Chapter Text
Seth’s grumbling stomach woke him late in the evening, and he snuck back down to the kitchen to make himself some actual food. The house at night was dark and quiet, and he didn’t pass anyone else. He supposed they really were alone here, and Horus wasn’t seemingly stalking his movements.
The kitchen was quiet and dark, and Seth flicked the lights on to find it empty and ready to use. He managed to find enough basic ingredients to put together a pasta with meat sauce, and shortly enough was devouring it all. Grapes weren’t exactly filling food.
It was strange, to think this was one of the first meals he’d been able to make for himself in decades. Osiris always brought him food, or had servants leave it for him. And before that, he’d had his own servants prepare meals. Gone were the days where he hung out with his sister, Nephthys, learning recipes, or lived in barracks and made what he could when he occasionally got decent ingredients. He’d learned from older veterans who knew a thing or two from here and there, and got to be a half-decent cook. Or at least he didn’t end up killing anyone or himself with his meals. But his focus on bettering himself in combat and climbing the ladder to the highest rank he could took precedence, and servants preparing his food allowed him to focus on strategies against their enemies.
Perhaps if he’d been more aware of things, Osiris wouldn’t have trapped him.
Seth swallowed and lowered his fork. He couldn’t fall back into that line of thinking. It was useless. Osiris was dead. Seth was on an isolated island with the apparently hidden son of Isis and Osiris, unsure of where his future lay. He could try to join with Isis, perhaps, and offer to work for her. He had no interest in taking up the reins of Osiris’ throne himself. But Isis might have use for a strategist and powerful warrior. Assuming she didn’t kill him on sight for his association with Osiris.
He could try disappearing on land somewhere. Figure out a life there. He had some old contacts he could check out, see if any of them were still active, despite the years… He could disappear pretty easily, where perhaps even Isis couldn’t reach him.
But the idea of being away from the ocean was daunting. And reaching out to other, distant kingdoms posed its own dangers. He thought of Nephthys, from whom he’d become estranged 20 years before his imprisonment. Was she even still alive? Would she take him in if he found her? Or should he leave her alone, at least in part to protect her from whatever storm someone else might bring down on Nephthys’ head in an attempt to get at Seth?
For all Seth called himself the God of War, as others had named him, which made him seem big and power and impressive, the world felt far larger than he had ever imagined it, and him just a tiny part of it. He’d worked so hard to get to the place in the world he was in when Osiris brought him down from it. And even dead, Osiris’ damage left ruins behind it.
I’m glad he’s dead, Seth thought, glaring into his empty bowl.
Seth was relaxing in the indoor pool again when Horus came to visit. It was late morning, and after his late dinner, he’d slept for a bit, and then gotten up early and made and eaten a small breakfast. He felt more pleasantly full than he had in ages, and was starting to – ever so slightly – relax. Now he lounged against the corner of the pool and gazed ahead, thinking over his options. He still hadn’t made up his mind.
Horus wore a similar outfit today to what he’d worn the previous day, with red shorts instead, and an open white shirt. He nodded at Seth and asked, “Good morning. How did you sleep?”
Seth shrugged. His long red tail flicked idly at the water. “Well. Thank you for letting me stay here.” He was eating the man’s food and taking up one of his rooms, after all. A bit of thanks was deserved.
Horus smiled brightly at him. “Don’t mention it. It’s an honor, really.” Horus sat down on the pool edge again, letting his feet fall in the water.
Seth watched him thoughtfully for a bit, then asked, “Can you… shift?” He’d never heard of a case where a mer couldn’t shift into their true form, but he’d also never met a mer in their humanoid form first, who’d been raised among humans. He wasn’t sure how that affected someone’s abilities. There were merfolk who didn’t shift to their humanoid form until they were preteens, but you wouldn’t be able to do that if you were raised on land.
Horus blinked at him, then nodded, “Of course! I’m just used to staying like this around the house.”
“Oh.”
Horus stared at Seth for a bit, then said, “Did you want me to shift?”
“What?”
“Well, the pool isn’t that large and I figured you’d want your space. With both of us in there, it’ll be kind of tight. I don’t want you to feel crowded.”
Seth thought about that. Horus had a point. He’d have to leave to give Horus proper space in here. Then he frowned. “But it’s your house…” Horus had the right to decide who was where.
“Well… yes. But you’re my guest.”
Seth’s fingers twitched in the water.
“…If you’re fine with me shifting while you’re in the pool, I can. Or we can move out to the shore?”
“I’m fine with you shifting here,” Seth said. The idea of close proximity was daunting, but he was comfortable in the warm water, and in good position to attack if the need arose. Plus, he was curious to see what Horus looked like with a tail. Seth had seen Isis in her true form, with her bluish-green scales and traces of gold. She looked beautiful, and she was threatening when she needed to be. Osiris was large and bright, dazzlingly green, with a powerful tail that could beat enemies to bits, and fins laced with red, blue, and white. “Go ahead.”
