Lion Head Mesa (ap) talking to a plant in the corner

Weddings weren’t exactly Sabah’s…forte. She’d sent out the bird to scout as he wished for the night, watched her Mazoi throw out the drunk and disorderly, while the greyscale woman herself…sat in the corner and watched.

It was nice, here in the corner. She could be alone with her thoughts, pretend to be sober enough to deal with anyone’s shit, and generally look at her own shadow on the wall and try to convince it she wasn’t the slightest bit jealous of this whole shebang. Sabah clenched her teeth a bit more, hunching. As a child, she’d wanted a white wedding, she remembered. Having to play caterer to one made her wish for the day she could do it too. Then life dragged her heart out with a spoon and stomped it until the romance was bled out of her.

But sometimes, she wanted. And Sabah wanted more than she could say aloud. Thus, the corner. Where her inhibitions could be released, and there was nobody around to pay much attention to it because everyone here was probably too drunk to care that the Jodai was a mopey drunk.

when the partygoers had gone below ground, germanicus would go to the shadow.

he would not be so necessary there, he felt. the guests were outnumbered by the residents and guards of akashingo.

the eagle did not allow his mind to stray toward the conversation that sat at its back. 

eventually his patrol of the carousing-grounds brought him to nephele. they still called her sabah here. but it was not something that warranted his comment. he stood alongside her in the guise of outward relaxation. 

the scent of fruit was here. germanicus was displeased. but she did not answer to him, and so her potential drunkenness was not his to address. "have you seen anything of interest tonight?"

Maybe just a cameo!

Sayyadina danced gaily through the party like a nymph, a branch with glistening, fermented berries clutched in her jaw, to serve the guests of Ramesses and Sobekneferu. Her amber eyes were alight with fire as she wove through the bodies, tail curled alluringly.

She saw, then, a dour Jodai and Neb clung to a wall. Sayyadina thought they looked too glum for a party so elegant. With a laugh and sweep of her head, she skipped by and twirled before the pair into a curtsey, offering additional hors d’oeuvres to warm the spirits.

Germanicus. Hazed blue went to him as he approached the sad sack corner (trademark the idiot captain who couldn’t be happy at a wedding) and Sabah puffed softly.

Nothing. Just drunkards being drunkards and doing dumb things. As drunks do. Her eyes followed the coyote as she swirled to them, curtsying in a manner that brought the twitch of a smile to her face for a moment, before the metaphorical rain cloud was back over her head. She was like the world’s most tired traffic cop.

Ive never been one for parties. You see too much of people. Surprised nobody’s gotten that disorderly yet. Maybe she should shut up.

he shook his head.

when the fellahin passed on, the eagle cut his eyes toward sabah. "are you drinking?" his voice was neutral. he was not her superior and would not act as such.

but he wanted to know why this vision affected her so greatly that she would seek to imbibe.

"i do not care for them either."

Sabah’s eyes floated from Germanicus to their surroundings, as if she could hide from the question he’d asked of her. The young captain’s jaw tightened, before relaxing.

Only a bit. I was never allowed to before, thought I’d take advantage of the opportunity. She said with a hint of petulance in her tone, before it vanished.

I used to have to serve at these. Now, I sit in the corner and watch. I can make as much eye contact as I want without anyone calling a foul upon my person for doing so. She really shouldn’t keep talking, but the words jumbled between tongue and esophagus and she felt she’d gag on the words if she didn’t spill them from her lips.

germanicus grunted in answer but said nothing else. he stood in companionable silence.

sabah was consumed by her thoughts and memories.

"now you are captain of the guard. favoured by the queen. you are no longer a servant."

she had said this. he would repeat it to remind the jodai.

She wasn’t a servant anymore, he said, and for a moment, a hysterical laugh built in her throat. She dispelled it with a short cough, her eyes finding Pharoah and queen.

I do believe, sometimes.. Sabah mused, going silent with a click of her tongue against the back of her teeth.

I may have jumped from one form of servitude to another. The admission was quiet, but hung across her tongue like cotton stuffed between her teeth.

She had changed her name, but that had not changed her eternal desire to belong, somewhere. From lonely girl, to lone captain. Sabah snorted, abruptly wishing she was alone. Or had more to drink. Or perhaps both.

germanicus nodded.

"a palace is a lovely jail." the cruelty of raw terrain was preferable to the inside of these gilded halls.

"the intrigue. the listening ears. all of it, a burden. and if it is not for you then you must tell your mistress. her safety is also important."

it was why he had placed arsenio at her door, after all.

Sabah gave a little grunt of reply, ears swiveling.

I listen to the whispers that follow everyone. Perhaps I am Spymaster and Jodai. She mused, before the monochrome woman gave a sigh.

Satsu is well protected, by both myself and the Mazoi. She hesitated to call them hers.

spymaster and jodai. germanicus smiled.

"she is lucky to have you." he gazed at sabah. "one must wonder however if you yourself are happy."

the imperator studied his companion for a knowing moment.

Sabah gave a humorless huff of a laugh, eyes falling to her ghostly pale paws.

I hesitate to answer such a question. And hesitate she did, for a long moment, before sighing.

Truly, I do not know. Perhaps it is simply a familiarity with the situation. Knowing one foot out of place is one step closer to death or exile.. She went quiet.

The woman who brought me here…she pitched it to me, and I thought i was to be like her. Like them. She nodded to one of the Fellahin.

"it appears to be a role only for the coyote."

germanicus looked curiously at her.

"do you want to be one of them? do you think it would be easier to serve the pharaoh?" privately he did not think sabah was to the egyptian's liking. but he would be surprised if she wished this for herself.

The Jodai gave a harsh snort.

No, never. I never wish to serve again. She spat the word as though it coated her tongue in bitter oil, the sides of her mouth curving harshly around it. She settled after a moment, though the fur around her mantle remained slightly standing at the thought.

I do not know ease, Germanicus. I used to believe in it, the idea that one day I would be above the need to work. But now.. She shook her head, cutting off her thought.

There is a child like part of me that entertains the idea of power, of leadership. I do not feed it, for I know it’s hunger is picky. She wasn’t suited for leadership. At least, she hadn’t been when she’d run from it under the gaze of Pidáo. But..had that really been leadership? She couldn’t say.

the eagle nodded. "it is natural to want power. those most reluctant to pursue it are the best suited for leadership." 

he wondered if sabah had aspirations above her station now. germanicus pondered the intrigue this might bring to akashingo. after all of this, had the rogue found now that she was home?

"befriend the fellahin. they will be the source of your success."

She wanted to think about it more, but trying to was giving her a rather large headache and she wasn’t planning on ending her evening trying to purge herself of everything she ate the day previous.

She simply nodded.

Her mind still spun, the mechanizations of a machine used to calculations of deceit. At one point, betrayal was as simple a concept to Sabah as sleep. Germanicus had his mountain, but Sabah could gather something herself.

I thank you for the enlightening conversation, Germanicus.

And for the spark of rebellion now wrapping firm around the ivory curves of her ribs.

the eagle straightened.

"i should like to see what becomes of you, sabah." his eyes told her that her true name was remembered.

the imperator nodded to the jodai, turned, and was gone, melted into the crowd of partygoers.

Germanicus vanished into the crowd, and Sabah was left to ponder.

She pushed it off for a later date. There was more time to think about leaving this place when she could think straight again. She mentally filed a list, stuck it to her grey matter, and wandered away from the thought.

The Jodai did not show what she was thinking, but it resided there for the rest of the night.