Lion Head Mesa sedjet

when maegi departed, ramesses did not waste a moment. he rose stiffbacked and mercurial from his throne, and ordered @Gucci brought to him at once.
the diminutive little neb would find the alabaster man pacing his chambers in long steps that ceased when gucci joined him.
there was no wine here, no long meal. "the noblewoman maegi finds herself in the predicament of a pregnancy without a legitimate father. her children will be bastards and nameless unless she marries a man of her own rank." he studied gucci. "the only one here who is yet unmarried and fit for this responsibility is you. i believe you should agree to marry maegi and claim the children as your own. i will declare it so before akashingo, that you are their father and even their sire. i will not be questioned in this claim. speak now."

he was nearly tripping over his paws as he hurried to the throne room. how long was it since he last personally spoke with the pharaoh? need'a hurrry, need'a hurry.

his collar announced him long before entering. the neb halted upon seeing the ruler not seated, but pacing as if agitated.

"your majesty." he lowered his head until his batty ears nearly touched the ground, his heart pounding.

just as wild thoughts of being expelled from the mesa from some to him minor but to the pharaoh supermassive slight began to upheave his brain - the gold-caped man spoke.

gucci's mouth parted in a shocked little "o".

he needed a moment to recover from this freight train of information. he glanced quickly at the man to determine if this was a joke - before shaming himself for thinking the king would be in the state for humour.

"...ah." he cleared his little throat. "yea, ah comprehend. n- n sure, ah shall do anythan' t' help poor may-jee's predicament, 's jus'-" the toy breed hesitated.

a deaf bat could taste they ain't mine.

"-how would th' marriage be officiated?"

pardon the holdup <3

ur 500% fine, i typed that and this on mobile lol

gucci did not protest and ramesses slumped back against the foot of his throne in mock relief. "it cannot be done until the mourning is through." a sickening pang raced through him; satsu, satsu! "the gods will not bless a union made in haste."
he wanted to hear her laughter. why had he not amused her more in the time that they have been given? 
tears stung his eyes and thickened his throat but when he turned his head back toward gucci he had composed himself. "and then it can be done with any aplomb or ceremony the two of you preferred. lady qiao or our priest akhtar may oversee."
"there is also the matter of prince charles' marriage to princess lilitu of brecheliant." he shut his eyes a moment. "such irony, to go from pain to feasts."
and treva. was she prepared yet for her new role? he thought not, for he had not even gone yet to see her.

gucci's mouth was a tight line. marriage, gods. he felt the bit of serenity he'd made for himself within the mesa threaten to slip away from him. again, tavina's suggestion came to mind.

oh, why couldn't he simply grow aged in peace and ignorance?

the neb exhaled. 

"ah'll see what m' wife-t'-be would prefer, ah know she got her own..." a paw waved in some stunted gesture. "beliefs."

only after saying that did his heart begin to truly thunder louder than before. wife. goodness gracious, what'd he gotten himself?!

he continued, ignoring the drumbeat in his ears.

"as fer th' other marriage, is miss lay-lay-toe, ehm... with?" the euphemism felt awkward even to himself. "-coz yeah she's fram them neighbours o' ours, n ah wouldn't want 'em thinkin' we prioritize our own o'er good friendship."

the idle prattling between them, not so idle but practiced, easy, predictable; it slowly restored ramesses until his head lifted proudly on its poured-cream neck. "we do prioritize our own. prince charles is a man i knew long ago. he sired a litter on the foul bitch who led the saints when i lived with them. the saints are our enemies. so you see how tying his bloodline to this palace immediately maneuvers those brutes below us."
he was speaking in blocks, energized with frenzy beneath it once more.
"the princess lilitu has asked for an escort to find her sister. i have promised to provide this, and i shall." he regarded gucci with all the prevailing venom of a test to come. "delay her journey as long as you are able. it would be more beneficial should she fall pregnant by her new intended before she leaves akashingo."

the dog nodded. after the left-field strike that the pharaoh began the meeting with, gucci now felt as if he could take in and understand the information presented much better.

"so if them saints do attack, they'd see their own da' defendin' th' door? real clever, your majesty." despite it likely being incredibly simple politics and matchmaking, gucci thought it a genuinely clever move to be made in practice.

then, another order. this again shook the little man a bit, but he'd decided to keep himself cool as a fridged beer.

