Rosewater Oasis The plagues

for @Andalib

The sun blazed high in the sky, casting the oasis in a halo of golden light.

Samirseti reclined lazily by the water’s edge, his dark pelt kissed by sunlight, gilded highlights shimmering with every languid shift of his body. One paw dipped into the cool waters, idly stirring the surface.

The faint crunch of sand behind him broke the serene stillness, drawing his attention. His head turned slowly, deliberately, over his shoulder, the motion smooth and feline. Gilded gold eyes settled on the figure of a stranger, immediately noting the lithe of his figure. His fur, the very color of the desert around them. Strong, tinged in the glow of youth.

Samir was momentarily silent, his gaze assessing, sharp as the sun above.

Then, a faint smile. Samir did not bother in raising to his paws to greet the other, instead, preening his large frame like a stretching feline.

“Come, boy. Join me for respite,” the Pharaoh practically purred. “The Oasis welcomes you.”

The faint scent of eternal desert roses greeted his nose and lured him in, drawing him further across warm sand and into the embrace of the oasis. Andalib knew, with all this greenery amid smudges of orange and yellow, there surely was water to drink from too. He had been wandering, trekking the land on some high-strung adventure, and talking to himself all the while.

It had worked up quite the thirst, and as the water revealed itself before him, his thirst leapt forward to make itself known.

His eyes reluctantly drifted aside to the figure reclined there, taking in judging eyes that reminded Andalib of his own folks. Andalib drew up, his head tipped high, chest puffed, a glint of delight in his eye.

At the invitation, he merely bowed dramatically, a flourish of fur and gangly legs before he was up again, bounding to the edge of the water and drinking his fill. He licked his nose, letting water drip off his whiskers as he lifted his head, glancing back to the lavish stranger.

Is this your home? Andalib was the picture of curiosity, sauntering closer like a fox more than a wolf. I've never been this far south before.

Samir watched the lithe stranger’s dramatic bow with a faintly amused smile, gilded eyes tracking his movements as he bounded to the water’s edge.

As Andalib spoke, sauntering closer with the sly demeanor of a fox, Samir shifted slightly, his posture indulgent, commanding. He permitted silence for a moment whilst the stranger drank from his pool, his smirk deepening, before he finally replied.

"It is," he spoke smoothly, richly. "My kingdom, my sanctuary, my oasis. I am it's Pharaoh, Samirseti." A large paw was pulled from the depths of the oasis where he had been cooling it, and then gestured wildly, dramatically, to all around.

He tilted his head slightly, the golden highlights of his fur catching the sun as he regarded Andalib with interest. "Color me surprised. You walk the sands as if you have your whole life." With that, the gigantic wolf pulled himself from where he lay, slender legs soon to betray the size of his grandeur. "Few stumble upon it, and fewer are welcomed as you have been."

Andalib tilted his head, and where someone might have felt their ears warm with embarrassment, aghast at the royalty they had just flaunted before, his delight almost doubled. A smile was wide on his face, a surprised laugh rolling between his teeth. Another bow ensued, this one somehow even more ridiculous, Forgive my manner, Pharoah Samirseti.

Every word was punctuated with a boyish insolence, closer to a jester than to that of genuine scorn. He rose before his bidding, gesturing to the water besides them, The water is so clear, I can see my face. Its surely the lowland's envy.

The size of Samirseti was one that set him a little on edge - he never took well to the towering type of wolf, too many loved to laud over everyone else, as if they could squish them like beetles. Though, the thinness to Samir's frame at least settled him - he was looking at more than brawn, if he were lucky. The compliment made him puff and preen, Racing hares and vultures. That's my secret.

The ridiculous thought, though true, made Andalib's grin wider. My parents liked to visit the desert and beaches from time to time, we marched the moment I could walk.

Samir’s smirk widened at Andalib’s exaggerated display, the boyish insolence a welcome break from the groveling obedience he so often demanded of others. There was an amusing charm to the stranger’s theatrical antics, and Samir found himself indulging it for now. His golden gaze lingered on Andalib’s bow, sharp and appraising, though his expression remained warm, almost inviting.

"Forgiven," Samir replied with a toothy, charming smile, honey vox laced with mock benevolence.

He followed Andalib’s gesture to the water, dipping his own paw back into the cool liquid and swirling it lazily. "Yes, the envy of the lowlands indeed," he mused with a sing-song hum, "My Haseki is the one who found our dear Oasis."

A bout of warm laughter fell from the black and gold panther's jaws as the stranger told him of his races, and his travels with parents. A very different life from the one Samir had lived. "I dare say I envy you. My life has only ever been courts, politics, war." A sigh fell from his tongue. "But do not get me wrong, I would have lived no other life."

