Otter Creek i hate everything about you

Otter Creek. That was the place where he'd last seen Ramesses. Charles didn't know why he returned here. He'd left the Teekon and his awkward life behind a long time ago. He'd left behind Lotus and Nyra with ease. He missed Lotus, 'cause he wanted to be a good dad, but he knew he wasn't anyway. Besides, Nyra didn't need him at all. Then there'd been the whole war thing, which was just messy and that's when he had ran away.

He didn't remember all of that as well. Not as well as the last encounter with Ramesses. There was something about that man that gave Charles the chills. He knew that it was best for him to stay away, but there was something inside of him that compelled him to return.

Not for Lotus. Not for Nyra. Not for the Saints. Not even for the memories of the wolves he'd lost (he'd buried those deep and far away, and they were only a good reason to stay the fuck away, if anything). Definitely not for his mother.

Charles sniffed around the creek, though he found no sign of the imposing man that had looked at him with lustful eyes. I'm not a freak, I'm not a freak, I'm not a freak — he'd told himself so many times, but his time from the Teekon had taught the coywolf that he was a freak. Incidents like before kept happening again and again. More buried memories and scars added to the list.

It didn't matter, now. All water under the bridge. He continued his search in muted silence while he tried to recall their last conversation, and at the same time tried to repress it. The fuck is wrong with you, fucking idiot, he berated himself, but he kept pressing on all the same.

tavina was discovering that the creek was a fine place to gather new herbs. 

she was quite tired as of late, and wished often she had an apprentice. belen was far too lascivious and the other fellahin were appointed to different roles within the palace.

and she had met nala here, another reason to return, though tavina would not admit it.

she did not find the charming canine here, but the sesh did discover a coyote-blood man, drifting tensely among the thawed reeds and birdsong. "hello," tavina said pleasantly, halting a few feet away. she looked around. "it's nice here, isn't it?"

She'd come here not for herbs, but for memories. To gaze into the water and realize she'd almost died here, drowned by that wicked woman. Hela's defection to that bitch's ranks still stung, and it was here that Maegi stewed, drifting a paw idly through the icy current.

Then—motion. From multiple sources.

Tavina she knew, and Maegi drew further into the shadows of the barren trees, watching them from the opposite side of the creek. The other. . . She watched him, his movements, his. . .eyes. There was something familiar about that cold, golden glint.

The healer introduced herself. Maegi stared ahead, not making much effort to conceal herself, but not announcing her presence, either.

tag if either notice her!

The coywolf halted and lifted his head when he saw someone approach. His tail twitched nervously as he watched her approach him, his body tense even though hers was completely calm. She was slender, though she lacked the narrow snout and large ears that he had, so she was probably just a wolf. Charles didn't think there was a difference 'til he'd joined the Saints. He always just thought he was a wonky wolf. Turned out he was part scavenger instead. It was still a tough truth to accept, though it explained a lot about his nature; he mostly scavenged, since he was a pisspoor hunter still. He'd never been taught, after all.

Uh, hi, he responded to her pleasant greeting. I guess. He sounded very non-committal on that, as if he hadn't given it much thought yet that it could be a nice place to be. To him, it was mostly a place that held a lot of memory. He'd been threatened here. And it had made him feel so alive.

He didn't yet notice the other wolf who was looking at them. Charles' mouth hung ajar as though he wanted to say something else to the pleasant girl. Do you know Ramesses, perhaps, but he couldn't bring himself to say the words. He didn't truly want to know the answer. He didn't know what he wanted, was perhaps his problem.

maegi was here. tavina turned her head, wondering why the woman plagued by seizures had come so far. perhaps she meant to follow her physician. perhaps she had meant to run away from the mesa. she looked invitingly toward the other woman but said nothing.

the man before then was hard-edged. he still in some way seemed lost. "these are the extended lands of akashingo. the pharaoh has given word that it should soon belong as an extension of his kingdom."

but it was not yet his claim. all were free to wander here. the man held the look of someone ramesses might indeed appreciate, though his mouth seemed to dangle with a question. "if you're a traveler, we can provide you with a meal and a place to stay for a night."

