Even If It Means War || Ennead

Homeland

Egypt's heat was not comparable to anything else in the whole wide world, and neither was the feel of its' sand against Seth's feet. He had missed his homeland, he realized, and was happy to be back.

He looked over to where Thoth was stretching his limbs, probably sore from sleeping on the uncomfortable bed in his cabin instead of the comfortable one he was used to.
Horus was still busy talking with one of the humans when Seth noticed Isis and Maat and of course, Hathor, making their way over.

Horus had sent out a bird the day before, letting them know that they'd arrive soon. No doubt Hathor had made them leave early so they could be there for when Horus arrived with the evil god as his prey.

Or at least, that's what Seth thought had happened with how Hathor was glaring at him as she made her way past him and fell right into Horus' arms, interrupting his conversation.
"Horus, my love, I've missed you." her voice was soft. So soft in fact that Seth almost gagged.

Horus grabbed her by the shoulder, helping her to stand straight again, "Hello Hathor."
The poor girl was oblivious to the dread in his voice. Seth looked away, he wasn't really interested.

"Seth," It was Maat, "I'm glad to hear that you came back without a fight." There was a hidden meaning behind those words that Seth couldn't make out.

"Yeah, well. Here I am." he crossed his arms, "Heard you guys can't even keep a little bit of sand without me."

"I should cut your head off for leaving Egypt in the first place." Isis exclaimed, her blue eyes shimmering with anger.

"Can you blame me? It's not like I was welcome here anyway."

"For a reason!" Isis had to be held back by Maat who looked at Seth like...like she understood him. Like she didn't blame him even though he dared to go against her judgment and tried to escape his punishment.

"I heard Horus is getting married." he changed the topic, "Trying to please Ra, aren't you Isis?"

The crease between his sister's eybrows deepened with fury, "This has nothing to do with Ra. Hathor and Horus love each other and want to get married." she argued.

Seth looked over at the engaged couple to see that Hathor was now placing a kiss on Horus' lips. "I guess they are. You're lucky, Isis, to have Ra's favorite daughter as your daughter-in-law. Must be nice."

"It is nice. It's also nice to see that you're suffering for what you did." She must have been referring to the fact that Seth had lost some of his muscle mass and acquired a less-than-regal look.

"I see you even changed your hair color. Why? Is it because the humans chased you down as they did with me when you ordered them to? Doesn't feel so good now, does it?"
It was a weak attempt to make him feel what, ashamed?

"No, I just thought it would suit me better," he lied "Unlike you, I don't have to wear wigs to look good." that last part he said under his breath but she still heard him which almost landed him a punch on the head if not for Thoth who pulled Seth back.

"Now, now. This is no way to treat your brother, Isis."

"But he–"

"Let's all be nice to each other from now on, okay?" he smiled and Seth chuckled.

"I have nothing else to say. We made a contract, you convinced yourselves that I'm indeed back. Now I shall go back to my punishment."

Surprisingly, no one resisted when he walked past them, but then again, there wasn't much left to say without it ending in another fight.

Meanwhile, Hathor pulled Horus away from the group and behind one of the many ships, the water around her legs turned her skirt wet but she didn't seem to care for it as she placed more kisses on Horus' lips.

"I was so worried about you when Isis told me you left for Hellas." she whined, her arms wrapped around him as she looked up with a pained expression.

"You shouldn't have." Horus looked away, her expression making him uncomfortable.

Hathor grabbed one of his hands, holding it up to her face, "But how could I not? Knowing that you were off to a foreign land to catch the evil god of Egypt. That's such a heroic thing to do and so dangerous too! I mean, you're obviously much stronger than him but..."

Her talking faded away into the background while Horus remembered the day they had arrived in Hellas. He had been so anxious to see his Uncle again, hoping that he was safe and sound.

He realized that not for a single moment had he thought about Hathor, only ever his Uncle. He felt bad for lying to Hathor, seeing as how she expected his love and kindness but he could only give her so much.

He felt selfish, knowing that there was so much love in him that he would freely give away to Seth but wouldn't want to share any of it with this woman in front of him.
He knew he should be doing what was best for Egypt but when would it finally be his turn to be selfish? Who, if not he himself, would care about what it was that he wanted?

Isis obviously didn't, Hathor didn't...not even Seth did. But it was different with Seth, unlike his mother and Hathor, he didn't use Horus for his own gain.

"Horus...you know, maybe tonight you and I could spend some time together."

Hathor's cheeks turned red and she looked away, flushed and embarrassed.

"I don't think I–" Horus stammered but was swiftly interrupted by her.

"I want to take care of you with my body Horus, it's the most precious thing I own."

And Horus didn't know how to respond to that. How was he supposed to tell this woman that he was not interested in her body? Or any female body at all? He could feel her hand sliding down into his shendyt.

"Hathor!" he hissed and grabbed her wrist, "It's broad daylight." It was just an excuse but it seemed to work.

She smiled apologetically, You're right. I'll see you tonight then."

Horus took a deep breath in and softly pushed her away to go look for his Uncle. But when he looked over at the small group of gods he couldn't spot Seth anywhere. Damn Hathor.

"Where is Uncle Seth?" he asked when he reached them.

"He already left." Isis hissed. Knowing that her son had feelings for him felt like a stone in her stomach. Pictures of Osiris and Seth came to mind, only that instead of Osiris, she now saw her son in them. It infuriated her.

Horus sighed, thanks to Hathor he didn't even get to say goodbye to him.

"Anyway, it's time to go back to the palace now." Isis crossed her arms, "We have wedding preparations to make."

And Horus regretted that the storm a few days ago hadn't drowned them.