Lion Head Mesa you've got mail

@Eset , maybe @Toula too? family is welcome to join too!

a new day blooms, and racharra is quick to bounce onto her feet. for once excited, she cantered to the stash of the harvested gemstones. she could only pick up just a couple but that didn't stop her eager. so full of energy, the pup bounded out from the quarters and glanced between the two ends of the halls. she had to look for Eset, she wouldn't want to take all the credit for the collection. but where to start? at the very least, she had the vague memory of Eset's scent to help her.

She is rising from the servant’s quarters, taking the dusted passageways shown to her by Tuna. They are not so kept as the others that lead out into the banquet hall and reception rooms, but they are thankfully quiet. She turns a sandstone corner and nearly stumbles over a little raven-coated girl before catching herself.

“Lady Racharra!” She breathes while recomposing herself. The little nebet had her maw full of glistening green gems. It was time, she imagines, to make good on their presentation to the Queen.

“Allow me to help,” she offers with a shallow laugh, “shall we gather the rest?”

when the nebet bumped into Eset, she plopped on the stone floor, gazing wordlessly as the few gems she gathered fell and clinked against the hall. she had to take a moment to reorient herself before gazing up at Eset with a cheerful wag and smile. yes! she yapped as she got to picking up the scattered gems.

she hasn't had the chance to show her family the gifts, but once Eset and her present the turquoise gems to Toula she planned to show Miho and perhaps show her the way to the cavern. she should still remember the way to it. she barely could sleep from all of the excitement of the discovery afterall, Racharra made sure she'd cemented the exact path she took in her mind as she tussled in her quarters.

The young nebet leads her down the passageway to her room where Eset gathers the rest of the green-blue lapis gems into a little woven rucksack. The young lady’s exuberance is infectious and soon the fellahin herself is padding lightly down the halls with a bubbly step.

“Imagine what the Queen will do with your gift,” she bristles to the cub, “She could make a crown, or perhaps ornamental decoration for her throne? What do you think would be prettiest?”

She imagines royal regalia of gold and blue, a piece that demonstrates the divine link Toula holds between earth and the sphere of Gods. A headdress perhaps- something simple yet elegant to center the eye, enhancing the Queen’s own beauty.

When they arrive outside Queen @Toula’s throne, Eset lowers herself to Lady Racharra’s height once more. “Are you ready?” She asks in a hushed voice.

♡

 

it seemed her prayers were working! and yet even so, Toula was ceaseless in ensuring her Gods were appeased and happy. after all, They had saved her people. her gratitude grew and grew. 
Toula sat and spoke quietly with @Tuna, pushing toward her new furs for her chambers in thanks for all of her work as of late. to herself, she planned a celebration for the fellahin where they could know just how much she loved them, was grateful for them, too. they were essential to her, and Toula… how could she properly thank them for such? 
she would find a way! 
Haizel had delivered fresh florals to be scattered about the space. the rooms aroma was sweet and pleasant, the colors a myriad of soft pinks and lavender. they were placed intentionally, and yet looked perfectly windswept; it was a testament to their artistic capability, when put to work! Toula smiled at it from her dais, and was then informed of two visitors.
they were welcomed in, and Toula smiled down at them both. it was her great pleasure to see them! I am so happy to see you both looking so well, she breathed out her relief. Eset no longer seemed sickly, but back to herself!

Racharra stuck her muzzle inside the bag to finally free up her jaws. her mind lingered on Eset’s words — she hadn’t thought of what could be made out of the gems. a “crown” or “throne” could fit.

keep as is. the gems were gorgeous enough to be left alone, and the nebet struggled to imagine any other use for them. such pretty things should be left untampered.. but once the gems were in The Queen’s possession she understood they’d probably be put to use for something like Eset’s suggestions. she gave a firm nod at the fellahin's question, her tail wagging eagerly.

but she didn’t have to wait long. she perked at the sound of Toula’s voice greeting the duo and little Lady Racharra took a confident first step once permitted. she gave a bow to the Queen, as best as she could as a greeting. her heart beat so hard it felt like it clogged her throat, and she struggled to speak. the excitement was getting to her, but her tail continued to wag as instead of forcing a noise, Racharra returned the greeting with a gingerly curl of her lips.

She kneels into bow before her flaxen ruler, but will not long hold her gaze. Toula’s regal face drudges up a mental image of the pristine Queen smothered in her own putrid mess. Gods. How did she have the grace to forgive her? And it was only by her Queen’s own skill and daily care that she was able to recover. Her large ears flatten remorsefully.