He allowed a beat of silence to linger, his smile softening as he shifted slightly to gesture at the space beside him. "Stay a while, traveler," he said, his voice once again smooth and inviting. "I would have your name, and I would hear more of your tales. The desert has brought you to us for a reason. Ra does not bless but a chosen few."

The indulgent nature of his impromptu host was welcome, and only served to ensure Andalib lingered, like a flighty deer at a riverside, too taken with the weeds blossoming from its bounty to worry about a rising storm. Andalib returned to that whom Samirseti referenced, Compliments to your Haseki. They have a good eye.

It was nice to laugh with someone other than himself, and it was a good sound to the ear, invigorating to the spirit. His paws danced on the grass and sandy-soil, I dunno. A Pharoah gets all of life's joys, doesn't he?

There was mirth in his eyes, betraying his false-naivete. He looked almost awed, then, at the invite extended. His pondered it, his paws did ache.. and he was a little hungry. And this Samirseti fellow seemed entertaining enough company. Andalib also didn't have anything waiting on him, he was free to dance his trickster's vex among strangers and then scurry when the going got too tough for him. He dipped his head in a nod, grin fading to a more tame smile, like a boy chastised too many times for his wild hair but still unwilling to relent for propriety's sake, My parents named me Andalib, Pharoah Samirseti. I would be glad to stay in your sanctuary.

Andalib paused, a clever little spark to him as he rolled it all over in his head, and a little hesitantly added, As Ra bids.

As Andalib danced lightly on the sandy grass, Samir tilted his head slightly, watching the smaller wolf with an ease of mind. "Perhaps. But even a Pharaoh must work to keep such joys from slipping away. Nothing in this world is truly free."

he offer extended, Samir watched as the mirth in Andalib’s expression softened to something more thoughtful. When the boy finally nodded and spoke his name, Samir inclined his head in acknowledgment, his smirk softening into a faint smile. "Andalib," he tested the name upon his own tongue and found it most fitting. "Your parents chose well. A shame I will not meet them. I would welcome any to my court who dealt a paw in rearing a fine man."

Something Andalib was free to note for later. The name of Ra upon the boy's tongue thoroughly amused the Pharaoh and he inclined his black head downwards, looking upon him with bemused eyes. "Ra's grace is unyielding," he murmured with the rich cadence of one who believed his own words as truth. "The sun watches over all, relentless and eternal. It is His light that grants life to this oasis, His blessing that allows us to bask in this sanctuary. Should you accept the Oasis as your home, Andalib, you may yet become one of His divine sons, as I am." He hummed.

"Of course, I cannot promise that. It is ultimately up to you, and whether or not you let His light shine through you."

Samir allowed a beat of silence, allowed Andalib's response to pass, before his smirk turned softer and his gaze sharpened. "But tell me, sehedj," he let himself recline once more into a lay. "What brings you to wander so far? You say you are not from the Lowlands—or anywhere of similar geography."

Andalib nodded, as though he began to understand the weight of Samirseti's burdens as a free-spirit wandering. He, at the very least, knew what people would do, covetous as they were. He had felt the bite of that, even distantly, once or twice. Though from wolves all his age, keen to knock the paws out from another to reach the top of the hill first.

It was almost bashful, the little duck of his head and low wag of his tail at meager praise, even as most of it was directed to his parents. He huffed a little, nose tipping toward the sky, They didn't like my 'tendencies'.

Regardless, it was said with a levity that denoted he still loved his parents in some way, and didn't hold much against them, at least now. He gave a little shrug of his shoulders, brief and light. Andalib's head tilted as he listened eagerly to the teaching words of Samirseti, he knew of many gods, but it was all the broad strokes and all names that blurred and shifted with the land. Samirseti's certainty in his preaching was enough to make Ra stick in his brain like cold to frost. Childishly, his eyes drifted to the bright sphere high above, before dropping back to the man who almost seemed to reflect it.

He almost couldn't believe it, and it was written across his face, before being dismissed with a quiet, I'm not so sure I'm.. chosen.. material.

His paws pressed closer together under him, the picture of uncertainty. Andalib was quick to answer Samirseti's next question, ears perking forward at the strange reference, but not asking, yet. His tail was wagging behind him again, the proud tilt of his head was back even as he pronounced his reckless youth, I like to travel. See new things, be whoever I want.

Samir laughed at the humble demeanor of the boy, leaving little room for argument.

"Do you think Ra’s gaze rests on the ordinary, Andalib? No. It is those who wander, those who stand apart from the masses, who are truly seen. But—I will say nothing further. I have led you to the path, now it is up to you to go down it."

He saw Andalib’s uncertainty, the way his paws pressed closer together, the flicker of self-doubt in his expression. Samir allowed the silence to linger for a moment, his tail flicking idly against the earth before he spoke again. "A life of freedom, then. No roots, no ties."

