Lion Head Mesa did you think it was Friday or something?
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#1
All Welcome 
a wedding. his first sellfang job in the teekons and it was a fucking wedding. 

shoko stood against the corridors’ back wall, watching as the pharaoh and satsu performed their vows. it was pretty, it was pompous, it was entirely centered around two wolves shoko imagined liked being the center of attention very much; it was all too rich for his taste. but he kept his mouth shut. 

the crowd around him was living and moving. shoko couldn’t help peer among the many faces, wondering where @Arsenio was. he had an inkling he was sorely out of place here, so he kept to the edges where his silence and relative newness might not be noticed.
Raventhorpe
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The wedding was a great show of lavish things – words, food, wolves and whores – that Arsenio did not find all too appealing. He had watched the goings on with a daft smile, tail wavering out of habit more than enjoyment of the ceremony. While he watched the queen and king take their place, make their vows to each other, he could not help but to wonder how he had gotten there.

Shoko caught his eye, drawing the ice of his gaze to the dark shadowy corners of the caverns.

Arsenio prowled toward the other man, careful to nod his head in a friendly gesture to those he passed. It was a day of blessings and celebration, after all. It would not do well to have the queen’s guard plodding about with a sour face.

Shoko, the redstone wolf greeted with a smile. His head was lifted up so that the light played upon his eyes.
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oh, there arsenio was, politely guiding his way through a throng of unknown faces. shoko watched subtly as the man made his way. so very different from the arsenio shoko knew out there.

when arsenio came alongside him, shoko dipped his head in curt acknowledgment. he never tired of that glittering stare - arsenio might just be the pharaoh's only competition when it came to the set of sharp-cut eyes the gods gave him. "love is a beautiful thing to witness." said shoko, just innocuous enough that any passerby might think his commentary genuine. "enjoying the party?"
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Eh, these lavish things are not for me, the redstone man responded with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

Love was beautiful to witness, when it was true. Arsenio believed that the woman Satsu was warming greatly to the Pharaoh. He had seen her eyes shift more favorably when he appeared, but even he did not know what happened in their private moments. The game that they played was intriguing to him. If only so that he might understand the motivation behind it all.

You are making yourself known here. It is good. I will be careful that you are not seen with me often, he spoke in a lower voice. The expression on the mercenary’s face did not change. He remained jovial in nature. His tail waved happily, and he nodded to the partygoers with a hearty chuckle. The words were for Shoko. The Greek man did not want for him to be endangered, no on Arsenio’s account. 

How are you taking to this place?
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it was a lavish affair no doubt. shoko let his eyes wander over the grandeur; even his pack’s most celebrated events paled in comparison. 

he let his gaze sail over the sea of nameless faces; all bathed in splendor and merriment. not for him or arsenio, who hung out of the fray as grim faced guards. 

i will do my best to appear a stranger to you. shoko murmured under the waves of chatter. who else is here that i might strive to know? who should i keep eyes in my back for, or look out over?
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Mmm, the redstone wolf mused softly, glancing over the crowd with a swift sweep of his eyes and a swipe of his tongue along his chops.

The Fellahin are his, he looked to the Pharaoh with a dumb smile, as if to mimic a child seeking their parent’s approval. They are not to be trusted with your word. After he had said it, he thought of the Fellahin that had visited him, or those he had seen lingering at the Pharaoh’s paws, waiting for a taste of his splendor. Arsenio did not like them much, but Tamar had expressed concern for their safety.

Tamar is good. She is unlike the others. She is-

The guard cleared his throat and shook himself.

She was given as a gift from the Pharaoh to his queen. A woman untouched by the ruler. I’m sure the lady Satsu was deeply moved.

Arsenio laughed loudly, wagging his tail to a guest who had met his eye. He wanted to look less like a brooding corner-dweller and more like a man who was tempted to join the party. When he smiled upon Shoko, his eyes sharpened, and his lips curled warmly.

The Roman is good. His dark little friend is good, but odd. Close to the queen. There may be few others. Not many.
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even at weddings, there was much to learn about akashingo's darkly gurgling heart. it remained beating just below the surface, covered in a fine veneer of gold and flesh - but how dark and black truly, were the organs that groaned and pulsed beneath it?

shoko had learned enough about the king to be unsurprised by arsenio's words. truth be told, shoko trusted very few, and had learned long ago to seal his traitorous thoughts from escaping past his traitorous lips. better to be silent and unknowable. no words of his could be twisted if they were never spoken at all.

he only knew the roman and his shadowfriend by sight alone. very little time had been spent socializing on shoko's behalf. he preferred it this way - it made it easier to sink knives between chests and walk away, unwounded by the surprise and betrayal in his victims' eyes.

"who is close to the king?"
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None are, Arsenio answered gruffly.

The Fellahin are close but only with their bodies. I hear him speak of a Jawahir, a jewel to Akashingo. He has others he seems to enjoy the touch of.

The disgust that showed on the guard’s features was clear. His distaste for the Pharaoh had festered since he had joined the mesa’s ranks. It left him with increased feelings of dread and anger, feelings that he did not know could be managed without risking his life or the lives of others. Besides, Tamar had expressed her concern for the other Fellahin… not that he understood this, either.

The queen may be his closest companion.

Arsenio shrugged, as if to say that it did not matter who filled the ruler’s time. The Greek wanted to know what Shoko desired from his stay there. He wished to know what he might do, before he would do it.