Meadowlark Prairie mirage

He closes. She does not see this so much as sense it, but ceases her prying, for she knows it will turn over no new earth. Instead, Hatshepsut leans into his slow drawl, finding it pleasant and comforting in this odd time. Within her belly hunger flares, but the woman is implacable. "They will bring famine, and famine will bring war," she agrees. When wolves starved, fangs were bared, and lawlessness came to rule.

She cannot help but eye the man thoughtfully. "You do not seem leaner," comes the woman's dry voice, but there is the hint of a jest there, if he is inclined to find it. The Regent surveys the barren land again -- she has no intentions of returning to Karnak, but it is becoming clear that there is nothing for her here either.