Lion Head Mesa 新月 new moon

It was time. The children were grown now in to their legs, with @Siptah being the most adventurous, and Satsu could no longer fight with his spirit. She told @Sayf of her plans first, to test the waters, and soon enough the rest of the fellahin were made aware of the plan.

The queen sat her children down together, with Makono and @Ashikaga flanking their brother on either side, and the watchful servants at the door. She looked upon them with a smile that didn't quite penetrate her gaze; there was warmth within her that struggled to be displayed.

My beloved, it is time to meet your father. Come - follow me, but stay close. A pointed look was spared for Siptah. Remember, you are royalty. This place is your palace and these people live to serve you, but they do not owe you their respect. You must present to them your best selves.

Perhaps they would be too young to understand. Satsu had been given a similar explanation for her own unveiling; this was no different. From daimyo's daughter to Pharaoh's brood the rules persisted.

She waited for the children to take heed of her words, then turned and began the parade through the hall. Along either side were loyal guardians, attentive fellahin, all the way to the place where @Ramesses waited by the throne. Satsu ushered the children inside his royal quarters and kissed each of them on the crown of their head as they passed - then, following behind them, brought the trio before their father.

A warmth flooded Satsu when she laid eyes upon the man, far greater a feeling than what was spared for the children.

Ashikaga could barely contain her excitement. She had tried once or twice to go on her own adventure, but seemed to know that she shouldn't wander too far, unlike her brother. 

She listened closely to her mother's words as they walked, her eyes looking to each guard and servant as they passed. This was all so different to the world she had known so far. All of these memebers of Akashingo, here to serve her and her siblings. It made her feel important—worthy of her place here. 

The mention of their father was what piqued her interest most. She had not seen him yet, and she was nervous to be presented to him. What if he looked at her and found her lacking?

All of these complicated thoughts were taxing on her young mind, but she hid it well. She was quiet and respectful, leaning into her mother's kiss as she made her way into the pharaoh's quarters. 

She would stop in front of the intimidating man and take a seat. Ash would remain silent unless asked a question. She was still learning words, so she hoped she wouldn't be asked anything too difficult.

Sayf was filled with eagerness and pride when the queen informed him of her plans to introduce the royal children to their father. He knew the pharaoh would be proud of what queen Satsu had given him. A prince and two lovely princesses. Akashingo was fortunate and its future was abundant. 

He followed closely behind the queen, careful to keep any of the children from falling behind. He would likely not have to worry too much about that; the children were probably excited to meet their father. 

When they arrived, Sayf would enter behind Satsu and take a seat near the pharaoh. He would be there should anyone need anything. 

skippable unless addressed <3

Siptah had not yet told his mother or sisters that he had met Ramesses — part of him wanted to keep it a secret, and another part wanted to gloat, but he knew now was not the time. When Satsu spoke and gave him a meaningful look, he replied, "I'll be good, mother, I promise!" He would be on his best behavior today.

the only neb of akashingo was present there as well, alongside the sole nebet, albeit he'd felt a bit fatigued just before and nearly didn't come to the debutante ball.

he'd had the divine luck and unbelievable misfortune of meeting two of the litter beforehand, and they somewhat soured the concept of children for him, to the point of the man being ready for second-hand embarrassment during the event.

now, thankfully, they seemed well-behaved and obedient, and gucci allowed himself to relax against @Maegi's long frontleg. the good one, of course.

he was now curious as to how the pharaoh would receive his offspring. the showdog himself had never met any of his, both litters having been raised in different kennels. how would he react to meeting the children he'd sired?

the question had his ears erect and eyes wandering in turn from offspring to parent, tail subtly wagging.

skippable!

these tags are for ref/joining! im making the assumption that all of akashingo is present for this ceremony (please PM if not okay/i miss something) <3 tagging @Charles here for visibility as he & ram still have an ongoing thread!

