Mahes set up his bedroll near the entrance of the cave. At least that way he could feel the breeze floating through the opening, and if he looked up, he could catch a few glimpses of starlight through the vines draping down over the entryway.

Bakari snored at the other end of the cave. The sound reminded Mahes of the purr of a cat. He'd seen a cat- once. She'd snuck into the tomb one night, chasing vermin. Mahes had sat still and watched her sniff the shadows. After some time, she'd curled into his lap and purred.

It was one of the happier nights of Mahes's youth. The warmth of her small body comforted him, made him feel less alone in the dark. But his father took her away. He was afraid Mahes would hurt her...because of the demon in him. Mahes fisted his hands into his sleeping roll. He loathed the creature inside of him, and the gold hair that forced him to be alone his whole life.

Though, he supposed he wasn't alone anymore. He peered through the dim firelight at the thief sleeping across from him.

A noise made Mahes jerk. It was a long wail of vowels that ended with an upturn of pitch that made Mahes's pulse quicken. He had no way of guessing the nature of the creature making the noise. It was neither cat, horse, nor human, and those were the only creatures Mahes had ever come into contact with. He sat up, listening. Bakari had already explained the buzz of the locusts to Mahes before he went to sleep, but the whining sound was unlike anything he had ever imagined. Then an unsettling thought occurred to him- could the sound be the wail of demons? Perhaps the ones that hadn't found light-haired children as hosts screamed at night when people slept?

He glanced at Bakari. The thief didn't stir or flinch at the sound, but that didn't mean anything. Bakari seemed a little too comfortable with the knowledge that he harbored something evil within him, so the cries of other demons might not be enough to wake him from sleep.

Gathering his courage, Mahes tiptoed outside. He shivered in the night, but the stars still managed to fascinate him despite the chill, and his fears. Mahes looked around but saw nothing. For a moment the night was quiet save the soft hum of locusts. Then another sharp cry pierced the air and Mahes backed up his steps until he was in the cave once more.

He stared at Bakari again, longing for the peace that the tomb robber had, but the wails outside grated on Mahes's nerves and courage both. Eventually, he walked over to Bakari, sitting beside the thief.

"Hyenas," Bakari muttered.

Mahes twitched at the sound of his voice. "I thought you were sleeping?"

Bakari snorted. "Trying to, you're moving about too much."

"I was quiet," Mahes snapped.

Bakari popped open a single eye. "Doesn't matter. I've had to learn to sleep lightly."

A volley of yips turned Mahes's attention back to the entrance. "And those hy-hyenas? Are you sure they're not demons without a vessel?"

"Oh fucking gods, Mahes. No demon talk while I'm trying to sleep."

Mahes's jaw clenched. "You need to take demons more seriously, Bakari. Just because you think you can control yours doesn't mean it can't also control you."

Bakari sat upright. His blanket slipped into his lap, revealing a delightful twist of stomach and chest muscles hidden beneath clay-colored skin.

"Mahes. Listen. They are hyenas. They're hunters. If you were alone and wounded in the desert they would be your death, but as long as we're here with the fire, we're fine. Build it up and sleep over here if you're concerned."

It made sense, that the fire would protect them. Fire was powerful; it cleansed. Mahes looked down at his covered arms and shuddered.

He ended up following Bakari's advice, feeding the flames until sweat made his robes cling to his body. Mahes hated the itching, damp feeling the cloth gave his skin, wished he could sleep nude like Bakari, but the robes needed to stay on. He couldn't let Bakari see what was underneath them.

Lying near- though not too near- Bakari, Mahes felt himself relaxing. One could hardly blame him. True, he wanted his freedom. However, his world had gone from a mere tomb to endless horizons in the span it took Ra to ride his chariot across the sky and then back through the Duat again. Who could blame him for being a touch overwhelmed?

Bakari was the closest thing to familiar that Mahes had, so it made sense that, even with their mats a respectable distance from each other, merely the presence of the thief beside him helped Mahes fall asleep.

Bakari's hands were full, so he woke Mahes by using his foot to shake Mahes's shoulder.

"Hey, brat, wake up."

He did wake up, swinging at the thief who avoided the punch by lifting his foot.

"You're such an ass." Mahes stood up and straightened his robes.

"An ass who brought breakfast. Want to eat it outside with me?"

Bakari grinned when he saw Mahes's mouth drop slightly. The tomb keeper nodded his head and they went outside and sat on a ledge of rock, their feet dangling below them. He passed a jar of beer and a loaf of bread over to Mahes.

He noticed Mahes made a face after biting into his bread, washing it down with beer. "What is it now?"

Mahes twisted his mouth into a knot. "It has a taste."

"Food tends to have a taste."

