Chapter Text
Getting his wife back had been the easy part. While ruling was his lot in life and protecting his people the falcon god’s purpose, Horus could admit that after ten years in the palace he was restless. It was still in his nature to be a predator and a little bit of fun was calling his name.
Hathor knew this. Of course she did.
They had been married for so long now that she’d probably seen his need to get out for a while coming moons before. And she was quick to send him on his way as soon as the realization struck her husband at the noon meal of exactly what his problem was. Handling court for a day was nothing to the accomplished Mistress of the West.
His first inclination was to find Bek. It always was. The mortal existed within proximity to the interesting without fail.
Unfortunately it was the boy’s day off.
“He’s far from a boy these days,” Hathor noted as she was changing into her court attire in their rooms, setting her hair as desired around her crown before a large looking glass, “He hasn’t aged a day though. Odd.”
“It’s only been ten years,” Horus noted.
“Mortals can transform in far less time. Zaya certainly has,” She noted, then shrugged it off, “The two of you do everything together; I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you tracking him down.”
He hummed and transformed before taking off from their balcony. It was just good timing that he soared right past Nephthys coming to escort his queen to court, before he leveled out to search for his advisor. The sensation was addicting; the wind beneath his wings and Ra at his back as he looked over all of Egypt.
Bek was almost impossible to spot, but never quite invisible from the god’s sight completely. He was hooded and moving toward the lower district. Probably looking to keep his thieving skills sharp on his one free day a month.
Letting himself fall back to earth, it was nothing to scoop his dearest friend up off the street before flying even higher into the air, “Bek! Amuse me!”
“How?” His mortal demanded, clutching at Horus’ armored shoulders, voice shooting higher, “By falling to my death?”
Even the thought of such a thing still bothered him, “You know…”
“Oh, don’t be dramatic,” The smaller man ordered, adjusting with just a moment to reorient himself, “You just startled me. Shouldn’t you be at court?”
“I’m bored," The Lord of the Air noted, “Hathor sent me to find amusement elsewhere.”
By then he was just floating among the clouds and debating giving the mortal another toss, so he could catch him, “Don’t even think about it, bird brain.”
Horus grinned, “Then what do you want to do?
“Me? Oh, well…” Bek huffed, “I want to be placed slowly and gently back on the ground, go on my merry way, and get back to my day off.”
"Bek!"
"I was on the way to a meeting. I'm already fashionably late."
"I'll go with you!" Horus decided, letting them begin a fast descent to the ground.
Bek was quick to dust himself off as the god changed forms, "Absolutely not!"
"Why not?!"
"Gods don't dwell where I'm going. Find entertainment elsewhere."
"We dwell everywhere," He insisted, "Come on, Bek! Please?"
"Horus, please don't make me hurt your feelings. You cannot go with me."
"Why?!" He studied his favorite mortal.
The boy, and Hathor was right he hadn't aged a day unlike Zaya, was clearly frustrated as he looked up the street, one hand dragging through blond locks. Following his gaze, the Lord of the Air saw that the empty street was mostly lounges and then one in particular caught his attention. Its only marker was a large gold and blue djed with a gash through it, "Oh. You're going to an iconoclasm."
Bek took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. Once a month I come back to the old haunt to get away from the palace and everyone's godly needs."
"I should have known you attended one," Horus tried to lighten the mood with a joke, not wanting to let on that he felt as if his best friend had just punched him in the gut, "Zaya's the prayer."
"And now you know why you can't go."
The falcon god hummed and studied the establishment, “Technically there’s nothing to actually keep me from going in.”
“There would be a riot!” Bek insisted.
“They won’t even know I’m there,” Horus argued.
He transformed, but not into the typical armored falcon form. Instead, for the first time in their relationship, Bek had to look down to see the god. And he looked like any other falcon when he squawked at his advisor before flying up to land on his shoulder, “Oh, Ra, this is a bad idea.”
