Lion Head Mesa occursus
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#1
All Welcome 
backdated to may 20, late afternoon

tavina directed him to where @Maegi might be.

ramesses had told him idly of her penchant for poisons.

it did not mark her as high as it might have in his mind, given the fact that sokha had so directly refused to describe her origin.
the imperator strode through the corridors, searching for her.
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#2
The soldiers' arrival was noted but not much cared about by Maegi, who had her own fish to fry. She spent much time languishing in her own chambers, detesting every tiny twinge and movement within her. Parasites—no less than the root of all evil, burrowed in her flesh.

She sat up when Germanicus—it wasn't easy to forget a name like that—arrived and gave him a brief nod of her head, which then turned slightly in abstracted query.

What brings you to me? Maegi asked. Perhaps he was only visiting the nobility as a courtesy to his gracious host. 

Nobility. Pah. She'd never felt less regal in her life.
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#3
"good day, lady maegi. i am here to interview you about the life and death of the queen."

as a noble it was within her power to turn him away, but she risked suspicion if she did not comply with the investigation. he waited upon the room's threshold.

"is now a good time to speak?"
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#4
The life and death of the queen.

She didn't know much about either, but she didn't feel like turning him away. Maegi gave a brief nod in agreement and gestured him inside, shifting the heavy weight upon her narrow frame.

A small kick in the abdomen; another. They still moved and breathed, little bastards.

I'll tell you what I can, but I didn't know Satsu for very long, she told Germanicus. She was kind to me, though, and we spoke a time or two about family.

Sobek. Cursed.

Satsu had been murdered, and Maegi wasn't altogether convinced the same evil spirit that had taken her son hadn't conspired to rip the queen away, too.
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"i am gathering that she was no tyrant. i knew her briefly, prior to her marriage. she was more girlish perhaps than she was as a queen. and she was very doting."

who then had seen fit to kill her?

he looked at maegi. "i am told you are a skilled herbalist."
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She shook her head in regards to his mention of 'tyrant,' and nodded with all the rest. Satsu had been kind, gracious and poised. Maegi had picked up no bad impression of the queen from the short time she'd known her, and she doubted she would have even with more time.

I know some, she replied modestly, shrugging. My father was a poisoner, and taught me what he knew. And I've learned from healers and herbalists throughout my life about the plants that heal, not harm. 

It occurred to her as she concluded her sentence that perhaps this interview was more of an interrogation. After all. . .she had the knowledge and means to hurt someone in ways transcending flesh. 

Maegi gave him a narrow look, searching his stony face.
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she downplayed her knowledge. germanicus noted this. her look was met with one of his own. the moment of dawning sentience was one he treasured.

"lady qiao took the poisoned meat in a wrapping. did you ever inspect it?" it would have been fitting, after all.
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The shared understanding was noted briefly by Maegi before the next query came, one that sent her face into a scrunched state of confusion.

Poisoned meat? she asked blankly. I have no idea what you're talking about; I barely know Qiao. She didn't think she'd ever even spoken to the wisewoman, at least one-on-one.

Poisoned meat. . . Is that what killed Satsu? Maegi continued. If it was common knowledge, she didn't know of it. She'd not been good at keeping up with the broader strokes of life in Akashingo, much less the finer details.

Too busy taking poppies and having seizures, you know?
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so maegi had not been brought into the fold.

germanicus toyed a moment with several thoughts. "yes. in such a place like this, poisonings of that nature are common. but one wonders why. by all accounts, satsu was beloved and there is no outward reason she would have been killed."

but he looked at her again.
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Maegi shook her head.

Jealousy, perhaps—

Why did you take my babies from me? They were mine, mine, mine, and you took them and left me with—

I don't know, she continued, swallowing a lump in her throat. I— Could anyone have wanted Pharaoh? Wanted to have his children?

Jealousy.

"Should have been you—"

I know ways, but no one consulted me.
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germanicus was silent. 

he listened.

he nodded.

"who taught you these ways, lady maegi?" the imperator's voice was somber.
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My father. I told you, she said, frowning a bit. Had he been paying attention? She didn't blame him if not; she'd been so listless these days as to lose the majority of words thrown her way. She licked her lips.

Was that his question?

Or did he suspect her learning—or teaching—such things within the halls of Akashingo?

It's been a long time since I've dealt with poisons beyond poppies, Maegi assured him. Seasons past my life here. Whoever meant to hurt Satsu did not learn anything from me.

And she knew it to be true. A clear conscience, at least on this subject.
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#13
again an unreadable expression. maegi raised in his estimation. "your father taught you. but often these skills are learned at an order, often from one above family."

it was not a save, only an explanation.

"i will leave you."

there was no hint as to his findings here today. he only knew he must abruptly depart her presence.
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#14
Was that a threat? She couldn't tell.

Her narrowed gaze did not relax, even as he bade her farewell and left her alone again. A ball of ice had formed inside her stomach and showed no signs of melting anytime soon.

Someone had poisoned Satsu. Someone close enough to approach without concern.

Maegi sat down, then curled into a ball, lost again in her own turbulent miasma of rotten thoughts and dreams.