“Thank you, your Holiness. It would not have been possible without your expertise and dedication to all of our wellbeing.” She dips her nose again, lips attempting to find a smile despite the burn of utter humiliation.

She lowers the little woven pouch with the jewels off her shoulder to place it at the young Nebet’s feet.

“Lady Racharra has brought a gift for her Queen,” Eset encourages with a gentle bump to the girl’s crown before straightening. This was her moment!

Racharra took the little bag from the floor and stumbled over to the Queen as she let the grownups do the talking. she bit onto a corner of the woven sack and gave it a firm but unsophisticated shake in contrast to her regal steps.

brilliant chunks of turquoise clinked onto the ground, and as they did an eager curled the nebet's lips. how brilliant they were, she pondered to herself as she stared gleefully before stepping back so the gems could lay in their full, unobscured glory.

gems. she stated, as if to confirm the sight before quickly adding: for you.

her eyes turned to the young girlcub, filled with curiosity. Toula looks proud as the girl moves in short, regal steps—so different in movement already than she had first arrived! the Queen saw the great care in that alone, and felt her heart fill with the emotion of it. but it swelled as the girl tore into the thing she had brought—
the beautiful gems clattered on the floor, and Toula openly marveled at them. the stones were the color Toula oft saw reflected back at her in the stillwaters of Akashingo and places beyond. 
Toula was awed, and robbed of the ability to speak for a long minute. and when she looked to both the girl and Eset, her eyes had misted over. they are so beautiful, Nebet! I will treasure these, forever, and never forget it! it was the truth. they were beautiful as they were—Toula would never change what nature had made and Racharra had delivered to her. 
how could she thank the young girl? and Eset, who surely had a hand in this! Toula would find a way! she lay the gems neatly alongside her throne, where she thought the light might best hit it to further enunciate the colors of her own gaze. but it was a place she could also always look to, to see them and remember this act of love. she looked back to the girl, asking, what do you think of their placement?

She watches in endearment at the child’s gentled mannerisms for her Queen. The great contrast between their physicalities is noted. Soon the young lake nebet was sure to tower over their golden ruler. The Queen is elegant and refined, but Racharra ruggedly beautiful in her strength. Both are admired by the coy-girl.

Toula’s smile shimmers like beams of sun, placing gracefully the gifts along her throne, and unknowingly honoring the pup’s wish to keep them in raw form. Eset’s own smile is wide as she looks back to the young nebet in search of her delight.

at the Queen's silence, Racharra felt like she stood taller than ever. and her tail would not stop wagging. a pride washed over her in being able to impress the Queen as she watched Eset neatly align the gems to be on full display.

the cub still wasn't the most used to the world of regality, but she thought of Toula the way she would her mother — the strong alpha of a pack of equally strong wolves. to the cub of the lake, the only difference between Greatwater and Akashingo was just that they had different names for things, but thats what the studies were for.

that's good. she chuffed, gazing at the gems with a gleeful smile. the dark cub never shined brighter than today, her smile and eyes as brilliant as her findings. keep them there.

gonna make us a new thread!

 

it was easy to say to the girl, alright, I shall, with an earnest smile. another fellahin came, speaking to her of how one of the princes sought her audience. 
giving a kiss to the girls brow, Toula hummed, I shall find you both later. I have a meeting I must attend, she looked back to the gemstones that sparkled behind them. I think they will be rendered speechless by the beauty you have brought into this room! she said with a laugh. 
when they were gone, Toula cast a lingering look to the stones and felt filled with both light and love. that feeling did not fade, as she imagined it also upon the countenance of the girl who had seemed happier than ever. that, the greatest gift of all!

last from me <3

To her side she ushers the young nebet, stooping to whisper her own acclamations into one red-tipped ear.

“See how your generosity has made the Queen smile? How does that feel, my Lady?” She asks while escorting the cub down the Queen’s halls and back towards the nebet’s family quarters.

Racharra followed after Eset, glancing back at Toula before returning her gaze to the fellahin.

good. she smiled, wagging her tail. im happy.
she then furrowed her brow. does she know? the dark lake cub looked up. that you helped?

She looks down at the young royal. How sweet of her, to want to credit the fellahin, too. She smiles and offers, “she saw me carry them. She knows we did it together. We make a pretty good team, don’t we?”