Despite the notion, he moved toward the establishment with a resigned sigh. There were very few iconoclasms in Egypt, but places where people went when they sought removal from the gods’ reach or sight weren’t unheard of. This was certainly the closest one to the palace.
It wasn’t all that much different from any other lounge. Maybe a little darker as there were no windows to allow for light and only a few lamps scattered around the various brightly colored and feather stuffed cushions. Where most places had depictions of love gods and goddesses, this had upside down ankhs, crumbling djeds, and behind the large wine selection ‘Roll the Bones’ was written in gold paint and illuminated by a special lamp just for it.
As soon as Bek entered all the men and women, somewhere around thirty of them, called out his name in greeting and his advisor waved broadly. No one even looked twice at the falcon on his shoulder.
Everyone was drinking, smoking, and having varied levels of fun partially dressed. There wasn't anything particularly godless about the place, confirming what Horus had always thought about iconoclasms really just being a state of mind. He could even see why Bek would like coming here for a break once a moon.
Thoth alone was a gracious plenty most days.
And gods were fascinated by Bek.
The mortal moved quickly toward the back of the lounge area and a series of gold colored silk cushions that looked to be stuffed with enough feathers to make the bird population of Egypt faint. Lounging on them was a pretty mortal girl; she had long golden blonde hair in several braids tied off by gold clips and her leathers also had a gold tint where she wore a short dress that stopped mid thigh and tied around her neck. She had two gold bangles around each wrist and ankle, as well as two bangles around her upper arms, and a slick gold chain necklace decorated with what looked like lion claws rested a fingertip above her cleavage.
When they got closer Horus was able to easily see her green eyes that were studying him from under lashes so dark many would have sworn that she had them lined with coal. And her voice was firm when she acknowledged his advisor without breaking eye contact from the god in animal form, "You're late."
"I got caught up, sorry," Bek flopped onto the adjacent pillow and finally noted her interest, "He was a gift."
"Hmm…" Even Horus couldn't do anything when she rolled onto her stomach and snatched him up in a firm hold so quickly that a stray thought cited it as confirmation she was a thief too, "Maybe we should pluck him to verify that."
A nervous screech left him and he had to admit that her gaze was somehow familiar.
And Bek huffed, "Alright, it's him."
"Don’t ever try to lie to me, kid. You suck at it." Even as she teased his advisor, Horus was being placed back on the cushion next to him, "Is nothing sacred anymore? You can't even come here without a divine chaperone?"
Horus flinched a bit at that. He hadn’t meant to encroach. Not truly.
"He was bored and it happened, Mau," By that point he had an arm thrown over his eyes, "Cut me a break… And you still don’t know you’re older."
"You're lucky we have the same mother," The girl, Mau, and apparently Bek's sister, rose and gestured to the wine selection, "Drink?"
"Bring the jug."
“Don’t be a babe,” She instructed, “It’s not like any harm was done.”
She was at the carafe when Bek finally looked up to follow her departure and muttered, “That could have gone so much worse.” When he glanced back at his companion, big brown eyes flew wide, “Watch out!”
Horus was grabbed once more, though not as assuredly, and he let out an alarmed screech when Bek hissed in pain, no idea what happened. The boy let him go and when he flew back up from the floor it was to see that, of all the things in the world, apparently a lion cub had been sneaking up behind his animal form. Where in Ra’s name had a lion cub come from?
“Scheme!” Mau shouted, “No! You leave Bek’s bird alone!”
The lioness scattered and disappeared beneath Bek’s lounge, but she’d already slashed his advisor right in the arm. His first instinct was to transform, but the mortal saw the light in his eyes and shook his head, nodding toward his sister, who was already coming back with a jug of wine and hot water.
A serving girl brought clean rags from somewhere.
And soon he was watching Mau clean the wound on Bek's shoulder, after the woman joined him on his lounge, “Should have remembered her.”
“Ow, ow, ow,” Bek whined as she cleaned the cuts with the warm water.
“Don’t be a babe,” She instructed again.
