Lion Head Mesa mission, motive

attn @Meseba

 

she summoned the warrior to her throne room. privacy was demanded—by now, she had caught wind to the stirrings of something. the Gods did not speak because They willed her to hear Them in other ways—and she, ever pious, felt Their pull.
something was awry. underfoot, occurring without her knowing. how could this be? Rashepses had asked that she meet with himself, with @Senmut—her own demands were that first she sleep, to rest, and then break the dawn with her children. only then would she meet with the priest-prince and her husband, who she kissed gently goodnight. though she longed to rest with him, she knew there would be none of that between the two of them. one more night of waiting, she teased with a long kiss—and once he was gone, and all became quiet, Toula moved.
she looked in on her children—she longed to stretch out alongside them and sleep there, but denied herself this, too. the fellahin would summon the man, and Toula awaited him upon her stone throne.

he is summoned.

strange yet, by not whom he had anticipated being summoned by.

but despite the steeled edge of his shoulders and the twisting, writhing worry for eset that remains ever present, he does not dally as he arrives upon the stone the pharaoh is perched upon.

he has never officially met her — there'd been no time on the battlefield but her aura speaks volumes enough for her.

pharaoh, greets meseba as he bows before her, waiting to rise until ( or even if! ) he is asked to.

she remembered him from that fate-filled day. I never did commend you for your strength—I regret that. you fought well. you are no doubt a large part of why our Wedjat survived. I thank you, she approached the bowed man, saying, rise, please, she willed.
Toula can see his strength in spirit and in body. he is scarred, but grander for it. our Sesh did well. she remained in her quarters to heal the Wedjat… but as I think on it, when he emerged… she did not, she left room for him to tell her what it was she hoped to hear—it was for the boy, Nokht, that she stayed. his own condition had been as precarious as the warriors. her words were spoken casually—no accusations, but a question seemed to linger there. she went on—
I admit I have been distracted. my dear Hebsut is gone still, and while I do not doubt her strength and resilience—it is strange. my mind has been occupied by the cretins that have stolen the child. I killed one of them, she said, considering, they surely want to kill one of us. my fear is that they might have intercepted her, 
she had a mission for the Mazoi.

there is a moment in which meseba feels discomfort settle like sickness in his stomach as she praises him, for fighting well. when not too soon after he turned from and disobeyed her husband. not directly, but by listening to both his own heart and tavina's.

she was made to stay in her quarters, a prisoner of the earth walls she healed within. was it possible pharaoh did not know ...? i left to search for eset after tavina took my eye as i begged her to. it is healing, it is scarring. ugly, but he lived and it did not take up space in it's socket, useless and infection-riddled as meseba had feared it would become.

pharaoh's fears only make his own sink like ice into his lungs, into his stomach.

i found eset. and machiavelli. she rushed off, back to the cenote and commanded me to take machiavelli to the mesa. but when i returned, she was not back. she should've beaten me by days. weeks, even. i fear there is truth in your words, pharaoh.

Toula listened, her own stomach sinking with the words he shared. but she did not flinch, nor behave surprised. there could only be one being who would be heeded in such a way other than herself. she could not understand it, but she would. and she then decreed, a misunderstanding—one that will be remedied, she would not have the woman who brought both herself and their own children into the world condemned for nothing! 
to hear her fears validated… ah! no joy to be found at all this day, it seemed—not yet! Toula looked to the one-eyed male. what I ask now endangers you greatly. but I must know the truth of this. still, I would hear you if you did not wish to seek her where they might camp. I do not think they have left the lowlands. you need not enter their encampment, should you find it—not unless you are confident in your ability to extract her yourself. should you find her, my wish would be for you to return so we can send more to free her. but she very well might be bait, if they have learned her importance to us, she considered this with him, and grew quiet to hear what he might then speak. his words mattered to her, as did his feelings.

the situation as meseba had known it, had witnessed it was now shared with pharaoh ... and what she chose to do with it was up to her. no longer his business; a burden — one of several he carried — lifted.

but the largest weight remains!

eset.

her safety ... or lack thereof.

something had befallen her if she had never returned to the cenote — and it was clear she had not. gladly, he would rove to the ends of the world to find her. not because he had any sort of hero complex but because he was selfish and he loved her; even though that affection was not returned in the way he pined for.

if i find her, i cannot leave her again. will not, pharaoh. i will do what it takes to find her, to free her ... if she is indeed held captive. the first time eset had commanded him away, to escort the sharp tongued machiavelli of whom made poisonous jest of his ( obvious ) feelings by calling him lover boy.

this time, if he was successful, he would not be ordered away.

if you can, then, send a message so that we know she is alright—or if she is not. we will aid you, is her second, and last ask of him. I have faith in you to see this done, and I thank you, she speaks in earnest. 
by the time he returned, she would right every wrong that had transpired without her knowing.

i will, promises meseba with a bow of his head. i will rest and then head out. though there is a part of meseba that desires to leave right away, he knows he must first rest.

and with that, when he is dismissed, he finds a place to sleep and when he awakens, fills his belly and sets off into the night.