Lion Head Mesa brother-blood

Satakhetem slipped silently through the shadowed corridors of the palace, a slender figure cloaked in the dim glow of sunset that flickered erratically along the sandstone interior. Her intentions were to escape the bustling presence of her siblings and the ever-watchful eyes of the fellahin, the servants whose presence marked every corner of the grand palace. The corridors were a labyrinth which she had only begun to know.

Her dark ears, elegant and tall now that they were opened, twitched with every slight sound, attuned to the murmurs of the palace’s nighttime activities. Her large feet made muted thuds that betrayed her. The sound of her footsteps, though soft, seemed to reverberate despite her best efforts.

As she rounded a corner, she found herself face-to-face with a natural mirror: her reflection was caught in the stillness of the wading pool. She paused, admiring the image before her, though she saw only things that already did not live up to some mental standard that had begun to form deep within. Slender legs growing too quickly; a pot-belly which was common for children, along with a large head, and disproportionate angles everywhere.

Wrinkling her face, she moved to strike the surface with a slap. The sound was louder than she anticipated, echoing off of the walls and catching in her ears, causing her to flinch. Her reflection does the same - obscured as it was - and Satakhetem looks over her shoulder to the hallway as if she might be caught there.

the world grew larger for her children! and Toula delighted in the continued passing of days as more and more became apparent about these young Gods, becoming themselves. now, they began to emerge from the den—Toula delighted in bringing them toward Ra’s light to greet the day with them. they were cleansed and purified, pampered and adored. she would explain to them, each morning, a Hem and a Hemet go to the Rock of Ra atop the mesa, where His temple sits. to prepare, they too must be cleansed so that they are pure when they greet Him. then things are placed that would please Him—things He might like to see, or smell, or taste, she looks to each face and finds them rapt, even if they could not yet understand! ah, could they even hear yet?! Toula always spoke to them as though they could. and once this is done, before they can approach Him, they must break the protective seals that surround Him! and then they must cleanse Him, and dress Him, and provide offerings such as food and drink. they sing to Him until the sun drenches His monument entire, and then when they depart, they erase all impurities—no paw print is left behind, 
mornings often included lessons such as these, and she felt it brought her closer to them—and to the listening Gods that leaned in to listen as she spoke of Them.
this evening, Toula was of the mind that she might visit Iset and tell Her of Her grandchildren. looking over her young, she saw her dark daughter slinking around the mouth of the den—a little further than usual, but not so far that Toula worried—and marveled for a moment. they were still so small, but they had grown! she thought again on how big the world must feel around them! Toula, looking to her other three, smiled—they were but a month old now. when they did not sleep they played or else listened to her stories, or the stories of their father. life was sweet! 
her thought, though, was disrupted by a splash. she and the fellahin rose—though the water alongside this space was not deep enough to swim within (only reaching to just above her own ankles), with her cubs clumsiness they surely could face discomfort from it should they fall! but that was not it—the Amiirad was dry, but for one paw. 
Toula settles alongside her little princess, who looked over her shoulder. she, too, looked over her own shoulder—but for a passing fellahin collecting flower petals to scatter into the rippling shallows, there was nothing there. Toula placed one golden paw into the waters, causing the ripples to grow. the fading light of dusk flickered in and out from the natural made skylight far up above, out of anyones reach. the room was tall, and grand—for her children, it had to be! 
see how one little action can change so very much? Toula peered down to her daughter, smiling—of course it would be her, to first learn this. her little worldchanger.

The ripples shifted away and across the pool. Satakhetem's shape undulating with it; as the pool settled to stillness again, there was the glowing shape of her holy mother perched beside. The youth of both mother and child linked their expressions; the relation between them was clear. So too was the stern line of her brow, like her father's, and the swarthiness of her cheeks.

In a quiet voice, confident but subtle, Satakhetem murmurs, Mother, you are like Ra, you and father. Her words were in the old language, taught by listening to both parents speak to one-another. The girl saw this as a secret language, and one of love. She coveted these little things which felt so big, and so powerful, and in some way superior to those outside the family. It was clear by the scrunch of her brow that Satakhetem had more to her thought and struggled now to both comprehend and verbalize what she was reaching for.

She turns her eyes upon Toula, and leans against her mother in the common way of a needy child. Who sings for you?

her daughter spoke, and Toula was warmed. it was good and it was right to be seen in such a light. it had been how she had looked upon her father! how she still did, even in knowing his wrongdoings. she had undone them, and that was the end of it. it was known, that Gods played with mortals—some grew bored, and in their boredom became cruel. she was Pharaoh now—and she would not abide by this. 
Toula smooths the wrinkles between her daughters brow with a loving kiss. and as her daughter leaned upon her, Toula took to running her paw gently along her side. the kingdom sings to me as well, she said with a smile. we are offered food, drink, precious things—when leavings are left for Iset, offerings are also left for me, now something had been built for her there, and it was a wondrous thing to see. one day soon she would show her daughters and her sons.
she nosed the tip of her daughters ear. and they shall worship you too, and your brothers and sister. you each are of our blood, and so divine! she smiles at her daughter, her little love.