Lion Head Mesa no more listless invitations
Muat-riya
Hemet

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#1
All Welcome 
one of nazli's favorite duties involved the wellspring.

when nobody was around, she could enter the chamber and pretend all manner of things. the air here was refreshingly cool; sometimes the water smelled, but it did not take long for her to clean it.

if she worked quickly enough, nazli could use the remainder of her time to tip her toes in; never for long, and always with an eye on the door.

today she did not have much to tend to — giving her ample time to lounge, sprawling on one of the stone slabs by the water's edge, looking very much like a proper neb.

nazli was growing steadily in to her body now. she was lean, almost gaunt; an athletic girl as required of a fellahin. little by little though, she resembled jawahir less, and vaguely, the deceased queen.

such things nazli did not notice, even with the pristine mirror of the wellspring to look at.
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#2
Maegi interrupted the girl's reverie without meaning to, a ghostly shadow through the threshold of the wellspring.

She gave a nod to Nazli without meeting the young one's eyes and entered the water, sighing as the grime and pain of days past billowed from her, both physical and figurative. She closed her eyes, which fluttered upward beneath her limbs.

She paddled in the shallows, concentrating on the space she felt around her. Her toes skimmed the bottom—well, all but her clubbed foot.

Her womb still ached. She didn't know if it would ever cease.
Muat-riya
Hemet

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#3
a figure swept through the doorway.

nazli was almost too content to notice, but she opened her eyes halfway to the sound of claws upon the stone, and then fully when she saw the stark white coat of the stranger; her mind went to the gilded king of the mesa.

she sat up and practically toppled off the slab of stone. her front paws, with their does almost numb from the water, drew messy streaks where the water smeared the floor.

unsure of what to do, nazli watched the woman — but she looked distracted, or disinterested in the servant. she cleared her throat and stood at-attention by the edge.

um, m..miss, please let me know if i can do anything, if you need... anything. she swallowed thickly and looked at her soggy feet.
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#4
No.

Her voice cut through Nazli's acquiescence, her eyes trained in front of her. Wading, the water billowing in rings around. . .

The memory of labor pains, tight in her belly.

She swiveled, then, surveying the girl with sharp bi-colored eyes. 

You're so young, she remarked, frowning. Shouldn't I be looking after you?

A sweet, whole girl; Maegi longed to clutch her to her breast, despite the young woman being beyond weaning. Her head ached, and she stumbled, lips going under;

Saved herself, head lurching upward;

She staggered to the shallows and shore, skull pounding per usual.
Muat-riya
Hemet

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#5
a refusal.

nazli nodded and then waited patiently, eyes averted from the bathing nebet.

the next comment stunned the girl; she blinks owlishly with darkening eyes not quite at their adult shade; shouldn't i be looking after you?

i am a fellahin, miss. as if that answered for everything. how queer a thought, that a nebet might take fondly to their servant! but nazli was surprised and charmed.
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#6
Maegi settled on her side with a huff, the girl's response reedy and thin through the blood thundering in her ears. She shook her head to clear any water, and even that slight movement was enough to send her into a dizzy spell. She closed her eyes, breathing deep.

That doesn't matter. You're still young. Maegi herself had been an unwelcome presence as a child, but still a child. And all children deserved to be loved and treated like children.

Her eyelids slowly, slowly lifted. What is your name? she asked, her voice quite soft. 

She had the pointed look of the coyotes and coywolves here—would her brood be the same? Thinking of them turned her stomach, though; she'd much rather focus her attention on this quiet, thoughtful girl here.
Muat-riya
Hemet

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#7
Did the nebet think that Nazli suffered? The girl did not understand the show of concern. She had never had a motherly figure in her life (unless you thought of Tavina, which was more like a mentoring aunt situation, but close enough) and the interest was perplexing, but also somewhat embarrassing, only because Nazli didn't know how to feel or what to do with this new kind of garnered interest.

I am Nazli. The girl lowers her head in a small bow and closes her eyes at the same time, for only a second, and then adjusts back to the patient positoin she had been in before.

The woman stumbled and immediately Nazli was there at the edge, looking intently upon her slick white coat as Maegi came to the shallows, checking for injuries with a sweep of her eyes and finding nothing obvious. Are you well, miss?
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#8
Nazli. Before she could make further inquiries, the girl asked about her health. Maegi shook her head, and said, frankly, I've been better. 

Another wave of nausea rolled over her, and she resisted the urge to vomit, though she knew it would be little more than water with the sparse diet she kept these days.

Nazli, can you fetch me some poppy seeds? she asked wearily. You know what those look like, right?

She figured Tavina would have instructed the young fellahin on all the various tools of service, including herbs and medicine, but wanted to make sure before she sent Nazli on a wild goose chase.
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#9
poppy seeds.

do not touch them, tavina had once warned her.

ah, yes, i know what they are. nazli's voice was a touch more muted, worried. she wanted to be a good fellahin and alleviate whatever ailed the nebet.

i.. may take some time. i have been told they are a very strong medicine. but i will see what i can do. her voice started with caution, rolling in to a flurry of sounds - hastily animated by the need to please.

nazli bows her head a few times as she speaks, then begins to step away. i will be as quick as i can, miss.
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#10
They are, she told Nazli gravely. She found the younger wolf's gaze, serious. Wrap them in a leaf—keep them from your tongue. They will affect you otherwise.

She felt bad; she didn't mean to put such an errand on a girl. Even if she'd been a girl when she had learned the magic of poppies.

It was a dark magic. She wouldn't put it on Nazli.

Be careful, she whispered as the fellahin left, letting her cheek fall upon the stone floor, wearied.
Muat-riya
Hemet

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#11
she knew where @Tavina kept them. it was not hard to find the grains if black, although it felt wrong to traipse through the woman's private quarters to rummage through her medicines.

when she returned to maegi, she had a large leaf folded like a star and a mass of seeds tucked within. it was messily done but effective; she would not lose a single grain to her tongue or the ground.

she placed this at maegi's side, upon a flat shard of stone.
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#12
Good girl. She said as much, already relaxing at the mere sight of the medicine. She lapped up the poppies without hesitation and stretched out more, the shadows of her ribs shifting as she breathed, in, out, in. . .out. . .

Sometimes. . .they give you terrible dreams, Maegi murmured, after a moment of silence. More often than not. But at least you're asleep, and not in pain.

She hoped Nazli would never have to experience such pain.

Eventually, they parted ways, whether it be the girl on another errand or Maegi shuffling back to her quarters, ready to tackle whatever nightmares were in store for her this sleep.