, very long time.

well, um, i'm loveday. she started off with a small smile. i come from a very small place, mostly family and some long known friends. i was a bit of a teacher for the newer children or anyone needing some extra help. it had been nice and cozy, until suddenly it stopped being such.

but i suppose my head got too full of wild ideas! she laughed softly and resigned herself to looking at rippling waters. it's been nice seeing different wonders of the world, though. we never had anything like this back home. i don't think anyone would believe me if i told them about this!

a teacher! we have them here—we call them Sesh, though they were not solely teachers—they also executed what they educated in. what did you teach? Toula wondered, intrigued! 
wild ideas… this intrigued her further, though she had heard that flights of fancy could capture any and send them away. perhaps that was all she meant. and as far as Akashingo being unique, Toula smiled softly. it is all very grand, Toula admitted, though found herself wondering about the world some now. was where her aunt reigned as grand as this?
Toula had never wondered! what she had seen of the world left much to be desired. her hosts had always been kind, and the wolves beyond her walls were what she most enjoyed more than the food, or the place itself—though the culture, too, she enjoyed. she recalled The Dreadfather fondly, and Ash Paw, who she had terribly not thought of in some time…!
@Ash Paw! and her cubs! they must be grown by now! oh! she would need to find her, to see how she was doing.
her mind had wandered, but she set its path back to this silver stranger, reminding herself of the importance of being present.

a sesh! loveday had never been called such, but how could she have been? everything about here was unique in a way that she would never see elsewhere.

stories and our history! family was important, so it was even more pressing to let the children know where they came from and what had been done to ensure their futures. but none of that mattered here did it? she was without her family, she was without children to teach.

it was nice, melancholy as she allowed one paw to dip down into the waters. tempting it up to her ankle.