Lion Head Mesa aguila

:o

"you will not keep me here, pendeja," belen spat toward @Kasmut. was it all talk? she didn't know herself. and she didn't know if she would be able to keep the promise her teeth were making in this moment. she had been given to this pale wisp. why? for what purpose? "he told you to feed me," belen tried again.

Oh, my, you’re a noisy little whelp aren’t you?

Kasmut watched the newcomer with ice upon her features. The only sign that she cared for the words she shared was the ghost of a smirk that toyed along the fair pink of her lips. The girl Belen seemed to have found some of her senses, but it was a pity that the girl was much too late to do anything about her circumstances.

You should be honored, girl. The Pharaoh has selected you…

The pale figure frowned at once. When she recognized her own irritation, Kasmut turned and selected a rather grotesque looking hunk of meat to offer to Belen.

Eat and we will bathe you when you have filled your belly… poor little starved thing.

The sweetness of her smile was as good as a lie.

"selected me for what?" belen's voice was sharp, bordering on shrill. her stomach clutched with hunger and she reached eagerly for the offered meal, only to recoil. the food was old. the smile she did not trust. "what is the matter with this place?" she hissed, refusing to show her nerve. "what do you do here? who is jawahir?"

Only the Gods knew why Pharaoh had selected the siren. Kasmut could not see a reason and she did not wish to conjure one to make Belen feel better. If anything, the sight of the girl was a threat to her own interests and the position she had created for herself at Ramesses’ side.

This is Akashingo. Jawahir is a jewel to our people, to the Pharaoh… and it is the Pharaoh you will serve. He is everything.

Kasmut narrowed her eyes upon Belen.

You want better food, hm? I know of something fresher, but you’ll need to cease your crying out. It is hurting my ears.

The pale figure brushed past Belen and expected the girl to follow. Kasmut would pause at the end of the hallway to be sure of it.

I'm scurrying to the train to get home and then I'll be back on to write with you! <3

:D!

she didn't understand. nothing kasmut said made sense. belen glared after the fellahin as she glided away. her glass eyes began to search not for a way out but for the details of the red walls and the caves around her. only when kasmut stopped did belen reluctantly follow, dragging on and delaying them as long as possible. curiosity and hunger brought her back to the other's side after a moment. she motioned to a guard passing by. "what about this debt? and who are they?"

Kasmut was already weary with the girl, but she would not disobey her Pharaoh’s wishes. The desert flower had a goal in mind and she would not rest until she had obtained it. 

Belen followed slowly. Her sourness could be felt, but if Kasmut paid close enough mind to it, she might have caught some curiosity. This would be enough for a start. 

Here there are Fellahin and Mazoi. The Fellahin are fine creatures who are made for many things. The Mazoi are guards and they use their strength to defend. You will be a Fellahin of the most treasured Pharaoh Ramesses. You have replaced the wench Tamar.

this explanation was received more fully. belen felt into a dismayed silence and she slowly began to piece her fate together from what had been said. "and what happens when my father comes for me?" belen demanded. she stopped dead where she was, glassweave eyes glaring into kasmut's flawless face.

The girl wished to know what would happen when her father arrived. 

Kasmut grinned sweetly and nodded her head in understanding. Belen was only a lost girl and it made sense that her thoughts would remain on her father, or her mother - anyone who would seek to find her. 

That is a simple matter. We will have space for him here. He can speak to Pharaoh to discuss the circumstances of your place here. 

Kasmut waited with watchful eyes. 

How fortunate you are, Belen… to be taken in by the grace of Pharaoh.

"it does not feel that way." belen's face seemed to harden for a moment, the shadow of a harder life than her years shining for a moment. and then it passed. her belly rumbled. she stared hard at kasmut. akashingo did not hold the arguing of neizan and zaira, and so akashingo was silent to her in a way she did not understand. "i do not see that man like you do."

Kasmut listened to Belen speak with a softness upon her features. Whatever the girl could share would come to be of use to the flower, that was certain. The pale coyote did not know how, but she had never turned her head to the word of those in a desperate situation.

Belen did not see Pharaoh the way that Kasmut saw him.

The Fellahin was certain that there was no soul alive who saw Pharaoh the way that she did.

He is frightening, isn’t he?

The faded pink of her eyes fixed on Belen. Kasmut thought – for only a moment – of cracking the girl’s head open like a bird’s egg. A sharp splintering sound against the stone and then her thoughts would be spilled free, ready to be devoured.

belen stared at kasmut and blinked. and in that she gave herself away. "no," she lied all the same, searching to pin something, anything, in her warden's gaze. "no one scares me." young she was, but no less cunning. what had neizan taught her? and wasn't this the moment to bring his lessons to bear? "i'm hungry," belen growled, tail flicking behind her. but there was fear in her now, in the splay of her ears and the set of her jaw.

The pink of Kasmut’s tongue swiped across her lips. The pale woman laughed gently at the girl’s statement. She had seen the splaying of Belen’s ears, but she did not wish to argue with the newcomer. Pharaoh would want Belen to find comfort in the mesa, eventually. It would not do well to begin her stay with fearmongering and frustration.

The feeling you have – that feeling that says you do not see Pharaoh the way that I do – imagine the power of it magnified. Imagine that is all that you felt, so overwhelming, so forceful, that you could not recall feeling anything else.

Kasmut’s smile returned to her slender features, sweet and serene.

That is what Pharaoh’s enemies feel. He is all things. Power, cunning, insatiable.

When the pale figure rounded the corner, it was to a cache of fresh meats and thick haunches. Food that would serve Belen well.

