Lion Head Mesa scorpion

pharaoh leaned against the lintel of maggie's doorway.
her paltry little items seemed dead now. she lay upon her peasant's bed and did not move. only the rise and fall of her side suggested that life still existed within.
the room held the scent of herbs and the dour, skilled presence of the boy physician.
the lazuli eyes trailed over the cobwebs. the poultices.
akashingo was far too quiet, and so ramesses escaped. he turned noiselessly at the door and trotted unseeingly through the rock hallways until he had emerged into the noonday sun. 
soon pharaoh was only a gilded silhouette upon his own borders, traveling in that broad circle against a shimmer of heat that erased the lines of his tall frame.
in bitterness and hatred he searched for any sign of nyra, spitting an oath on whatever blood and tufts of fur still lay caught in the rough dirt.
Ra burned upon him even with the air losing its warmth.
ramesses bowed his head in a rare shame and continued upon his patrol, willing that no other come upon him.

The scent of Pharaoh had been in Maggie’s resting place when Crowfeather had returned with more feverfew and poppy for the sleeping woman. At first, the dark wolf had crept inside. He had been fearful of seeing the man show any distaste for the work that had been done on his clan member.

After having found that Pharaoh wasn’t still there, Crowfeather had placed the herbs down beside Maggie, along with a small gopher that he had luckily grabbed on his journey back. If she woke, she would have food and medicine to whisk her back into slumber. Then, the shadow trekked after the mesa’s ruler with a swiftly sniffing nose.

Pharaoh prowled just ahead of the dark wolf. Crowfeather did not miss the posture of the man and felt that he should have kept to himself, not followed the scent. It was too late for that, though.

Ph- Pharaoh, the dark wolf yipped to the man, may I patrol with you?

pharaoh stared at the scarlet dirt between his paws. 
he thought of maggie's blood. of nyra's of his own. but mostly he thought of how the beauty had been there, and then not.
pharaoh was alone and then he was not. the figure of the solemn young physician was a long shadow. covering his moment of raw and stricken emotions with a dispassionate look, he sighed. ramesses rolled his shoulders and looked straight ahead.
"you may."
the alabaster son of horus strode off upon his path. he expected that the boy would tag at his side. for moment he said nothing. and then: "you are not a prisoner here; you are free to leave whenever you see fit. however, i believe satsu wanted you for a wedding guest. she enjoys your company and has put her trust in you. that is a rare thing with her."
if he could not compel crowfeather to say by his word, perhaps guilt might do.
"all this has been a great change for satsu. she spoke of you long before you arrived in akashingo."
ramesses went along the trail with a grand flounce.

The shadow released a breath of relief. He was permitted to walk beside Pharaoh on his trek, which was something that Crowfeather had not fully anticipated when approaching the ruler.

The words that followed Pharaoh’s acceptance were even more unexpected. The dark wolf gaped, lowering his head so that he might readily conceal the foolish expression before Pharaoh saw it. The seer did not anticipate that the ruler would so willingly admit Satsu’s friendship with Crowfeather. It felt like something that should have been treated with more care than it was.

Satsu helped me when I was lost. She showed me how to- he paused for a moment, considering his words. Telling Pharaoh that his wife-to-be had showed him how to accept the dead in his life felt like something he could not share.

She helped me find my way.

I will be a guest for your wedding, as I am sure Germanicus will. It is a cause for celebration, after all. After that, I will go wherever he goes. It was what he had told Pharaoh before, but Crowfeather felt his words were more uncertain without the silver eagle at his side.

ramesses smiled with an open pleasure as crowfeather at last bent the knee to his will.
the boy gave away much with his expressions. the sensation of festering emerald yawned again in pharaoh.
satsu had rejected him. she would lead with him, but it was only his offer of chastity which had swayed her. she felt nothing for him, while he desired her with the ravening hunger of his indulgent flesh. it was an unknown emotion, and one he felt could be swiftly put to rest if only she would concede to him in her bed.
the notion that she had shared anything at all with the gawky young doctor infuriated pharaoh. the boy had the prettiness of youth and the sheen of health to his dark pelt. but he was little more than fellahin while he spurned the royal's offer to serve in his growing court.
what did she see in this stripling that she could not in him? ramesses had far more beauty and power. it was the unknowing which so dragged at him.
germanicus. hearing the roman's name again put a fouler stamp upon the already turned mood. "are you content simply to trail at an auxillary's heels forever?" ramesses asked with honeyed tongue.

