A preamble to the next chapter of the story WhiteMantis and I are building! This picture is a byproduct (many others in the works, including several sketches I am now working on) of the ongoing discussion WhiteMantis and I have been engaging in with regard to building up a world around the new version of her gazelle alter ego, Amaranth ("Setareh" in this new universe).

This is a Bedouin version of Bagheera, set in that world - we imagine Setareh meets him after leaving Írmo's realm, and they find themselves drawn to each other over a strange sense of familiarity (aspects of Baggy would subconsciously remind her of Írmo, while aspects of Setareh would remind him of a former lover who had passed away - beyond the 4th wall, this dynamic is meant to represent the feeling of familiarity we have been feeling toward one another ever since we started speaking in earnest).

Setareh would be thirsty from her long journey through the desert, and Bagheera offers her water held between the palms of his hands (for reasons we will have to figure out - it was a beautiful picture idea Amaranth had okay?? xD Possible picture to come for that scene). As she drinks from his hands, there would be a light in Setareh's eyes - a bright, indomitable flame of life ignited by Írmo - that sparks a deep-seated curiosity in Baggy about this stranger who appeared from the sands like a mirage.

Some background info I am working on for this version of Bagheera (subject to change as we develop the story further):
Likely the son of the Sheikh of a clan within the Tiyaha Bedouins - the Sheik of the Nutush clan notably sent his sons to school, which served as an inspiration for this. As a young man, he dreamt of doing bigger things in life than the relatively simple (and to his mind, mundane) existence of his tribe. He left his people to go to a big city to pursue university education, and likely traveled as far as Europe - there he was awestruck by the technological wonders and progress of life being made. But once that initial sense of wonder wore off, he began to see the ugly side of European society - the disparity between the haves and the have-nots (this would be an era between 1900-1920's, so growing socioeconomic disparity and lots of social unrest), and the way European colonial powers went around the world subjugating other countries. It was likely during this time that he received news that his lover had been killed (possibly as the result of an armed conflict incited by the colonial powers). Heartbroken and disillusioned with the world, he returned to his tribe, to the meager existence his younger self was so eager to escape from - because at least he could live with his conscience. He wanted no part in the world beyond.

Then a lone stranger wandered into his life...

More to come! Art by WhiteMantis!