Lion Head Mesa bless the rains

backdated to before the queen's murder. early may if that's alright?

it would've been tremendously rude to continue giving his fellow noble only passing smiles and curt nods.

gucci's dogtag tinkled as always, a pep in his step rare as of recent. he searched for @Lilitu, the striking foreigner, princess, if he'd heard correct?

when he found her, he'd be sure to give the girl his brightest smile and plentiful wags of his fuzzy tail. "g'day miss! ah do believe y'are miss lee-lee-th o' respectable brech-e-lay-ant?"

The two met, and she smiled down at the little creature, a bit taken aback but friendly nonetheless. Lilitu, she corrected with a wag of her tail. And you're. . .Gucci, right?

She'd heard of him. Seen him briefly, coming and going. She wondered how this tiny man had garnered nobility in the eyes of Pharaoh, but didn't question Ramesses' judgment. From how he spoke, he seemed worldly and educated, and everyone was different, after all.

It's nice to meet you, Lilitu replied, smiling. Perhaps they could be friends.

"lie-lie-toe!" gucci repeated after her with a grin, confident in his pronunciation. 

"n 's correct completely! ahm veni vidi gucci, same rankin' 's yours, al-be-it nawt as involved in politiks 's your princessness, if ahv heard correctly?" his brows wagged and his batty ears twitched.

"hava ya duties t' attend to? if yes, lemme escort ya t' there. if nawt, well, the wellspring's always a nice place t' be when the weather's warm as this."

It wasn't quite right still, but she let him have it anyway, loath to have to correct him more. Instead, she smiled through his explanation, still questioning what the heck she was looking at here.

And the accent! It was difficult to parse. 'Wellspring' was a word she understood, though, and she jumped at it.

Sure, let's go to the wellspring, Lilitu replied, nodding. I don't have a lot of duties, I don't think. Unless Pharaoh hasn't told me about them, she added, laughing. 

But a dip in the pool seemed quite nice.

She glanced over at him, chin cocked. What brought you here, uh, Gucci?

he felt a rare pleasant happiness as he pranced alongside the wolfless, thinking what a nice day they could have.

"hm? well ah wanted t' exchange proper words wi' th' resident ambassador n then maybe-" he halted. "oh! y' mean here, in akashingo!" the chihuahua laughed at own silliness.

"well, that's a long, looong story, but summary'd be that th' kind n much handsome pharaoh found me outside n had th' gentle heart t' let me remain, n th' queen blessed me wi' good position therein."

he skipped the bit where he was pretty sure they would've made him a fellahin instead. he'd long ago decided not to dwell on it.

The story was truncated, and Lilitu figured he might have a lot more to say, given his eagerness and verbosity. But she'd wait to pry it from him, instead walking along, taking smaller steps to allow him to keep pace with her.

So you know I'm from Brecheliant, she said, figuring most probably did. It's a nice pack—we used to live in a fen. That's kind of like a swamp, but not as. . .dark and gross? Just boggy, she reasoned, shrugging. But recently we moved to a sort of mountain, the homeland of my aunt Maia's mate, Eljay.

She left out the word 'caldera;' she still didn't really understand what it meant. Before that I lived on a plateau, and in a valley in the mountains. In a great kingdom, that no longer exists.

Lilitu gave a wistful sigh, looking down for a moment at her moving paws. I have a sister, Arielle. I'm trying to find her again. Do you have any siblings, Gucci? she asked, looking over at the little canid-adjacent creature.

ears politely turned to listen to the princess speak.

what a life she'd lead! gucci couldn't conceive how wolves lived outside lion's head mesa. he imagined theirs a rougher, less luxuriant lifestyle. but a kingdom! he'd need ask her for details after. now, she had another question.

"siblin's!" the chihuahua exclaimed dramatically. "pests n blessin's upon a dag's life! mah haints were a duo, lil' chadon n off-coloured buccellati. don-don, ne'er grew t' standard size fer competin', n he made sure t' announce his jealousy by gnawin' on mah most precious toys n bedspreads. but he was still a protective siblin'! come terrible storms n thunder poundin' in mah very ears, he'd come curl round mah head n hum some sweet tune t' ease mah terrors n shakes." gucci made a soft exhale, smiling into empty space. then, he turned his head.

"but bucce was a menace! yes, he too knew to kiss n cuddle, but he was still far too crass fer polite company. ah kept tellin' don-don n mama, t'is th' cats whisperin' bad words n vulgar concepts inta his shapely ears - but mama called me an instigator n liar, n wouldn't hear one bard word 'bout her feline companions!" he scoffed. "was na wonder miss harding sent him t' classes fer good behavin', out which he somehow came a two-faced serpent. he departed fer 'nother kennel, n last ah heard he was sirin' litter 'fter litter fer ladies fell'd by his charms then poisoned by his honest speakin'." pale muzzle scrunched with distaste.

then, he halted.

"oh! ah been ramblin'! 'scuse that, miss, 's jus' th' memories keep pourin'."

"speak o' your own sister, ah plead. what kinda siblin' inspires such loyalty in another?"

Pests and blessings; she much liked that description of siblings, and grinned. His speech, again, was a little tough to understand, but she think she caught the main threads of it. 

Your world sounds really interesting, Lilitu said, her voice genuine. Then his ending question sunk in, and her ears swiveled backward, a look of shame coming over her face.

They'd reached the pool, and she stepped in, hiding her expression for a moment. Once she was belly-deep, she turned back to Gucci with a swallow, mouth twitching as she tried to find the words to answer him.

Well, I haven't been. . .loyal, Gucci, she replied. We got separated a long time ago, and when I found her again once before, I didn't tell her our mom had died. I didn't have the guts.

She took a drink to steady herself, then lifted her head, chin dripping. I'm trying to find her, to make it right. But I could have gone looking for her a long time ago, and I didn't.

the teacup man was looking earnestly, and so caught the glimmer of some unpleasantness in her features. he politely said nothing.

at the pool he decided to make relaxing his task, and so stretched to lay down, dipping his dainty glowed paws into the pool, tail at ease.

the girl told her truth.

gucci's face folded into an expression of genuine sympathy. "ahm... sarry t' hear." he said gently.

such guilt weighing down on such a young soul!

"lis'n 'ere," gucci scooted and leaned forward. "if she is a sister worth o' th' searchin' you been doin', then ahm sure as th' sky's blue that she'll find in herself t' hear you out. now ah ain't gon' say she'll forgive ya, that's hers to decide, but ah am certain-"

the chihuahua's front was now hovering over the water, legs supporting him by pressing against the inside of the wall. "she will hear ya out, n both o' y'all'll git t' talk it over like adults."

his paws slid, and the chihuahua fell into the pool with a splash.

omg so sorry for forgetting about this. wanna fade here?

Gucci was suddenly fervent, and she listened intently, recognizing the seriousness of his voice and face.

And even if it was hard to parse, every word struck her heart in just the right place. She felt warm all over, and was about to thank the little wolf-thing when he slipped and splashed into the pool.

Gucci! Lilitu cried out, half-laughing, and went in after him.

Hopefully he could swim!

They would spend a nice afternoon together, lounging in the shadows and talking of everything and nothing all at once.