Horus studied him some more, as if trying to figure out Seth’s ulterior motives, and then shrugged off his shirt onto the ground and hopped into the water.
Seth would have averted his eyes slightly under other circumstances – it wasn’t rude to see other merfolk transform, but it was usually considered rude to stare – but he still wasn’t sure how much he trusted Horus. It was likely he was more powerful in his true form, and—
Seth’s thoughts trailed away when he saw Horus settle back against the wall with his large, brilliant blue tail – nearly the size of his father’s – with traces of red, and white in the scales, and large, golden fins. His chest looked even broader like this, and his eyes had sharp black markings around them, making him look a little older and more intimidating. His fingers ended in sharp blue claws. He looked as deadly and beautiful as Isis, and as powerful as Osiris.
Seth knew the man was attractive, but like this, it was worse, somehow. It didn’t help when, despite Horus’ efforts, their end fins accidentally bumped each other, which felt like a shockwave. Tail touching was a particularly intimate act for merfolk, and typically only occurred either in combat, with family, or with a partner.
Seth laughed nervously. This was a stupid idea and he knew it from the get-go. Well. “There really isn’t a lot of room, huh?”
Horus smiled. “I can get out, if you prefer?”
“No, it’s fine.” Seth settled back, keeping his tail under control. It was awkward, but Seth wasn’t going to force the man out of his own swimming pool.
For a while, they just stayed like that, and Seth did eventually close his eyes to take in the sunshine. It felt nice. Though he missed the gentle cool depths of the ocean, too.
“Would you like something particular for lunch?” Horus asked.
Seth murmured softly, “Don’t you have anything better to do than entertain a stranger?”
Horus chuckled. “Not really. I’m taking a break in my studies to make up my mind, and I study better at night or the early morning, anyway, not the day.”
“What’s the struggle with deciding?” Seth asked, genuinely curious. He’d never even considered staying on land for his coming of age.
“Mmm… Part of it is not being using the living as a mer, I suppose. I have friends among the humans, and I’d probably see them less if I chose to live among the merfolk, among whom I only know a few.”
“That’s understandable.”
“I also might be more drawn into Mother’s power games. She has a place for me ready in her dynasty. And I don’t know that I want to be there.”
Seth recalled being chosen by Osiris to lead his troops. It had been an honor at the time, but now it was buried under the betrayals, the decades of imprisonment. Even without Osiris’ betrayal, it had been a heavy responsibility. “I can understand that. Have you told her?”
Horus laughed. “No. She just knows I’m hesitant. She’s always had a mind bent towards being in control and having power. She can’t understand giving it up for less with no future of more.”
“There’s… power in comfort,” Seth remarked, finding Horus’ description quite sad. “You have a world you enjoy living in. That doesn’t seem so terrible to me. Power isn’t everything.” It certainly wasn’t everything when it came to people like Osiris. Seth would have said no in the topsy turvy world where he’d been able to see what would happen to him.
He’d known Osiris as a prince, once. He was calmer, gentler. Still charismatic, handsome, and powerful, even then. Seth thought that ascending to the throne only made him more impressive, despite his sometimes questionable policies when it came to humans in particular. But he still didn’t know if Osiris had always been the way he was during Seth’s imprisonment, or if having the throne just made him feel like there weren’t any obstacles left for his goals. He couldn’t imagine Osiris staying comfortable in the role of a prince forever. He was so defined by needing more. Needing everything. But perhaps. Perhaps.
Horus smiled softly at Seth, making Seth’s cheeks warm. “I wish she could see that.”
“You could tell her.”
Horus grimaced. “I wish I had the courage for it.”
Seth sighed and didn’t reply to that. To be fair, he couldn’t imagine talking to Isis, either. “If you’re to have a place in her dynasty, though, that’d give you power of your own. You could make your own decisions, then, at least to some extent.”
“That is true. I do support Mother and her ideas, but I refuse to be a puppet.” Horus studied Seth. “Is that why you were imprisoned? Because Osiris didn’t like you refusing to be a puppet?”
Seth snorted. “Osiris imprisoned me because he’s an obsessive monster led by his cock. Or he was, anyway.” Seth smirked, even as he oddly felt something ache in his chest. “When I was his general, we used to talk almost like equals. He respected my decisions and didn’t attempt to force me into specific strategic choices.” Seth grimaced. “I suppose the obvious lesson is that those in power will respect you until they decide they don’t have to anymore, because that decision is always theirs, not yours.”
Horus bowed his head. “I’m sorry.”
Seth shrugged. “A lesson for the future, then. Become stronger than your mother, and you won’t have to worry.”
Horus laughed. “I’m not sure that’s possible.”
“You never know. Not all of Isis’ magic is innate. She studied for years. Osiris may have won the lottery in terms of power, but so did I. And he largely kept me bound through trickery, not power.” Osiris pushed hard to keep Seth weak, either through the collar, drugs, magic… whatever it took. They both knew that despite Osiris’ knowledge and abilities, Seth could break free if he wasn’t kept weak. Seth was the better warrior, the better strategist, and his powers were particularly in line with escape.
