By the time I was 23

 While the men of the oasis were primal and occupied, the women of the group were apart from Nuri, too. They knew so much that she didn’t about style and grace, and their friendships predated her. The coyote found them imperious— even if they were mere fellahin.
 But she’d allied herself, quite obviously, with Tavina, and eventually whatever closeness she’d had with her class of women largely evaporated.
 So, as she went tidying up after royal and soldier alike, she hardly expected to be interrupted unless by the sesh herself.

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Akashingo rose in a new place. It was easy to forget the bustle of the fellahin and the march of the guards when they were all hidden away within the red stones of the mesa. Here all of the Akashingo's inner workings are laid bare. Pinned to the dish and exposed to the sun overhead.

Briar was a man that preferred to hide away.

It was rare that one could walk around the oasis without being seen. The only privacy besides the water were tall ferns and dancing palms. In the barren sands you might hide in the trough of a sandy dune. Whichever you chose, you'd be exposed.

This visibility worked both ways.

It was the new coyote fellahin that caught his eye. Or rather, it was the wide berth that had been given to her. He had not yet overheard the whispers of the fellahin as to why yet. In a rare show of sociability, Briar approached the coyote.

“You are new to our kingdom.”

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 That transparency played into the coyote’s favor. Because she was nosy, she loved it. She felt in a way she’d known the entire kingdom just by virtue of being a silent observer.
 The man who approached her now was handsome, leggy, downed with light brown furs with striking two-toned eyes. She’d witnessed him converse with very few. He remained very much a mystery, and she wondered what sort of thoughts shifted beneath that impervious mask.
 “Nuri, my Lord” she stood and pulled palm leaves from her back so she could offer the man a proper bow. It was hot, another day full of sun, and the stark light shone upon them both. “Brand new,” she grinned, “Yuh kingdom's an intriguing bunch,” she declared boldly, "don't know anything about yuh, though. That why yuh came to say hello?"

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