Date: 2016-09-19 07:48 am (UTC)
ahkmenbrah: (feeble egyptian baby)
From: [personal profile] ahkmenbrah
[Given what Benjamin had told him about what he was, the question gave Ahkmenrah a deep chill. Part of him didn't want to think that Benjamin could mean it, but the rest wondered what else he could possibly mean, when he didn't have anything so powerful as the magic of the gods at his fingertips. Unique abilities, yes, but nothing like what his father had channeled to make the tablet.

When he finally looked back to meet Benjamin's eye, he found himself startled by the intensity of his (blood-)red gaze. Surely he himself didn't look at people that intently without realizing it... did he? It made his heart flutter strangely in his chest.]


The sort of chance you had?

i don't have enough srs icons

Date: 2016-09-19 08:57 am (UTC)
ahkmenbrah: (feeble egyptian baby)
From: [personal profile] ahkmenbrah
[The sudden change on Benjamin's face surprised Ahkmenrah, and concerned him. Had his unease at the question showed on his face and offended him somehow? Ahkmenrah was mindful of the distance Benjamin seemed to keep around himself, never really making any physical contact, and he respected it without ever realizing that it was about him - because who had ever shown him respect since his death? - even as he leaned slightly forward and in to try and catch the man's eye again.]

It doesn't bother me. Your being a vampire. But never having known another one, and only having seen you here, not in your actual life... [He laughed to himself when he realized what he had just said.] ... then again, you've got an actual life that doesn't end quite as literally at sunrise.

[There was more, though. So much to consider if things changed that much.] Where would I live, if not at the museum? What would I - do?

Date: 2016-09-19 09:48 am (UTC)
ahkmenbrah: (gawrsh)
From: [personal profile] ahkmenbrah
With you...? [That sort of generosity seemed extreme, even for someone whose company he'd come to enjoy. It warmed him from the inside out, bringing a bashful smile to his lips, bottom one caught between his teeth.] And you'd travel with me?

[There was just one more thing to consider, which had him up on his feet and racing for his tomb exhibit in a heartbeat, waving for Benjamin to come follow. The 200 ft tall jackal statues guarding the exhibit deferred immediately at the sight of Ahkmenrah and close enough to Ahkmenrah, allowing them to enter far enough to see the tablet.]

My father made this for me. He entrusted it to me. It's given a lot of people here - not everyone would consider them people, but I do - wonderful lives. If i no longer need it, I can leave it here, and they still...

[But he's still giving up that powerful gift from his father.]
Edited Date: 2016-09-19 09:48 am (UTC)

Date: 2016-09-19 04:53 pm (UTC)
ahkmenbrah: (life ain't so shitty)
From: [personal profile] ahkmenbrah
[Slowly, Ahkmenrah crossed behind his sarcophagus and moved to touch the tablet he'd guarded all his life, with varying levels of success. There was someone at this museum who respected it now, another guardian for the priceless heirloom. And when he thought about it...]

Everyone moves on to find their own lives eventually, don't they? From parents, from schooling, from - museums and familial magic - [He turned to look at Benjamin, something more eager in his expression. His tablet cast a soft golden light across his skin, almost making him appear lit from within.] - I'd like to. I want to. I still can't quite believe you'd offer me all this.

Date: 2016-09-19 07:06 pm (UTC)
ahkmenbrah: (can u not)
From: [personal profile] ahkmenbrah
[What a feeling, not new but long-forgotten: Benjamin quite nearly worshiped him. It had been so long that Ahkmenrah hadn't seen it until it became too obvious to ignore, but those words - you deserve the whole world at your feet - took him right back. A pampered life surrounded by love and idolatry and luxury, with which his elder brother only made the most glancing contact until the fury of that fact drove him to eliminate the boy who he felt had stolen it all with his very birth.

It wasn't exactly what he wanted from Benjamin, who he saw more as a friend than a subject, but the way that feeling swelled inside him until his shoulders were straighter, his head higher, could not be denied. This was a future that had first seen his sacred tomb raided for "education," then seen him trapped in his sarcophagus for decades by men ignorant or uncaring of his true station. Regaining a piece of the past was fiercely satisfying under those circumstances.]


