Chapter Text
Seth
Seth stood behind Anubis in Isis’ tent while Isis looked him over. Anubis was sitting on a stool and no longer literally steaming once he was under tent cover, and they could hear humans outside setting the camp to rights.
Maat stood nearby, watching the proceedings with an unreadable expression.
Horus stood behind Seth, probably glaring at him. Seth chose to ignore the younger god. Horus would probably take it out of him later, but that was that. Seth was still overwhelmed by the sight of Anubis ascended. After all the years he and Nephthys had worked, and now of all times? Because… why? He’d sensed Seth was in danger?
“Everything looks orderly,” Isis said as she pulled her hand away. She smiled down at Anubis. “And you really feel fine?”
Anubis nodded. “I do.”
This close, Seth was surprised to realize that Anubis’ mask actually resembled his own in a way. Even ascended, Anubis had kept some of the connection between them. Or it was pure coincidence. He liked to think it wasn’t.
“You should wait until it’s darker to test your powers properly,” Isis said. “You have a slight weakness to sunlight. I could feel your skin regenerating from being burned.”
Seth frowned. That was a major weakness, in a way. Seth didn’t know of many gods who couldn’t travel freely during the day, though he didn’t know of many who preferred the nighttime, either. If Osiris caught him during the day…
“Okay,” Anubis simply said.
…Then again he can clearly survive for a little while in sunlight, Seth thought.
Isis looked at Khnum, the river god with the ram mask who was standing in the corner. His robes turned into water, and he had been quiet ever since he’d appeared at Isis’ call. Seth didn’t know him very well, other than he was one of Isis’ servants, and Seth was a little worried about him teaching Anubis, but it wasn’t like Seth was skilled in training new gods, whereas Khnum was.
Khnum stepped forward at Isis’ look.
“Just help him figure out what’s going on with his abilities,” Isis ordered. “He’s just ascended, so most everything will be new to him.”
Khnum bowed his head. Then he looked at Anubis. “It will be a pleasure working with you, Anubis.”
Anubis studied Khnum for a moment before saying, “And you.”
“Before that, though,” Isis said, turning to look at Horus. Her expression grew hard and angry. “What were you two arguing about?”
Seth thought about what he should say to excuse them. Anubis was clearly caught up in a lot of things, and—
“I won’t let Horus take Seth for his own use,” Anubis said, cutting off all lines of thought that Seth had. “He has no right to that.”
Isis blinked at him.
Seth would have slapped his own face if he hadn’t been in public. Do any of you people know how to not spill things at the slightest provocation?! But he was surprised when Isis only frowned slightly. She didn’t look surprised or all that alarmed.
He glanced at Horus, who looked completely unfazed.
The little shit really told her… Seth’s face burned. What had Horus said? How much did she know?
“I am your king,” Horus said, primly. “I have all the right. You’re both my subjects.”
“You’re no better than your father.” Seth was surprised to hear Anubis say that. He supposed that when you found out just how much someone was abusing you for their own ends, that did tend to end your goodwill towards them. At least Anubis had finally realized… And Seth had been withholding the truth from him for years over it. That was hard to swallow. Particularly given how it also meant Horus was right, which Seth hated.
Horus seemed to get annoyed at that. “You’re merely an infant godling who can’t even step outside this tent.”
“You’re the one treating people like toys,” Anubis replied, turning his head to glare at Horus. “Who’s the infant, exactly?” Power made the air crackle.
“Enough!” Isis said, glaring at them both. “You are both ridiculous. Seth will—”
“Be returning with me to Heliopolis,” Horus finished, making Isis’ eyes widen. “Once the Greeks are gone and the campsite can be cleared, and the army returned to normalcy.” He looked at Anubis and said, “Or perhaps Anubis will recall that the main reasons humans here are so forgiving of Seth’s past actions is because they were fighting a war and needed someone to save all of their lives. Perhaps Anubis would like Seth to sleep among the humans who, without a war to distract them, might recall lovers and children taken during Seth’s reign, perhaps sold into slavery or slaughtered? Is that what he wants?”
Anubis frowned. “No.”
