Lion Head Mesa first

two sunrises ago, a pupil had come to study beneath the hem akhtar.

senmut was from a far-flung province, so deep in the country that it barely counted as the queen's domain. for yes, hatshepsuun still controlled the lands from where she had exiled her brother. he and the other young men had been called to the palace there, for it was time that they gave back in service.

but hatshepsuun had sent the little we'eb priest herself, telling him nothing of her expectations. and now senmut had come to akashingo, almost more grand than the first palace. he stared open-mouthed around himself, standing atop the mesa to watch Ra rise a third time.

senmut had forgotten to call the prayer.

treva had not been much for religion.

once upon a time.

now she gave it much thought, like everything else. how funny the changes akashingo had given her. she dallied in politics, in ceremonies, in religion. she thought it would not hurt to learn more.

so it was not coincidence that she cut along the path of their newest. one here to study, but who also surely knew more than her already.

she did not speak, in case he was in the middle of something, but she did settle gemstone eyes upon him heavily. expectantly.

senmut turned at the step and started with a gasp. "great one! i —"

the young priest tripped first over the offering of a hare he had meant to sacrifice, then his own paws. thus his prostration before the queen was more of a fall.

he lay with muzzle against the earth, waiting for her order to rise. yes, he knew who she was! yes! and here he was, a fool! senmut shivered.

it was not how she had imagined one who had come to study under akhtar.

he tripped and stumbled, splayed on the ground like some type of newborn fawn. still she did not speak. time with the pharoah had taught her a further importance of words.

so the only thing she did speak?

rise, hem.

but her voice was warm as the sun.

senmut did as he was commanded, keeping his bright gaze willfully averted and observant of her royal paws.

Ra glowed hotly upon them both, and he winced. now it was too late for the prayer. he could only hope the god would not be offended. akhtar would have him fast for this, surely.

"what n-need have you of me, great one?"

she did not tire of grand titles.

i want to hear words of your worship, of who you worship.

she did not know if this man worshipped them all, if he had a chosen god, if he switched as the need arose. all she did know was that she was ready to see what this new hem was about.

"ah —" and he was awkward again. "Ra, of course. Amun. Anubis. Sokhar. and well, Wepwawet."

an obscure god from an obscure patch of earth. she would not know it. and yet saying the deity's name aloud filled senmut with homesickness. 

"have you come here to worship?" his mouth was dry. the young priest was not ready to lead anyone in more than basic prayers, let alone a queen!

ra, of course!

all of them she had heard in passing before. except...for the last. it had not crossed her ears from either the pharaoh, the children or even the fellahin!

she laughed, warm but truly humored. how hard had the fall been?

i told you, hem, i wish to watch you worship. if i told you to tell me the words of those you worship? of Wepwawet?

"oh! yes!" yes, she had said that.

senmut drew himself up. he returned to the now-cold flesh of the offering. he slit its throat; blood puddled. the man anointed his brow and pushed the remains into the glow of the sun.

the young priest-in-training steadied himself. he shut his eyes, and began to sing in a boyish alto:

"Wepwawet, wep em wawet,
dua iyiek, dua peretek
Wepwawet, wep em wawet,
wep merut ibi."

and then again, in common:

"Wepwawet, open the way,
praise Your coming, praise Your going.
Wepwawet, open the way.
open the way to my heart's desire."

senmut swallowed. the blood felt tacky upon his brow. but his heart was light, for he knew that the god had heard him.

boyish.

but not untrained.

for a moment she had thoughts that had not crossed her mind much. pharaoh's children. the daughters, specifically. might either one find a crush on the new hem? he was holy and young. perhaps the only one near either's age that was not a sibling.

she tucked these things away.

tell me of Wepwawet, hem.

"Wepwawet is a god of war, majesty." senmut's face was reverent, eyes filled with worshipfulness. "He stands at the head of the sea; His name means 'That Which Opens the Way."

his father and mother both were devout in the sight of the god, and for a long moment he missed them again, viciously so. senmut bowed his head.

a god of war!

a grand name!

treva found herself enraptured by this god. not to say the others had not held intrigue, but there was always something nice in new things. strong, new things.

and does...Wepwawet have a preferred way to be worshiped? blood sacrifice?

her green gaze looked at the forehead of his bowed head. ruddy and tacky with his work.

senmut was confused. why would a queen have need of a war-god? but maybe she was not all she seemed; maybe she was more.

it was not for him to question either the gods or his betters. "He prefers blood, yes. blood and meat. but sometimes black rocks and stones which have been polished. yet red is His color. red opens the way."

he bowed his head to keep queen treva from seeing the zealous flash in his eye.

blood and meat.

black rocks and stones.

red was his color and treva was surrounded by nothing but red in akashingo. Wepwawet could make a home here and perhaps He already had, if He had come with senmut.

her gaze turned out towards the expanse of land she could see from here, whether little or plenty. red opens the way, did it?

if i wished to accompany you and have you lead these worshiping sessions to Wepwawet? tell me how would that look, hem.

you will be provided anything asked for.

again surprise, flitting across the wellspring of his pressed-olive gaze. he had raised it to the royal woman again and now it fell away for the third time.

senmut prostrated himself once more. "i must decline, great one. the hem akhtar is my master. it is he who knows all the rites for the gods. i am only training beneath him. i am not yet holy enough nor skilled enough to lead the sacred prayers. i would not want to bring offense to Wepwawet, let i also curse akashingo."

he hoped she would not be offended. but his shock and ambition could not come before holiness.

it was hard to be told no nowadays, wasn't it?

but she heard his words for what they were. an admission for his lacking experience, but she had not heard the words of Wepwawet upon another's tongue.

perhaps they had skipped her ears. perhaps she should take this to pharaoh. something envious rose in her for a sharp moment.

then tell akhtar of my desires. tell him to teach you nearly every waking hour. the fellahin are at your disposal for every thing you need. i will check in on you frequently.

her chin titled up slightly, her own green meeting his.

she waited for any protest.

senmut was aghast! she wanted him to command his own master? he paled, for whose edict carried more weight? that of his teacher or that of his queen?

her eyes were the shade of an oasis leaf. senmut was snared and pinned helplessly. "yes, great one. i will not fail you."

the young priest found he could not look away, and fear began to well in him, fear that the queen of akashingo knew the sorceries of which he had only heard whispers.

can be a fade <3 and as always, i want to smush them into something new :P

you won't.

she told him, heavy and expectant.

there would be no room for failure from him on her watch. perhaps it was unfortunate that he had caught her interests so much. otherwise he may have drifted away as others had before.

instead she would keep track of him.

she would wonder if he'd meet Ra properly in the next morning.