Lion Head Mesa Well, the good guys don't always get the glory

Time was quickly passing since the return to the mesa. Khaba was easily getting back in step with his usual routine. There was little else on his mind, save a few things. @Makono was one of them. He wondered often how she was settling — and more importantly, how her new affairs as sōzokujin were going.

Shortly after the sun began to peek above the mountains afar, the jodai appeared at her quarters. From the doors, he sent one of her attendants in to collect her.

When she appeared, he would speak his purpose.

Join me for a patrol? It was only partially posed as a question. And the reasoning would quickly follow. Now that you are home, it is necessary for you must become more in tune with the works of the mesa... as well as overseeing it's protection. You may be young, but you are no longer a child. You are sōzokujin, crown prince. This is your duty, as much as it is mine. 

For a small moment, Khaba contemplated whether he was beginning to sound too much like the pharaoh. Maybe it wasn't his place to speak to boldly, but he felt as though the two had enough trust in each other for him to speak truthful words. She had chosen him for protection, but also for council. And so, here he was to give it. 

most of her days were away. out of court and into the world.

something she stewed on greatly. even as her body was kept busy, she found her mind could never fully silence itself. in the darkest of hours she thought of @Senmut as the collection of soldiers worked the steppes. then she dreamed feverishly of @Nazli in tosses and turns.

she was the figure of exhaustion, as lean muscles filled in what was left of her to grown into.

here in her quarters only to collect a trinket she wished to keep near before she departed again. only for a servant to come to her. she had half a mind to snap them out of the room. the aggression of her exhaustion.

instead she only heaved a sigh, straightening a tired spine.

she would come back for her desired object later. approached the jodai with a pensiveness clinging to her. the way he spoke rubbed her the wrong way. nearly a duplicate of how pharaoh might speak to her, and every time he spoke in such a way she lost.

it is my duty perhaps even more than yours. words heavy and her head pounded with each step they took. i must defend myself against all — and yet i must also defend akashingo from all too.

He did not care much for her response. In her tone, he could see clearly that his words affected her in some negative way. This made Khaba question many things, but it would not change the meaning of his speech.

From your title as crown prince, yes it is your duty more than I. But as fellow soldier and guardian, we are the same. We care for Akashingo and it's safety; along with that of the people. In your fathers eyes, you are a mere diplomat and pawn. He wishes to see you on the throne in his own way, not in yours. Anyone would be a fool not to see it. For Makono, it was likely something she had known for too long. The jodai was only recently experiencing these things.

Later, when you are pharaoh... When, not if. He knew this to be true, for he would not have it any other way. ... the people will see your crowned for your own accomplishments. You have traveled, you have trained... and here you stand, prepared to defend your home. I have said these words not to offend you, but to push you to do everything in your power to be recognized by your own will, not the pharaoh's. They will respect you because you earned it, not because he demanded it.

So much talk to start off something so simple as a patrol. But these were words she needed to hear now, lest she never. Even if she already knew these truths, he would tell them again.

oops this got long <3

a moment of paranoia bloomed in her chest.

wondering just where khaba thought these things needed to be said, or why. how he spoke of pharaoh in the open air was near treasonous, perhaps.

"He wishes to see you on the throne in his own way, not in yours. Anyone would be a fool not to see it."

she seethed in silence for a moment. unwilling to speak her paranoia into further existence. afraid that anything she might say might have a sudden burst of chain events. such an idea was not so far fetched. had it not been words that had thrusted her down the line of becoming crown prince?

he fueled her in all ways with his continued speaking.

"They will respect you because you earned it, not because he demanded it."

ugly thoughts surfaced, the same she had carried in her heart when her father had stole nazli away from her breast. some part of her wished to give a grand display of her power. to strike at the heart and seal her claim in a way that would guarantee it.

she thought of the roman, she thought of the roman's soldier who toiled in akashingo. she imagined it would be a mighty feat in and of itself to call upon the romans — for she knew germanicus was not a man of risk in these things. only she knew that the surely the roman liked her more than the sitting pharaoh.

her throat clenched with the ungodly, ugly thoughts. how easily she had slipped into thinking them should have been alarming in and of itself.

we will work to the bone today. she declared suddenly, allowing herself a moment to lean into the traveling form of khaba. if you must spar me till sundown, it should be. if we patrol the whole flatlands than deem it so. i must continue to toil as soldiers do until my paws bleed and my muscles weep.

until her strength was not a question, but a statement.

I enjoy your lengthy posts! :3 So detailed and beautiful. 

Would you like to keep this thread going, or move to a new one? I'm down for either!

She was no longer angry. At least, not towards him.

With his suggestions, she had snatched them and made them more.

They would train until her feet could no longer support her soon-to-be wilting body. Perhaps before now, the jodai would have been against such a thing. But since it was he to be her mentor and partner, he almost had no care.

It will be done. Few words. But more were not needed. They, together, had said them all. 

From here on, there would be only work. No useless babble.