Lion Head Mesa scarlet

"@Crowfeather."
ramesses had bent over the narrow bed, seeking to see if the boy was awake or asleep. because his entry had not been silent, and because he was notably accompanied by tavina, sihaya, and @Sayyadina, who lingered at the door, pharaoh assumed the former.
he grimaced as he glanced around the lightless, cramped room that had belonged to their former tactician. "this place was fitting for a soldier. it is not fitting for a prince."
yes, that little tidbit had been kept from him. but now the foxfaced man was in the palace and he had said things of crowfeather that ramesses might never have suspected otherwise.
"how ironic, that a royal should live so long and unseen inside a palace!" he laughed. 
"you are to occupy your own set of rooms now." there were a pair of large caves tucked back from the rest of the alcoves where the mazoi kept themselves. they fed into one another through a short passageway. "i have already set the other fellahin to beautifying them." there was even a small window there, a tilt of rock which allowed a small glow to filter down.
pharaoh's tone did not invite a discussion. he motioned to sihaya and the doctor that they should help the newly established royal to his paws.

The Pharaoh was in his room.

Crowfeather sat as well as he could. He did not like feeling that the man loomed over him, spoke down on him. He had grown tired of being weak, being left alone in Germanicus’ room. He wanted to speak his mind and to leave the place. He was grateful for the care they had taken, the medicine that they had used to help him heal. The shadow would find his own way to repay them for this, but he could not remain there.

When Ramesses spoke, all plans escaped Crowfeather’s mind.

The dark wolf stared at him; heart quickened to a throat-binding speed.

How had he discovered such a thing?

The Pharaoh moved on so swiftly, saying that Crowfeather would not occupy the room of Germanicus and his new quarters were being prepared by the Fellahin. The shadow shook his head, still unable to speak, still fearful and uncertain in his position.

I- I am not a prince in your palace… only in a place far from here. How- how did you come to know?

"a man has come to akashingo. he has asked to see you. he wears the face of a fox and he told me you are a runaway royal from your people."
"when you see him, i want this man to look at how we have honored you here." he spoke nothing of the reward he expected from whatever functioned as a king in the young wolf's packland. 
pharaoh tilted his head. "if I were to suddenly appear in your territory, i would be entitled to the respect i now have."
his eyes flicked over crowfeather. the boy had been offered regular bathing but he was bedraggled from the sleeping pelts and drawn in the dim light of the small room. "if you are a prince there you are one here as well. you only do not comprehend what it means to be treated as one." ramesses stepped back, toward the door.
"now, get up, get up. there are preparations to be made. by this hour tomorrow you will feel yourself understanding what it means to be a prince."

Crowfeather listened to Ramesses speak and he found himself growing thick with disgust and fear. The man spoke of someone who had come to them in search of the shadow. He described the face of a fox. The dark yearling could think of a few who might match the description, though his hurried heart and fearful mind would not allow him to dwell on it for long.

For, Ramesses said two things that found a way to prick at Crowfeather.

First, the Pharaoh wished for the yearling to make it clear that it was shown how well he was tended to while in the territory. At this, the boy squinted sharply. He did not say anything. If that was what the man wished, then he would be sure to bring it up. Days left by myself with only the titterings of a fearful nursemaid every so often. What a leisure, he thought and frowned.

Then, Ramesses stated that if he were to visit Crowfeather’s home, he would be entitled to the same respect he received in Akashingo.

If you were to suddenly appear in the Starsea, you would be met with the fangs of many warriors. You would not leave. And if you did, it would not be with all of your limbs, I could promise you that. Your ways are not shared everywhere, Pharaoh. What a head, this ruler had! He could not possibly believe that what he had said could be true. It did not matter who he was or where he had selected to rule. In the Starsea, he would be nothing more than a stray and a threat.

The Pharaoh told him to get up.

Crowfeather felt his heart lurch, he tried to look to the ruler’s face without fear slicing through him. He could not. Still, he did not rise.

I cannot on my own. Not yet.

Then, I would like to speak to the fox-faced man.

pharaoh's smile widened and his eyes grew colder as crowfeather denied him the respect afforded to a godhead. if the boy had not been satsu's honeyed little pet, he would have had him tossed into the trash midden as soon as germanicus had formally took his leave. the sullen spoiled seraphim contributed nothing and had lowered the supplies of medicine and bandages through all of autumn and into winter, and could not even stand now.
could the brattish ganymede truly not see that ramesses offered him a position? a role? he could not lie here the rest of his healing. it irritated ramesses to think that crowfeather thought this might be allowed.
the room had grown gravely silent, the ruler only staring at the boy in contemplation. and then his head tilted to one side, a brow raised. "your inability to stand is why i have brought sihaya with me," he said, indicating the man at his side. "and you will see the man later today. in your new rooms."
he chose to ignore crowfeather's nonsense outburst, generous to the very last drop of his marrow. pharaoh moved to the door, prepared to escort them all there in preparation for the fox-man's visit.