A stuck out tongue was her only response, until the other mortal ordered, “Blow on it at least.”
“Fine,” She blew gently on the wound and Horus could have sworn the temperature about them dropped. Once the royal advisor was all patched up, her attention turned downward, "Scheme, come here."
The little lioness was hesitant to come out, but was a cute little thing when not trying to eat him. She licked Bek's hand and purred out an apology for her pounce gone wrong. And she sat prettily between Mau's legs, studying them.
"If I have to keep the peace," She informed her furry friend, "Then so do you."
"Vile beast," Bek teased the cub.
"Not everyone can be so lofty in their ideals. Veins make better roots than wings."
Bek glanced in his direction and took a deep breath, "Do you want me to take him and go?"
That was when it struck Horus. It wasn't just because this was his advisor's iconoclasm. His sister wasn't fond of the falcon god specifically.
What had he ever done to this girl?
Besides lying to her brother, getting him killed, and then taking him away except for one day a moon?
Maybe he could see Bek's family not liking him. If he'd known his advisor had family beyond Zaya.
She didn't ask for his removal though, instead twisting to sit with her back to them, Mau laying down with the cub on her stomach, "One should never fight a war, then whine if your side loses."
Golden eyes flew in her direction, but Horus shook it off quickly. That was just one of those common sayings… Even a decade after his rule began.
Bek finally settled enough to pour himself a drink and told her what had been happening in his life since the moon came full cycle. They talked for hours, Horus stealing a beakful of his best friend’s wine fairly often and enjoying a pleasant buzz as time passed. Mau was apparently the better thief of their pair, even though it was hard for him to believe, and she had acquired enough wealth to own every iconoclasm in the kingdom.
In all the years they’d known one another, Bek had never mentioned being a twin, or having been found in a room with his sister as a newborn. Wasn’t the happiest story to share since they’d both been starving and were barely able to be saved as infants, but Horus would have truly thought he knew everything about his advisor after all these years. It was a bit like a slap to know that there were things the mortal kept from him, even if he was just embarrassed by his beginnings.
He also learned that the boy and Zaya had an open marriage in terms of men. It was certainly new information. Apparently Bek had several of Hathor’s priests around the palace’s harem amuse him when certain urges came to call. Horus would be a liar to say that a vicious sense of possessiveness didn’t overtake him at the revelation; relations he’d never considered his advisor to be interested in suddenly coming into play.
After a while, Scheme got curious and hopped back over onto their cushion, the lion cub getting all up in his business to sniff the god in falcon form. He didn’t mind necessarily. His mind did wander to what would happen if he sized up to his traditional form and scared the hell out of the little brat though.
And Bek seemed content to let her check him out until their afternoon was unceremoniously interrupted by the other divine entities that the boy was trying to escape. A golden glow started the entire ordeal in the center of the room, sand spinning like a cyclone in the center space, and Scheme jumped a foot in the air before diving underneath her keeper’s cushion. All the other patrons in the place were shouting and screaming about curses, running out of the iconoclasm and calling upon several gods to protect them.
Mau just rolled her eyes and leaned back to observe the phenomena, Bek looking remarkably like her reflection where the god was perched between them on the joining of their cushions. Both men who worked in the palace knew exactly who was looking for them as they saw the sight often enough. And Hathor appeared, first taking them in, then turning to look around the haunt where they’d wound up.
It took a few seconds of studying the iconoclasm’s largest painting of a crumbling djed before his wife noted, “I am hurt. I am very much hurt.”
Since the patrons were gone anyway, Horus let himself take on his normal form, arms crossed over his chest tightly, “Don’t bother. I already milked that cow for all it’s worth.”
“After everything we went through together?” His wife demanded, studying Bek.
“It is not personal,” He insisted, pulling himself up and into a seated position, “My sister owns the place and I’ve attended since before I ever knew you immortal pains.”
“Hmmph,” The goddess muttered, then took note of Bek's arm, "You're hurt."