Pharaoh was persistent in his asks. He seemed to allow just enough time to pass before inquiring again about Crowfeather’s willingness to follow Germanicus. The dark wolf did not find that it was any easier to answer the ruler. Each time, he was filled with a swelling guilt that should not have been there.

As the two wolves walked, Pharaoh inquired whether Crowfeather would be content to follow at the heels of a soldier forever. The shadow allowed a gentle smile to sweep his narrow muzzle. The lamplight color of his eyes searched Pharaoh’s face for a moment, wondering what lurked beneath his confident, charismatic, cool exterior.

Forever is a long time, Pharaoh.

The response was meant to shine some light on the question. It felt silly to have to explain such a thing to another man. Crowfeather knew better than to laugh outright. He knew better than to mock the ruler at his side.

I am content to remain beside him for as long as his paws travel the earth, wherever they should go, until he has given me a reason not to. A quiet breath fell from his lips before the seer glanced sidelong at Pharaoh’s profile. Crowfeather did not wish to admit that he feared the day when Germanicus would grow tired of him.

We are not all made of greatness. Some are meant- he swallowed heavily, some are meant to become less.

crowfeather spoke with such rapturous devotion that an overhearing ear might have thought this roman was a god. 
"i have never seen someone choose to be less. or choose to place someone above them in this way. i serve no one in that manner." pharaoh trudged on, ignoring the crimson grains clinging to his paws.
"my people and his are not fond of one another," ramesses went on in his conversational tone. "he will not choose to stay. he will be yours once more, crowfeather."
a small, silken laugh.

The longer that he spent around Pharaoh, the more nervous Crowfeather had grown. He could not help but to feel as though there was a spotlight that was shining down on his back, on every action that he took inside the mesa, each word that he spoke. The man with lapis eyes was not one to be trifled with, but he was a talented thing at hiding his danger beneath a charming smile or a silky voice.

You might be surprised, Crowfeather murmured in response to Pharaoh’s last statement, that Germanicus would leave and they could continue on their course. Nothing would have made the shadow happier, but he did not believe that the silver eagle was prone to turning away from tribulation. The man had a strength of character Crowfeather had never encountered before.

If he- if we should stay to help with your war, the dark wolf swallowed nervously, I will assist with healing where I can. Is there anyone here you wish to have trained? So that they might help. An- an apprentice, maybe?

no more talk of the roman. it disgusted him that germanicus had ever set foot within akashingo. ramesses, then, was pleased to turn toward other things. his lazuli eyes seemed to catch with a brilliant warmth when the boy spoke, speaking of taking his place within the court.
that was all pharaoh heard, of course. he stopped and turned toward crowfeather in the air of a man with hands clasped behind his back, standing tall and shimmering and omnipotent beneath the eye of Ra which burnt down toward the mesa.
"when you are royal chief physician, you will make these choices for yourself."
he felt himself inexorable.
"it was satsu who put the first leaves and medicine on maggie's face. she nursed me as well. the queen would be pleased to honor you as a first pupil."

When? Crowfeather frowned at the man’s words to him. The dark wolf did not wish to correct the ruler, not again. He had already told Pharaoh that he was bound to Germanicus and would remain by the soldier’s side, that they would not stay in Akashingo unless it was a decision made by the eagle. Beyond that, the dark wolf did not understand how he could play with such roles – royal chief physician.

Instead of denying Pharaoh, Crowfeather breathed a quiet sigh.

When the day arrived for Germanicus to lead them away from Akashingo, Pharaoh would understand that Crowfeather had not been tentative with his words. There was no place for the seer in the ruler’s palace, not even as a healer. The shadow belonged to its body – Germanicus – and it would not stray from the silver eagle’s side again.

