11/4/2025, 12:54 AM
![[Image: dd8rnsn-3f0d7905-62c6-4066-9c31-4588d1cb...iHgzqQRbN4]](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/d2b3a0d4-24b8-4179-ad96-7bb8f88cc929/dd8rnsn-3f0d7905-62c6-4066-9c31-4588d1cb077a.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2QyYjNhMGQ0LTI0YjgtNDE3OS1hZDk2LTdiYjhmODhjYzkyOVwvZGQ4cm5zbi0zZjBkNzkwNS02MmM2LTQwNjYtOWMzMS00NTg4ZDFjYjA3N2EucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.sGIeAzj9HJrO3HXW7wAN0K4wShSrvVJW-iHgzqQRbN4)
What tension yet lingered in the air had been loosed. His shoulders - larger than a coyote's, frailer than a wolf's - slumped, and the soft breath he exhaled seemed to take the remains of his already-depleted energy reserves with it.
Mekh had spent the greater portion of his life in servitude, but perhaps another might have taken offense at the implication of his 'presentation' needing improvement. To the coywolf, however, it meant more to him than even Sitamun. One did not offer themselves to a ruling head disheveled and showing their ribs; it was a privilege, a joy, even, to be considered worthy of joining a house.
He remembered well the day he had been gifted to his Seti, and his chest ached with the feeling of loss.
You honor me,he said, bowing again. Had they both been of similar rank, the gesture might have been unnecessary, but here he was a stranger without home or master. It was Sitamun who deserved deference.
I will follow the instruction of your sesh until it is deemed fitting I may bask beneath the gaze of your pharaoh.
His stomach growled, and Mekh averted his gaze in shame. He hoped she would not speak of it; already her generosity overwhelmed him, and he felt pathetic enough coming to her in such a state as he had, in the way that he had.
It is true. Even so, the gods are merciful,he said, lifting his eyes once more. Where once there had been iron, Sitamun's gaze now held a curious empathy, and Mekh believed the statement with his whole heart. It was not coincidence that they should meet and his life be given a second chance. His ears swiveled, catching the sounds of the nearby camp; how hopeful elation soared within his chest, and the baleful eye of the red moon seemed so much more distant than it had before.
Thank you for this opportunity - I will not squander it. Take me to your sesh at your will.
