Two Eyes Cenote adamantium

muat-riya was quite beautiful, and now that their guests had all gone, the sesh was finally able to peruse at her leisure.

the cenote was grand. she explored the now empty great hall, the places where piles of food and gifts had sat; she bathed herself in cool water and sat perched at its edge, eyes closed as droplets clung to the well-honed muscles of her back and shoulders.

she thought of nala, and then, with soft giddy insistence, tavina thought of @Eset.

As with The Tribe, Talisman learned all he could that day with @Inji et al, then took some time to ponder what he should do. He felt called to Muat-riya… but what about Zoug and the rest? The young coyote didn’t know the protocol for this situation. He should probably tell them he was leaving, though he suspected they wouldn’t like that much. It made him hesitate.

He hesitated so long, it felt like too long. Some part of Talis knew he was being a coward as he slunk from his respite near the foot of the mesa. The Tribe had taken him in and taught him a lot. He owed them an explanation, especially Zoug. But he quailed when he considered the elder’s possible disappointment. He couldn’t face it.

He came to the edge of the cenote, forcibly redirecting his thoughts forward. His stomach fluttered. He was the scion of the humble zafra, Regipre, who’d served the cougar Shardul. Talisman felt destined to step into his proper place as a fellahin. That was all that mattered now. He would not look back.

Talis squinted his pale eyes against the glare and found a dark shape seated at the edge of one of the sinkholes. He didn’t recognize her, nor could he tell if she was coyote or wolf. Either way, she was surely a denizen of Muat-riya. The young coyote yipped a low note to announce his presence to her.

the winter sun was stronger here. she felt her muscles relax and unwind from their eternal tension.

our children would almost be a year old.

the thought was sharp and poignant and unbidden, bringing tears in a harsh spring to her eyes and a tightness to her throat that she shoved away at the sound of a voice that was not known to her.

tavina stood, turning. a pale young coyote stood not far off. he was a stranger but their palaces had always been staffed by coyotes, which provided her with no reason to react badly to this one's presence. "hello. this is muat-riya, pleasure palace and summer home of pharaoh isetnofret toula."

"may i help you?"

She turned to look at him and her eyes instantly reminded him of Inji’s. He thought they looked tearful, though when she came closer, there was no great emotion in her greeting. Talis quickly averted his gaze, bowing his head and making sure his tail fell limp behind him.

I’m here to join as a fellahin, he responded. I met Inji about a week ago and she told me everything I need to know. I wanted some time to think it over properly and I’ve decided it’d be a good fit… if you’ll have me, of course! Talis added hastily.

Thank you for the kudos!

<3

a recruit, submitting himself to muat-riya, and eagerly so. tavina wondered what about servitude inji had said that inspired the young creature, but kept her comments to herself. "hello, talisman. i'm tavina, and i'm only a doctor. eset is the one you want, hebsut of muat-riya. come on, we'll go and find her."

she turned, gesturing for the young coyote to follow, then gestured toward the water. "wash your paws first. we keep our floors as clean as possible."

tavina waited for him to fall in step with her.

Tavina, he memorized, glancing up at her cunning features only briefly, the doctor. Talisman dropped his gaze again and nodded, of course recognizing Eset’s name and even her title. And when she bade him follow, he fell into step just behind her, a little thrill shooting through him.

Tavina gave him his first order of sorts. Fighting a smile he would never be able to explain to anyone else, he bobbed his head and moved to the water’s edge. He took care to rinse in between his toes and then dry each russet paw with a dainty shake.

It’s nice to meet you, by the way, he said as he straightened again, prepared for their next steps.

Talisman said nothing else. He didn’t want to speak out of turn, either as potential or actual fellahin. The coyote smiled quietly to himself, wondering what Regipre would think of him if she could see him now. He suddenly felt certain, down to the very marrow of his bones, that her blood in his veins had somehow guided him to this place.

"the pleasure is mine."

tavina led him through the polished corridors and down into the corridors, each leading to its own wing. "we are all in service to akashingo. currently, pharaoh and her consort are on honeymoon here. they will return to the main palace in time. what can you do well, talisman?"

he can take an order, her mind finished smugly, amusedly.

