Lion Head Mesa Switch my whip, came back in black

From Stone Circle, Atreus loped due south several miles, then veered westward. This route took him past the mountains rather than through them. Not only did he appreciate the relative ease of his travels, he enjoyed the unfamiliarity of his surroundings as he traipsed along the foot of Sawtooth Spire and eventually emerged on the edge of a meadow.

He knew enough about the region to orient himself now. The caldera—his destination—was on the far side of the mesa rising before him. He had never been to Akashingo but he knew of its location after living in Mereo these past several months. Atreus also knew a bit about the sort of wolves who lived there, though largely he remained ignorant.

This ignorance drove his curiosity. Rather than giving the upland a wide berth, he directly approached the edge of its claim. He tilted his head upward to admire the bluff silhouetted against the blue winter sky, wondering at its flat top. What must the views be like from up there?

the priest had made it his responsibility to know all who came near the palace.

and now the electric green of his eyes watched the shadow ride too close, staring at the mesa with perhaps wonder.

perhaps possession.

senmut approached at a low trot.

Someone approached, prompting Atreus to drop his eyes. He had heard there were coyotes living at this place—this palace, rather. He mistook this stranger to be one of the wolf’s smaller cousins, which bred a certain discomfiture. Atreus wasn’t really sure how to treat a coyote.

In the end, he decided to address him like he would any other canine and said, Hello, I’m Scout, deftly assuming his most recent alias. This is Akashingo, isn’t it? Then, despite having introduced himself by a nickname, he decided to tack on, I’ve just come from Mereo.

a young traveller with pretty mismatched eyes.

senmut had no opinion of mereo beyond knowledge that their involvement in the death of pharaoh had been confirmed.

"this is akashingo, presided over by pharaoh nekubi makono, Chosen of the Red Land and Blessed of Amun-ra."

scout. senmut had become innately mistrustful. "do you desire an audience or simply refreshment on your journey, wanderer?"

Well, wasn’t that a fancy mouthful. Atreus’s eyes widened a little bit. What did any of that even mean? He wanted to ask but he wasn’t sure if that might be foolish or rude.

His greeter distracted him with a question and Atreus deliberated only a beat or two before asking, What would an audience entail? Would I be able to get a tour, by any chance?

He had never asked such a thing when trying his hand at roguery before. But then, he’d never visited one of Mereo’s supposed allies, excepting that one unpleasant visit to Paleo. Maybe he would be told “no” but it couldn’t hurt to ask… could it?

senmut openly scrutinized the stranger.

pharaoh had a dozen tasks every hour. he would not waste her time without reason. "those who may offer something in service to the palace are admitted," he chose to say. 

a tour. "that is dependent on whether or not you please the pharaoh."

senmut waited to hear.

This exchange was as interesting as it was perplexing. Atreus didn’t know how to respond to that. What could he offer? He supposed he could try to hunt something or scrounge up some souvenir… but he was hung up on the words “in service.” What service could he provide as a guest?

And whether or not he was welcomed to tour the palace depended on whether he pleased this pharaoh. This at least made some sense to him, though Atreus hesitated. Did he want to bug the leader of this place—with his intensely intimidating title and all—for no particular reason other than because part of him wanted to climb to the top of the mesa to check out the views?

He’d always fallen back on candor in the past, so Atreus chose that route now, saying, I’m not sure what I can offer. What do guests usually offer? I don’t want to waste the pharaoh’s time or anything. I’m not used to any of this and don’t want to be some kind of… pest, he said forthrightly.

skippable!

a speck among the horizon.

then two. one a familiar form and the other a stranger. akashingo had seen a bustling of bodies it felt within the last few days.

there was a fierce need to storm the scene and soak the attention, ride the waves of the social tsunami. yet restraint was key as well and she turned to take off another direction. unless summoned directly.

attuned as he was to the very presence of her divinity, senmut saw the decision made.

"the pharaoh welcomes news of other places, establishment in trade, or a willingness to work for the palace as a guard, an ambassador, a mapper of trails. there also might be a respected place in the royal court for a skilled traveller who is willing to learn another trade. spymanship, for instance."

senmut too was frank.

His greeter spoke with the same frankness, explaining the myriad ways Atreus could punch his ticket for a tour. The last several words in particular captured his interest. He’d never heard it called that—“spymanship”—but it sounded so damn cool.

I’ve done some— Atreus began, prepared to inform him of his tentative forays into roguery when he spotted a figure over the small man’s shoulder.

Even from a distance, the wolf captured his attention and interest, mostly because she looked to be around his own age. She seemed to renege on her decision to approach, pivoting to head in another direction entirely. Atreus saw a flash of dark violet eyes set against her fetchingly pale fur and felt an aching pang deep in his chest.

Who’s that? he asked, not waiting for an answer before raising a foreleg and waving in some inexplicable hope she might change her mind again and come closer.

senmut stiffened in elegant disapproval. the boy could not have known, and yet his casual nature offended the priest. yet he continued on smoothly.

"that is pharaoh nekubi @Makono," senmut intoned, and before the boy could say anything else, he motioned for the traveller to follow him over the redsand borders.

"you will bow," he instructed in a command before calling out in immense reverence to the ruler of akashingo.

and when they had come forward, he bowed low, forehead to the dust. "i bring you a guest, divine one."

she could play coy or cold. she could pretend to not see the young man who stood alongside senmut. draped in furs of earthen tones beyond the sandy ranges of akashingo.

but she did not grant him attention until she was called.

then she swept back to them like a hot desert breeze. lapis eyes laid heavily on the boy at once. fixed with a rich interest like a prize horse had been gifted to her now.

and who is my guest?

spoken with honey as she kept eyes fixed upon the stranger, wondering if he'd follow the customs of bowing.