"Little scratch," He insisted, "My sister's cat is a menace."
Hathor slowly turned her attention to the girl he indicated, “My, my, what a pretty little gem…”
“Hathor,” Horus warned.
“Eww!” His advisor gagged, “Don’t you ever imply such a vile thing again! That is my sister!”
Mau just laughed, but she remained in her reclined position for his wife to ogle, despite confessing, “You’re not my type.”
“How disappointing,” And his wife was genuinely put out to receive one of the few dismissals the goddess ever faced in her life, “You're both needed in the palace. Ra is here waiting.”
“Ahh, fuck,” Horus muttered.
“So much for a day off,” Bek noted.
“Perhaps you’d like to come with them?”
The most successful thief in all of Egypt smiled at the Mistress of the West, but shook her head as she finally rose to stand, “My sister in law is the prayer. I’ll have to leave the divine crises to you.”
Bek hugged his sister and they had the decency to go out the back exit before Horus armored up, grabbing his mortal about the waist and taking off. It took less than five minutes to fly back to the palace, citizens hollering cheers as they took the most direct route back.
Ra was not to be kept waiting.
They landed in the courtyard and dusted themselves off. Time may have been of the essence, but Horus couldn't stop himself from studying his dearest friend because he was aching to know if he had a chance. More of one than his wife had with the boy's sister.
"Stop staring," Bek ordered as he turned to go inside.
"Sorry."
"What's wrong?"
"I just…" Horus adjusted his outer shirt around the hem, "You never mentioned using Hathor's harem before."
That earned him the funniest look as Bek turned to head inside, "Since when do you mind who others lay with?"
"That's not…" Horus took a deep breath and followed him.
No one mentioned him laying with men, because everyone knew who the first and last man in his bed had been. And Bek had to know the story too. Everyone knew he'd defied the will of both his parents to lay with his uncle.
All the more, he supposed what he wanted his advisor to know was, "I'm just disappointed I didn't know. I'd have tried my hand at seducing you."
They were almost back to the throne room when he said it and then promptly had to catch Bek when he slipped in surprise, "Horus!"
"Just an idea," He grinned down at his friend and sat him back on his feet, "Probably best revisited after we know if the world's about to end."
Curly and fluffy blond hair shifted as he nodded. Bek got in position to open the door for the god and entered a step behind him as was their habit. It was a lavish assembly of the divine that was made even more so by a fire engulfed mirage of the creator of their universe standing in the center of the room between Horus and Hathor's thrones and the rest of the Egyptian pantheon.
Bek didn't notice the dark shadow leaning against a far window as they reached the room's front and their seats, but Horus certainly did, "What are you doing here?!"
"You know you've missed me."
Looking over, he tensed out of reflex. Ra had honored many lives coming back from the dead and despite Horus' objections one of them was Set. It hadn't impacted much besides getting on the King of Egypt's nerves, because until now he'd been corralled to his father's ship as the creator's sworn defender and he'd been completely removed from the line of succession in terms of the throne.
Horus was about to let his inner vitriol fly as Bek ducked into his seat next to Zaya, but it seemed his grandfather was in no mood, "Now is not the time to battle each other! Save your energy!"
Bek couldn't help it when reflexively he sent a grateful prayer to Ra when the falcon god swallowed his next words and took up his throne. It only occurred to him what he'd done when the conjured mirage winked at him. And it was only natural to flush at the acknowledgement.
"Grandfather."
"I haven't much time. There are two children, born of the goddess Sekhmet before she was bound for the sake of civilization…"
Bek noted that Bast was at the opposite end of the room from him, but it was odd because she tended toward the back of the court. Now, she was sitting in the seat closest to where Set loomed. He recalled that they were said to have had an affair before the lioness goddess of justice and chaos, plagues and healing, and the desert sun was reduced to a gentler goddess of fertility, childbirth, and the moon.
Beside her was Ptah. And he did not look happy about his wife's past form having children with another. Bek wondered who the father was.