Deeper underground they went, Talisman naturally looking around in fascination until Tavina’s voice recaptured his attention. He nodded in understanding when she mentioned Akashingo, the Pharaoh and her consort. He found he liked that term.

He drew in a breath and trapped in his chest for a few seconds before saying on the exhale, I’m a quick learner. Talis tried not to think about The Tribe. And a willing student of… well, anything, really. This is going to sound weird, possibly, he continued, pale eyes cutting to the side a bit self-consciously, but I feel like I was born to serve. Not many would see the pride in that but, he finished on another puff of breath, I do.

the sesh listened quietly. in this sentiment he reminded her of nazli, who had retired from her brief duties as doctor to become a priestess here in muat-riya. perhaps talisman could be a companion to her. "not weird at all. those who serve pharaoh are happy to do so. they're not enslaved and can leave at any time, but adore her so much they choose to stay. she is a kind ruler."

tavina found @Eset's trail leading off to the left, and followed. "if she accepts you, your first task can be to reorganize and clean my examination room. the coronation party was quite wild."

her heart tripped; her eyes searched casually for the hebsut.

Tavina corroborated everything Inji had already told him of Muat-riya. Perhaps it was naïve of him—he wasn’t very socialized, after all—but he trusted they were telling him the truth. More than anything either she-wolf had said to him, he’d sensed true joy in the lavender-eyed fellahin.

Oh, yeah? he found himself saying when Tavina mentioned a wild party. But Talis knew that wasn’t the important part of what she’d said. I’d be happy to do that, he quickly added, falling quiet as he pondered his chances at acceptance.

They hung a left, the soft scrape of their paw pads on the stone floors the only sound, save for their breathing. Talis glanced at the Sesh curiously, sensing excitement in her panting. Still he said nothing, though his pale blue eyes followed her own eye line, seeking the unknown shape of Eset.

Beneath the fold of willowy limb and the wrap of tail over the bridge of her nose, she’d been composing silently in her mind the letter to Senmut when pressing feet bid her to rise.

Tavina appears in the threshold of the storeroom, but then there is a second-

A coyote.

The hebsut's stomach clenches, her eyes fight to find a single place to focus, lapping between doctor and stranger before molding into rigid self-possession.

“Hello,” comes gently.

eset; tavina fought the catch of her breath and the cadence of her heart to offer a soft smile. a professional smile.

"hebsut, this is talisman. our inji told him about muat-riya and he's come to join us. quite eagerly, i might add."

her gentle jest was good-natured; she glanced sidelong at the boy to see what he made of eset.

They approached a threshold, pausing before entering the chamber beyond. His eyes were sensitive for their pale shade, so it took a moment for them to adjust to the dimness of the room. But they soon found their way to a shape rising to greet them, jet black in the gray gloom. Talis glimpsed eyes like embers and a cunning figure before he dropped his gaze to the floor.

She offered only one simple word. Talisman drew in a breath, wondering if he should return it, when Tavina spoke for him. She offered an introduction complete with a comment about his enthusiasm. He felt a slight warmth beneath the cream fur of his cheeks.

Some instinct compelled him to bow as he said, Hello. He wondered if he should call her by her name or her title, then decided it felt more appropriate to go with her honorific. It’s nice to meet you, Hebsut. After getting to know more about Muat-riya and the Fellahin, he said, the word both more familiar and more reverent in his mouth now, I felt called to serve at the pleasure palace.

He would’ve said more, though he suddenly remembered Eset hadn’t gotten a word in edgewise. Talisman pressed his lips together, remaining hunkered close to the cool stone of the floor.

She sees the unmistakable affection in Tavina’s expression before it shifts for the coyote, who wears no point of age along the features of his face. He is youthful, beautifully colored, with bright-lit eyes, finely built. Polite. Well-spoken.

Suddenly this task of initiating staff to the palace is made Eset’s decision.

“Welcome, Talisman,” a kindly dip of her own nose is given before her head settles back over the long dark column of her neck.

“We are grateful for your offered services. But Muat-riya is newly forged. The palace is still finding its footing. I am afraid we have no open positions available,” her look presses too quickly between them before holding steadily on the threshold at their backs.

