Redsand Canyon why you looking so beautiful to me now when you're so sad

the tour that followed was terse. quick. qiao did not miss the lack of introductions, the cold decorum: she was being hushed along through corridors and halls like a sequestered beast.

still, she made note. if not for ramesses, for herself.

of the faces she saw; was their light in their eyes? of corridors and footpaths; did these lead to egress?. of quarters -- how many hidden fangs lurked within them? of punishment grounds, of spar-grounds -- the dirt here packed red with clay.

she felt his gaze upon her. it was cold, like unwelcome wind to her back. qiao kept her gaze to the ground. still the whispers were silent, and qiao wondered if she had gone a little too far east of their hauntings.