"...She conceived during your affair with Set, when the three of you had relations," Ra didn't leave him in suspense for long.
It barely occurred to him to blink while digesting the news, however.
Bek still noticed when his friend's enraged piercing blue eyes flew to his uncle. Despite the fact that Set clearly knew all this already, there was a dark moment of solidarity between the two in the face of shared incandescence which he'd never seen the likes of before.
Horus hissed, "Why haven't we heard of them until now?"
"Because I took them. Sent both through time in order to hide them from the Priests of Apophis. They were able to reach majority during Set's reign, but now they've been tracked by the bastards." Ra sighed and bitterly confessed, "If they are killed before transforming into their godly forms, then the Priests of Apophis will gain the ability to complete impossible feats and become an unstoppable force."
"Why strip their immortal forms, Father?"
"It was the first thing they would have traced. Now they can only be traced through combining their parents' blood,'' The creator indicated Horus, Set, and Bast at Hathor's question, "Enough of it was shed and collected by the Priests during the war, the final they needed being Set's, but if you manage to cooperate then you can get ahead of them. Their divine natures are in Sekhmet's temple."
The vision faded almost as quickly as he'd appeared and only Set was left in his wake as proof Ra had even been there. Chaos erupted amongst the court and Bek listened as Horus established order by threatening violence for the first time in a decade. Showed how stressed he was.
Zaya was their queen's primary handmaiden and she moved quickly to lead the others back to their duties at being dismissed. The mortals exchanged notes quickly about the day, then were separated again.
The King of Egypt dismissed those that weren't needed to track his children and unhappily tolerated Set on the team he assembled to look for them. He kept Hathor, Thoth, and Bast close, along with Bek as they moved into his private study. Ptah wasn't happy to be shut out, but Horus didn't rightly give a damn.
While the god of wisdom was preparing what they'd need to magically track both kids, Bast confirmed that she had no memory of them from her days as Sekhmet. Hathor had her cat headed sister's hand held tightly in her own and promised that they were going to bring both home. Bek hoped it was a promise they could keep.
Ritual prepared, Horus, Set, and Bast each dropped a bit of blood from pricked fingers into a golden well. Hathor blessed the contents with sand from her hand and a similar moment to what happened at Mau's swirled into existence over the container.
Bek wasn't prepared for his sister and his own face to be looking out at them from the sands, "Oh, just let Apophis fucking have it!"
If anyone was offended, he didn't stick around to find out. Storming back towards his rooms, Bek couldn't stop. Even when he heard Horus hurrying after him.
Slamming the door behind him, Bek cursed every god he could think of in the most colorful ways he could think of. Didn't save him from Horus entering without asking for permission.
"I'll take 'glittery' and 'gold,' but I take exception to being called a goose."
"Too right you are," Bek agreed before dunking his entire head into the water basin on their table, "Goose is too good for you."
He stayed under until it was a choice between breathing or drowning. When he came up for air and shook his hair out, the Lord of the Air had clearly been getting concerned because he was approaching to hoist Bek up. Grabbing a towel and wringing out his hair, he moved out on the balcony.
There was a jug of wine sitting by the door leading outside that he grabbed, before parking his still mortal ass on the swing there and drinking deeply. Horus approached slowly and sat down next to him. Gorgeous eyes were bound to be concerned because, even if he refused to look, the side of his face was warm.
"Bek…"
"This is a fucking disaster."
"I know it was a lot to take in," Horus offered gently, knowing the boy might not be receptive to the next part, "I'm quite content to have you for centuries to come though."
"Just not in the way you intended."
He said it in a teasing way, but Horus wouldn't be put off that easily, "God, remember? We have no such taboos."
Bek hummed, already knowing that, but was in no mood to delve deeper into the topic at this moment, "Did Set go to get Mau?"
"He isn't allowed out of the palace without an escort," The falcon god scrutinized him, "Why would I send him anyway?"
"Because you weren't the only one with their own thief."
