Lion Head Mesa When I can't say that I feel the same

@Senmut lead the way back to mesa. Khaba followed close behind, watchful and wary. 

He began to think of who may have stayed and who would have departed following Ramesses death. 

But soon, as they got closer to the palace, his thoughts cared only for @Makono. How would she greet him? Would she be pleased upon his return, or angered that he had abandoned her in her time of need?

The dark giant could think of the many possibilities as they entered the throne room where the girl would now sit in her deceased father's stead.

senmut was filled with trepidation.

this would be another test for pharaoh. a more difficult one, he suspected.

"great one," he said softly, bowing with forehead to floor and motioning khaba forward. "i have returned with the jodai."

take me home

senmut straightened. he flicked his eyes around for bayek and wondered if makono would summon the hemet qiao now or another time.

the priest remained in a place of judgement beside khaba, ready for pharaoh's gaze to be upon them both.

she had filled her morning with the faces of mazoi. she had tested the eagerness of the roman son and spoken with the medjay of running messages, giving apologies. a winter feast had no room in a place of mourning.

now she had reclined upon a throne. sayf had come with words of bundles, stores, things being prepared. her head spun and she sent him away when word traveled down halls of a return.

senmut. khaba. hem. jodai.

she had not forgot the hemet that had paid a blood price she had not owed. she had not forgot the debt that hemet was still owed nor the way senmut had suggested her as a vizier! qiao had pledged to do as the crown bid and such a promise could not be sloughed off in favor of affections.

if any bodies lingered in the room beyond the trio, she sent them off with a pointed sound. standing now. approaching the jodai and hem.

where did you go?

she hid her hurt where she hid her mourning. behind sharp lapis eyes and under muscled shoulders.

There, standing before Makono. Pharoah. It was surreal, but he could still see it. All of it.

Senmut bowed, but Khaba did not move an inch. He remained standing, eyes fixated on she who sat upon on the throne. Those same, cold eyes followed her as she stood. And then again as she spoke.

To a great lake, with a woman. And many men. For they had not been alone there. She does not speak, as I once did not. We worked alongside one another to survive the trying days. 

The days until I could come home. His gaze, sharp, yet full of warmth and pride. They alone told the rest of the story.

skippable till/unless needed again!

"khaba was very eager to come home, divine one."

senmut stood aside. he would remain in silence.

and his eyes would miss nothing.

a feverish hurt in her veins. a lake, a woman, many men. he brought no bodies back. he left them behind. but he had seemingly taken to them all the same.

had he been prepared for life beyond akashingo so swiftly?

senmut's words did nothing for her for once. she thought of qiao, of the great balance that she must balance between her shoulders with hemet and jodai.

qiao stays loyal, but not without harm. her eyes burned now and she returned to a place perched on a throne. the hem means to take your punishment. and she said no more. meaning to see now how the jodai and the hem balanced one another.

would khaba let senmut? did senmut still intend to bear whatever punishment came down?

Makono repeats the words Senmut has already shared. Qiao wants punishment. And Khaba's answer remains the same.

I have told the hem already. Whatever punishment that woman wants to give, I will bear it in full. 

That woman. Even here, before the pharoah, the man had no respect for that conniving woman. She had done so much to eat away at him; to pry for answers he had mentally fought not to give. And all for Makono's sake. Yet, here she was, siding with the woman. Intent on punishing the one man who had been loyal and obedient every step of the way.

Maybe he felt he didn't deserve the punishment. But he wouldn't be driven away again. Whatever they chose to do, he would accept it and walk away with no care. The same as he'd always done.

her gaze only briefly went to the priest in the room. then it was back upon the once jodai. that woman he said as if qiao was nothing more than a pestering fellahin.

her father had made mistakes, missteps, but makono did not see them in qiao. for it would have been all too easy for the qiao to sour against her in the moments they had spoken. instead she had given loyalty to the crown, to do the bidding as makono needed.

but khaba also did makono's bidding.

she could not pit them against one another. any punishment must end it at once. a blow for a blow, if it continued much further than that she might lose power in too great an amount.

very well. she was not here to decide who took it. perhaps that too was up to qiao to decide! what of your woman at the lake? don't tell me she is mourning and missing for you. her voice tinged with a soft humor, even if her gaze remained hard.

jealous!

His answer was not fought. She accepted it plainly, moving on to another topic. One he felt was pointless, yet she still brought it forward.

The woman at the lake. Eyes solid as ice, Khaba stared back with firmness. She did not prevent me from leaving. I doubt she cares. Or maybe she did. But he would never know the truth of it. They were feral, the lot of them. Together, we walked only as means of surviving and protecting one another. It all meant nothing more. 

Did Makono suspect there was more? The dark man searched for this answer in both her gaze and tone.

yet she thought any would be foolish to lose khaba and not care. the strength in him was plain as day. maybe she was only weak or stupid. unwilling to fight for things worth keeping.

how much did it matter? makono came out on top in the end.

the medjay has become yaret by my word. a new mazoi has joined. a son of the roman. there is something there in her gaze. i intend to send the roman son to the west for ranging on more packs, more possible connections. if he intended to resume his position of jodai then all these things he must know.

i will welcome you back as my jodai, as you are meant to be. yet know the days are longer and harder now with the shift among us.

did he wish to return to his lady by the lake? yes, she is bitter in a horribly unbecoming way.

She spoke of changes. New titles, new bodies, and even of the old title he once held. Then she spoke of long days. But were they not long already?

I care not for the length of the days, so long as my time is spent serving at your side. As I promised I would return to do.

He need not verbally accept the role. For it had always been his. Since the day it had been suggested to him, Khaba knew that it was meant for him, and him alone. Now, more so than ever, as the true pharaoh walks to command him.

then let it be.

yet she had only a warning on her tongue for him before she could release him. stay out of the eyes of qiao until i speak to her. and she looked to @Senmut now too, knowing he might play a role in keeping her ire averted until makono had given words to her.

it was a grand thing to balance. but i am sure you wish to rest now and find yourself at home once more. her gaze softened, even if only slightly.

khaba had come home. as the man was granted his rank once more, the priest straightened.

"he will stay with me where akhtar once slept, divine one." his voice offered no other recourse; senmut was filled with the confidence that makono's ascension had brought to him.

and as her loyalists he and the jodai must remain close. 

senmut was prepared now to take his leave.

Makono wanted him to hide from the hemet. 

He could have argued, but he decided not to. The two already had it worked out. Senmut even demanded he sleep with the priests! An odd place for a jodai to reside, for he should be at the side of the pharaoh.

Soon, maybe. Not yet.

Though hesitant, Khaba would accept these terms. And when Senmut departed, he would follow after to see where his new sleeping quarters would be.

last from me <3

soon she would take his company again. soon things would settle in her court.

for now she could only offer a warm, near longing, look to the jodai as he made to depart with senmut.