“I will see you out.”

small cameo + entirely skippable!

talisman had come back!
inji had heard the murmur of voices through the hall, and could not hold back her giddiness as she stopped to eavesdrop. her ear is cupped to the limestone, and in it she can pick out eset's voice.
i will see you out.
her heart sunk.
she immediately pulls away, a frown tugging at her blanched features. but inji was determined. she made a small promise to herself, then, to go and visit him — and to eventually win over the wary heart of the hebsut.

what was happening? tavina tensed alongside the boy in surprise. no positions to be filled? she did not understand but kept her gaze from reflecting this.

the sesh did however clear her throat. "maybe you will allow me to walk talisman out. i am certain there are other matters which need your attention."

eset was not looking at her, nor the coyote. tavina felt a strange coldness spreading within her.

His heart lifted when she welcomed him and thanked him for his offer, only to plummet at the subsequent “but…” Talis glanced helplessly at Tavina—what about her storeroom?—and then dropped his eyes back to the floor, innards clenching with severe disappointment and rejection.

He wasn’t above begging, his lips already beginning to move. Before Talisman could make a proper sound, Eset said she would escort him out of the palace. Her voice sounded so set, his words died in his throat. Besides, what could he even say?

Tavina broke the silence, offering to accompany him herself. Talis hoped Eset would assent. He would like to ask Tavina what might have gone wrong. Was there truly no use for him? Talis was so certain he belonged here, he would not give up without trying to fully understand.

But he didn’t question the Hebsut now, simply dipping his head in acknowledgement and waiting for Eset’s edict on who would usher him out of Muat-riya.

A following silence. The air stiffens with both sesh and coyote’s dismay, but the hebsut paints her face amicably and relaxes the arc of her shoulders.

“Not at all,” she assures Tavina, exchanging short glances between them before pushing from the room. “Please, I am happy to escort you. Right this way.”

The adjoining passageway is rife with gentle rumblings of palatial inhabitants. Eset surveys them with her eyes as they walk.

“I do hope you will take no offense. The timing is simply poor. Where are you from, Talisman?” The hebsut inquires conversationally.

tavi out!

tavina deferred. the click of nails on the glassy floors of the cenote preceded her own departure; when she felt that eset and talisman had their backs truly turned, she glanced over her shoulder after them, trying to read anything in the straightbacked stride of the black wolf.

she herself returned thereafter to her examination room and sat inside it to gaze thoughtfully at the wall. and as always when she was alone, nala's face surged into her mind, vivid and aching as always.

Eset insisted on taking him herself. Talisman’s dismay deepened as he exchanged a final glance with Tavina, his pale eyes full of pained questions he didn’t think he’d ever get to ask.

Silently, he slunk after the Hebsut through the hallways. He paid no attention to their surroundings now, out of a sort of self-preservation. He wouldn’t get to live here, nor serve here. Talis found his distress so severe, tears sprang to his eyes and his throat tightened.

When Eset addressed him, it took great effort to swallow the lump in his throat and say, Nowhere.

He didn’t think he could return to The Tribe. Perhaps he could hunker down somewhere and wait for an opening in Muat-riya. Talisman’s heart clenched as he considered his insipid options.

Tears are in the eyes of the boy, for he is only just that. He sees the palace as a world to leave strong prints and do great deeds; a purpose larger than oneself. All the same ideas and dreams that she had so coveted.

Out into a deserted horizon she brings him, and further still, until Muat-riya is indistinguishable from the ridge which births it and their casted breaths is all there is.

As she turns to face the boy it is also to yield to who she was; not the focused, self-assured mistress of Muat-riya who had arrived with Toula some weeks ago, but the scared, feeble girl whose sentimental hopes had shattered.

“You want to serve,” she finds the blue of his eyes set into a youthful face, “do you understand what it entails? You are coyote. They will take from you what you do not want to give. Your body. Your control. Your self-respect."

Her throat vibrates with a humorless laugh, “they won’t even realize they’re doing it.”

Trembling now, for the confession alone feels forbidden- like a mar on Toula’s name- on the whole of Akashingo! A thought she cannot permit herself to have and now sent out into the world, for a stranger's ears!

