Lion Head Mesa atef

sorry for all the tags lmao! set whenever! figured it would be a good time for them to meet <3

when merrick had departed ramesses remained restless. it seemed all of akashingo gathered around crowfeather for now.
he sighed and went to the wellspring, sinking gratefully below the surface. 
a sharp note summoned the new mazoi @Sihaya. why his queen had given a peasant-blood such a rank he did not know. but ramesses meant to understand. he waited.

Sihaya resigned to become a shadow on the wall in order to drink his fill of knowledge surrounding the intricate relationships in his new family. Though they were at war with a mad queen, there was a insidious hazard woven into the fabric that was Akashingo. Like a drop of water, alone it was benign, but with many drops a vast river could drown a man. Sihaya, in his bones, felt it the Mesa was just as dangerous as their enemy. More wild. It thrilled him to witness.

Crowfeather’s outcome was unknown. Sihaya wandered the red halls until he heard the summons and turned towards the wellspring. There waited the sun king.

Sihaya approached slowly and bowed his head in reverence. “Pharaoh, Subakh ul kuhar?” he asked in his mother tongue. “Are you well?” he translated.

there he was.
pharaoh slowly opened his lazuli eyes and held the burning embers of sihaya's own. he did not answer for a long moment, and then smoothly lifted himself until his well-formed shoulders showed just along the waterline.
"well enough for you to approach me, mazoi," ramesses answered lightly. his mouth spread into a languid smile, and he inclined his muzzle to the pool in silent command.
it was cloaked in inviting expectation. the first test had been administered to the fellahin whom satsu had elevated. to have such favour had turned the gaze of the pharaoh toward the silent, watchful man. 
sihaya would find he did not want such a beacon upon him.

Sihaya paused in calculation, but did not leave the Pharaoh waiting long. He took a few paces forward and stood steady under his leader’s watchful gaze. Beyond the wellspring were small dens of rock, and Sihaya half expected Sayf or Jawahir to come slinking out of one.

His ears cupped forward and wondered where Ramesses mind was at. War on the horizon. A wounded boy soldier in his halls. Allies encamped inside and adjacent to the territory. From the whispers, Sihaya had gathered they were zealots to some bear deity… and this made him grin, for he knew the power religion held over men. The Proctor Superiors were experts in crafting it to suit their ambitions.

Despite the turbulent politics, Ramesses appeared composed. As he should be – this man had constructed an new empire. Sihaya listened, half-lidded eyes watching closely.

sihaya did not enter the water and did not speak.
ramesses allowed the silence to stretch on and on. 
"what trade do you bring to akashingo?" the water rippled around his lithe body.
ramesses knew he was god-blessed and promised the double-crown. this man was a fellahin, and should be placed among them. but the speculation in the other's firelit eyes told pharaoh that this was no shrinking pleasure object.
a dangerous peasant then.
"my queen must think fondly of you. do you attend her court?"
a second test.

The water lapped at Ramesses’ golden hair and Sihaya knew the Reverend Mothers would have coveted such a grand wolf for their operations. He had a handsome face and an impressive figure, but was he strong of mind? Sihaya sought power – autonomy over his life and others – and, perhaps, a new master to serve. One who appreciated the subtle talents of the adder. But what kind of man was Pharaoh? This answer would dictate how Sihaya would answer him.

What trade do you bring to Akashingo? The sun king asked. My queen must think fondly of you. Do you attend her court? This implied that the two weren’t close enough to talk. Did the right hand not know what the left did? Sihaya thought of the queen’s frigid expression at the funeral while Pharaoh had been flanked by Fellahin. Perhaps a union in title only.

“I was traditionally trained as a diplomat and messenger. My old family was, ah… a unique clan.” How to even begin to explain The Order? “They had ties with many surrounding packs and frequently traded bloodlines.” Sihaya’s orange eyes rolled in thought. “With that job, I heard many things… many whispers. And whispered things, myself. Reconnaissance became a skill of mine, as did inception.” Sihaya had traveled with the Proctor Superiors many time to weave superstitions into far away clans so that, one day, they would be in a superior position of power. “It is how I heard of the Pharaoh and Samurai of the Mesa,” he added.

Sihaya’s tongue pressed against the back of his teeth as he smiled at himself, musing. “I’m afraid the queen does not think too fondly of me, yet. Speculative, I believe,” Sihaya’s tone sounded robotic, analytical. “I was to spy with Crowfeather, but he left before my arrival and came back… well…. indisposed. I believe the queen feels she needs more brawn than brain to win this war.” A pause. Thinking. “So, no… I do not attend her court,” he said as his face slackened into a dishonest smile – the kind with no light or warmth in the eyes.

ramesses did not like the man.
as much as with arsenio, pharaoh felt himself measured. weighed. observed. this moved him to a great wrath but scarcely a shimmer of it showed upon his striking marble face.
sihaya's revelation into what satsu might do when ramesses' eyes were not upon her sundered the pharaoh with a deep and abiding jealousy. brawn beyond brain. he wanted to know what malevolent creature she would take to her bed.
"so you too know an art of war, and one greatly important."
what attracted all creatures but power?
"our queen is a cunning creature. like smoke, she changes. she cannot be grasped."
a malicious thought came to him. "what of the fellahin, sihaya? have they served a man of your stature well here in akashingo?"

