Lion Head Mesa blade

nala was gone. the whispers were that makono was also.

tavina had little tying her to this place. and still she served, and still she kept her examination room pristine.

twice she had attended royal births and once an attempted murder. the intrigue of the court would make her departure far too boring, and she wished to stay close in case her wife returned.

but the song had gone out of her for now. in silence tavina folded soft small skins.

The pharaoh was gone, that enchanting girl who had convinced Melody so easily to stay and to serve. She wasn't sure anymore that she wanted to be here, but stayed because the decision had been made and it was just... easier. In an effort to know her packmates and her purpose here, Melody wandered.

She found a dark-furred woman folding skins, a quietness about her that felt heavy somehow. She stood awkwardly and wondered if it was for the same reason that Melody herself was feeling lost. But she didn't ask. Hi. I'm Melody. Do you want help? She peered at the skins with open curiosity.

a pretty little thing peeped into the examination room. tavina's purple eyes rested briefly on the exquisite face, and then she jerked her dark head toward a pile of ragged mint leaves on a low rock shelf.

"i need those sorted into four equal piles," the sesh said, resuming her own work.

No introduction at all. Melody was set to work without preamble. Figuring there wasn't much purpose to protesting, she started to sort through the herbs the woman had indicated. Equal piles, she'd said, so the girl fussed over them far more than she should have in an effort to get it exact.

Mint, right? Melody spoke up after a bit, mostly for the sake of not working in silence. She knew little about herbs, but the scent of mint wasn't something one forgot.

"spearmint."

tavina finished her work and moved to another: mixing a sleeping-draught so it would be ready. ramesses had been plagued at night. makono as well. why would it be different for toula or that priest senmut?

"you're new," she observed, looking up from mixing three kinds of powdered root.

Don't forget clueless, Melody added with a slight smile. She was still fussing over the herbs even as the woman moved into her next task. How efficient she was! Melody felt quite clumsy and slow in comparison. Finally she decided her own simple task had been completed to satisfaction, and turned to the woman again.

Anything else I can do? She gestured slightly to the piles. Four of them, and as equal as she could make them, just as she'd been asked.

was the girl making light? tavina did not smile but nor did she frown, fixing melody with an implacable purple stare.

"what is your role in the palace?" asked the sesh. she set down a mouthful of purple and green moss, mixed. "sort into six piles, wrap in these leaves for drying." a neat emerald pile of wide flatland leaves.

the astringent smell of wild garlic filled the air now as tavina crushed it carefully underpaw, not touching it with her jaws.