Lion Head Mesa iceplant

this can be short and sweet if you'd like! dated for tonight, so before she leaves <3

the sun would rise tomorrow.

the time would come for the mourning to end — for all of akashingo, at least. makono found something bittersweet about it. she aspired to be the living breathing memory of her mother in the wake of all of this. a portrait to what the great queen left behind.

but tomorrow she would be taken back to mereo by the soldier.

things were likely already being gathered for her affairs. she had instructed special meats that would last the travel to be packed. a bundle of herbs. things that signified the impactful importance of akashingo's claim in the mesa.

she had prepped herself as well, but found herself unable to rest.

there was one matter that still needed to be tended to and secured.

she raised her head and called sharply for @Nazli — a sound that was not entirely uncommon by now.

nazli had been tasked with organizing things. not everything, mind you - but every so often someone would arrive with more herbs, particular cuts of meat, or other more odd gifts for mereo that nazli would then have to pack away in the bundles meant for the trip.

for the most part it was easy work. taking apart one bundle or another, repacking it, rinse and repeat. nazli could not fathom why they packed meat when the guard, glaukos, looked able-bodied enough to hunt for himself. plus, wasn't makono going to bring an escort with her? were there fellahin in this new place she was to visit? how would she be tended to?

the girl worried the way a sister might. then there came a call for her - a summons - which prompted nazli to drop everything and go. one of the other fellahin quickly stepped in to continue the work. with a nod to them, nazli slipped away down the hall.

she came to makono's chambers and quietly murmured, yes, miss makono?

she never needed to wait very long.

this she appreciated most about the quick form of the lilac girl. makono offered her a brief smile, quickly letting it slide off her features. although there was no denying the warmth in her gaze. father had reminded her that the girl was not her friend, but makono failed to see the harm in treating her as such.

besides, she did enjoy the other girl's company. but there was more than that for why she summoned nazli here.

and she wasted no time.

i want you to come with me to mereo, she spoke in hushed tones as if they were gossiping school girls. glaukos is to be my guard. but i want you with me, you're the only one i can bring that i trust.

her heart hammered with feverish excitement in her chest.

Nazli was barely to the door when Makono took command of her. To learn that she was wanted was a surprise, and a welcome one. Come to think of it Makono had every fellahin tending to her, but none more-often than Nazli herself; still, it was a command, not a request, and it surprised the girl.

She hadn't even considered it an option. There were other fellahin, larger ones, older ones, even Tavina that could be called upon. Nazli was blushing, her mouth an O until she remembered her manners.

y-yes, miss. of course. She couldn't exactly refuse the princess.

She didn't know what else to say for a minute, then broached the subject of the journey with a shy look at the dirt. Are you, um, excited? I.. I have never thought about what life is like outside of Akashingo, she would admit.

Will it be far? Will the people be like -- that man, from Mereo, that one who is... the guard? She stopped herself before her thoughts took on a power of their own, and spilled out.

i am excited. mereo is a place of soldiers though and i don't know what they live like compared to here. her face comically wrinkled briefly. truthfully she had no idea what to expect of the place. her guard had seemed disrespectful, but dutiful. germanicus had seemed formal and loyal.

it's three days there, but i will stay for a month not including the travel time. she thought the timeline out in her mind before quickly stashing it aside in favor of talking about the soldiers. i doubt they will all be like him. his leader was not.

she moved and motioned for nazli to come sit with her.

i need your help while i'm there though.

Three days worth of provisions, yes; but now that would be doubled, for the sake of having the fellahin - oh, but Nazli did not eat much! She would not have to add so much from the storehouse, and besides she had learned to hunt recently - small things - ...!

Three days there [...] stay for a month...

My -- help? Nazli was reeling from the news she would be somewhere else for so long, and wasn't aware of much else. She moved in to the room after being prompted and then sat, her mind filled with thoughts of her brother.

Tavina would look after him. The other fellahin would keep him busy. He did not need her so much, now, as they were older -- but deep down Nazli was afraid for him. Zakariya needed her and would always need her, that was a constant in her universe that had never been questioned.

it's my first trip as an...ambassador. she had been taught lessons and had demonstrations, but this was her first time using all learning in actual practice.

well, first time officially.

so i need you to help me keep track of things there. anything you hear or see in mereo, i rely on you to share it with me and i'll do the same for you. she turned with a softer look in her gaze to nazli now. seeking that thread of bond and trust being built between them.

oblivious to the other girl's own personal concerns of this trip.

yes, of course, nazli nodded quickly, and then with a slight shake of her head she banished her own thoughts. her brother would be fine. tavina would be fine. nobody really needed her anyway, not like makono did now. she hadn't asked anyone else! it was an honor - that's how nazli would see this. a gift.

i serve you, miss makono. if anyone says anything at all, you'll be the first to know. the only, she could've said; who else would nazli ever trust? makono was as close to a sister as she could have in her life, and she wasn't going to jeopardize that.

they left soon. hours; in the morning they would depart with glaukos to watch them, and as nervous as nazli felt about the whole thing, she was also excited! a vague taste of freedom - so long as she did her job.

makono's heart swelled.

she collected herself but there was no hiding the shine in her brilliant blue gaze. she would, of course, see if the fellahin girl kept true to her word in mereo but she had found her agreeing. the first big step of all.

i knew i could trust you. she hummed softly, chin tilting slightly upward as she examined nazli through an approving gaze. you should get some rest then, if we're to leave tomorrow.

tomorrow.

everything was about to change; in her chest a flutter of moth's wings.

yes, miss. thank you. a dip of her head. nazli would go back to work preparing and try not to think too much upon the future. it was so sudden. she did not know what to expect, or to think, and was not sure if she felt excitement or fear - perhaps, both.

turning, she slipped away from makono's presence, back to her duties.