today was one of auspice.
ramesses stood before his throne. 
@Akhtar and @Qiao would be in attendance as aspects of the gods who would watch this rite of passage and pass their blessing upon akashingo if pharaoh performed well in their sight. 
the fellahin filed reverently behind the queen. sihaya followed and took up his place near the throne. he was shadowed by @Kasmut, favoured lotus-petal in the court of ramesses. to the right of the royal plinth stood gucci and maegi. @treva and @sokha would perhaps be upon the chamber's left, as mazoi in observation of their first esteem.
the would-be princess of brecheliant, @Lilitu; wherever she was present she would be flanked by belen, who had found an endless source of fascination in the brilliant-eyed gem. in crowfeather's absence, it seemed more and more fitting that ramesses should make her royalty himself. it would put the fenwolves into his charge at once, regardless of what they might feel about their leadership.
@sayf and @jawahir would be somewhere near the children and the queen; pharaoh did not look for them. tavina was the only one absent, though he expected her to be along directly. this was not something for which any duties save those of death could keep one — and no one was dying within akashingo. not this day.
he did not know of the secrets kept within the catacombs.
his lapis eyes settled upon satsu. in many ways she was changed; he saw the way that she held herself, and how in her aspects the children had been built as their three walked before her. but the queen's beauty was unchanged; in truth it seemed magnified, expanding in gold and silver to pale all those who entertained his desires. 
he missed her. he longed for her. he wanted her, not only the feel of satsu but her smile, her words. this was why husband and wife were kept apart in the palace of his youth: to restore and intensify the feeling of renewal.
but these hours were not for them.
the lazuli eyes flickered to his daughters. twins, copies of one another, already resplendent with their royal parentage. he approved of them as he had not when receiving first word of their birth. and siptah, his son, speaking politely to his mother.
they came to stand before them. ramesses allowed his face to warm with an inviting expression. "name our daughters for the ears of akashingo, shabti," he told aloud to satsu, indulging the moment to look upon his queen and fill his eyes with her countenance.

skippable!

tavina had joined the procession but she had not come into the throne room. as soon as satsu had turned her back, the doctor too had whirled away, pacing through the empty hallways for the catacombs and the hidden nest.
these two would be as old as the royal children, and had suffered more for it. 
"pharaoh will expect you to be present," she said to jawahir. "go. i will stay with them. let his petulance be on my head, not yours."
she folded her forelegs beneath her chest and settled near the pair. "do you want to hear a story?" she asked, heart pained for zakariya and soft for nazli.

also skippable!

belen was excited and thrilled to be part of the procession which stood in respect of the royal brood and then entered to fill the space around them. she loped happily in her paces, glassblue eyes never leaving the pharaoh or the little ones. she too was fiercely curious and somehow touched by how he looked at the queen. the memories of the divine pair calling for her sent a little shiver through belen; she cleared her throat and listened to the pharaoh speak in a formal voice that all might hear. she of course knew the names; that was ashikaga and makono. did he not know? or did he only want everyone to know them as well? belen waited.

As the children paraded, Maegi was in the midst of one of her great headaches.

She closed her eyes, taking comfort at Gucci's infinitesimal weight against her leg. Opened one, the indigo, a crack, and saw the royal pups pass by, proud and strong.

Maegi was very happy for Satsu, and gave the woman a smile, albeit strained. Waited to see their reaction to their father, and how he would respond to them in turn.

But mostly, her skull throbbed, and Sheogorath whispered evil things in her mind.

"For you, too, will soon bear fruit—rotted on the vine. . ."

Closed her eyes, felt nausea rise up.

one post from me

It had become quite clear to Lilitu that Crowfeather was not here—that perhaps he never had been here.

Oh, there were stories of his running away, scared and injured. Had they hurt him? No—he'd come here like that. But if he was in such poor shape, how had they not caught him up? Nothing added up.

There was no prince; there was no marriage. And now, she was stuck in limbo, watching royal children parade around in ceremony, like something out of a tale Wraen would have spun. This absolutely, positively could not be real life.

She stuck close to Belen, one of her few friends here. All the while plotting an exit strategy.

She didn't want to believe that the Akashingo wolves had some nefarious designs for her, but nothing had been what it seemed. Maybe they didn't even know where Arielle was. Maybe it had all been a lie.

Lilitu sighed quietly, and thought to herself,

Since the time of her agreement to stay within Akashingo, Sokha's eyes hadn't strayed far from the Pharaoh. 

Through his many words and cunning ways, the girl grew more curious. This new journey would lend forth a great deal of knowledge — and, perhaps a new, permanent, purpose.

Today, the Great Pharaoh called upon her to join him within the largest of palace halls. A throne room, she believed he'd titled it. There was to be some ceremony; though, the revelation of its purpose was not made clear until a woman entered with a hoard of whelps at her heel. They looked similar to the Pharaoh, leading to the conclusion that these happened to be his offspring. 