It took a beat for the greeter’s words to land. Atreus did a visible double take when they did. The young she-wolf was the pharaoh? Atreus hadn’t realized it consciously but he’d assumed the leader here was a man, someone like Aventus or Germanicus. Of course, he knew of several women in leadership as well—Avicus, Fennec—but they were all old. She certainly wasn’t.

Lips parted slightly, he heeled when the spry man led him toward the towheaded leader. He was so fascinated by the situation, Atreus didn’t even think twice about the command to bow. He caught a brief glimpse of her pretty features up close before he averted his eyes and dipped his head. It wasn’t so much strange to defer to someone his own age as it was captivating; he felt no particular qualms.

Hello, I’m Scout. Actually, he found himself compelled to say for reasons he did not know, that’s a nickname, based on my specialty. You can call me Atreus.

when senmut looked up it was to level a stern look at the newcomer, who had already waved insolently at the godhead and then spoken out of turn.

or perhaps he had not. that remained for pharaoh to decide. "scout atreus has asked for a tour of the palace, divine one," senmut said gracefully, teasing the little upstart mostly for the amusement of his ruler. "i have informed him that such things are given in exchange for a role played here of some sort."

it did not escape him that these two were similar in age. likewise, it did all to remind senmut that in less than a year makono must announce her divine consort. the hem did not believe she would allow commoner's blood to sully the throne beside her, but perhaps this blundering little whelp could be of use for pharaoh to test.

he was bold. surely senmut had told him the behavior expected, she thought nothing less of the priest, and still the boy spoke so openly!

her eyes glimmered with a brilliant warmth of amusement, to hear the two men balance one another in their different ways.

what he says, it is true, atreus. name intentionally rolled across her tongue with a favorableness. if she had inherited anything from her father, it was to make those around her feel treasured when it benefitted her. just as she might quickly cut them when they could no longer be.

but what is your specialty within your scouting? i have known rangers, i myself am an ambassador. she wished to hear if he might sing his own praises for her!

she offered a warm look towards senmut for a moment. it mattered not now if he knew what game she played. he still had a role in it all the same!

Three seconds after giving his real name, Atreus felt a little foolish. He didn’t have much time to dwell on it, however, as the svelte man repeated what he’d already told Atreus for the pharaoh’s benefit. He nodded to concur, lips pressed together and curling a little when he heard his given name on Makono’s lips. There was something special about that. His regrets faded.

I’m a ranger, Atreus said, trying to play it cool even though he was feeling like an overeager little boy on the inside. And I’ve thought about… spymanship, he added, glancing at the small man whose name he still didn’t know before turning back toward Makono and admitting, I haven’t really mastered that skill yet.

He couldn’t be sure why he was being so honest today, though after a contemplative pause, he continued in the same vein and said, I’ve been training under the Imperator at Mereo for a few months but he recently disbanded the pack. I wasn’t sure where I was going to go but… maybe I could resume my training here? I’m really good at taking orders.

In fact, he’d thrived under Germanicus’s rule and, specifically, the eagle’s penchant to assign tasks to his subordinates. Atreus loved nothing more than being given a mission to complete. Perhaps it was destiny that had brought him to his fallen outpost’s kingdom today.

senmut did not hide his smile though he turned his face demurely away. ramesses had imparted many horrid things in his reign, but the most useful of these was statecraft. he found it rich how the boy had mentioned mereo at the border and now pharaoh smoothly led him back to that place of soldiers as if she had known his statement.

the formerly named scout who had only plied at questions, now delivering into pharaoh's ear a wealth of information. at the revelation that mereo was no more and its imperator had presumably gone, senmut was surprised. the roman had not come here.

had they not shared loyalty with one another? did germanicus feel his debt absolved?

a disappointment, and surely a blow to the divine ruler, though he did not expect this to be reflected in vision. she was after all speaker for the gods and hallowed head of akashingo.

later she might find her anger, and he would be with her to hear it.

well, well, well.

in him was a bounty and submission, whether he knew it or not. good at taking orders, hm? she fixed him with a smirk and one raised brow.

then take orders from me, atreus. shed mereo fully and become one of my mine. she welcomed him now with a sleeping motion. you will receive training in your spymanship — and there are handsome rewards for it. for he had already delivered precious information to her ears.

is this favorable to you? to call me your pharaoh and deliver words to my ears alone?

Was he being too impulsive? Should he visit with Amalia first, perhaps seek her counsel? Atreus glanced at the looming mesa right when the young pharaoh spoke of training and rewards. Perhaps it was unwise to join on a whim, yet it wasn’t that much crazier than Germanicus running off into the sunset.

Yes, he said simply.

Atreus had never minded the Imperator’s command and was so intrigued by someone his own age ruling like this. And Mereo was already behind him. He was a bit hesitant, though mostly he felt a bit like he was choosing his own destiny… and it would come with some incredible views.

skippable unless addressed! <3

pharaoh offered. atreus accepted. senmut smiled.

his step would be elegant and light as he trailed after the new man and their pharaoh, ensuring with flicks of his gaze that atreus kept himself reverent.

would we like to fade this for something new? <33

yes.

well, he was good at commands, wasn't he? she smiled broad and warm at him. the radiance of Ra in her face as she gazed upon him.

come with me. let us have a meal together and then you will pick your room, hm? along with the decorations of it.

the first reward!

The young pharaoh said they would dine together, after which she would let him pick his room and decorate it. Atreus met this information with a blink. It reminded him of the soldiers’ quarters in the canyon, which he’d been missing. He was quite curious how the accommodations here in Akashingo differed.

He looked forward to what sounded like a luxurious lifestyle. He bowed his head to Makono and made to follow her and the lithe man whose name he still didn’t know. Atreus wondered: what was the catch? He supposed he would find out.

I’ll archive this and start another with tags! :)