Two Eyes Cenote Shadows fall and hope has fled

Paging @Eset!

Long days and nights spent in the desert had made Isseya a touch bolder than when she'd first fled her home. In many ways she was still running. The physical distance was only a concept to a mind still marred by so many scars. She still woke some mornings half-expecting to find herself in her bed again. But her mornings were so much quieter now.

The sun hid behind the clouds while Isseya crept through dense brushwood, surrounded by the scents of many. She did not think it was pack land, but what did she know? Wariness kept her steps light and her gaze flickering across the horizon every so often. It had been so long since she'd spoken to anyone. Whether it was fear or anticipation buzzing in her now was anyone's guess. Either way, she meant to move on and be gone by nightfall. It wasn't far enough. Isseya wasn't sure it would ever be far enough.

Eset was thinking of the little girl from the party as she set about her daily tasks. She keeps to the near edges of the cenote, gathering florals for what would be yet another dinner in the evening. Each day was a party. She was grateful to be kept busy, though she found her focus ebbing.

A desert breeze blows sharp against her cheeks and she lifts her head to see a figure come along with it. The fellahin rises from her crop and brushes the sand from a dark foreleg.

“Welcome,” she greets the traveller, “you have reached the palace of Muat-Riya, reign of Pharaoh Muat-riya Isetnofret Toula of the Red Serpent.” A nose is gracefully inclined. “I am Eset, Pharaoh’s fellahin. How may I help you?”