Lion Head Mesa socius

backdated to may 20, evening

the sun had set. the imperator had eaten a sparse meal. he had met with killdeer and phox and glaukos. 

now he went to find crowfeather's former companion, @Gucci. 

it was not only tension for the interview that gripped him now.

coming to the throne room on pittering feet, gucci's mind was wracked with worry.

he was not guilty. that was fact. but what if he acted like he was? if he did anything that could be misconstrued as an admission of guilt, well, there'd be no bailing him. he very much doubted the wolves and coyotes ever heard of lawyers.

tink tink tink went his dogtag as the teacup man approached, pausing a moment to adjust his fur and posturing before entering. he maintained casualness as he came in, a kind of relaxed dominance expected of him. he even managed a lazy smile of pleasantness, until his eyes set upon the soldier.

the neb froze. it was his assumption he'd be speaking to one of the footmen, the underlings. the imperator would not have been a guess even in his dreams.

do they already think ah did it?

the pleasant expression resumed.

"ah wish a good evenin' t'you, mistah imperator sir." the chihuahua drawled as he came within conversable distance. "hope y'all's stay's been pleasant so far, minus the investigatin', 'fcourse."

there was an odd noise. the man's brow furrowed. perhaps he had not heard it before over all the wailing. it was a particular clinking noise and when gucci came to him, he saw it was a decoration of sorts. but he was not here to comment on the noble's fashion.

gucci spoke with a particularly accented voice. the eagle observed his smooth recovery and made a mental note. he bowed to the esteemed small man. "neb gucci. i am germanicus. i have called to interview you about the queen's murder."

"ah assumed 's much." gucci nodded. years of watching law & order from his Ma's lap educated him enough. "n don't worry, sir, ah already know ya name." he gave a wink, thinking of his friend.

he cleared his little throat and seated himself. "now, ah shall answer any questions you might've, 's long 's their'ye in mah capacity t' answer." 

his words were accompanied by a polite beating of his plumed tail.

how? he chose to assume it was ramesses.

the imperator settled himself before the minuscule dog. "when was the last time you heard the queen speak? and what did she say?" he inquired, his voice gentle.

but the yellow eyes remained observant.

dark eyes wandered to their corners as the dog thought intently.

"hm. last time ah heard her talk, was... gawd, mid spring? she was at this formal showin' off o' her n the pharaoh's kids, but ah don't real remember what she said, if anythin'."

"...'tho ah did also speak t' her a few days earlier, wnen we met at th' wellspring. don't even remember much o' it 'either, spect t'was awkward n foolish o' me. scared th' poor woman half t' death by accident." he lightly shook his head.

that was curious. he listened to the dog's long-winded answer without expression. how could gucci have scared a wolf, even a wolf as delicate and feminine as satsu had been?

"would you say the queen feared those around her in akashingo?" he asked. "can you think of other moments in which she was rather distracted or skittish?"

brows furrowed with focus.

"well, ah do know it's been said she wasn't any bit fond of, uhm, coyotes. there was that wet nurse, jaw-ah-heer or similar, who wasn't allowed t' do their job unsupervised." but gucci doubted that meant much.

"-sides that, she seemed... queenly. untouchable. didn't mind none that her husband had interests beyond her, which ah understood t' be a bit rare among, howdoisay, your kind."

interesting. "the ways of akashingo are not the ways of the world. you are correct."

he fell silent for a moment.

"jawahir was not allowed to nurse the children without an escort? can you tell me more of anything you witnessed between they and the queen?"

gucci was quite helpful. germanicus pinpointed the last bit of information and waited for the noble to expand upon it.

a paw lifted as if to massage a headache.

"ah do- ah do believe there was jus' some general animosity. dunno th' source o' it 'sides th' queen jus' dislikin' their kind. n 'fcourse, the wetnurse's kids're th' pharaoh's kids, so that could've-" gucci's eyes went wide.

"...nawt that ahm suggestin' them as culprit." he said far more uncertainly.

germanicus was silent as gucci at last came to his own conclusion. "of course," he agreed, though his face did not change in demeanour. "it sounds as though jawahir might have had cause to resent the queen for her prejudices."

and that factor did not fit with what he had known of satsu. but power was a corrupting force.

he was silent, applying the lull as unseen pressure to more of the loquacious words.

it was an awkward silence as far at the chihuahua was concerned, and when in situations like it, he tended to spill forth words to fill the quiet.

unfortunately for germanicus, these weren't in relation to his investigation.