Her eyes locked with Tavina's for a brief moment, and she gave the healer a brief nod, then moved silently away through the brush. She'd listen, ears turned, but she didn't want to be summoned as of yet. Not if she could help it.

She'd explain to Tavina later.

skip her!

Charles didn't notice very much the interaction between the women. He just thought maybe the one woman he was talking to had a lazy eye, or something, that she kept looking away from him. The woman mentioned that these were extended lands of some or other place that Charles had never heard of, that he knew of (he had in fact heard of the name of these lands before, but he totally hadn't remembered this far-fetched name). He found himself wondering if those were Ramesses' lands, though the woman only said 'the pharaoh' and did not give him a name. Pharaoh had to be some kind of rank.

Charles was beginning to get cold feet about all of this, honestly, when he was quite suddenly offered a place to stay and, more importantly, a meal. The coywolf's eyes lit up visibly and he said, A meal? Yes, okay. What damage could it do to come and visit these lands of this friendly woman? He was hungry, he needed to eat, and maybe it would take his mind off Ramesses and his last haunting, commanding words — you will return! — for a little while.

he was quick to accept and the sesh smiled indulgently. maegi hung back and so she tuned away, setting a course back to the mesa. she had only collected a few things and these she would pile beside the creek, intending to return later. "i'm tavina," she smiled. "and you are ...?"

their going would be easy if not slow. the doctor was not so ambitious, though she felt this one, after being fed and rested and perhaps pampered, would show another side of himself.

and that she did want to see.

"akashingo has all sorts of prey in its larders," she said as the land shifted to red tones. "what would you prefer?"

She introduced herself as Tavina, and Charles nodded, though her name meant little to him. He wasn't planning to stick around for long, anyway. He was just in it for the meal. I'm Charles, he told her in return. He presumed this pack was nearby, if they planned to extend in this direction. He fell in step with Tavina, adjusting to her pace easily.

Charles didn't know what a larder was, but he supposed it must be a cache. Honestly, he preferred fresh food, since getting it was such a rarity for a scavenger like himself, but he realised he was not really in a position to demand anything. Oh, uh, anything is good, said the coywolf. Then after a moment of hesitation he added, a little clumsily, Maybe a something not too much old?

charles was an elegant and classic name which hardly fit the starving, scruffy man padding alongside her back toward the mesa. but tavina knew better than to judge by first appearances. after all, she would never have found enjoyment in gucci's company had she written him off like that.

his request was simple. "we recently went hunting and brought back pheasants." the sesh adjudged him for a moment. akashingo was looming huge and imposing ahead of them. there were large stairs to climb. she leapt them lightly and then began to lead charles down the path which led to the heart of the palace.

"the pharaoh ramesses and his queen satsu rule here. once you have eaten and rested, i could seek an audience for you if you'd like?"

Pheasants. Charles vaguely remembered those; weren't they bird type things? He nodded in response to Tavina. Oh, yeah, fesants, that sounds fine. He was getting a free meal. There was hardly anything he was going to complain about, no matter what it was that they would give him. Charles felt a little suspicious why anyone would give him stuff for free, but he was too hungry to truly give in to that nagging feeling at the back of his mind.

As they reached the place, presumably, they started to head up. Charles glanced around as they made their way into the territory, looking surprised and bewildered and impressed all at once.

As she asked about an audience after eating, Charles initially nodded absent-mindedly as he gawped at the Mesa's beauty. Yes, that is — Then he abruptly stopped in his tracks, words and thoughts as he realised what she'd said. — Wait, did you say Ramesses? He blinked owlishly and stared at her, hoping that he had heard wrong.

fellahin were passing them in the hallway. the mesa below was a maze of entryways and rooms and paths to different parts of the palace. tavina nodded at each one who passed.

"yes. ramesses." she looked curiously at charles. "he is rather prolific. if you have heard of him before i would not be surprised." they had come to the honeycombing of dens where the servants slept. "if you want to choose one along the right there, i will bring you a meal."

the paths led up to the dens. another tilted down toward the wellspring. tavina gestured toward the clear water sparkling in a shaft of sunlight. "would you care for a bath, charles?"

