Lion Head Mesa the empty palace.

It was Jawahir who stood at the door, welcoming them with a once-over of narrowed eyes, those which lingered upon the warrior a beat, and then the elder woman. Barely did they look upon Nazli except to do the bare minimum: a welcome, a touch, then withdrawal. It was not the welcome Nazli had expected at all.

The palace was quiet.

It held the bare-minimum of bodies; nobody she recognized, and her heart fluttered.

Jawahir showed the pair of healers to a room, although the warrior was resistant to leave the girl until Nazli passed them a look, and a nod, as if she held some kind of power. They were away, and Nazli was left alone for the first time in many weeks.

First, she went to the throne room. Her steps were quick and it felt as if she had never left Akashingo in the first place; she knew the way. Partway up the grand hallway she remembered: Makono had been gone the last time she'd been here. There was no sign of her return; and none of Toula, now that she was mindful enough to look.

Someone was in the room, but it was only a fellahin; they were dusting, tidying, and hurried away as soon as Nazli came to the doorway. Empty. A deep worry sprung up then, malignant, coiling around her heart.

Their journey had not been long, but had taken plenty of time. Gilthyra had tended the girl when necessary and otherwise left them in the care of the warrior, only now that they were within the palace there was something else to busy herself with.

She was brought to a decently sized room with furs in one corner, shelves in another. Dust lingered on everything (Gil presumed it was a consequence of desert-living and would not fault the caretakers). Everything seemed at once spacious for the lack of bodies, and confining for being within the earth. Still, she would make do. There were worse places to sleep.

After, the woman left the warrior girl to arrange their victuals and herbs along the shelf to the best of their ability. They knew how Gil liked to keep things, and that freed the woman up to explore. She wanted to find Nazli of course—the girl was, and would likely forever be, weak.

She was found lingering outside of a very large room, as if afraid to enter.

Come, it is time to rest. The tone of her voice left little room for resistance.

The silence brought a ringing to her ears. It raised in pitch every few heartbeats, and then it felt like there was a droning tone so high that her head began to hurt. She closes her eyes, and when she opens them—a voice.

Initially Nazli thought it was the warrior, and turned her snout towards them without seeing them, about to snap some kind of order or direct response. That was when she recognized the doctor, and whatever had imbued her with such willpower melted out of her.

She breathed a deep sigh and realized how exhausted she was.

I've never seen this place so... empty. I don't know where they've all gone. Nazli explained, being herded along the hallway back in the direction of the sleeping quarters. The elder woman beside her, sharing her shoulder if Nazli had the need.

I have brought some of my teas, so I will find a way to brew them. Gil did not care so much about the girl's plight; or, she gave that impression. Her goal was to reunite Nazli with her people and so far, with her people absent of this place, that goal was not yet realized.

Wherever the had gone did not matter. Only that they keep searching. That would be decided later, though. Kiaxe has the last of our jerky. If there are storehouses here, and the woman expected a place as large as this to have such, we will take something from there. I will have Kiaxe hunt to replenish what we use tomorrow. Perhaps after that, when she is watching you, I will go and find some herbs to study.

That would keep everyone busy enough to avoid too much thinking. Sometimes thinking was the worst thing for her patients.

What?

Surely they couldn't take things when they had no right! Nazli didn't have the energy to fight the suggestion, though. She knew better by now than to rally against the doctor, but it did not sit well with her. If Kiaxe could hunt for things to restock the stores, why not hunt for them and leave things as they were?

She wobbled a bit, and had to stop to rest. The shock of the empty palace had sapped more out of her than she realized.

What if they don't come back?

Don't be stupid. Gil all but snapped, her eyes a squint. When she noticed how the girl lagged behind and seemed to wilt against the wall, she softened a little. Her scruffy brows weren't so fraught with the irritation of old age, or whatever caused her ill moods.

She let Nazli have a moment to wallow and then hurried to snap at her haunch. It was softer than what she'd use on Kiaxe with her attitude, but, served a purpose.

When they were walking again, Gil helped to ease the girl along with an offered shoulder.

That sesh that sent you to me, Tavina. You'll show me to her workspace tomorrow, so that I may see what we're working with. The woman huffed, and somehow it sounded stern and definitive, like a period on the end of a sentence.

Wherever they've gone is not our problem right now. You are. You need rest, and food, and your medicines. Worrying fixes nothing. There's time enough for that later. As she said all of this, her tone did shift to something kind, though it was rough as well.

The woman's words stung more than any poultice, and while Nazli was accustomed to it by now, she was particularly vulnerable in the moment. She flinched and felt immeasurably worse with the insult cast upon her. The more they walked and the more Gilthyra spoke, the more Nazli had to agree.

She was quiet as she was ushered up the hallway. Her head bobbed in a tired nod at the request to see Tavina's room, and mentally Nazli mapped the halls to where she knew it sat—likely as empty as the rest of this place, which hurt her heart—but by the time she thought to say anything, they were back at the room.

Kiaxe was there, having arranged everything and taken to guarding the door; not the most curious of creatures, she had not thought to adventure in the hallways. She looked a little green around the gills, so to speak, and was mumbling something like a prayer against evil as they passed in to the room.

Nazli would sleep, eventually. Perhaps in the morning her home would be bustling with activity again? She could only hope.