"You know what I mean. It has an off taste."

"It's bread! Shut up and eat it!"

"It has a...a..." Mahes struggled for the proper description. "A wild taste, like a plant taste."

Bakari furrowed his brows. "Do you mean the coriander? What's wrong with you? You've never had coriander bread before?"

Mahes gave him a lost stare, and Bakari couldn't help but feel bad. The old, crazy tomb keeper had no right to deny his own child the basic comforts. Bitterness and bile rose up Bakari's throat. It didn't seem right that such a horrible father got to live while...but it didn't matter. It was the way things were, and they both needed to deal with that. Bakari turned away.

"I don't care if you eat it or not, but don't expect anything else from me because that's all I have to give you."

Mahes grumbled something under his breath, but took another bite, washing each mouthful down with a swallow of beer.

Bakari sighed, trying to think of something to ease the mood. He pointed below them to the valley. "That's where we'll train."

"You're not touching me again."

"No. I won't. We'll try something a little different today."

Mahes looked at Bakari, setting his empty jar down. "What?"

He shrugged. "You'll see. Ready?"

Mahes nodded. He looked eager to start, so Bakari stood up and led him down the path. He pointed out two sunbirds hunting for insects to feed their young, knowing that animals were still a strange topic to the former tomb guardian.

Bakari found a calm, shady area with plenty of room. He turned to Mahes, holding out his hands as if to calm a panicked horse. "Okay, last time was a little...rough. I promise I won't touch you this time. Instead, I thought maybe it'd be better if we start again by me showing you my, uh, demon." It annoyed Bakari that he couldn't just call it his ka, but Mahes would argue even if Bakari did explain the truth, so he didn't bother.

"Are you sure that's safe?"

"Yes. That's the point. I'll show you, watch."

Using his will, Bakari summoned Diabound. Mahes's mouth dropped open at the sight of him. The light from Diabound reflected in Mahes's blue-lotus colored eyes, making their color more intense. "Th-that's... your...demon?"

"His name is Diabound. It's important to know their names."

"He - it - it doesn't look...evil."

Bakari raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever thought that maybe good and evil aren't such simple things?"

Mahes crossed his arms over his chest, the sleeves of his robes draped across his arms. "Did your demon tell you that?"

This time, Bakari did roll his eyes. He recalled Diabound. "If you noticed, he wasn't trying to kill us."

"But he looked dangerous enough."

"Yes," Bakari agreed. "I would never use him without a reason." Bakari thought of the one person he did want to attack with Diabound. His nails curled into his palms and he clenched his hands into fists. Bakari snapped himself back to the present, exhaling to clear his mind.

"You should try calling yours again. Think of a strong emotion. Anger works best for me."

Mahes stared at the ground. "I don't know what to think about."

"Nothing makes you mad?"

Mahes shrugged.

"Really? All those years locked underground and you're not even a little mad about that? You didn't even know what a horse was."

"That wasn't anybody's...fault. It had to be done."

"Yeah?" Bakari crossed his arms over his chest, matching Mahes's body language. He'd promised not to touch him, but he never said he wouldn't prod at the brat's emotions. "Still. It's not really fair, is it? Your whole life - your entire damn life - locked underground-"

"Shut up."

"You never saw the sun-"

"Shut up."

"And why? Because you have beautiful hair-"

"I said shut up!" Mahes all but shrieked.

And Bakari saw it, a flick of wings, a flash of a golden coat similar to Mahes's hair. The rock walls shook around them with a sound like thunder.

Then it was gone, and Mahes leaned against the nearest rock wall, sliding down and hugging his knees.

Bakari knelt in front of him, reaching out. He paused, holding his hand just above Mahes's shoulder. "Good. You did good. Better than last time, right? You just need to stop repressing him when he comes out."

"I don't like it," Mahes muttered, voice angry.

"I know, but that's why we're doing this," said Bakari. "It will get better."

Without thinking further, Bakari dropped his hand down onto Mahes's shoulder. Mahes immediately jerked away. "I said don't touch me!" he screamed, instinctively shrinking away from the touch.

"I didn't mean to-" Bakari started, immediately pulling his hand back as he realized what Mahes thought he was about to do. Mahes didn't seem to hear him. His face bore a look of distress and then suddenly he started retching, and a moment later he had thrown up, with most of the mess happening to land directly on Bakari's sandalled feet.

"Ugh, what the hell!" yelled Bakari, jumping backwards and kicking futilely at the sand in an attempt to dislodge the sick from his feet. "I wasn't going to mess with your robes, I was just trying to be reassuring!"