Horus smiled, clearly pleased. “Then he’ll stay with me, where he’s safest.”
“You’re repulsive,” Anubis said, still frowning.
“And you’re still clinging to your father’s shendyt even after your ascension,” Horus replied. “I’ll survive your disgust.” Horus looked at Seth. “Come with me. We need to walk the camp and make sure the humans aren’t going to riot after all that’s happened lately, particularly since we're asking them to remain here even longer.”
Seth knew it would probably be a good idea to walk among the humans, who were liable to panic at the slightest breeze, and the Greeks would be quick to take advantage. And with Maat’s spell still on him, Seth couldn’t work as quickly to counteract the damage. But still, he didn’t want to put Anubis at risk. So he looked at Isis and asked, “But is Anubis really safe from Osiris?” he was willing to risk Horus’ wrath and ignore orders to be sure. “Even as a god, perhaps the connection Osiris has…?”
“His body is completely different to what I went over previously,” Isis said, meeting Seth’s gaze calmly, and definitely not like someone who was shocked that her son was revealed to be using his uncle as a sex toy. “He is a god now, completely different than his weaker demigod form. Even Osiris doesn’t have the ability to keep whatever hold he had through that.” She sighed. “Though I didn’t get a chance to fully examine Anubis properly to try and figure out what specifically Osiris was using. There’s just… too big a difference between his body from before and now for Osiris to do something like he used to.”
Seth was at least a bit reassured by that.
Isis glanced at Horus. “Horus is right, though. The soldiers need the uplift. I’ll watch over Anubis while he practices with Khnum.”
Seth wondered if she just wanted Horus and Seth out of the tent, especially to try and push Khnum into the role of Anubis’ confidante, rather than Seth. Whatever the case, it meant that Horus and Anubis wouldn’t be snipping at each other, and he was grateful she was looking after Anubis’ health. So he met her gaze again and said, “Thank you.” He reached out and set a hand on Anubis’ shoulder. “I’ll be back soon.”
Anubis smiled slightly at him. It felt hopeful and a bit warm, and Seth hoped that meant they were still okay. Anubis wouldn’t have done so much on his behalf otherwise.
Seth followed Horus out of the tent, wishing he was free to go where he wanted. He hadn’t cared much in many years for where he went, so long as he could do anything, and he’d felt resigned to his punishment. But now more than ever, he wanted… well… what he couldn’t have.
He and Horus walked side by side for a time, surveying the camp and greeting the humans. They met up with the commanding officers in their main tent, who’d gathered to discuss plans going forward. The humans were happy to see Horus and Seth, and bowed and offered thanks for their continued protection, and then expressed worry about what was going on, and needed updates to ensure negotiations had still gone well.
Horus stepped forward and began to talk, given a very clipped version of recent events, excluding Osiris’ attack, but mentioning that Anubis had been injured defending the camp, which Seth was somewhat grateful for and surprised to hear. But this also meant that Horus talked about the negotiations, which let Seth hear more details about it all.
The officers were relieved, and one even offered Seth condolences about Anubis, which Seth wasn’t sure how to deal with. The officers also reported on the status of the camp, as well as what the Greeks were presently up to with their ships.
By the time they were done, the sun was lower in the sky, and Seth followed Horus out of the tent to survey the rest of the camp. The soldiers had worked fast, and the camp was back in order, with people going about their day to deal with the aftermath of war. The medical tents were still decently full, and cries of pain and yells for help could be heard. With Isis’ help, it was quieter than usual, but there was still some noise.
“We had fewer injuries and deaths than we might have,” Horus said as they went up to the tents and surveyed things. Humans bowed to them, but kept on with their tasks. “The commanding officers noted that.”
“I heard,” Seth said. He recalled the gratefulness in the voices of the humans who were so happy Isis was there to heal them. But injury and loss were just the way of war, and Isis was not a god of war.
“You made a difference here,” Horus said before he kept walking, passing the cooking areas. “These soldiers will sing your praises and spread legends about how you fought of the Greeks.”
“And how you leashed me for it,” Seth said quietly, keeping a neutral expression as humans bowed to him.