I would like to learn from Satsu. She might teach me something I had never learned before, he admitted, thoughtful and soft. The healing wolves of the Starsea had their own means of remedying illness and injury alike. Crowfeather wondered what Satsu had learned in her home.

ramesses was a god. he could make any course that he wished.
and no court was complete without a doctor at his side. pharaoh was in need of a confidant, and who better than the man he would use to tend his physical woes?
the beloved roman dog could die in the next war for all ramesses cared; in fact, he hoped this conflict with the saints might prove an opportune time to dispose of germanicus and keep crowfeather for himself.
ramesses coveted, and felt no shame over it.
satsu. "she has taught me many things i did not know." the lapis eyes gathered some amorphous sense about them. "it pleases me you will learn from one another."
by now their path had curved back toward the mesa. pharaoh was footsore and weary, stained with dust. he wanted only to call for jawahir and sink into the pools. "perhaps one night you will dine with satsu atop akashingo." ramesses looked ahead. "help me to please her, physician."

The warm light of his eyes darted to Pharaoh. It surprised Crowfeather to know that Satsu had taught the intimidating man many things. He marveled at his friend in a new way. It was no wonder such a powerful ruler had sought to make her a queen. The dark wolf understood what a special gift Satsu was. Did the man who called himself Pharaoh? Or was she merely a prize for him?

Crowfeather drew his tongue across his lips, a flash of bright pink against shadow.

Pharaoh, I- a sheepish expression swept along his narrow features as the yearling looked to his paws and tried to reduce the burning in his cheeks. I am afraid I know very- very little about pleasing women.

In fact, as the shadow had spent more time beside the man with the lapis gaze, he had come to realize just how handsome Pharaoh was. It was disarming how much power he had in the simple movement of his lips, the creases near his gaze. All with a look, the ruler was a powerful man.

"this was something that could have been rectified the first night you arrived in akashingo." jawahir had been willing to initiate the boy, and ramesses had few doubts that maggie would have entertained both the shy young doctor and the reluctant soldier. some sort of shared masculine experience.
"perhaps it is not women you want to please." pharaoh looked sidelong at crowfeather, and the jeweled shine of his eyes dared the other to deny again what it was ramesses felt he surely knew.
"pleasure is all the same, no matter who it is you mean to delight. you watch. you listen," and here pharaoh's gaze dropped to the shy mouth of the youthful physician. "with satsu, simply share her company. she enjoys your presence."
i could send you to him more knowing, the royal gaze said silently to crowfeather. ramesses watched.

Pharaoh’s words stunned the dark wolf. The rapid rush of warmth that filled his limbs was shocking, but the only display of surprise was another swift flash of pink as the dark wolf drew his tongue nervously along his lips. The man with lapis eyes knew too much without having been told. This was, perhaps, what Germanicus had meant when he had instructed the seer to conceal his emotions.

Crowfeather could not help but consider it. Pharaoh said that it did not matter who he intended to delight in that way, if he listened and watched. Yes, but the shadow felt as though he listened intently, watched too closely, and dared too feebly to please the stoic soldier.

When the dark wolf drew his wide eyes to Pharaoh, it was carried on a tentative breeze.

Was this why Germanicus remained so rigid, and duty bound? Had Crowfeather not learned well enough to delight?

Perhaps…

Crowfeather had never felt that wanting before, to be desirable.

ramesses was pleased by this single syllable. they traveled in silence to the doors of the mesa, but he did not yet move to disappear beneath the sunwarmed stone. before they drew into the range of listening ears, pharaoh brought his mouth close and secretively to the ear of the dark herbalist.
"akashingo is a place of pleasure. take the soldier to your room. tell him he is wanted. why would he deny you?" ramesses did not need an answer and did not wait for one. whatever word or gasp or look crowfeather might give now was swallowed with a rich laugh, a brazen lust in his eyes, and then pharaoh was turning away to fall into jawahir's honeyed presence and be led to glory elsewhere.

The bustle of activity grew louder as the two wolves approached the common areas. Some amount of relief met the dark wolf as he sighted the others, the wolves of Akashingo.

When the Pharaoh’s mouth touched the hairs of his ear, Crowfeather stopped and stood rigidly. A breath had caught in his throat. Even the length of his limbs quivered at the suggestion that had been so privately made by the ruler. It seemed such a simple thing. All he had to do was to draw Germanicus into his bedchamber and tell him that he was desired. Why would the older man deny him?

It was with a cold stone in the pit of his belly that Crowfeather realized, he did not wish to know the reasons Germanicus might turn him away. The very thought of watching that man’s gaze look on him with displeasure was suffocating.

Crowfeather turned to thank Pharaoh, but the shadow stood alone. The sound of merrymaking filled the air around him.