our universe was clothed in light

while the others wake below the earth, the son of sky finds consciousness beneath the vast blue expanse of the heavens.

the sun rises high above the horizon, soaking the earth below in warmth that would be nigh unbearable to some. but hamarkhis, who has called the desert his home from the moment he hatched, basks in the solar rays, his head tilted up and his black eyes closed in contentment.

for the first few seconds, he doesn't realize that he's somewhere else, somewhere new. perched in the boughs of one of the oasis' few trees, hidden among the fronds and the coconuts, he simply exists. a song flows through his mind, the tone of it soft and familiar; hummed in a voice so sweet that he could taste honey on his tongue.

as the last verse of the song fades away, his eyelids flutter, slowly opening.

the sight that greets him is not home.

with a startled squawk, he tips, falling from the branch he'd so carefully been roosted upon and into the open air. it's with a quick flap of his wings that he corrects his position mid-air, sparing himself from an impact with the ground below. wicked talons outstretch, and the son of iset alights upon the hot sand with naught but a clack of his beak.

"mother?" he inquires of none but the world itself. his voice seems to echo in the vast emptiness of the desert. onyx eyes scan the planes of the oasis, over trees and water and sand. a shadow flickers, and his gaze stops, catches - and there, silhouetted in the sand, her fur almost blending in with the grains, invisible to eyes not so keen as his own.

"mother!" he joyously cried, voice pitched with a shrill tone that only a bird such as he could conjure. with a hop and a step, he lifts off into the air once more, though this time steadied and intent. he makes his way to the pharaoh in a few easy beats of wing, aiming to land near her on the ground or, should she allow, with his talons gripping the slender curve of her shoulder.

once settled, he would turn curious gaze her way, "where are we? what is this place?"

---

for @@Toula ! lmk if anything needs changing !

the staff team luvs u

 she always looked up, as well as down—the comforting silhouette of one of the most precious creatures gifted to her had once been found there, when nowhere else. days, days and it was not so! she prayed—for all the unseen faces.
 they began to return… slowly. the voice of her fledgling caused her to stir, gemstone gaze wide with surprise. she moved to a stand, spinning on her heel and looking upward. and there the little creature was! the Pharaoh offered to her young creature a shoulder, smilingly calling for @Senmut so that he might see!
 “my little one,” she greets with much relief and love! before her cubs had been the egg she had looked after until it hatched. she recollected singing to it hymns of Horus, of Ra, of Iset—and when the thing came forth, she remembered carrying him most everywhere she could when he was old enough to perch! the priest had gifted her something for her shoulders to carry him—something she would need made again! but she did not flinch to feel his talons grip—they lived!
 “some place entirely new. but I am not sure, not yet,” she breathed. she looked him over and asked, “are you hurt?”

the staff team luvs u