Horus snorted. “Perhaps. Perhaps they’ll imagine me as your cruel jailor, keeping you back from your potential. There were rumors about you not using your powers to their full extent.”
Seth scowled, a bit nervous about this. Anubis voicing his foolishness to Isis, Maat, and Khnum was one thing, but the humans being aware of it? That was… worrying. “It’s not up for humans to judge gods.”
“They do worship us,” Horus said as they neared the ships, and stopped on a hill to observe the Greeks cleaning up. “It does some good to pay attention to them.”
“I pay plenty of attention to them,” Seth said. “But we gods use our power as we wish. No human has ever been able to guess all that I can do. How can they claim I’m underusing my abilities?"
"...Perhaps they just know. Somehow.”
Seth snorted, given his lack of believe in human capabilities. He kept too many tricks close to his chest, anyway.
“Anubis certainly takes after you,” Horus finally said.
“Because you hate us both?” Seth asked, gazing at the sea thoughtfully. He’d never been the biggest on water travel, but a part of him thought about it now. At least it was away from Horus and all the bad memories here.
“Because both of you are obstinate idiots,” Horus said.
Seth rolled his eyes. Horus had used worse before.
“I know Osiris,” Horus said, which was a weird turn of conversation in Seth’s mind. “At least in the little I can know a man who rarely visits and likely didn’t want me to exist, and would like to have me killed for keeping you from him. Anubis isn’t like that at all.”
Seth blinked and looked at Horus, who was gazing ahead, as well. “Why are you telling me this?”
“…My intuition says that you’re afraid of him following in Osiris’ footsteps. Of forgetting all that you had together when he was younger. But that’s not going to happen. Anubis is his own man, and he’ll walk a path different from both you and Osiris.”
That was oddly comforting, but didn’t really explain anything. “Are you trying to comfort me?” That was more disturbing than anything else. Perhaps that was why he said Anubis would walk a different path: to destroy any chance it was comforting.
Horus simply gazed ahead. “I know what it’s like to wish to be more like a parent… and then to wish to not be. I think one reason I hate Anubis is because… he still wants to be like you. And I’m… jealous.”
Seth blinked at that. “You’re being rather honest.”
Horus smiled at him. “When am I not honest with you?”
“Don’t you have friends to be honest to?” Seth asked. Surely someone else would be interested in chatting with him. Someone Horus actually liked, for instance.
“I think at the moment,” Horus said, “You and I are two of the most hated people in this camp among our fellow gods. If I’m not honest with you, I have no one else to be honest with.”
“…You’re the king,” Seth said. “Isis loves you. Maat respects you.” Maybe even Khnum liked him, surely.
“Mother is angry about my hiding what I did with you. And Maat can respect someone and keep her distant.” He laughed. “And I’ve made her angry.”
“So you really have just been all talk all this time,” Seth said, shaking his head. “You told the truth and look where that got you.” His confidence had just been a front to get at Seth while he had power. Take that away and what was he left with? Nothing.
“I knew I’d probably end up here,” Horus said, surprising Seth. “But I thought I’d be alone.”
“…I’m only here because I’m your prisoner. You’re my king, remember?” Did Horus really think there was something more to this than that?
“Yes,” Horus said. “It is rather pathetic, isn’t it?”
Seth realized he detected some sadness in Horus’ tone. Why? What had he to be sad about? That he’d been caught? That Isis was focusing on someone else? But as Seth watched Horus, he realized that the picture in his head of Horus as this stoic but volatile figure didn’t align with this almost sad and lonely man before him. Seth had assumed Horus was desperate and too vicious for others, but that he made up for it with charm and his newfound privilege as a king, on top of the love all of the heavens and humans had for him. But what did you do if you couldn’t trust the people closest to you, made enemies of them all, and hurt them in your own confusion and pain?
If you’re me, you run Egypt into the ground, Seth thought.
“Let’s get back,” Horus said. “I imagine you want to ensure Anubis hasn’t stubbed his toes in your absence.”
Seth followed Horus obediently, not liking any of this at all.