I'll do it. I'll take what you have to offer. But I only need to see the world, really, I don't know a thing about it anymore. That doesn't make a decent ruler.

[Moving back to stand closer to Benjamin, his serious expression grows stiff around the edges: not just solemn but nervous.] How - how exactly do you -

Date: 2016-09-19 07:30 pm (UTC)
ahkmenbrah: (4 real brah)
From: [personal profile] ahkmenbrah
... I'm not sure it will, either. I'm not even sure I still have blood. [That was the sort of wry comment the others in the museum would look at him strangely for making, a bit too stark and blunt even for those from much deadlier periods in history, but he knew Benjamin would understand. He'd definitely had his organs removed, given that he was fully mummified, and a magical tablet that could bring wax and stuffed pelts to realistic life didn't leave room for any assumptions about what it did to him. He was real, he knew that much, but what did that mean beyond flesh?]

My father never had the chance to explain the full working of the tablet before I was - died. [There was a telling slip and correction of the tongue. Did Benjamin know his story, he wondered? Were many stories told of him at all?] I'm not always of much help.

[There was the pressing question. Was he sure. Was he sure?] Do people often know for certain when they make this change? [Again, his tone was making light of it in a sardonic sort of way, but he also hadn't answered.]
Edited (MISSED A LINE IN HIS TAG SORRY) Date: 2016-09-19 07:35 pm (UTC)

Date: 2016-09-19 08:54 pm (UTC)
ahkmenbrah: (feeble egyptian baby)
From: [personal profile] ahkmenbrah
[Lips pursed thoughtfully, Ahkmenrah nodded. That was about what he'd expected to hear.]

My father wanted me to have eternal life. But he also wanted all of us to be together, and we were separated when our tomb was found, so they've never returned. There may be no way for things to be as he wished. The best thing I can do now is live, isn't it, something more like a real life?

[Even though this was Benjamin's idea, and he was encouraging it at almost every step, Ahkmenrah still trusted the man to give him an honest answer rather than steer him in the most personally favourable direction. One could see the sort of leader he was in that moment: caring and earnest but much too trusting and dangerously naive, viewed as benevolent by some and spineless by many more, all too easily overthrown.

Quite suddenly, forgetting the distance he always tended to respect, he reached out and took both of Benjamin's hands in his. Oh, his skin was so cold.]


Well, I'm taking the choice. I leave the rest in your hands.

Date: 2016-09-20 05:59 pm (UTC)
ahkmenbrah: (all i do is win win win)
From: [personal profile] ahkmenbrah
Oh - I'm sorry.

[He'd gotten a little too excited there, and hadn't even realized it until Benjamin looked so startled; embarrassed, he withdrew his hands and wondered if the chill was why Benjamin never wanted to touch him. It certainly didn't bother him, given that people made of wax tended to feel a bit unusual when brought to life as well.

Now he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself - he'd made the choice, but there were still questions in his mind, he just felt a bit childish spilling nothing but questions while Benjamin answered so patiently.]


Should we... right away, do you think?

Date: 2016-09-21 04:18 am (UTC)
ahkmenbrah: (gawrsh)
From: [personal profile] ahkmenbrah
[Oh, oh no, was that it? Was that why Benjamin kept his distance? Ahkmenrah couldn't help but laugh, even though it probably wasn't the kindest response, because it was just so strange to have someone point out his title with such awe in this day and age. Benjamin himself was still millennia ahead of his family and the culture he'd known. What incredible respect for history, which is what Ahkmenrah is now.]

I was the Pharaoh. I was a Pharaoh. You needn't show me special treatment for that, Benjamin, just knowing the depth of your respect is enough.

[The smile stayed on his face even as he considered whether or not he was truly ready for this. He couldn't seem to shake it off. You're just... the Pharaoh. The words felt as though they were caught inside him and glowing, like fireflies in a net.]

I - [No. He wasn't ready.] - I must speak to Larry first. I know he'll guard the tablet well in my absence, there's no doubt in my mind, but... [He just gave Benjamin a pleading look, hoping he'd understand why Ahkmenrah still needed reassurance before he could say a true goodbye.]

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Benjamin

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