That deep gravelly voice broke into their discussion and when the pair looked back inside Bek's rooms it seemed that Zaya had let Set and the rest of Horus' hand picked team in. Bek's wife came to hug and comfort him, her lady clearly having updated the mortal. A fleeting thought went to the knowledge that he'd now once more face losing her, but he buried the thought way down in the deepest recesses of his mind.
Studying his uncle, Horus didn't have to struggle to imagine the god's relationship with their daughter, "You were lovers too."
The Lord of the Desert didn't answer, because it wasn't a question. It explained why Mau wasn't fond of his blond ass though. He'd killed her benefactor and lover.
She'd quoted him earlier and it had been intentional. Not just a chance occurrence.
"We need to get her back here," Bast broke in, staring out at the setting sun, "If they track her…"
"Your immortal form will be tied to you," Thoth noted, wandering over to examine Bek as he did often, "It can't become a free for all unless you're both killed."
"Fine. Once we get them here," Hathor broke in, "Who do we send to the temple?"
"Only Sekhmet… my," Bast finally settled on, "Blood or lovers can enter the temple."
"We'll go after them, then." Horus gestured to Set and everyone looked concerned.
Even the chaotic deity was surprised, but he recovered quickly, "Makes the most sense."
"We'll go with you."
"Bek," Hathor tried for gentle, "It's too dangerous. You both need to stay here."
Big eyes didn't even hesitate to swing back to Set, "You want to tell them what happens when she feels cloistered?"
"Hmm…" He seemed to think on it before deciding, "No, we'll let that be a surprise."
"That's just mean spirited," The royal advisor teased, before passing his jug to Zaya, "May as well go break the news gently."
He didn't see Horus' jaw clench at the familiarity. So he didn't know to explain that he'd never met Set prior to their confrontation where he'd found out the falcon god lied. It didn't occur to him to say that his sister intentionally kept him away from the god so he couldn't be used against her, because for Bek it wasn't important.
The Mistress of the West wanted to go with them, but Horus refused. He was going back into his falcon form to not draw attention towards their party and Set turned into one of his red hounds. Odd looking for a dog, he still drew less attention than a crocodile or hippopotamus. Then Bast took on her cat form and once more they began the trek back out of the palace.
Thoth wanted to go, but four was already a crowd. He was bringing three gods into the girl's iconoclasm, one who was her thought to still be dead previous lover and now father. While the god of wisdom wasn't a bad person, there was no reason to tempt fate when he wasn't exactly a people person either.
With the sun starting to set, Horus shouldn't have been surprised when they moved into the residential section instead of back to her place of business. She lived in one of the richest neighborhoods in Egypt and he could only speculate that his uncle had taken very good care of his personal thief. Especially since Bek insisted that the blonde was the best in all of Egypt.
There was a tall building of off white stone that Set wound up leading the way into, so apparently she'd lived here for over a decade. Many residents seemed to live here and they were friendly enough. An older woman was leaving the third floor and her laugh lines stretched into a smile at the sight of Bek.
"Look who managed to sneak away! It's been too long since you came by here, Bek!"
"Hello, Lady Nadari."
They hugged and chatted for a few minutes, but she didn't seem to plan on holding them up for long, "I have to go. Haran's wife just went into labor."
"Give him my congratulations. I'm gonna go harass my sister."
"I don't think she's home yet, dear," She was already heading down the stairs, "But don't hold an old woman to that. You cat burglars have proven me wrong before."
He sent her off with a farewell, but Horus felt how tense he was at the news. Producing a custom key from somewhere, Bek opened the door opposite where the old woman came out, and inside was a set up very similar to the palace in that it was fit for a god. Gold and bone white mixed around them in a lovely compliment of one another.
But Mau wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"She should be here by now."
All three of them shifted and Horus suggested, "Let's check the iconoclasm. She may have stayed late after Hathor's little display."
Bek turned on his heels and was back out the door in a blink. They rushed to follow, only Set thinking to lock the door as he exited.
