no pretended brother will ever have your crown ☥

 it was @Taliba and @Mesen-ka whom the amiir had chosen to take with him upon excursion.
 blood stained the sands to announce where he had walked from one altar to another. pigeons, scorpions, a fawn antelope; sacrificed over the course of many hours with great effort.
 he felt aged. he felt ageless, and as he turned his steps to seek the medjay and his child, khaemwaset found his own voice highflung and joyous, a shout of praise to Horus.

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Taliba's transition into the work of a mazoi was not met with any fanfare. Nonetheless, it was sooner than she anticipated that she stand at the shouldrer of one of the royals. Sooner than she felt ready for, but now she worked alongside her father. He at the prince's right hand, and her at the left. It did not surprise her that the amiir chose her father for his retinue, but she was a tenderfoot.

She needed to work hard to impress.

Taliba's individual interactions with Khaemwaset could be counted on one paw; he was not the most sociable prince. Nonetheless, the boy's ambitions did not escape her. Perhaps he hadn't noticed her witness him sit upon his parents' thrones as small pups. Perhaps he did. Taliba could not recall; she didn't stir him from where he sat that day.

She did her utmost not to disturb his work this day, either.

Diligently, his chosen gifts to the gods were carried, processed, and provided. Crimson wept upon the altars. Iron hung heavy in the air.

When the amiir turned, she rallied alongside him with her own wordless cry.

Praise to Horus!
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Nephew is making moves to come up in the world! And his daughter is of age to begin assisting the prince and princess now. A horrible reality, truly! What is a father to do over a daughter that is growing? Her cheeks are less squishable now and he's debated how easy it would be to pick her up in his loving jaws again to revert the girl back into a helpless whelp. Slim to none, it seemed.

No matter. She'll be a worthy sparring partner for him. She will always lose, but it would be cute to see her try. It almost forms a tear to his sunfire eyes. Almost. 

It is the first time Taliba shadows the prince. They sing their praises, but Mesen-ka's does not arrive without a warning to distant wildlife. But he lands an expectant look to Taliba during his call. His nephew's in a good mood!
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 he had not seen her there that auspicious day, and it did not matter. powerfully built, ready for war, he saw taliba as a tool of the kingdom and her father besides. to have them both assured victory. "pharaoh, her Consort, and the High Priest have decided i am to go abroad," said the prince, noticing belatedly that taliba wore a pair of stunning eyes, hawk's-wrought and watchful, like her song.
 some vague notions came to him, but now he stood proud. "i would like you to ready yourselves. i would like to depart in some weeks. gather what you need. first we will seek out these lands of water, and then we will go elsewhere."
 a pause. "i am to bring gifts. we will have more to carry, but this should not be of any account," he decided for them all, a subtle warning not to fail. "should i be able to procure glory for akashingo, you will be rewarded."
 for he would have changed Ma'at, and proclaimed himself heir, and thus be in a place to decide such things.

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