“Our Pharaoh is kind and good and she means to protect her servants. But it will happen under her nose. I cannot make this decision for you. Please, please, do not ask it of me,” she begs now with a horribly stricken voice, eyes slick with tears, “you are from nowhere. You could belong to anywhere.”

Let him see this pathetic, broken creature, and let him choose differently.

Neither one of them spoke again until they were quite a ways outside of Muat-riya. Talisman had half a mind to scurry away into the scrub land. The dejected yearling needed to find someplace quiet to lick his wounds. It was hardly his pride that needed tending. He felt as though he’d somehow failed his ancestors, the zafra, and their legacy of humility and vassalage.

Eset halted and Talis did too, stomach rolling. He realized this was the point where they’d part ways and he turned without looking at her. He didn’t run, though he had every intention of hastily skulking away. He made it three-and-a-half steps before her voice stopped him.

His face turned back toward her, almost despite himself. Yes! he wanted to shout at her when she asked a question, though the Hebsut didn’t let him get a word in edgewise. She answered it for him. Talis listened, for he knew he had a lot to learn, but he felt anger boiling in the pit of his stomach.

You’re the one who doesn’t understand, the yearling said, quiet but emphatic. You don’t know me. You didn’t even bother asking me about myself. Well, I’m the descendant of a slave and I know what a noble calling it can be, despite what you think.

His ears slicked back to his skull as Talisman realized he’d spoken out of turn. Yet he could not bring himself to apologize for speaking up for himself. None of it mattered now anyhow. Eset meant to be his white knight and Talis knew arguing would get him nowhere. The bottom line was he would not find a place in Muat-riya.

Without another word, Talis turned to walk off into the desert.

She watches him take to the path thrown heavy by the setting sun and a small sighing relief gasps from her throat, she trembles. He goes away, and if he wears a fetter it is one she had played no part in cinching-

Why then does it feel so much as a fault and a failure of her purpose here? Their kind suffered. They tortured. They inflicted, and endured. History told them hope on this side of the tomb was foolish. Yet, without it-

Eset’s nerves strain, her legs pick up the chase, dust filling in the clutch of lungs.

“Talisman!” A sweeping voice falls over the desert in baying sheets as she brings herself breathlessly to his tawny side once more. “If this is your calling I will not stop you. I will not- control you. Please understand, I only want to- need to- know I did all I could to prepare you.”

This life was not one she would have chosen for herself. But she was bred for it, it was in her blood and history in a way similar to this boy’s. So long as Toula held the gilded throne, it was here Eset would remain. If they ran, nothing would change. The longed-for tide of reform would only fail.

“I am sorry to have not listened,” a gentleness in the shade of her sunlit eyes seeks his forgiveness. “You are right, it was wrong of me. Muat-riya opens its doors to you. If service, the role of fellahin, is what you seek then Inji and I will train you. This decision, it is yours alone to make.”

Perhaps he’d dodged a bullet, though not the one Eset thought. In fact, she was the bullet in this vague analogy. He wouldn’t have been happy to serve under her, not when she looked down on fellahin with such unwanted pity. Talisman sighed, not in the least comforted by the thought.

He jumped a little when she heard her call his name. More surprised than startled, he slowed his skulking step and turned to look toward her, intrigued despite his reluctance. Why on earth was the Hebsut chasing after him? Before he could ask, words spilled from Eset’s lips as she halted beside him.

The yearling froze in disbelief. Eset was really giving him whiplash. Talis knew she meant well. At least, he knew she believed that. But mistrust trickled through the very blood that sang for servitude. Much as he wanted to believe her pretty words, to turn back and pretend the last half hour hadn’t happened, he found himself recoiling.

I need to think, was all Talis said, pale eyes tight as he turned away and resumed his dreary plod, the slight tremble in his legs the only sign of his inner turmoil.

She dips her head to Talisman, eyes sweeping his leave until he silhouettes on the sands away and she is left with silence. In the half-light her feet find the path that will eventually return her to the blue keep.

Over the walk she thinks of Akashingo. She understands much of the palace had been built on trade and wealth, but how much of it had been at the cost of their fellahin? If Eset could try again, if she could find a way to take what power Toula had entrusted with her, she might do her part to safeguard it. She imagines all of them- those who’d had so little say in the course of their own lives, bonded together in hope.

Muat-riya could be that.