Lion Head Mesa noctilucent

her thoughts were with her brother. her thoughts drifted as the wind did, over stone, through fields still chilled by the last tendrils of winter and the not-yet-budding flowers where one day the bees would hum. she thought of senmut's medallion and realized she felt suddenly naked without it; but why would she need its protection here? why here, especially when it had failed her so far?

makono asked a question and for a moment nazli did not recognize the voice at all. she swallowed a piece of her heart which felt as if it rested at the back of her throat.
it is a struggle, with my reduced work. she explained. it was not a complaint - she made sure to keep her voice level, to cater to her station. the swell of her belly was obvious even in the gray haze.

she wanted to say something else, but, couldn't quite compose the words. it felt strange to be standing here before someone she was once so close to, perhaps holding the very life within herself that could rival that, or cause the downfall of one so great. they both knew it; makono was no fool, with her power and those to counsel her in all things. it struck nazli in that exact moment that her friend had, somehow, become some kind of threat.

her jaw set with tension.