Lion Head Mesa dunyā

A month or two after their arrival earth-side, both Nazli and her sibling @Zakariya were growing in to their bodies; still small for their age, oftentimes dirty, and kept in the darkness of the catacombs, but alive.

On this particular day Nazli's curiosity warred with their trained fear of the so-called outside world. She was awake, lonely, and inquisitive of the line of demarcation that bisected where the catacombs began (the darkness that was her constant) and the connecting corridor (with its gray-light, it's many smells and sounds).

She had been taught by Jawahir to keep back from the light. @Tavina often traversed these passageways and Nazli wondered how, given that it was so taboo for either child to do the same; today she wanted to be bold. She wanted to venture in to the light.

As she stood there, obscured by the shadows of the catacombs and ready to make that leap, someone came around the corner and startled her. Nazli tripped backwards and did what came natural: she hid quickly, and watched the hallway for signs of danger.

the world remained in darkness for zakariya, who had learned early to always be his sister's shadow. at times she seemed to know things he did not, though zakariya did not yet grasp it fully. he only knew that nazli was the only true source of safety in his small, cruel world.

he shadowed her faithfully on her daring venture toward the light, only to go deathly still when he heard something familiar. footsteps. his hearing had already sharpened in the absence of sight, and he knew what this sound meant. someone was coming. he heard nazli trip and scrambled after her, more sure-footed than his sister and much more panicked by the thought of company. he started to nose her back, further into the darkness, though zakariya knew it only as safety. he could not comprehend the wish to be in the light, for he had never seen it that he could remember and had never felt the warmth of the sun. he knew only safety and danger. safety was nazli, home, familiar things. anything else was danger.

this time there was no one to stop ramesses.
he was irate to find jawahir's scent twined with that of tavina, for he saw no reason for this except to assume that the two were lovers. but he found this dubious and it was not the same.
pharaoh paced with irritated and seeking step through the darkened catacombs. there was movement and so he stopped, but nothing was present.
a pale lip curled. "show yourself," ramesses commanded in a cold and questing voice.

They hid in the dark together as a spirit emerged to seek them. He was pale, brilliant despite the darkness, and touched with fine gold thread reminiscent of the sun which Nazli had never seen before.

He commanded her to emerge. Nobody had been so forthright with Nazli before; feeling at once discovered but also strengthened with how close Zakariya was, she turned first to her brother - as if to soothe him - and shoved him backwards in to the deeper dark.

She had been caught; but her brother could remain hidden and safe.

The girl's eyes were upon Ramesses as she stumbled from the dark. She did not like feeling exposed here, and wanted very badly to return to her brother and pretend nothing was amiss.

The man stood waiting before her - and she cowered, as any child might do, being caught somewhere they ought not to be.

posting to keep this moving, please feel free to jump back in @Zakariya <3

ramesses stared down in awe and wonder and growing disgust as a grubby little fellahin child all but tripped into the weft of his gaze. for a long time he was only silent, nostrils flared in the bruised realization that he did not even know who had borne them.
slowly pharaoh leant out.
he meant to take the scents curled like muddied jewels on the girl's pelt.
and his own favoured gemstone was one of them.
ramesses' heart hardened.

try as he might, zakariya failed to press nazli back into the shadows. terror struck him like ice at the core of his chest at the spoken command, yet his sister obeyed. zakariya cried out as she shoved him, launching forward to stumble after her. a stranger loomed over them, unseen but felt keenly; the coldness of his presence chilled the boy. zakariya stood silent, quivering with his face turned in the direction he felt the presence from, and finally released a pathetic wavering whine. he felt, in his heart, that he and nazli were in grave danger now.

fading! <3

so jawahir had betrayed him.
these two were proof of it.
and tavina!
ramesses stared at them.
the anger rose but went nowhere. he swept away, leaving the little rats to their gloomy darkness, and put all four of them from his mind.