Lion Head Mesa forty-sixth

aw but hes looking for @Nazli if u have time <333

eset's words had lingered in his mind. 

it was important that he be seen as he did not see himself: an obstacle to those who would rule akashingo without inherent deference to the only one among them now who possessed divinity.

the queen would bestow the same upon her pharaoh, but he would not be a son of her lineage, and therefore the ancient holiness was held only in blood. ironically, the children of the future would have more divinity within them than their own father.

and it should be the erpa-ha who not only tested those foreign princes, but offered the same attention to the holy one herself.

such things plagued senmut. in respect to the fellahin, he had wanted to extend a formal invitation: that the queen join him in one of the warmer evenings for a game of senet. 

his steps, however, took him in vague search for the one recently become sesh, and with mingled guilt and anticipation, senmut set his eyes to look for the familiar lavender form of the only one he had ever carried in his spirit.

someone had come with bundles of herbs and flowers from the meadow, piling them inside of Tavina's room for inspection. it was Nazli's job now to sort through these piles, to see what might be of use and what might have been blighted by the sun, or anything to be salvaged. it was mindless work but she found herself enjoying it; sprawled upon a decently sized reed-made rug, her focus was upon her work.
when Senmut came up the hallway the sesh did not immediately take note. she was delicately plucking flower stems and laying them out with great care; then to the herbs, earning a pinch to her brow, because they were not the ones Nazli had sent the fellahin to find at all. halving her collection, she gave a sigh and pushed a bundle in to the refuse pile that had been forming (and had not tripled in size).
it was then she spotted Senmut, taking a sharp breath, but then smiling to her friend.

senmut found nazli there, and for a moment was momentarily bewildered into silence by her welcoming smile. the room was scented with herbs and the petalworking of the sesh's chambers.

for another moment he hesitated.

and then he stepped inside, to join nazli with a near-shy answering expression. "how have you been?" senmut asked quietly, settling himself near her, but not so near his presence would be a burden. of this he was keenly aware, even as he felt elation to be in this room.

For a few minutes Senmut had her full attention. She watched him stride in to the room, she listened to him settle, and then speak, himself trying not to interrupt her work. That was appreciated, but at the same time Nazli missed much about the hustle and bustle of Akashingo - and she rarely got visitors anymore; so, it was nice to have a friendly face around. As beloved as Tavina was, Nazli missed being more ambulatory. How she used to fly through the halls!

I am getting better, she said with a small nod, then dipped her nose towards the pile of flowers to pluck one free, and pass it to a spot just beneath Senmut's chin; a gift. It feels very odd to have fellahin obey my requests, and Nazli was careful with how she worded that. She never gave orders. They were requests only; if someone refused her, she made a point to tell them it was not a detriment, and they would not be in trouble.

She took a moment to adjust her piles again, taking a deep breath of the strong herbal notes in the air.
Are you here for something? He did not seem ill, or injured. Maybe he was here for someone instead? With all the work Senmut was needed for now, that felt like wishful thinking.

nazli spoke, and senmut found his eyes well-favoured by how she had begun to gleam in her new role as sesh. he was not certain he had seen her pleased since — makono.

his heart hurt for it, and he considered that also he had not seen melody in some time, she who had once heard the voice of the pharaoh. were such occurrences related?

the prince toyed with the little bloom, daring to look at nazli once more. "i am certain you are not cruel to them," senmut smiled. "and i only wished to see how you were, how you fare, or if i could bring anything that might further amuse you."

her eyes; he wished to see them light again, joyous once more.