Lion Head Mesa omnigenus

backdated to may 18, afternoon

germanicus first sought the fellahin called @Sayf.

he was closest to pharaoh and thus it was unlikely that he had used poison against satsu. but too many nobles had been poisoned by their servants for him not to consider those in the palace.

again he waited in the first airy throne room.

Sayf did not make the Mereo leader wait very long. He had been washing his paws in the bathing pools, trying not to look at the flowers; they reminded him of the queen, and that only made him sad. He had been helping the priestess in her garden, and he hated the way the dirt made his paws look.

His legs and paws were still damp when he entered the throne room and sat before the imperator. The last time he had spoken with him, he had rejected the hebsut, and Sayf was surprised to sill feel the sting of it.

He dipped his head respectively. What can I do for you my lord? he said softly, keeping his gaze lowered.

"hello, sayf."

he too remembered that moment. the servant stood taller. he had more an air of accomplishment about him.

"i am going to interview you about the queen's death. answer me honestly. it will not take long."

curiosity sparkled in him. he ignored it for the present.

Fear shot through his chest. He wondered if the pharaoh had asked that the hebsut be questioned because he suspected that Sayf was to blame.

Sayf swallowed and nodded. His heart raced. Of course. Whatever you need to know, he answered. He hoped his answers would assure the the imperator that he was innocent.

hope u do not mind these ubershort posts, lmk if so

"when were you promoted to hebsut? what new duties did that entail, if any?"

i don't mind at all <3

Sayf took a moment to think, remembering back to when the pharaoh had promoted him. Two, maybe three moons ago, the coyote answered. I make rooms for the members of Akashingo. I fill them with things they like and make sure they have what they need.

He lifted his gaze briefly while he spoke to see if he could read anything on the imperator's face. There was nothing there, of course.

<3

"and how often do your duties take you near the queen's quarters? had you ever lingered there, perhaps answering a summons from her late in the night?"

Sayf shook his head. I was rarely there in the evening's. But I was there most days, bringing her food and lately I have—had been bringing her flowers from around the mesa, he answered. He still brought them to her now, only it was to where her body lay, not to her quarters.

The hebsut suddenly worried that it might have been the flowers that poisoned her. His eyes widened and he raised his gaze again. What if it was the flowers that made the queen sick? He would never forgive himself if that was the case. And what would the pharaoh think?

"it is doubtful. from the sound of things, the queen ingested something. smelling the air would not have done this." not with any poison he knew.

"who else has regular access to those rooms?"

Sayf considered the question for a moment, a small frown forming on his face. I mean, I suppose anyone could have sought the queen in her quarters if they wanted to. But the fellahin and healers were there most often. 

He understood why the fellahin would be the first suspects, which was why he worried so much about saying or doing the wrong thing.

the little coyote man was nervous.

germanicus silently ranked him higher in suspicion.

"was pharaoh ever there at night?" it was a question that implied a borderland of treason. he waited to see if sayf would answer.

Sayf shook his head. The pharaoh and queen had their quarters for when they were together. Was Germanicus implying that his master was a suspect? The hebsut refused to believe the pale god was capable of that. He loved the queen; there was no reason he would murder her. 

No one in Akashingo seemed like a murderer, yet the queen had been poisoned.

germanicus nodded. "do you have any suspicions of your own, hebsut?"

Suspicions of his own? Sayf couldn't think of a single member of Akashingo that seemed capable of murdering the queen. Unless someone had some secret grudge against Satsu that he wasn't aware of. 

No, my lord, he answered with a shake of his head. The queen was loved, and I have not seen anything that would imply differently from anyone.

here germanicus might have ended their discourse. 

but he wanted to trip sayf in the proverbial sense.

"you are the palace's architect, i am told. that means you understand the passages through akashingo. could an assailant have come into the palace through one of those?"

Sayf considered his question for a few moments, mapping out what he knew of the catacombs in his mind. He wondered if Germanicus would see the as another reason to find him guilty. With his knowledge, it left many reasons for the hebsut to be blamed for the crime—his heart began to race again, and he swallowed, lowering his gaze to his paws. 

I suppose it is a possibility, my lord. The tunnels run far and deep. Maybe someone might have slipped past a guard that way. His face wrinkled with worry when he looked up at the imperator. But that would still mean they were able to bring food to the queen's quarters without being noticed, which is not as easy. Not with servants everywhere, many tending to the queen's needs.

germanicus nodded. the yellow eyes were scrutinizing.

sayf was honest and worried. either he was a masterful actor or he truly meant his words.

"i am told she was alone when she died. someone was sent to find her. and you were present. can you think of any servant who you had not seen that day?"

Sayf sincerely wished he could be of more use to the Mereo leader. Maybe this was a lesson for him to pay even more attention to the goings on of Akashingo. It was a ball he would never drop again. 

He shook his head after a few moments of consideration. Not that I recall, my lord. I am sorry.

he shook his head. "no matter, sayf. thank you for your time. you may now leave."