“Were you friends before he imprisoned you?”
Seth was surprised at the question, but gave it serious thought all the same. It was better than being trapped in his self-hating fury about his own inability to escape Osiris’ imprisonment prior to Sekhmet’s aid. “Once. Maybe. I’m not sure. Perhaps I had our whole relationship wrong.” Seth snorted. “He used to tell me how much he thought about me, almost from the first time he met me, when he was still a prince. But he waited. And when he discovered courting would be a failure, he decided to go with what he ended up with: drugging and imprisonment. But he lies so much, who can say with him?” Had Seth imagined the kinder young man he’d known when they were both young? Had he been fooled by his own hopes of promotion and glory?
“You thought of him as a friend, though.”
Seth blinked. “I did. Once.” That version of Osiris had been buried under the one he came to know over the years. “But I don’t know if… I don’t think the person I knew ever existed outside my imagination.”
“That must have been hard. Realizing that. Losing someone you cared for, or at least trusted.”
Seth swallowed and his hand went to the scars on his neck. At first he’d been groggy from the drugs, then confused, then furious. He’d raged through his new prison. Osiris had leaked knockout gas into it to put Seth out, and that was just the start of things. Osiris took away everything Seth hadn’t realized he’d been used to as a person. And there was too much fury and pain to even fully recall how much Osiris showing his true colors had hurt.
“…It’s been too many years,” Seth said instead. He put his hand down. “Besides, I don’t think Isis would go to that level. Maybe. I’m not sure. We were never close.”
Horus smiled. “Mother has always been kind to me. Rigorous with my studies, perhaps, but kind. She can be harsh to her enemies, though.”
Seth wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t killed Osiris. If Osiris had lived to face Isis in battle. Who would have won? And if Isis had won, what would she have done with Seth afterward? Killed him, for being involved with Osiris? Kept him as another pet?
He needed to destroy the collar. Adamant wasn’t impossible to find, but he was too paranoid that, used once, it would be used on him again, somehow. But you needed powerful magic for it, and there were few people like that. Isis, perhaps. But he was worried she’d turn it against him if he showed her. And what favor would she ask for in return?
“I’m getting hungry,” Horus said. “Shall we eat something?”
Seth nodded, glad for the distraction. He began to push himself out of the water, but with the smaller amount of space and his own distraction, he miscalculated and bumped his tail against Horus’. That startled him and made him overcompensate in his further movements. And when Horus moved to stop him from falling, they became tangled together, with Horus holding Seth close to his chest under the water.
Seth simply stared up at Horus’ bright and worried face for a moment, the water somehow making him almost glow. Seth’s heart raced, and he recalled Osiris, holding him close, keeping him trapped—
But then Seth shoved away and Horus was letting him go. Seth sat against the far wall of the pool again, breathing quickly, ready to attack with his claws if he had to. But Horus didn’t follow him. They just sat staring at each other.
“I’m sorry,” Horus said. “I didn’t mean to—”
Seth tried to focus. Osiris wasn’t here. He was dead. Horus hadn’t trapped him in the pool. Seth had invited him there. Horus stayed where he was, and had only tried to help. Even now he stayed still, rather than moving further away. Seth might have attacked him otherwise.
Seth pushed his head out of the water. There was no one around, still. It was just the two of them, and wherever the air spirits were. He pushed out of the water, transforming into his human shape, and hugged himself. He almost went to his room, but that would mean he was running away, wouldn’t it? Is that what he did, now?
It was always the question with Osiris. Seth was powerful and smart in his own way, but Osiris had outwitted him. True, Osiris had stabbed him in the back by abusing Seth’s trust, but Seth should have been more on guard. And Osiris had lorded that over him at times, noting Seth’s weakness. Perhaps if you were stronger, this would have been more difficult.
Seth had hated him. But inside, he’d wondered, was Osiris right? Was it a weakness in Seth that allowed Osiris to do this? Was he too trusting? Clearly, judging by his interactions with Horus, he was.
“Seth?” Horus asked, pulling Seth out of where he was, mentally.
Seth looked back at him.
Horus was still in the pool, but he had his arms resting on the pool edge, and a worried expression on his face. “Is there something you need? I can help or the air spirits can…?”
Seth yanked himself back to reality. Osiris was wrong and dead. Seth was on the island. Sekhmet had helped him escape and brought him here. It would be pointless to just bring him here to another Osiris. Seth trusted her enough for that. He was second-guessing himself all over again, like he had in the years of his imprisonment, and it was pointless, because Osiris was wrong, and had been proven so by the rotting corpse in Seth’s former cell.
“…I think I just need to eat something,” Seth said. “I’ll make lunch.”
Horus nodded. Even like this, with water dripping from his hair and his features worried, his beauty was obvious and alluring.
Osiris had been beautiful and alluring, too.
Seth turned away and went to the kitchen.