Lion Head Mesa كسوف eclipse

For the kids!

with the entirety of akashingo occupied with the presentation of the royal litter, jawahir felt certain that they could finally spend time with their own.
they sought out the catacombs where the little ones had been sequestered; it was a rare moment of freedom for jawahir, who intended to male the most of things while they could.
when they found @Nazli it was a relief, but when their eyes sought @Zakariya in the dark, a gasp broke the stillness there.
a mournful sound came from jawahir as they looked upon the bitten face of the little boy, seeing for the first time the wounds that had fostered, the blindness that marred him.
who has done this?! jawahir wanted to screech; to find tavina and demand answers. there was nothing the hebsut could do about it now. weeks had passed. their time had been split to favor the royal children foremost, and so it was them that jawahir would blame.
satsu. satsu was the reason for everything, and she would pay for this.

making some assumptions!

under @Tavina's care, zakariya had begun to heal. the pain was less than before, and he started to act more like a normal child, aside from his obvious blindness. when jawahir returned, a familiar presence he had missed without truly knowing it, he reached toward them with stubby legs, vocalizing happily. he sensed none of the turmoil within his parent, oblivious for now to his own loss and the tragedy of it all.

Their parent's absence had been a void that Nazli had not noticed. There was more often than not another body there, the woman who brought them meals or stayed to fend off the cold by holding them close. In either instance Nazli did not think of Jawahir for these things - Tavina was, in every sense she could fathom, more of a mother figure at this point.

So when the stranger approached them, Nazli's suspicion grew. She did recognize the arid scent of this person but only barely. They smelled of milk foremost, which she craved, and so Nazli tumbled closer with her only motivation being a free meal.

She sought a teat and tried to drink, but nothing happened for all the effort. After struggling a few minutes she spat the teat out and gave a pitiful cry, and sat uselessly in the dirt. The look of betrayal that crossed her face was made more poignant for the sag of her cheeks, the sunken quality of her too-big eyes.

the boy was the loudest, at first.
he was ambulatory despite his injury and that gave jawahir some hope, though it would not be enough to stave off the anger that seethed through them. as the mother figure dipped their head to inspect the boy's face again, even nose at his scruff and caress the small of his back, there came a pinching sensation to their underside that was startling.
what th--!
jawahir moved without thinking to bat the girl child away from those teats. that milk was not for either of these children any longer - not since satsu had demanded a wet nurse for her own brood - and jawahir could not afford to fail in their duty, even if they hated that woman and those children.
the punch sent nazli backwards. it wasn't until after, when jawahir saw the hunger in her little face, that there was a sign of remorse within themselves. they hastened to pull the girl close, and the boy too, and hold their precious little bodies close.
i am sorry my little ones. you deserve so much more than this. you are the children of a king, and i will have him know you. thought the hebsut with a sigh, as they pressed their face against the little squirming children, and closed their eyes.
you must take care of one another. no one else will, i am afraid. it was a truth they were too young to understand, but one that jawahir would repeat to them often. they would have to depend on one-another more than anyone else, of this the hebsut was certain.