"comprehendin'." he sharply nodded. "now, as mah presence ain't no aphrodisiac, ah think it'd be useful t', uhm, melt 'em both a lil'? find some way outside th' - important - mournin' t' get 'em gettin' friendly?" his brows scrunched as he wracked his brain for ways to keep the girl from leaving.

the debatable morality of doing so didn't yet get to him. the extrovert high was guiding his words.

ramesses arched a brow. gucci was becoming swiftly surprising in this moment. not only had he acquiesced to a marriage on its first announcement, but now he sought to plot deliciously against charles and lilitu.
"the princess is untried. insistent. charles is rather loathe to approach the duties of his rank. they are unlikely and only agreed to couple for political purposes." he paused thoughtfully. "you might find them a true aphrodisiac." a smirk flowered to life on his mouth. "charles enjoys the berries and she partakes socially. it would not be unheard of for a young royal pair to be offered a new dish during a dinner of celebration, for instance."
"you should know that maegi claims to have a husband, though he was not present when she was brought starving and sickly to my court, and also not when she — was blessed by Iset."

the thought of plotting against someone was hardly on his mind. goodness gracious no, what was talked about here was surely not so severe a conspiracy! after all, these two had agreed to marry, correct? so, this was merely a conversation about nudging them in the correct direction. miss lilitu could always find her sister later, and charles, well... it seemed as if marriage would actually benefit him a bit. get his nose out the berries, maybe.

but rationalising his plans wasn't on his mind, just the rapid fire of words and then the waiting to see if the right ones were said.

still, the concept of getting people inebriated for the purposes of sex, it certainly nudged his moral compass a bit - but the thought that surely it wasn't immoral if they both were drunk bulldozed over it.

so, he nodded again, as a good dog does, and said; "ah shall see wi' th' fell-ah-heen 'bout them preparin' some dish o' concoction t' git em pair in a good mood. could kinna combine mine n theirs marriage announcements n throw a party, make it harder t' guess at what's happenin'."

and the conversation again went to maggie.

gucci blinked. now the needle of his morals was spinning wildly in search of a good man's north. marriage was a strange thing to apply to non-humans, yes, but still he imagined there was some sanctity to previous agreements.

"w- well, 's long as she's agreed t' this - w- which ah hope she did?" the neb looked at his pharaoh uncertainly. "ah mean, hope ya understand tha' if th' man comes back for his wife, ah'd wouldn't be likely t' duel him for mah honour." he adjusted his stance so more of his could be seen. "n he'd likely think me another o' her kids. ya think ah could fool 'im if ah latched on a nipple?"

gucci chuckled, very, very nervously.

for a long moment ramesses only gazed very steadily at gucci with an unmoving countenance.
and then he began to laugh, harder and more vitally than he had in a long time, a rich, resplendent sound which filled the throne room and poured out into the hall. he pictured maegi swatting her tiny husband away from her breasts and laughed harder, doubling over until he lay on the floor in a spasm of giggling.
"you are truly delightful, gucci. to think," ramesses said, sitting up again, "i never would have known it had i not prevailed upon you to be married." he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes and gathered his composure.
"when maegi is not indisposed, we will have a small dinner. yourselves, the prince and princess, and myself."
ramesses found he was unsure of when to announce treva.
satsu; her face filled his memories and they clawed at his soul.
"and yes, she agreed to it." what a contemptuous little meeting. "she agreed to you by name, gucci. it is said and done. when she has recovered, i will set sayf to discovering a proper wing of apartments for yourselves and your children."

gucci regretted saying anything very, very much.

that silence of the pharaoh seemed filled with such scorn and judgement that the dog fell quiet, shamed. his little mouth parted finally to stutter out a profound apology for not considering current happenings - when the pharaoh laughed.

the sound came in waves, each rolling over gucci and confusing him further, having moments ago decided he personally killed comedy. there was a frozen expression that mixed three different emotions on his face as it continued, until the pharaoh was on the ground laughing.

gucci's brain was an error screen.

finally, it ceased. the neb looked caught in an emotional crossfire a second longer, then blinked and fixed his face into a pleasant smile.

back to talk of arrangements and politics. he nodded as he'd been doing.

"ah'll be lookin' forward t' it. the dinner, ah mean, but also th' family livin'. will get mahself n th' wife fine n proper for th' party." his smile curved more strongly. the wife. oh joseph and mary, what'd he get himself in?

and why was he so damn giddy about it?

he bent his head. "thank ya for all your kindness n good thinkin', your highness."

ramesses felt the first flush of delight beginning to waver. he was pleased that he would not have to order the dog away, that gucci was observant enough to understand their discourse was coming to an end. "give her time. send your messages through tavina until maegi is well enough to receive you."
the implication was twofold. ramesses was as amused with the thought of gucci siring a true litter of his own with a wolf as he was taken with the impending marriage between he and maegi.
"thank you for your company, gucci. you may come back tomorrow."
it was not an invitation but a command; yet he knew that the neb would comprehend this. and so he fell into a comfortable silence, bemusement dancing upon his handsome face.

the neb gave another deep bow, letting his pharaoh's word be the last. he excited the ruler's presence giving off an air of casual dominance and composure befit his standing.

it wasn't until he was far enough from the throne room that even his dogtag's tinkling couldn't reach it, that he stopped, sat, and pressed both forepaws to his snout.

a little squeak-sqeal still escaped his attempt to dam it.

wife! for him! merciful mother mary, a wilder thing he'd never dream! 

and her children! his! perhaps to the ramesses's kind, to the wolves and 'yotes, it seemed a different matter entirely, but what the pharaoh promised him was the nearest thing to the human concept of ownership. of adoption. of family.

his.

shaking with delight, the little nobleman headed for his rooms, to do more squealing and kicking.