"I was about to call you a deaf old man," Teja said aloud with little thought, ducking instinctively as if she were back in the kitchens of Ubasa and Kinya were about to throw a hunk of sliced yam with pinpoint precision directly at her forehead. Zola could often dodge them, but it was hit or miss with Teja, depending on the day and the temperance of her gods-given talents.
Teja sighed dramatically, absorbing the words and the wisdom spoken from her counsel. A trusted counsel. She rested her forehead against the center of Berko's back, face now blissfully shaded from the sun (and Kinya's prolific aim) and let his words hang in the air, fateful and wise.
The water was cool, the sun blaringly hot, and the omen was a heavy weight against her tongue. Perhaps it was the stony resilience which she leaned against. Perhaps it was the stubborn and royal disposition she had grown to carry. Perhaps it was the resonant annoyance between her and her bonded one. Perhaps it was the flap of foreign and feathered wings, beating across and aloft.
Perhaps it was the sudden swell of river water that only she seemed to see.
The river did indeed swell, though not nearly as much as Teja perceived. A tall wave that surged from a playful fin of the river nymph, perhaps, that swallowed her head to toe and off her feet and pushed her violently away, towards the opposite end of the sandbar. The cool ankle-height water rose higher, reaching mid calf as the cool and refreshing water bubbled and toiled, as if all the sun's rays were being focused atop this cluster of miscreants, light and guidance and mysteries from the heavens above.
The water swelled to the point of needing to be tread and Teja, poor Teja, had her foot stuck on something keen on never letting her go.
"Keep on," she called out to her entourage, "Zakhele should be waiting for us just past the bend ahead."
---
There was something odd about the wave that washed over the entourage. It was real and it wasn't. Perhaps it was the ephemeral nature of the river nymph. Perhaps it was simply their minds, addled by the sun. It hummed with a melody that only Nasri would recognize. It carried a scent that only Kinya could place. It glinted with something gold that only Amaros could see. It washed upon Berko with a caress only his blessed skin would notice. It left a taste in Zola's mouth that only a bonded person would know.
---
THE DAY BEFORE
"You may go eat, iyaloo," Teja said softly, wiping her brow with a soft, damp cloth.
"You look overheated, princess, I don't mind."
Teja gulped, thankful the fan-bearer was too young to notice minute expressions. If it were anyone else, her day might not have gone so sweetly. The sweat sliding off her brow and racing down her neck had little to do with the arid and languid heat that suffused her chambers. She was used to it, after all, even if the past few days had been unbearable at their apex. No, the sweat and the nerves and the jittery pulse was due to her reckless decision making.
"You've been here long enough," Teja said with a final sweet smile, her voice soft but firm. "Go get us some sugared apricots and plums, hm?" Teja suppressed a giggle at his expedient departure, his padded feet swift and feather-light as he thumped down the hall. She made a mental note to always, always begin barters with the promise of sweets.
She got her breathing under control before summoning Kitoko from outside the doors of her chambers.
When they were alone, Teja simply asked: "Favor or order? Which would you prefer?"
Kitoko's legs felt stiff and yet she didn't move from her post outside of the Princess' chambers until called.
At Teja's call and question once alone after the fan bearer left, Kitoko's head gave a slight bow before it tilted slightly to the right as she thought on how to answer. It was a rather curious question, admittedly. Whatever the task that was needed from her to be voiced in private like this must have been important in some capacity. At least to Teja.
"Either way, Princess, I would do what you asked without question," She answered easily as a breeze before adding, "though what favor do you need done for you?"
A smile, as bright as Nubia's future, shone back at Kitoko. A favor? Her specialty and her preference. The young princess beckoned her royal guard towards the lounge pouf conspiratorially, her bright smile suddenly mischievous. "How far," Teja said softly as she drew near, "Can you travel on rasp-back, Kitoko? How far do you think you'd get if you left before dinner was concluded?
"I've a favor to ask of thee. A rasp is waiting for you. With provisions and weapons and a map. Could you scout the way? At least the first half. I'd like to make sure the rest of my entourage has an easy go until we reach the canyons."
When no reply came, Teja smiled sweetly and ordered her guard back outside. She waited a bit, chewing on the edge of her finger, before summoning Zakhele and repeating the entire spiel.