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Ra hummed shimmering heat down on his neck and back, but pride swelled against his chest. Once he had finally torn his gaze away from the pools of water, he had gone to fulfill his duties as a priest of Bast. One of which, being the destruction of that which could cause disease.

He was no cat. But, he was rather good at dispatching snakes.

Two hung from his jaws, limp. One almost dragged the earth. Akhtar had been walking around with them for a while, it felt, but he did so want someone to see. Maybe even praise him some for his actions. It would certainly be nice, he told himself with a preen, if he could. Especially if it was by one of his fellows. The snakes were adjusted in his jaws, a brief halt, before he pranced on again.
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 The princess sought to make herself useful, shadowing Aunt Tavina and masking the panic that rises in her chest every time she thinks of Charmion. They had lost so many. She mourns for her fellahin. She mourns for home.

 Superfluous then it would be to protest her tender paws on the sun-stained sands, or remark on a thirst that could not rightly be quenched by the oasis’ static waters. Where was the serpent?

 Merneith meanders, approaching the high priest only to gasp in shock at what coils his lithe neck.

 “Oh!” The girl exclaims, quickly shrouding horror in polite curiosity. “What are they for, hem?”

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It is not an adult who approaches. Rather, the young princess. He curves a kind smile around the bodies in his mouth, resting them on the ground at his feet.

“They are offerings.” He spoke quick, to hide the lie. They had been a vanity project, but nobody else needed to be aware of that.

“Do you know of what the cat does for our kingdom, were we to have one? Bast tasks them with removal of creeping little things. Mice and rats, even snakes. Chasing away disease before it can pounce. I am no cat, young princess, but I am compelled either way with removal of creeping things before they strike.”
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 The cat goddess— enthusiasm nods her head, the amiirad knows of Bast from her studies, though she had not ever seen a cat before. So much of the world remains cryptic to the new eyes. She decides she had better stay close to the hem, should another desert serpent seek to test them.

 “I will help you deliver them,” she moves to flank him, eager for a distraction and most pressingly to conciliate her peoples’ devotion to the Gods in this strange place. Wind sweeps over the hills fiercely and yellow sand flies across their pelts. Merneith bristles and squints her eyes, longing desperately for the comfort of her palace. The young face seeks the eyes of the priest.

 “Akhtar, why have the Gods sent us here?”

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She’s gangly with youth, when she stands beside his flank. He presses his lips into a frown, gently pressing one of the snakes her way.

“Careful when you pick it up. Its venom can still harm if you bite it wrong.” He cautions, pointing with his nails where the marks of his teeth were. He moved to grab his snake, but the question stilled him. Slowly, he raises his head, twisting it to look at the princess. His breath sighs from his nostrils, a soft sound.

“I cannot claim to be privy to exacts. But I think They brought us here to keep us safe. So much goes wrong, Princess, that They have sheltered us from.” He mused aloud, raising one paw to his chin.

“The Gods see all. Perhaps They saw something we could not. But They have saved us all, no? Perhaps we will rebuild stronger than before, as great a kingdom as any world has ever seen.” Akhtar picked up the snake as a finality, it bobbing between his teeth as he began walking with a swish of his tail for the girl to follow.
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