Eat, Belen. And then perhaps share your own vision of Pharaoh with me.

belen did not answer. she fell upon the food, devouring anything in her reach without abandon. her mouth, her chest, smeared in rich fat and blood. the girl licked the latter from her jaws and turned her mind back upon pharaoh. the idea of him filled her chest with a nameless guttural fear. "he wants something." the words had broken from her despite belen's want to hold them back. she stared at kasmut for the hundredth time. imagine him magnified. a chill climbed the base of her spine. "the reina. the queen. is she his wife?"

The young girl devoured the meats like a wild pig.

Kasmut watched her and smiled, sitting with her paws close together and her tail wrapped neatly near her haunch. She did not seem bothered by Belen’s curtness, or the sharp way that the girl spoke. The pale flower could only imagine what it must have been like to be a young girl and in such an unfamiliar setting.

Belen was sharp enough to sense some things, after all.

She is. She is called Satsu, Kasmut answered with a small nod of her head.

Tell me of your father, Belen. So that we will know him when he comes to search for his daughter. If that day ever came.

satsu. that was pretty. "she did not say anything about me," belen remembered. that woman had only looked at the man called pharaoh. kasmut was asking after her father. "his name is neizan. he is like me. and he will not have debt to this place." she snorted out of her nostrils. it had not escaped her that the pale creature had not answered her comment. "what does he want?"

Neizan was the name of the girl’s father. While Kasmut spent most of her time doting upon the Pharaoh and keeping herself busy with the other members of Akashingo, she kept her ears trained on any particularly interesting news. She had grown rather fond of Sakai and had found that he was cheerfully chatty when granted the right company. She had not heard of a wolf called Neizan near their mesa.

Belen asked what the Pharaoh wanted.

It was not an easy question to answer. It was not one that could be given falsely. Kasmut regarded the girl, stepping forward to make sure that her face was presentable, and the blood had been cleared away from the places she could not reach. The flower huffed softly when she had finished.

To rule and be worshipped. But I cannot speak for the Pharaoh, Belen. You can ask him what he wants, and he will answer you. Pharaoh's wants for you, she paused thoughtfully, may not be the same as his wants for me.

A motion of her muzzle put Kasmut on the move and suggested that Belen should follow.

Let us bathe you. The water will be cold, but there will be warmth in the furs for after.

this time belen did not fight. kasmut had fed her and given explanations. she had tensed to feel the other's tongue on her face but found the grooming pleasant in spite of herself. at the idea of bathing, belen balked, looking around to see if that man might suddenly appear. "what furs?" she demanded, hoping that her idea of what came after was not the reality of the situation. to rule and be worshipped. "do you worship him, kasmut?" belen asked, her tone skeptical.

I do.

Pride swelled in her voice. The Fellahin drew her slender snout upward in a small gesture. Kasmut believed that her role was esteemed, something to be thrilled by. The pale flower wished for Belen to understand how important it was. More than this, she wished for Belen to take jealousy in her closeness with Pharaoh.

It is all very new, I understand. You will find that there is no better place in all the world. In Akashingo you will be fed and bathed. You will be treated as a treasure. You will be wanted.

Could there be anything more?

kasmut glowed with pleasure. this frustrated belen. she did not understand how someone in the other's position could love the horrid male as she seemed to do. the girl listened but did not hear an answer. she was growing tired. irritated. but the idea of being handled as something precious was appealing to the innate selfishness belen had learned to carry. "i can have what i want?" she asked, allowing kasmut to lead her into the water.

Into the frigid bath waters, Kasmut gasped softly at the touch of winter that soaked into her coat and drew her flesh into bumps. Once she had settled into it, she turned to regard the young girl.

Belen wished to know if she could have what she wanted. To this, Kasmut chuckled softly. Her head shook, but there was a knowing glint in her gaze. When she began to clean the dirt from the girl’s fur and clear some of the tangles in her pelt, Kasmut found that Belen was not far from being beautiful.

If you are good enough, you will never want for anything ever again.

Kasmut shivered but her smile did not fade from her lips.

the tug and comb of kasmut's teeth through belen's tangled fur was nice, nicer than she would admit. they were still perfect strangers. this closeness was unexpected and sent unwanted glissades through the girl that angered her further. she seethed, shivering. that smile again, the one tipped in honey and poison. it reminded her of how pharaoh had looked. "are you good?" doubtful.

I am good at what I do, she answered candidly.

When Belen was cleaned and washed, Kasmut looked upon her soaked frame with a modicum of pleasure at the work they had accomplished. The young girl did not look so much like a stray, not anymore. She was full of good meats, and she had been washed with the cold water and good smells of Akashingo. When her coat dried, she would likely find peace in sleep.

Would you like to sleep now, Belen? If you wish, we can talk more tomorrow. I will teach you how to serve in Akashingo, to be good.

belen would not admit it, but the shock of the day had exhausted her. and the unsurety of the next angered the girl. "i want to lie down," she declared, teeth chattering as winter chill touched her wet body. she was looking too at kasmut, at the way the water had plastered the fellahin's fur against her own figure. "what do you do?" what was the point of this? belen was quiet, waiting for kasmut to speak or to move on.

Kasmut nodded, pushing her snout against Belen to guide her to a room with furs. It would do for her first night. It was warm and lined with comfortable things.

The newcomer asked what it was the flower did. Kasmut smiled in response and turned her head toward Belen. She moved aside to show the young girl where she could rest.

I do many things. You will learn them all in time, but you have learned enough for tonight. Make yourself comfortable. The pale figure nodded to the furs and watched expectantly. Once Belen had settled in, she could give the girl a bit of privacy. Kasmut did not plan to go far.

kasmut remained cryptic. beneath the pelts, belen began to dry and warm. she grew drowsy despite her defiance. the girl said nothing more, only fought the blinking of her eyelids until they drooped and she fell into slumber. kasmut's face remained in her mind long after she started to dream.