The reposed Pharaoh did not miss any opportunity to act majestic, and like the water he laid in, there was nary a ripple in his countenance. Sihaya’s skills appeared to satisfy his demands, to which the half-breed bowed his head in reverence.

He spoke then of Satsu and her enigmatic disposition – but Sihaya couldn’t quite place if they were compliments or criticisms. Would the queen, like smoke, slip through Ramesses fingers as they would any other man’s? Sihaya was no stranger to the immense power of women and he couldn’t help but wonder… was their rule equitable? Or did the Pharoah and Queen vie for control between themselves?

He did not speak on this matter, but merely bobbed his head in understanding.

“They have tried,” Sihaya reflected matter-of-factly. Was 'well' the right word for their service? “One of them said they would rip my eyes from their sockets,” he chuckled at this memory.

ramesses leant forward with a laugh. "they have grown spoiled here, mazoi." at last he stood and swept up the lip of the pool, dripping. he did not stand aside to shake himself, only began the process with brazen arrogance of where sihaya might yet stand.
"there is always a place for such servants here. a tradesman who brings such wealth to akashingo might find himself rewarded with a better title."
satsu had placed this man into his eye.
for what purpose?
pharaoh continued on, not setting his gaze in the direction of his companion for this hour.

Spoiled. Sihaya clung to this word like a treasure. He thought of the contempt in Sayf’s yellow eyes and the ire in his voice. They were like children.

As he thought on this, a rain of droplets from Ramesses golden coat sprayed… but Sihaya, the methodical creature that he was, barely even flinched. Any expression on his face reverted to its neutral setting as his mouth parted.

He lifted his forepaw and regarded the new wetness on his coat – and in one long, weird, slow motion his tongue snaked from between his teeth and he tasted the Pharaoh’s water on his own fur.

He smacked his lips, attention returning to Pharoah as if nothing had even happened. 

A promotion. “I’d like that,” he responded, some ‘normal’ brightness returning to his face. “I told Queen Nekubi Satsu I would be her eyes in the dark and her fangs in the distance. I am devoted to Akashingo." He paused. "But for Pharaoh... I will think of something special for you," he told the king. By now, Sihaya felt that Ramesses was the true power behind Akashingo. The question was... who would Sihaya have the most to gain from? Align himself with the King? Or Queen?

men had died for far less offenses.
ramesses gazed at sihaya for a long series of moments, at how the other had not moved, how he stood dripping even now with droplets tossed from the royal pelt.
it intrigued and titillated pharaoh, though he was no more trusting. sihaya spoke of an oath and loyalty. he had used the chosen title of the queen. ramesses did not wish to wait long for the day when all would speak her proper egyptian titles as well.
"you will take the air with me."
it was not a request. ramesses swept onward with the gilded arrogance of a trueborn king.

“Yes, that sounds like nice idea,” Sihaya responded pleasantly as if he were ignorant to the commanding subtext of Pharoah’s words. He turned and followed the golden man, dwarfed by the king, posture doused by his radiance.

“Pharoah, may I ask a question?” the half-breed inquired.

ramesses grandly and maliciously did not answer until he and sihaya had left the confines of the mesa for the open air of his outside throne room. it faced over the flatlands, and from this height he was able to see in all directions.
ramesses arranged himself across the plinth of stone and looked toward the mazoi.
"speak your question."
he was a pale sphinx upon the red rock.

Sihaya could feel the Pharaoh hold his time hostage as they walked together down the halls – just as he had done to Tamar. However, the half-breed did not upset, for he had a patient mind…

…or rather a weird, atypical, and disordered mind.

The Pharoah seated himself under the sun, posed like artwork. Sihaya’s head slung from side to side, smelling the fresh air. Ramesses reminded him that he had a question.

“What is your dream for Akashingo?” he asked. It was a benign question – for a beginning is a very delicate time.

it was a heavy question.
ramesses' lips tilted into an unreadable, humorless smile.
"a greater kingdom than that of my father."
the lazuli eyes held upon sihaya's face. pharaoh was silent. expectant.

Pharaoh's answer was simple, but telling, and secured what Sihaya already speculated about the King: a self-centered man with something to prove and daddy issues to boot.

Now, this wasn’t a bad thing in Sihaya's mind, just different. For the half-breed had lived in a society with a selfless purpose to create the prophetic son. There were no parents, no fathers… just Reverend Mothers and the College. So Pharaoh’s plight, to Sihaya, was titillating and new.

“Then you will need brick layers to see this dream true,” Sihaya observed, wondering how Satsu felt about Ramesses’ mission. “I hope my efforts to support your venture will please you Pharaoh.”

ramesses looked heavily at sihaya. such a striking man. and yet pharaoh felt no desires toward this one; no, he saw the desert sun glinting off the edge of this mercenary's blade.
royalty drew many kinds.
the lot fell to pharaoh to ensure that sihaya's dubiousness might be upon his own side.
a long blink. he turned back to his view. the mazoi was dismissed, and ramesses took a specific delight in that.

There was no words of acknowledgment from the Sun Empower – only a sustained look, and then it was broken. Sihaya turned away and departed to leave his highness perched upon his open air throne. The halfbreed’s mind meandered as slowly as his gate, skulking back towards his chamber.