At Bakari's words, Mahes looked momentarily abashed, dropping his gaze to the ground. "Sorry, I just panicked for a minute there." Bakari sighed, giving Mahes a stern glare. "I feel better now. I'm sorry. Really," Mahes said, though he still felt a bit warm and queasy.

"Alright, well, we've done enough training for today," said Bakari, seeming willing enough to move past what had happened, though he scoffed and continued to kick at the sand. "Let's try to do something more relaxing. I know a place I think you'll like- and besides, I need to deal with what you've done to my feet, and I can do that there." With that, Bakari set off to the east without looking back.

Mahes didn't say a word, still embarrassed about what had happened; he merely followed Bakari as he led him through the desert, until they reached the place Bakari was taking him. His eyes widened when he saw it, a tiny gasp escaping from his throat.

The blue pool of the oasis spread out before him, the light of Ra sparkling on its surface. Reeds grew along the edge of the water, and Mahes knew from his reading that these were the plants used to make papyrus, the very substance that created the pages from which he'd learned about the world. He looked on in awe, seeing a lotus flower or two floating on the surface of the water, and when he examined the scene more closely he saw burrows in the sand along the shore.

"Fennec foxes," Bakari said blandly when he saw him looking.

But it was daytime and the foxes weren't out yet, and the small rodents that would have been the foxes' prey scampered near their feet.

One of the tiny rats ran up and stared at Mahes, rearing up on its hind legs to get a better look, its sides expanding and contracting as it breathed in a way that made it seem nervous and shy. It looked so soft and so adorable that Mahes impulsively knelt down and put out his hand, and when he did the animal climbed right up onto his wrist, its feet tickling his skin in a way that made him laugh. But when it tried to go up his sleeve, he had to capture its pulsing body in his fist and remove it. It looked at him with beady eyes and he stroked its head and smiled, and then set it down to let it go on with its rodent business. It ran off, and Mahes watched as its twitchy tail disappeared into the brush.

Mahes chanced a look at Bakari and saw his own smile reflected in his face, though he immediately glanced away when he saw Mahes looking.

Mahes averted his gaze as well, focusing on the scene before him again in time to see a bird take flight. He recognized it from pictures he'd seen; it was a sparrow, and though he knew it was considered a pest, it seemed no less glorious to him than the exalted swallows he'd read about.

But his focus came back to the thief again when Bakari suddenly broke the silence.

"Hey, remember that bread you complained about?" he asked, his voice sounding a little gruff. "This stuff, here- cilantro- that's what it was seasoned with. That's where we get coriander."

Bakari motioned to some plants among the reeds, and Mahes looked on with interest. By that time, Bakari had removed his sandals, and was dipping his feet into the water, washing them.

"I suppose you won't, since you're weird about taking off your robes, but you really ought to get in with me," he said. "I don't know how else you expect to bathe. I suppose you don't know this, but out here, it's not a big deal to be naked. Slaves are naked most of the time. I don't get what your deal is."

With that, Bakari suddenly dropped his robes, the cloth slipping down over his shoulders, revealing his muscled back, then his taut rear end and his sculpted legs, the fabric falling into a pool on the sand as Bakari slowly lowered himself into the water.

Mahes looked, then tried not to look, then realized he wasn't feeling so well. Ra had been beating down on him for a while now, and suddenly he couldn't ignore the heat that seemed to radiate from every inch of his skin, and the sweat that was gathering underneath his heavy robes. The feeling of being sick returned, and he gagged and coughed and before he knew it he was involuntarily leaning forwards, right over the place where Bakari happened to be resting in the water, and he vomited directly into Bakari's hair.

Mahes barely heard Bakari's cry of "fuck!" before his vision started to fade and his bones began to to feel weak, and he crumpled down onto the sand.

The next thing he knew, cool water was being splashed in his face, and he saw Bakari hovering over him, water and sick dripping from his white hair.

"Fucking hell, tell me next time you're not feeling well," Bakari said.

"A'hm fine," Mahes tried to say.

"You're not, you've got heat stroke...wearing those heavy robes out in the hot sun for so long..."

Mahes briefly worried that Bakari would try to remove his robes, but he didn't; instead he felt cold water being poured over the fabric that covered him, and then something cool being pressed against his forehead. A moment later, he felt Bakari's presence leave him, and heard a splash from what seemed like a great distance away before his consciousness faded again.

When he woke up, he was back in Bakari's cave. The first thing he heard was, "I don't know what's underneath those robes, but is it really worth dying for?" Mahes tensed reflectively, but Bakari said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to take them off. I'm just saying it's something to think about."

Mahes relaxed again, and felt cool fabric being laid across his brow again. The last thought he had before darkness claimed him once more was that Bakari would take care of him, though he didn't know how he knew that, or why he should trust it.