It was too far now to turn back; and anyway, he'd come here for Ramesses, had he not? Yet now that he was so close to seeing the man again, everything in Charles' head screamed at him — begged at him to leave. It was too late, though. They were already deep into the territory by this point. Oh, well, he sounds like a busy man, Charles said, a little nervously. It okay to not go, ah... What was the word again? Audience? He'd never heard it before and he was afraid he would say it wrong, so he just trailed off there.

She asked him to pick a den and he just pointed to the first one he saw. This one is fine, I guess. Then she asked if he wanted a bath. Charles didn't really know what that meant, because everything here was weird and different, really. ... Yes..? he said, sounding a little lost and looking it too with his ears splayed to the side, and not really making his way towards the water; instead awaiting instructions, because he was afraid he'd do something dumb if he made assumptions about what came next.

tavina nodded at the place that charles had chosen. "there are furs inside. you will be comfortable." now she meant to lead their guest away from the networking of densites, down to the wellspring.

the water would hold a chill but each week it warmed more. "in akashingo, we mean to please every part of the body," the sesh uttered wryly. she waded into the pool, looking back for charles. "go there, to the edge," she gestured, meaning for him to settle against the opposite edge.

"the pharaoh is busy. but he will invite your company all the same. he calls late in the night for such activities."

Furs, huh. Charles had never slept on furs. She said he would be comfortable. What if I don't want to be comfortable? What if I don't deserve to be comfortable? He didn't argue, instead followed her to the bath, feeling numb.

There was that thing again. 'Please every part of the body'. The fuck did that even mean? Was she talking about bathing or something else? She instructed him to go to a specific edge of the water thingy and Charles felt a little weirded out by that. Just like every interaction with Ramesses had ever been, he constantly found himself thinking, What does she really mean? He had no way of knowing. Charles followed the instructions nonetheless, because what else was he going to do? He settled against the edge she had instructed, and listened numbly to what she said about Ramesses (presumably he was 'The Pharaoh', which didn't surprise Charles one bit, 'cause he'd always had this commanding 'I'm the boss' vibe about him even when he was a part of the Saints).

Oh, yeah, no rush of course, he said, rather wishing he could deny the company altogether. Charles definitely wanted the food and comfort that came with this place, but maybe not... certain other things.

this really was a job for a fellahin, but charles was tense and his energy skittish. tavina entered the water after him and if allowed, began to drip it over his right shoulder. "you know him?" she asked curiously. that his name had spread was not surprising. he was infamous if not evil.

the bath would be quick. she meant it for both of them. "go and rest, charles," the sesh invited. "i will send a meal to your den."

maybe in the morning he might find new footing.

unless ramesses called for him in the night.

Charles flinched when she got closer, looking nervous and maybe a little scared. He didn't like physical contact. The water drops were actually kind of soothing, which he hadn't expected. Charles had never been in a luxurious position like this before. Maybe it was something he could get used to. He exhaled, a long sigh that released at least a small portion of his tension. A question. Who? Oh, right. Oh, uh, Ramesses? I — I heard of him, yes. That wasn't the whole truth, but he needed more time to figure out what he was doing here and what he was going to do when Ramesses did call for him, anyway. It was probably better if Tavina maybe didn't know all the nitty-gritty details. It would buy him some time.

It did not take long before it was over. Charles actually found himself longing for a longer bath, but he did not ask for it. He instead nodded at Tavina's words and said, Okay. The coywolf left the bath and headed on towards the den that was made ready for him before he even arrived. Charles glanced over his shoulder before he entered and said, a little awkwardly, Uh, thanks. Then he went into the den and made himself comfortable. His stomach was churning so it was hard for him to find a comfortable place to lay down, so he didn't catch any sleep until the food arrived.

After the food arrived Charles wolfed it all down way too fast, and then, finally, he managed to drift off to sleep. A nightmare-riddled sleep with Ramesses' face clear as the time he had last seen him, but at the same time more sleep than he'd caught all at once in a long time.