Firefly Glen [phe] Iset

attn @Akavir !

now she sought a familiar face. there were good words in which she would share with him—words of gratitude. gifts aplenty were brought to the Creeks leader—she remembered, too, his offer to her of safety and safe passage.
this now she would return, even if he had no desire to respond to it. that was alright—she was only grateful, and hoped to show it.

Their procession was a grand statement—it was meant to be, to garner attention. Wolves lined in kohl, adorned in beauty and upkept with nothing less than perfection. Toula had drawn his eyes as she had many—her radiance did not come from the jewels and glamor of a rich kingdom, but from the smile and laugh in which she gave the world—the kind amusement that glittered in her eyes.

Unlike many others who had sought the eyes of the royals on their arrival, Akavir had drifted back to blend in with the crowd—instead lingering among silence for now—his own mood greatly dampened after his recent interlude with the two yearlings he had brought with him, and the hatred that seemed to always radiate from his own daughter’s milky eyes.

Toula would find the Mayfair settled at the base of a large tree near the creek’s assigned camp—his back pressed lightly to it as pale eyes caught her own gaze. “Pharaoh,” he offered, his lips quirking to a faint smile.

Her jodai was nowhere in sight. He wondered of this.

Akavir, she greets in turn, his true name spoken warmly. she stepped toward him, the softness of new motherhood without any of its tiredness easily visible. fortunate to have many mouths, paws, and eyes, Toula was as bright as she ever was—if not brighter for her joy.
he was as ruggedly handsome as she recalled! and now, she liked him all the better for the things she has heard. I thank you, for your help that day. you shall always be seen as an honored guest—and granted safe haven there, should you need it, an offer once provided to her—one that she intended to return, now. it is good to see your face again. I am happy, truly, to see you here, she stepped closer now, smiling softly. I have some things for you—you need not take any, of course… but would you at least look upon my gifts? she tilted her head. she would not be unoffended if he denied her this—but… ah! foolishly, perhaps, she hoped he would not.

If he was holding his breath with suspicion that she had come to ask him of his avoidance of detainment in the red sand cells, it was releases slowly as her warmth washed over him from tone alone. She thanked him instead—and gravely, he wondered if she even knew of his connection to her hebsut, and that the loss had in minor part, been one of his own as well.

That he had been the one to put her in such a predicament.

Wane was his smile, though his own eyes flitted over her with returned warmth. He pushed away from the tree, moving to greet her with a dip of his muzzle in acknowledgement of her standing—skirting closer and yet leaving the grand woman her space—as always in her presence, his heart stuttering at how much she reminded him of his deceased mate.

“Your gratitude is appreciated, but not needed,” he offered her, a smile smile pressing to his lips. An honored guest of the palace—a sentiment he was certain that she held singularly, for his presence had been anything but welcome. Yet Toula held her throne with the love and encouragement of her people… but how long before politics would see her stripped of it?

He hoped never. The stories he had heard of Akashingo prior seemed to have drifted away to the past with her reign.

“I’m surprised you’re here,” he offered with honesty lacing his voice, a tip of his muzzle given in the direction of the palace direction. “Pleasantly so,” he confirmed.

She offered gifts—it would seem rude not to indulge her, though he felt it undeserved. “Mmm,” he agreed quietly, sweeping a paw forward in invitation for her to come further to their camp. “Only if you accept some of ours in return.”

she smiled at his first words. no, it was not needed. but she had wanted to—and so she would. she knew, though had not considered the reason, that he had stood by her Hebsut. and in knowing his character, such a thing did not seem so strange! he might not think it of himself, but he was something of a knight in armor. he might not shine it, and yet it was easy for her to see. she saw him as a noble sort of man, one hardened by life and what it had stripped from him. 
Toula had long ago determined to be a friend to this man, and to give him back what she could. life need not always be so cruel to him, after all. and she would not be—not when he had always been good to her. 
I hope to make more friends here, she said with an earnest smile, I quite like the wolves of the moon. what is your opinion of them? she trusted him well enough, by now—he has always been candid toward her, and so he had her ear. 
as for his next words, she laughed. I mean to thank you! but if you insist, she steps after him, it is not in me to refuse offerings made in kindness, her words took shape in the smile on her lips. ah, she did love gifts! fellahin followed after her, carrying them in abundance for the King of the Creek.

Her paw falls are heard before he tilts his head back to ensure she follows—Senmut’s words of warning echoing faintly in his mind that Pharaoh was considered divinity among her people—and idly, he wondered is she was used to such casual interaction and conversation.

Her confession stirs him—of course it does. There is a reason that so many follow her without question—that hold her with not just respect but love. “Moonwoman is wise,” he determines, his own tone quiet for the moment as he considers her question. “Her patience and kindness is admirable—especially when she is the head figure of three… villages, I believe they call them?”

Here, he glances back, his own pace slowing as to keep step near the bright-eyed beauty. Youthful—yet forced to age in so many ways. “Rodyn is jovial. He seems honest in his kindness as well.”

They were the only two he had met, truly—but they had certainly left a lasting impression on the man, whose own ways were rougher around the edges, it seemed.

“I’m curious to know your impressions of those attending,” he then queried, a paw lifting to pull back the large leaf of a fern that encased some of their own items they had brought.