"n- now talk o' all'a this morbidity t' th' side fer two moments, jus' t' rest mah mental circuits, ah do hope t' hear word or even sentence bless you o' our dear mutual amigo." gucci gave a knowing, eager look to germanicus, tail wagging. 

"how's th' young crawfetha doin'?" is he finally happy?

germanicus would have preferred to conduct the remainder of the interview, but this noble was not so terse as the others. 

his languid voice asked of crowfeather. the shadow's haunted face flashed into the eagle's mind. "he is well. his leg had to be removed, but the healer in mereo is quite skilled. it was only the rigor of his journey which led to the amputation. would you like me to carry a message, neb?"

horror on the neb's face.

"removed?! wha- ho- can he move now?!" terrible! gucci had suspected the escape to mereo in such a condition would set crowfeather's recovery back, but somehow he'd still hoped for the best outcome.

"ah- gi- gimme minute." he needed to calm himself, else the shakes would start.

after a moment of deliberate breathing, it no longer felt as if his heart would rattle his bones.

"al- alright. huh. ah... ah would like t' send word, but ah was hopin' t' hear 'bout him fram you." a corner of his mouth tried to force itself into a skewed smile.

"-s jus', ah hope that 'sides the loss o' limb, he's-- y'all's happy together."

me when i skip an episode of my favourite soap opera

gucci was overcome in this moment, but the next was for germanicus.

his gut clenched. his muscles fought to tense against his control. the imperator grew even more akin to darkened stone. 

what had the shadow said?

"he is safe. i cannot say that he is happy. but he is determined." together. 

what had he wanted crowfeather to say?

"my children were born not long before he arrived in mereo. the time since has been rather busied."

his ears listened eagerly, plucking each word spoken out the air and analysing it individually.

bland, roundabout answers. the first lines could hint at some unrest in a relationship, some tension. or, perhaps, a breakup? no! let it not be so! gucci couldn't imagine a worse end to his friend's arc.

the pluck-and-probe method became akin to shaving your head with a pair of pincers, for at once the chihuahua was overwhelmed, looking at the imperator with open shock.

ch i l d   r e n

gucci kept the same expression as he looked to the floor,

but he left for you, mouthed without sound.

to a faraway wall, back to the imperator.

and then there was indignation. on behalf of another.

"how could you." barely sounded, but the next words were more forceful. "he waited for ya! he thought you'd come back! his- he stayed in th' same rooms you occupied!" 


hot tears pushed to spill past his eyes. "he was crippled n depressed n ya useless ass couldn't even wait?!" 

he wished then so desperately akashingo had doors and he hands, so he could leave and slam one in the face of this-- this graceless waste of a young man's heart and attention and hopes.

the small canine erupted.

germanicus turned his gaze away and kept it trained upon the far wall. 

inside the cage of his ribs rushed the ugly guilt, ice in a river already muddied by shame. he had not known these things because he had not wished to see them.

a long and pregnant silence seeped into the cold short distance between himself and gucci. there was a moment where he thought surely he must halt the anger or at least conceptualize it in his own words.

despair and then resignation, neatly folded into a crisp shape and placed to rankle on the organized shelf of his mind 

the imperator stood quietly. he would make no excuses for himself. there was no explanation which might justify the harm to crowfeather's heart.

germanicus experienced then a rush of loneliness.

"he is blessed indeed to have such a fervent ally." the eagle's shoulders were sharply held. the sungold eyes blinked once, and that was far more than he had wanted to evince.

"if you think of anything else regarding the queen, please inform glaukos. he will carry the message to me."

he chose to leave before dismissal, gliding around gucci. if the neb ordered his halt then for the sake of diplomacy he would, but otherwise germanicus meant to be gone from view.

he was heartstricken and the shadow's face filled his mind.

the chihuahua frowned severely, one eyelid twitching with every syllable from the dark man's lips. 

the imperator made no excuses. a part of gucci both resented and acknowledged him for it.

"oh stuff your investigation, jus' get out mah sight." the nobleman spat into the space the imperator previously occupied. he remained still and seething as the wolf passed him to leave.

gucci's thoughts were full of the dark young man, and his anger kept the tide of empathetic despair dammed and rising.

he sharply turned his head to look at the retreating coward. 

"tell 'im he's always welcome back in th' mesa. ahll vouch fo' him anytime."

and that was that.