It had been a long time since she visited the throne room. Sienna hadn't done much with it at all… it was still cold rock and columns with a bunch of empty space. The only major change were coats of arms lining the walls, little shrines to the greatest warriors lost in battle against the humans. The rest was just the same as it had been when Ghira left it… perhaps Sienna had never truly thought of it as her seat. Ghira certainly hadn't been comfortable in that massive stone chair, and it would only be worse for the next person wearing the crown, knowing her predecessor still lived, even half a world away.
Kali's eyes shifted over to her husband, coordinating security with Saber Rodentia. A few of the other Menagerie citizens had joined them on the trip to the citadel, and the guards were looking for any leftover traps or sentries before allowing them in to see the grand hall and the throne room. Ghira wanted them to see the seat of power, to remind them all that they were brothers and sisters, and not underlings as Adam had so thoroughly insisted in his brief reign as High Leader. When Saber saluted and went to coordinate his troops, Ghira's attention shifted to the throne, his eyes resting upon it.
Kali took hold of her husband's hand. She knew he was grateful for the support, even as his eyes remained fixated on the chair he'd have to occupy once again. She knew he wasn't eager for it, but he had to prepare himself. Once the citizens were allowed to enter they'd need to see their Chieftain as strong and confident, ready to lead them and be the same man he'd been six years earlier… it seemed all too brief a time he'd been unburdened by responsibility, and even without the shackles of command he'd been troubled knowing his daughter was away from home so young, struggling in the thick of the White Fang's fight. She'd hoped he'd have more time to be at home when his mind was at ease… but Adam Taurus complicated that.
Sienna, for all her faults, would've led the White Fang well and Ghira would've returned to Menagerie with his wife to keep to his hearth and home… and that was all Kali wished for. Now it seemed a distant dream, because the Faunus had been set back so far, and Ghira would need to spend months –if not years- putting the White Fang's house in order and getting them back on track to finding peaceful coexistence with humanity. He'd have to be here in Mistral to coordinate them, and until a council could be summoned to select a new chieftain it fell to Kali –in representing his house- to act as regnant in Menagerie.
She didn't want to be alone. She hated being apart from him, and knew that even when they could be together his responsibilities would require Ghira's full attention. She'd have to get used to savoring the little moments, rather than the peace she'd known in having him around so much more often.
Kali followed him as he ascended the steps. She only let go of his hand when he moved to stand a few feet from the throne, and Kali waited at his back, her eye wandering… eventually noticing the brief scuff on the ground beside the stone seat, a scar left from the brief battle between Adam and Sienna. It seemed Adam never bothered to clean the blood and just left it there as a reminder of his ascension.
Kali knelt down beside Ghira, tracing a hand over the incongruous red and black on the brown stone step, thinking Sienna Khan once stood there…
Please don't go.
Kali closed her eyes. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to remember the last time they spoke, but it seemed preferable to thinking about Sienna's death. Even an unhappy memory was easier for her to focus on than the thought of Adam robbing the world of her vivid orange light.
When Kali opened her eyes and looked up, she saw that first moment… Ghira sitting in the throne, Kali standing dutifully at his side, weary on her feet after a long list of reports. A woman she'd never seen before stood a step down from the throne, a respect accorded a regional leader but still a distance maintained in the presence of the chieftain.
She was striking, with flowing and uneven black hair and dark skin lined with even darker stripes. She had tall ears on her head not unlike Kali's and Blake's, and an orange mark imbedded in her forehead: a symbol of an old religion and not one Sienna had ever been particularly devoted to. She was so beautiful, and when she addressed her High Leader with such poise and confidence she seemed only more so.
When she completed her report, Sienna's eyes briefly met Kali's. She'd never seen orange eyes before, not even in Faunus. When she saw those eyes, for the briefest moment Kali's heart stopped.
Kali shook her head and in that instant returned to the present as Saber Rodentia rejoined them, addressing them from the second step down, as though Ghira had already resumed his position as High Leader. "Sir, we've found the burial site. Would you like to confirm her identity?"
Ghira sighed. "I suppose I'll have to."
Kali took hold of his hand again. The first time it had been to support him… now Kali was the one in need of someone to anchor her, but Ghira never once betrayed this to the others. He never let them know he wasn't the one seeking closure.
It was a strange sight, to see her lying in a stone edifice, unrecognizable but for the smearing paint on her forehead and the remaining fur on her ears. Kali had to look away a moment, but couldn't bear to leave her side. Ghira ushered Saber and his men out, and while they were undoubtedly curious as to why the chieftain's wife had such a reaction Ghira offered them no explanation. What Sienna and Kali did was for them and them alone, just as what Ghira and Kali had Sienna played no part in during her all too brief life.
Kali took the time to cry for her departed… friend and when the tears did not blind her, finally looked long enough to say a proper goodbye. The word passed into the wind with little fanfare, and Sienna could not answer her.
There was so much the world would never know about her… never realize the orange-eyed Faunus who led the White Fang from protesters to warriors had another gentle, loving, passionate side that she only shared with one other… and that other could never reveal it so, confining this other side of Sienna to memory…
Kali reached up to dry her tears. When she left Sienna behind now, she'd have to be the person the citizens of Menagerie expected to see. She had to be strong like her husband… and like Sienna Khan, everywhere but with her.
Kali closed her eyes one final time, remembering extending her hand and inviting the tiger to pounce.
Then at last she turned around and returned to her husband's side, leaving the past of bright orange to rest beneath the stone foundation of the White Fang to come.