Once all pieces had been placed together and made whole, Sokha allowed her attention to hover upon the sight. The girl sat still, silent — watching what seemed to be a grandiose event. Her posture was of maturity and poise, despite her youthful appearance. If there was one thing she knew how to do well.. it would be making an impression with little effort at all. Of course, it was only the Pharaoh's eyes she wished to have upon her; but nonetheless, she would make herself appear to belong. 

also skippable  and you may PP qiao doing qiao things for cohesion

many faces gathered in the halls today. some were new to qiao, and she studied each of them with interest.

yet it was the children of the pharoah that hemet's attention was most transfixed. which of this innocent, fat little babes would be plucked rudely from their mother for qiao's purpose?

satsu would name the daughters before the court -- qiao would offer the butchered fox between her feet as tribute. she would say a few words of concealed protection for those under akashingo's rule, and to ramesses and satsu she would present the bled fox for their continued good health and humor.

her gaze seemed almost hungry as the ceremony began.

The coywolf skulked about at the back, keeping himself out of sight as best as possible as he watched this great display. Charles had never seen anything like it. He wasn't sure what to think about it, but somehow it made something click in his mind about Ramesses; that he truly did seem like he had some god-like qualities. That he had absolute power here. The coywolf was not so sure how it was that he himself had ended up here, for he himself possessed none of these qualities that made Ramesses seem so appealing all of a sudden now. He stayed at the back, trying to stay out of sight, and ready to flee if someone would ask anything meaningful of him now.

cameo, skippable unless addressed

So so so sorry for the wait on this! We can probably wrap this up real quick since its been sitting so long & everyone has given skip permission.

Putting distance between herself and her children was difficult but necessary. Satsu took her place beside her husband and stood as if to-attention, surveying them, watching the doorway briefly where she knew the servants waited; and then to look out upon those that had gathered to bear witness of this moment. She took it all in.

It was her turn to show off the daughters that Ramesses had blessed her with. In her heart Satsu was smiling; upon her face was something else, something cold and impersonal, as she assumed her role as Queen once again.

The pearls, Ashikaga and Makono, my love. Satsu proclaimed these names and looked to her husband. Her attention shifted to those that had come to witness, and her voice carried out in to the hall as well: These are your princesses, beloved by all.

She was still young, but she was perceptive and intelligent; she knew this moment was a big one. 

Her mother said her name and the name of her sister. She formally introduced them to the rest of the wolves gathered—some she recognized and some she didn't. Of all the words said, Ash hung on one in particulsr: princess. She and her sister's were princesses. She had heard herself called that many times and it was how she referred to herself. It was an important title, at least she had suspected it was once she was old enough to start putting things together. 

She stared silently up at her father for the first time. He commanded the room even though his mother was the one who had introduced them. Why had she not seen him before now? It filled her with an uncertain feeling she couldn't name. 

It was pushed away, though. She knew certain behavior was expected of her, even now. She smiled softly at her father and then turned to look at the members who had gathered just to meet them. The princess smiled angelically at them too. She would remain in place until directed to do something else. She realized then that she liked being the center of attention.

Siptah didn't mind that the attention was on his sisters. He thought, they deserved it, after being cooped up for so long. The young Prince watched as his sisters were introduced, and then his gaze sought his father's form. There were so many others, it made him slightly nervous, but he pushed it down and tried to recall his previous stoicism.

last post for me! <3

the pearls.
at last ramesses looked upon his daughters and truly studied them. he could not tell them apart save for how satsu had indicated their names. they would have to discern themselves apart by deed and word. pharaoh might not take notice until then.
but they were his own children, royal-blooded as their brother. "Princess of the Scarlet Land, Ashikaga," he said in lifted tones to those who watched and listened. "Princess of the Lotus Fields, Makono."
ramesses turned thus to siptah.
"stand before me, boy."
the lazuli eyes burned into the young visage of the boy who he intended to follow him upon the throne. "i name you the hawk-in-the-nest," ramesses intoned, cocie filling the throne room. "Chosen of Horus, Prince of the Sky Temple."
it was siptah's first title. as the years went on he would gain more.
pharaoh lifted his chin. he sang out in commandment of the others to lift their songs as well. and when he sat finally upon his throne, it was with satsu beside him, their princesses on her left, and siptah to his right: the royal family, posed before their subjects and their gods.
the feasting and dancing and merrymaking would commence, running long into the evening and flowing with all manner of drink and of praise.

he studied the children, the subtle ways in which their adult features had already begun to shape, and the ways in which they resembled each parent.

despite still thinking them as difficult to handle as a herd of cats, the former show dog curved his lips and nodded in approval. 

they matched no know breed, met no formal standard; but the royal offspring were beautiful in their own way.

(gucci especially approved of their too-long names. as befitted champions!)

when the courtiers raised their voices, a primal chill ran along the dog's spine. to alleviate it, he joined his with theirs. his little barks were no match for the drawn out melodies of the wolves, nor the sing-song yips of the coyotes, but they added to the overall composition - making the song of akashingo unique in all the wilds.