Two Eyes Cenote sixty-first

for @Nazli & @Akhtar if u wish!

tavina thought it was quite straightforward how melody had died. investigation provided a report of a fierce attack that left many bleeding punctures across the body, culmination with a final wound along the jugular. the priestess had not been a large woman, but she had been a wolf. it felt insistently feral, unless the coyote was quite large, or had rivaled melody in size. no evidence of others.

a missive was dictated to a servant, who then carried it to @Rashepses. tavina turned toward senmut. "i'm finished here."

senmut glanced toward the older priest as tavina left the room, casting a somber glance over the still body.

"we will have to bring her into the sun quickly. what do you make of all this?"

First, the howl of bas displaced had jerked him from his stupor, then the cry of fellahin.

Murder!, they screamed murder!. The rolling cries, they follow Akhtar as he strides down the hall.

Melody. She is laid before him, cleaned of blood, but the ghastly wound in her throat makes him instinctively grimace. Akhtar turns his mahogany gaze to the younger priest, then back to the woman.

Dead, she looks more a girl than young woman.

It does not spell good for our current stance here, nor for a coronation. He’s rocked, but tries not to show it.

Not good at all.

she had brought various bundles with her, and laid them out beside the body upon arrival. not saying a word, and not looking to the body for longer than she must. tavina murmured something in her ear as they stepped out and nazli watched her go, but lingered near.

she recognized the seriousness of the moment and beyond that, her role here as both a trained sesh and new hemet wanting only to learn; it felt wrong to take the opportunity for any tutelage in the moment, though.

poor melody.

nazli's stomach was in knots.

"very bad," senmut agreed, his eyes not flitting to nazli for once. this was a horrendous stain upon the forefront of a royal robe.

here a shaft of sunlight came, of dry air.

but senmut shook his head. "she must be embalmed in the sand, near to where she lay. allow her life-spark to see the husk of self, and submit for judgement."

a pause. "the princess is gone."

Nazli was greeted with a curve of the mouth, a barely their twitch, a ghost of a smile that had never lived.

Akhtar stepped forward, gently moving the body with a foot to examine the wound further. Torn, jagged.

She suffered, before. A torn throat was not an easy death, drowning and unable to breath due to the blood.

Do we know the killer? A flick up to Senmut, then to Nazli, then back to Melody.

Poor creature.. He murmured to himself.

the two men spoke as if she was not present. they were focused, and she did not fault them for it. this death on the eve of coronation was of utmost importance and nazli understood the danger that now lingered in the lands outside of the cenote, which they did not control.

she did not know how to be of use here.

akhtar wondered who the killer was; nazli was afraid to give her thoughts a voice, but in the lull between the men she found enough courage to ask: could it have been someone we... know? she hated the thought that the coronation might've brought a killer out of hiding.

she had not been at the scene of the death, and did not know what the men suspected.

senmut turned, glancing between nazli and akhtar. "it is a coyote, a single coyote, which did this. either someone means to kill as a message, or we have spies among us."

among the fellahin.

"could the princess have ordered this?" he asked, bringing the royal ashikaga up once more.

The princess.

Right. Akhtar held his tongue from cursing that entire litter of children to experiencing the same turmoil they had hit him over the head with, and hummed softly.

It is something to consider, but I doubt it. Melody was very clearly held in high regard by the princess, and we would have heard of a fight between the two. Akhtar took a step back, lowering his head a bit.

Thutmose is gone. What entity would seek to send such a strong message? He thought of the valley packs, the mountainous reign of Epoch. Did they have the means?

nazli drew in a breath upon the insinuation that the princess might have orchestrated things; but she let the though steep after that. makono had done away with ramesses, so perhaps ashikaga was equally capable?

she did not like to think these things, and wanted to excuse herself. then again, to be taken seriously as a new hemet, these were things she would have to witness and handle.

I will keep an eye on the fellahin if we suspect it was our own people. that much she could do; she oft had many assistants due to her condition, and was well liked among them.

"i suspect no one at present, nazli," senmut said softly, reminded of germanicus' futile investigation.

to akhtar; "perhaps it is a desert god. perhaps we should root out these coyotes before it happens again."

his tone spoke ruefully of force to be given.

A deep sigh left the priest, raising his head in the manner of a seasoned detective. Akhtar murmured a soft prayer beneath his breath.

Set, then. If the god is one of ours. Who knows what heathenry the coyotes have brought upon this land, what holes they’ve allowed to open. He turned to Senmut.

If it is to be war, we will require aid. Sekhmet. Maahes. If it is not Set who brought this upon us, though I hope to not do this, we reach to him. Akhtar closed his eyes against the suggestion, as if he could hide from it.

Aid. Wherever we can find it. May the gods preserve the reign of a war-queen, though Toula did not wish to be.

Greatwater. The coyotes. Turmoil followed Akashingo’s heels closer than scavengers followed a war party.

akhtar spoke names she had heard before, knowing they were gods of their pantheon, but her knowledge was limited. she remained silent and absorbed what she could.

whatever they needed of her, she would give. nazli thought of greatwater too, and the chaos of losing ramesses, and hoped such a sad affair would not repeat itself.

waiting, now, for someone to instruct her in what to do and when to do it; suddenly so tired.

war. aid. "we will fast. pray. for now, we must wash her limbs and prepare her for burial."

before — he could not think it.

"nazli, will you stay for the embalming or will you retire now?" he asked softly, giving her the option even as his eyes lingered there.

Your will be done, Senmut. He dips his head to the boy, flashing him a brief smile. Then, he trails his gaze to Nazli.

He blinks at her for a moment, before another smile, more encouraging.

If you do not wish to stay, I understand. It is quite gruesome. He didn’t think it was himself, but he’d been told it was.

they were right — she did not need to see such things.

i will be outside. if you need me, um... i'll just wait there. she offered, not wanting to be completely removed from this moment, and wanting only to be helpful; but she would struggle with the sight of it and worse, the smell, and knew better.

with a dip of her head, nazli moved to extricate herself.

the embalming would go swiftly.

melody would be prepared for burial and laid in the sun.

and senmut, beleaguered by grief, would add extra amulets to her wrappings, a darker prayer of vengeance for who had done this.