He hums softly, letting his gilded eyes rest upon the sandy wolf. Poking, prodding, at his features. "But perhaps you can create roots that do not tie you down. Not entirely." his tail swipes across the warm of the desert sand.

"My home. The Oasis. We are called Vahanet. You could be part of us. A Tah-Elçi, perhaps—an envoy of Vahanet. Free to roam as you please, to speak on behalf of the kingdom, to forge alliances. And always, the Oasis would be yours to return to. A home waiting beneath the sun’s warmth."

Samir tilted his head slightly, offering the sway of his wrist, a gesture of good will. "The choice is yours, of course," he said, his tone lighter now, though the undercurrent of his intent remained clear. "The sands are vast, and the paths are many. I will not blame you if you choose to leave once you've had your fill of the Oasis. It has much to give. Forever generous."

But the man can't help but look at the boy expectantly, a certain cold eeriness settling upon his mantle.

Andalib nodded, anxiety seeming to fade from his face. He had never had another explain it to him so succintly, it had been big scary words and lingering stares and threats of disgraces. To have being a mere traveler away from the norm align with the kiss of the divine. It was .. unfathomable. He had always been a skeptic, giggling and dancing away from the threats of sins and glories, but he found himself pausing, taking at least some of it to his heart.

His eyes lit with a sense of awe as Samirseti continued, his gaze lifting to meet the other's in interest, and then surprise. He crowded a tiny bit closer, as though he could absorb the lofty aura that drifted around Samirseti like the breeze.

Vahanet.. a Tah-Elçi? Andalib repeated, clearly trying to get a feel for the words. His gaze swept to the Oasis and its hidden beauty, to the desert surroundings, to the warm sun on his coat. He was growing closer to a picture of excitement, taken by the prospect. It was flexible, it was purpose. Wild..

He paused then, a little slip of skepticism back on his face. But... why me?

Too many times had his eccentricates been dismissed as childish ideals, and a stubborn refusal to 'grow up'. It was hard for him to align that with the royalty before him; that little dose of cynicism slinking through.

Samirseti’s molten gaze glinted with satisfaction as he watched Andalib’s excitement blossom, the smaller wolf leaning in as if drawn by some unseen gravity. When Andalib’s skepticism slipped through, however, Samir’s smirk deepened, his gaze narrowing slightly as if appraising the boy once more.

"Why you?" Samir echoed, as if utterly amused by his naivety. "Because the sands do not carry the unworthy to my presence, Andalib. Ra's light does not fall without reason." He leaned forward slightly, his movements as fluid as a predator stalking prey, though his tone remained warm, almost inviting.

"I see potential in you. My court requires voices such as yours—free, as you said, unafraid to step where others hesitate." His teeth click. "I am no tyrant, Andalib. Only a mere vessel of His will. He speaks through me. His light glows upon you, even now I see his touch upon the rose of your cheeks."

His cutthroat smile softened just enough to let a thread of warmth seep into his expression. "As a Tah-Elçi, you would represent the kingdom's interests to the lands. You would travel as you please, your path your own to choose. But unlike before, you would do so with the power of Vahanet at your back and a home to return to beneath the warmth of the oasis sun."

He leaned back then, crossing the long, scarred legs that stretched out before him. His gilded eyes shifted briefly to the golden horizon before returning to Andalib. "You need not answer now," he breathed softly the words,

"Stay for the night, boy. Relish in what the Oasis offers you today. Tomorrow, seek me out and we shall treat over your decision."

Andalib almost hung off of every word, skepticism falling out of sight, absorbing every syllable. To hear himself aligned with the standard of a people, it was beyond his wildest imagination. He could forgive the sharp note to the smiles before him, the dangerous flag of motion and silver-tongued inclinations drifting past in but a whisper; especially as the smile turned to something warm, something drawing him closer into the trap.

He had wandered for quite a while, and even some place to call home for a little while was enticing. He wanted for little, but there was no joy in denying himself the joking and jesting and prancing around there was to be done in a pack.

Though, he gave a little snarky side glance, looking around the Oasis with an exaggeratedly suspicious look on his face, Vahanet.. does it have many?

It didn't hold much importance to him at all, whether it was four or ten or twenty strong, but Andalib was always one to challenge the standards put out before him - especially at the expense of catching others on the wrong foot.

Either way, Andalib was clearly not going to turn down the offer, tail wagging as he nodded; a night's retreat in a beautiful, god-blessed even, Oasis was enough to convince him. The idea of treading across the sands again at the moment sounded abhorrent compared to the cool waters before him and the shade of the trees scantily drifting above. Thank you, Pharaoh. It is a-- blessing.

He had dipped his head awkwardly in another bow, tail still wagging behind him, juvenile jubilance dancing through his frame as he leapt back straight to his paws; already sauntering back across the grass, keen to sniff through the little nooks and crannies of the Oasis in the only way a puppy could.