Luneshale Pass the sedge and the bee

tags for reference!

the rarity of nazli leaving muat-riya was such that, when she did depart in the early hours of the morning, she was cautioned by @tavina not to over-exert herself, and to take a guard; but nazli could not justify prying khusobek away from his new family, and while she promised tavina she would do as asked, she was quick to slip away without mention to anyone else.

her thought was to do a small trip to test her body. she had succeeded when the trade delegation had gone to the seaside and back, and so the thought of heading some ways north to the meadow for a day or two of introspection was not such a harrowing concept.

she managed to make it to the pass, where nazli decided to take a break and find a drink of water. while there she hoped to find some plants with which to decorate the palace, perhaps to gift to the new mother @inji—and as nazli began to hunt for these things she found a number of plump, fuzzy bees flickering between different naturally forming bouquets.

charmed, she waited and watched their awkward flights.

The days grew warmer early, this far south. It was enjoyable to the boy; for now, anyway, as the growing sunshine would without a doubt dehydrate him and come it's own tedious, dangerous thing. For now he was content to explore.

Drusk prowled; that was his default. Lurking with his head low as if to track something, when really he found it the most comfortable given his natural largesse. When he had to climb across the steppes he did it without complaint, and only looked back a few times to estimate the time, or the distance.

The fish he had subsisted upon until now was not enough for his growing body and he was hungry, again; so when he thought he spied something moving deep within the pass, he quickened his step. They were deep among the stonework, where the plateau could support a measure of flowers and greenery the likes of which he would not recognize.

The creature was canid, but not wolf. They were small and silvery from this distance. While someone else might have seen a friend, Drusk saw only prey.

it should have occurred to nazli to bring a guard. perhaps not doing so was a greater indication towards her own self worth, or diplomatically the strength of muat-riya; they did not have the bodies to spare, and besides that the land between the Red Palace and the Pleasure Palace was controlled by the divine. nazli trusted not only the strength of toula but that of the many gods, and even now she watched the bees without any awareness.

they hummed as they moved from flower to flower. she gingerly plucked at the ones left by the bees, as they gathered what they needed and left the flowers empty.

as she worked to gather these things, she hummed a small tune that she had learned from senmut, and was wholly focused on the pleasure of her work. little by little, the bouquet grew.

The wind was in his favor. The creature had not noticed him yet, which was an ego stroke for the boy.

He was reminded of the fire-mountain, of the pests that would come and hunt the sheep the men tended; before he had become one of those creatures himself, he had made a sport of routing these thieves. The praise he had earned had felt good.

Alone now and hungry, Drusk had no reason to save any part of the creature this time. There was no bounty to be claimed—no food, shelter, or kindness here to be earned. Had he learned to enjoy the taste of these cousins? Hardly; but they were here, and he saw an opportunity.

Being slow and careful as he climbed through the pass was the best method, he had learned. The terrain was irregular. The red of the dirt hid so much, and he did not want to be detected. Thinking of the full belly he would earn through this hunt was enough to garner all of his focus—so when the wind did eventually shift, Drusk had forgotten to keep tabs.

the wind did shift, and when that happened nazli remained focused on her work for a little bit longer. the bouquet had become a mixture of blue and purple, and then she began to pluck little yellow ones as well, when she noticed it.

the reaction was like taking notice of an oncoming storm; a subtle salinity to the air, or a pressure. it wasn't the sense she was being watched. the smell of a stranger crept to her nose and she stopped, looking up and wondering who it could be.

deciding it was time to move on, nazli collected her pile, mentally said goodbye to the bees, and began to prance along in the direction she had arrived. a few lengths later she would pause to look over her shoulder, in case it was just a trick of her own mind.

The coyote was quick! Drusk was thrilled by the increased challenge of the hunt and slunk to another section of the hillside, only to recognize that he had overshot his position and had lost sight of the prey. He would have to double-back some of the way and try another angle.

This time as he came creeping among the rocks and the grass, he managed to reach the point where the coyote had been scavenging. He lingered there a moment to investigate, sniffing at the grass and the meadow patch; it was a female, and beneath the heady aroma of the flowers he found notes of — estrus? No; it wasn't quite that strong, but soon.

With a huff to clear his nostrils, Drusk drags his heels through the flowers and then begins his stalk anew. This time was simpler: her scent was leading east and he knew he could catch up if he climbed the hill. Once he reached the top though, the figure of the coyote was gone and all he could find when he scoured the land for scent, were those damned flowers.

she didn't see anything.

not until she turned to face the path home, and thought there was something large and brown creeping just out of range.

the wind said, lake; it said wolf; it said danger—either that or nazli linked the scent back to the terrifying giant woman, and that association alone was enough to make her run.

a few of her flowers tumbled from her grip as she went, but she would not gather them up again. better to go, and quickly. in the forefront of her mind was a prayer, but in her heart nazli wondered, zharille? here?

her heart burned as she crossed over the invisible limits to muat-riya, and would not cease even after she'd returned to tavina.