Rosewater Oasis eat our young

racharra sought the youth of their blossoming kingdom. her stride unwavering, and her gaze fixed only on what was ahead of her, she walked along the rocky halls of the new palace in search of the boys @Nokht and @Akhre.

despite her stone face, her heart ached. the sight of their faces struck the young queen. the red boy, colored like the sands of her home, was the age of the older youth that served as fellahin and mazoi that she had seen in the last days of akashingo. but the grey boy half his age shared it with her siblings; the royal fledgings who would never take flight, and the half-ogres of her blood who were born and died through tragedy.

maybe they knew it already; the weight that burdened both of their young shoulders.

so she sought for both senpu to relieve them of that weight. if they were here, it was because the gods had greater plans for them, they could not see the land of the reeds just yet. what ambitions did they have? or are they still seeking them? as hemet-nesut, she would see to it they are fulfilled before the gods can take them.

we can also always do 1 on 1 thread if u guys would rather!

Racharra found the spirit first, alone again in his solitude as worked the meat of a lean haunch from bone. Her scent accompanied measured steps on the stoney ground, and soon he turned to face who approached in full. The woman from the funeral speech; Akhre at once dipped his head in her presence.

"Hemet-Nesut," his tongue swiped to rid his lips of blood, though some had already stained his fiery chest a sunset pink. "It's good to see you! Would you like to share?" Her words had roused emotion within the spirit that day, and he wondered curiously what she sought from him now. But a conversation could always be made better on a full belly - Akhre pushed the meal towards her with a bright smile.

Nokht came to see Hemet-Nesut, the limp in his step more sure with every day that passed, a growing strength to match a growing spirit.

She too had shared in their loss, and had run from the same crumbling sandstone, she too had lost blood ties beneath the rubble and the rushing current.

She too, witnessed the day where the gods condemned them all to death.

Almost all of them. Snakeskin boy came upon the two and sat a little ways away, he did not want to infringe on their conversation, though it seemed it had only just begun.

no thank you, dear. please, keep it for yourself. you've earned it. she murmurs to the boy colored like the redsands. the boy colored like ash comes into the room, and joins them if silently. she gazed between both boys. one was in high spirits but the other remained quiet. perhaps it was nature, perhaps it was trauma. both were resilient however in their own ways.

i come to ask what is it that you two seek in life? i want to learn about your ambitions, your goals.. she smiles, and her head lowers and tilts. your fears, your sorrows. you both are in a.. very delicate stage now. neither boys, or men. i want to learn what kind of men you would like to grow up into. warriors were needed, and both boys would certainly grow tall and mighty. but they deserved to be allowed to pick their own path.

as tah-elci, mesha, saqqar — whatever you wish, i will make it true. Pharoah will command it true. her voice shaken, frantic. she didn't know why her heart wished to leap from its chest. but she could not stop it.

Akhre, a little crestfallen, soon had his focus swept up by the arrival of Nokht. "Hello!" His head peered round the frame of their Hemet-Nesut wondering fleetingly why after such previous introductions the other boy still chose to sit distantly. 

Heart swelled indescribably, until his attention returned to Racharra who spoke of ambition, of purpose. Did the spirit not already have a purpose? Tah-elci, mesha, saqqar: "What's that mean?"

A distant memory, the clash of young teeth against a redstone father. Kheti had been mazoi once, a matter of urgency amid war, but did Akhre want to follow that same path?

He gives a nod to Akhre, but does not return the same happy greeting. A part of him resents himself for it, but the choice is made.

hemet-nesut spoke of ambitions, goals. Things he scarcely entertained until this lull of tragedy. He too was unfamiliar with the ranks she spoke of, but he knew one of them was bound to serve his desires.

whatever you wish, i will make it true. Pharoah will command it true

He was going to hold them to that. With unwavering eyes, and a burning intensity to match, Nokht uttered his answer to the question. I want to learn to fight. He declared.

What kind of man did Nokht want to be?

One who made others afraid. He wished to be on the other end, for once.

she smiled down to the curious red boy. diplomats, warriors, and hunters. she explained succinctly and warmly. you do not need to decide today. though she could guess; a saqqar, perhaps?
the grey boy, forever in contrast to the other, already had a plan, not needing the hemet-nesut's explanation to know what his heart desired. but racharra was blind to the resentment that fueled it.

then i shall introduce you to our prodigious alay-basi, @Arkane. she straightened, but her smile never wavered. there was a power in his young voice, she could already see him making a fine nehesi. you will answer to him.

Nokht declared his ambition - to fight - and it was now that the spirit looked upon his young companion with confusion. How could he wish to bring more destruction? It was yet another thing that Akhre did not understand about the boy; surely, the world was already full of it. Brow crinkling, he waited for Racharra's speech to quiet before he voiced his own desires.

"I think I would like you to teach me - like Pharaoh does." Was there a need to label what the spirit was becoming? Diplomats, hunters, warriors - neither called to him as the gods did. But perhaps the Hemet-Nesut could open a path that he was yet to see.

Nokht gave a firm nod, his stare unwavering; his conviction assured. He was to train beneath the Alay-basi, the beastly, marbled shadow of a man who'd arrived some days prior. Nokht still had some pounds to put on before he could've matched such a warrior.

It was an innocent thing, surely, to wish to defy a fate set all too early.

And if the gods did not want for it... Well, then they would've killed him beneath starglow skies. Or perhaps another of the dozen times he'd found himself walking the sands between life and death.

Everything from here on out was sanctioned by them, a natural consequence, in a series of consequences.

Violence begets violence.

nokht had made up his mind, quiet now as a storm continued to brew that the queen was not privvy too. she was too distracted by the glee of a pupil.

i may certainly teach you, young one. for a moment her eyes glow. i was raised as a noblewoman — to be cunning and poised. sadness returns to her, slumping her shoulders. her smile softens, but her voice remains steady. you'll be in good paws. racharra rises. the both of you.

Akhre preened. A noblewoman! Nokht's conviction fell away in the young spirit's excitement to learn, and he bowed his head low in gratitude. "I will ready myself," he grinned.

There were preparations to be made, and though he was still a blank slate for Racharra to mould, he sought first to retreat to the suncave and council the gods for their advice. Turning tail, he scampered into the halls and disappeared swiftly around a corner.