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Zahra had opened her mouth to retort to her brother’s outrageous accusation, but fortunately for her, the pink-haired boy - Khota, she thought she heard the bird call him - raised a much more intelligently worded defense before she got the chance. [color=6AB1D3]“Yeah!”[/color] she added indignantly, crossing her arms at her brother with a haughty expression. [color=6AB1D3]“We were [i]enlightening.[/i]”[/color]

Radaam paid her little mind, focus instead on the boy before him. He wasn’t sure he’d seen anyone quite like this boy before, with light skin and such brightly coloured hair, though given how rarely he ventured out into greater Photep, that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Still, it was clear this boy wasn’t cut from the common cloth; Khaemtir was a noble and if he decorated himself in gold, then this boy was [i]armoured[/i] in it. It was hard for Radaam not to stare at the cuff on Khotanebre’s bicep as he took his offered hand, solid gold and inlaid with stones he wasn’t even sure he could name, but it seemed no matter where else Radaam looked on the boy, similar gem-encrusted finery jumped out at him. Colleague or not, it was a little hard not to be intimidated. Radaam would admit he wasn’t well-studied on the strata of Photepi nobility - or really, any sort of politics that extended beyond the Red Orders - so who could tell that this boy and his family couldn’t sic half the Rehati on him if he stepped out of line? 

But no, he had to stop thinking like that. If he froze like a cornered rat every time he had to speak to someone wealthy, he’d turn to stone before he even crossed his pyramid’s threshold. Admittedly, the job of manning up a bit was made easier by Khotanebre himself; Radaam couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at his mention of ‘superstitions’. He was well aware that Chenziri beliefs weren’t shared by greater Photep, but Aetheric theory may very well also have been regarded as a ‘superstition’ before the Aemeni taught its mysteries to the other tribes of Ea. 

[color=437D99]“Radaam Esi, Cult of the Crow,”[/color] he finally introduced himself, a bit stiffly but at least not as awkwardly as before. [color=437D99]“And this,”[/color] he gestured to his sister, [color=437D99]“is Zarha. Pleased to meet you, Khotanebre. And thank you for keeping my sister out of trouble.”[/color]

At the mention of her name, Zahra was all smiles again, rocking on the balls of her feet with hands clasped innocently behind her back. Radaam turned to her, voice gentler than before. [color=437D99]“I need you to go find Ma and Da, okay? Get something to eat and rest a little while,”[/color] he not-so-subtly suggested. 

Zahra pretended to consider for a moment, before heaving a dramatic sigh. [color=6AB1D3]“[i]Fiiiiine,[/i]”[/color] she conceded, hanging her head theatrically. 

Radaam smiled - at least, as much of a smile as one could get out of him. [color=437D99]“Thank you. And you,”[/color] he shot Toruk a commanding glare, [color=437D99]“keep her out of trouble.”[/color]

The snake shrank back in response, but tightened his grip around Zahra as confirmation. Instantly brightening up and offering a wave and a [color=6AB1D3]“Goodbye!”[/color] to Khota and Teken, Zahra bounded off into the crowd, in a direction Radaam was fairly sure [i]wasn’t[/i] going to lead her to their parents. 

[color=437D99]“Eyes above me…”[/color] he murmured exasperatedly as he watched her go, though it was soon clear that he’d struggle to follow her and he was probably better off trusting Toruk and however many of the Khenetai were stationed around the Dijat to look after her. At least [i]one[/i] of those could be relied upon to keep her out of too much mischief. 

He turned a sheepish version of his stone-faced smile back to Khotanebre once she was out of sight, shaking his head. [color=437D99]“What can you do?”[/color] he joked, hoping this boy had at least one sibling he could relate Zahra’s antics to before clearing his throat to quickly move on. 

[color=437D99]“The Cult of the Phoenix, you said?”[/color] he tried, his mother’s lectures about making conversation echoing in his mind. [color=437D99]“I must say, I don’t envy you that. Then again, being called upon by the Cult of the Crow was also… unexpected.”[/color] He rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling tightly. Yes, of course; not only was this a very rich Novitiate, probably the son of someone very powerful, but he was a [i]pyromancer[/i] of all things. Wings on the wind, it was as if the guardians guided him to this boy just to force him to face his fears. [color=437D99]“Were you much of a pyromancy student before this, or did the assignment surprise you, too?”[/color]
[right][sub][@Scribe of Thoth][/sub][/right]