· CALL ME OUT (SUMMER) ·

[hobbitholmes]

🌴 SUMMER

oh jason
tell me what you're chasin'
because the night will
will never give you WHAT YOU WANT

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[ifthereiswill]

They don't? I understand that I could have misinterpreted things, but it seems to me that at times, you do not agree with everything the priests say and do. And as for that, being here does not change us, isn't that correct? We can't help who we are and what priorities take focus. I suppose that in the case of the priests, they merely wish to continue doing their duty, although they have already fulfilled it.

[ Atem's expression sobers as the conversation steers towards speaking about Seto. His absence here is certainly noted. As he contemplates this, he inadvertently misses a step and briefly loses his balance, leading him to reach out to grasp Bayek's hand in order to regain his footing. ]

I suppose I do have many questions about what he did in my absence. I believed that he was the one who was most fit for ruling, and I trusted him then and I still do even now that so much time has passed.

[ Now, however, he can't help but wonder what it is that is keeping Seto from taking his rightful place here in the A'Aru. ]

What do you mean? [ He listens as Bayek speaks about events that happened following his passing, and he realizes he can't be sure what the other man means. ] You say that he made her stable and gave her new life, and yet he trusted those he should not have. I suppose I'm merely confused, because that sounds as though not all of his wishes were carried out, and if they were, his intentions were misunderstood.

[ His expression shifts yet again into something more pensive. ]

Of course, they cared very much, and I imagine that they still do even now. Mana was always very good at finding her way into areas some thought she should not be.

[ As for him, tradition and protocol aside, he tended to not believe in certain areas being off-limits to cetain people. That is, barring any sacred areas belonging to the gods. Everything else was fair game, at least in his mind, to the chagrin of the priests. ]

[baeyek]

My mistrust lies in the authority of those who do not wield it in sake of the people. The Priests under you do so. I will respect them even if I do not agree with all that they seek or say to do.

[ Bayek's hand immediately steadies the young Pharaoh's. He looks down at him, and a gentle smile can be seen from around the edges of his hood. It would seem the Pharaoh does need more time from his Palace. The smile turns into one of a humorous note before he continues down the path.

The path tilts downwards into a set of carved stairs. They are soft at the edges, having clearly decayed in time of being unattended to. At the bottom of them is a small opening that light streams from. Bayek extinguishes the torch. He keeps his comments until they have stepped outside into the light once more.

They step outside of the confines of the palace to be greeted by a lackluster sight. Canyon walls loom over head and Bayek simply gestures to the distance that they are. His intention is to take the young Pharaoh up high so that he might view the city of Thebes from above. He will be able to see the way in which the city sprawls and her people move about. Across the water lies the places in which tombs were kept for the Kings and Queens in the land of the living. Doorways, if one knows how to use them.

It is a short distance to the canyon wall, even if it hardly looks as such. He whistles and from behind the palm trees comes his ever faithful steed. A large camel, surprisingly lacking in riches and adornments other than what a regular merchant might have, strides to them. Bayek holds the reigns and gives the beast a loving pat on the side. ]

He will take us the short distance and up the path. From there, we climb.

[ Bayek turns, offering his hands to help the Pharaoh onto the second seat of the camel. Then, he pulls himself up and tugs on the reigns. With a gentle click of his tongue and pressing his feet into the sides, the camel starts off in the direction the former Medjay has decided to go. ]

Egypt was unstable at first. Few of your Priests remained among the world of the living by the battle's end, a fewer in the remaining weeks and months. It took a great many people under his direction to change the way Egypt had existed and steer her in a new direction. What few Priests remain aided him, but those beneath them sought to conspire. They aimed to manipulate from behind the scenes to lead Egypt down their path. They used aliases and wore masks to hide their identity. They called themselves the Order of the Ancients.

My wife, Aya and I... we hunted each one of them down. We slew them like the wild beasts of the desert and left them to the crows. [ He glances behind him at the Pharaoh that now technically sits higher than him. ] We made our own Order, that named of Amun, to hide in the shadows and stop those that sought to harm the people of Egypt through their machinations of power and control. It took many years, but we were successful. By then, Pharaoh Seto had outlawed the use of your Shadow Games. The spirits bound to those tablets had been released and the art of bringing forth those mighty creatures ceased.

He even enlisted the aid of another from Greece to help him in such endeavors. Although, I only saw her face once. It was Aya that saw her from our lands to her homeland.

[ A frown touches his face as he recalls the foreign woman. Now that his mind brings forth the memories? The woman he escorted from the Duat bore a striking resemblance to the one that Aya was tasked to see safely home. Perhaps he will ask her of it once he returns to Siwa. ]

I imagine she remains good at finding those places! She is fond of you. [ There is a tone of teasing in his voice then. ] You speak of your time among the living as a ghost fondly, Atem. What wonders graced the world after our time had passed?

[ifthereiswill]

Yes, that is something I've encountered quite a few times in the- well, the modern world, I suppose you would call it. It seems that there are those who would do anything to grasp power, and once they have it, their only interest is in pursuing their own goals without a care for anyone else.

[ If Bayek is looking, he'll notice a hint of red creeping its way along the back of Atem's neck. It's not embarrassment, exactly, but Bayek seems to be so assured of himself, who he is, and the role he plays, whereas Atem is still trying to resume his footing. Of course he knows that this is where he belongs, as it's where he was born and where he grew up, but even though he was thought of as the displaced Pharaoh in the living world, he feels as though he's still displaced even now that he's resumed his place in the afterlife.

He just hopes that the somewhat strenuous nature of the trail they're on and the progress they make as they go on their way to wherever Bayek's leading them will prevent the other man from noticing that his thoughts are leading him to a slightly thorny place. ]

I gather this is something you've done more than once. [ Bayek's footing is sure without even an ounce of hesitation, and while it seems to him that Bayek is confident in nearly everything he does, there's just a sort of familiarity in the way he carries himself and walks that makes Atem think this isn't the first time he's walked this path.

Once they're both settled on the camel, Atem resumes listening attentively to Bayek's words. He's been paying rapt attention this whole time, but something about attempting to climb onto a camel tends to pull focus. His expression sobers as he listens to what the other man has to say, and the picture that he paints is hardly a pretty one. ]

The two of you managed to do all of that? That must have been no small feat.

[ A small smile returns as Atem's thoughts turn once again to Mana and her- well, her rather spirited nature. ] She is, just as I'm very fond of her.

[ And of course, he is, but it's a certain kind of fondness: the one between very good and close friends. ]

There were so many things. [ He isn't quite sure where to begin, but he finally decides on one of the many things he imagines Bayek might not be familiar with. ]

There is one particular invention that they call an airplane; you go inside it and it can take you anywhere you wish to go: to a city or even to another country. [ A bird flies above them at that precise moment and Atem points to it. ] You can fly as the birds do.

[ In a manner of speaking, anyway. ]

[baeyek]

(yeet)