The dark yearling did not like the way that the man stared at him. He had never seen such dark blue eyes before, and yet they burned him like fire. Crowfeather found himself fearful of the idea that Satsu would become like this man. The day in the woods had felt so far away.

She had been building markers for spirits. She had been soft and kind.

Hatred bubbled inside of the dark young man for the first time in his life. If he did not lack the strength, he would have likely made a great deal of trouble and then crawled out of the mesa on his mending ankle. Two thoughts burned inside of him, agonizing him in ways he could never put to words. One was that he did not believe he had a friend in Satsu, not anymore. She belonged to the Pharaoh.

The other was that Germanicus had left him there.

Alright. I’ve gotten better, I still only need someone nearby for support.

Crowfeather looked to the Fellahin who had been brought to escort him. It ached when he thought of relying on the Pharaoh’s servants in that way. He did not want for them to touch his body. The shadow knew that he did not have a choice. He pushed himself to his feet, favoring his hind leg, and watched expectantly to see where he would be sent.

pharaoh led the way, walking ahead of the pair supporting crowfeather. sayyadina kept a the royal side. ramesses had not yet informed the woman of the role she was to take, for it had not yet become pertinent. and he meant it to be a decree for them both.
the neb's new rooms were spacious and twinned, with a small hallway from one into the other. the first was arranged as a receiving room of sorts. the wall flowed into natural shelves, and a plinth that could be used as a couch. crushed petals taken from some back larder where they had been preserved were sprinkled here. 
they flowed through the hallway into the second space, a wider one. there was a bed against the rightmost wall heaped with soft pelts, and it was here that pharaoh indicated that crowfeather should sit down. the small high window would filter down sunlight or moonglimmer depending on the day's hour.
jawahir, sayf, and kasmut were here. they bowed and filtered out, away into the mesa, followed by sihaya. pharaoh kept the first at his side. "i am appointing sayyadina as executor of your wishes. both she and tavina will serve you your meals and arrange whatever meetings you desire. sayyadina will be close in the night as well, should you need anything."
he allowed the allusion that she would serve the prince in all ways slip between them, communicated only by a wry tilt of his jaw.
"be settled. the man will be brought here." ramesses nodded at sayyadina, and she too departed, leaving only the pale ruler and the dark boy.

Once in his new chambers, Crowfeather found himself stunned.

The room was spacious and warm. There was more space than he would know what to do with. Somehow, they had found a place for him where he could see the stars through an opening in the ceiling of the cavern. The shadow stared out through that space, searching the skies for anything that might prove familiar to him.

As he searched the quarters with his gaze, Ramesses continued to chatter about what would be offered to him. He had appointed one of his own to serve Crowfeather in the ways he needed. Tavina would still attend to his medical recovery. Food would be brought to him, arrangements would be made for him, but the shadow could not understand why. Was it really that the Pharaoh wished to treat him in a way that was acceptable to rulers?

When the man mentioned that Sayyadina would be there through the night, as well, Crowfeather caught his eye and felt his face burn at the implication.

Oh- I- That-

The shadow cleared his throat awkwardly and shook his head.

That’s not necessary. To stay through the night, I mean. I- I wish to recover swiftly so that I am not burdening your resources and your… he looked awkwardly toward the retreated Fellahin. They were going to find the fox-faced man. I only need food and help to get better. Not night-time company.

Before the Fellahin returned with the visitor, Crowfeather glanced toward Ramesses.

Will… Gucci be moved, too?

feel free to throw foxfur in or just fade this <3

a knowing smile crossed pharaoh's exquisite face. "i am certain that serving you would not be of difficulty to sayyadina. think of it as a way to elevate her." and now crowfeather asked after gucci. the royal rolled his shoulders. "you are a prince. if it is your wish to have him here, he will be brought."
it seemed satsu had entrusted the dog to her own favoured one. this was good, he felt. it showed a camaraderie between the two that he still believed was existent. ramesses had watched crowfeather look around the room. despite the resistance the boy had originally shown, he felt that being placed in a more expansive place fitting his status would grow upon crowfeather.
there was a sound in the corridor outside. ramesses smiled and pulled away. 
"that will be tavina with your guest. we will leave you now."
doted upon by the fellahin, brought choice meals, given good care, with the choicest rooms to call his own, pharaoh knew that the boy would be prevailed upon to once and for all become royal.

Crowfeather nodded his head, but he would not accept that type of care from the Fellahin that had been offered. He only wished to placate the Pharaoh and get him out of the room. The longer that the shadow was forced to look into the man’s lapis eyes, the more he felt fear spike inside of him. The man was frightening beyond anything he had ever witnessed. Ramesses had power of a different kind. He was not that of a warrior, but a manipulating and charming man.

Tavina had appeared outside the room.

Ramesses afforded him the privacy needed.

Crowfeather bowed his head curtly to the man, still wary and watchful with his eyes. The Pharaoh left the room with the dark nursemaid. The seer was left alone. In the few moments before his visitor stepped into the doorway, Crowfeather exhaled a sharp breath. He had been holding it trapped in his lungs.

*w* <333