When they got out onto the street he was in such a hurry that Bek almost missed it. A sound on the wind that he'd heard a million times before, "Rauw… rauw!"
He spun toward the alley and searched it until he found the red eyes that had to be there, "Scheme! Come here, sweetie. It's Uncle Bek."
Slowly she emerged from under a pile of trash and it was evident right away that the cub was limping. He rushed to take her, the gods and goddess following him all shifted once more, and they all saw the blood staining her fur, "No…"
"Bek," Horus grabbed him by the back of the neck, "Do not assume the worst."
"What if…"
"She's fine," It was Set who broke in to insist with such conviction that all of them believed him, "The girl could hold her own against me. Bast, take her cat back to the palace."
"But…"
"You are not a fighter. Not in this form."
He wasn't wrong and they all knew it. Though the mother was terrified, taking care of her daughter's lion cub was probably the best thing she could do for Mau at this moment. And as soon as she was gone, they all rushed off toward the lower district.
Lounges only got more lively at night and iconoclasms were no different. The entire street was a giant party, except for his sister's establishment. No lights were glowing inside or out, so they had to grab the torch outside that indicated an establishment being opened or closed, then lit it using the inn's light from next door. Bek thought he was going to be sick when they got inside.
The only reason he was holding himself together was that of the twenty bodies scattered around the entire joint all of them were men. Horus and Set moved into the room and checked the corpses for evidence.
Egypt's king held up a medallion, "Apophis' Priests."
"Looks like she had the dagger and spear I gave her," Set shook his head, "If she's on the run, we'll need help tracking her."
They moved outside and to the nearest alley, Horus leading out a pale Bek by a gentle hand on his lower back. When Set gave a sharp whistle, his nephew watched the man back in his element as the sounds of howls and a stampede rushed toward them. He'd be a liar to say it didn't still stir something in his belly.
Red hounds poured into the alley and street beyond, but their leader was the only female in the lot. The bitch was all black with red highlights, while the rest were inverted in terms of color.
"Sha, it seems our little kitten lost her way," The way she whined truly did sound concerned and Horus tried to see what the older god pulled out of his armor, but couldn't over his shoulder where Set kneeled to give instructions, "Find her."
The creature with a forked tail and square ears sniffed, then offered a howl. And all of the hounds took off to search, spanning across the city like a sand storm.
Then a blood curdling scream broke through the night and Horus immediately armored up to fly into the sky. Buildings were on fire across the city and upon closer inspection every one of them was an iconoclasm. They were trying to smoke her out.
"Bek, go alert Hathor to deploy the city guard," He ordered upon touching back down, "Then stay there."
"Are you ins…"
"They're on the way." The three of them turned to see that his wife had apparently sent Nephthys to find them, "I'm supposed to bring Bek back."
"Bek still has to find his sister!"
"Bek," Horus grabbed him by both sides of his face, "I am going to find her, I swear. Please trust me."
"And if he trips at the finish line," Set popped off, but at least it was for the cause, just before he whistled for his chariot, "Then I fully intend to finish the job."
"I am going to find her. Do whatever you need to."
"Bek!" Horus hissed at his back as the man headed out the other side of the alley toward the busy street across from his sister's establishment.
"I can take care of myself!"
"Bek, that is not the…"
He was gone or Horus had to shout.
He cursed the mother both his children got their audacity from, "I'm going to kill her."
"Seems to be your habit."
"You couldn't tell me you didn't think I was ready?"
"And you couldn't tell your father that you didn't either." Set raised both arms in a call for judgment, "He was ready. He asked me to."
"And he couldn't tell me that first?"
"No." Set corrected right away, "You forget yourself; he was your father."
He stressed the possessive and Horus ground his break as he transformed. His uncle wasn't through though, "He took his final form as we all have, but you weren't meant to stay down; it was my favorite thing about you."
When he changed it was like Horus' youth was reborn. The god was solid black and his head turned into the regal, but dangerous form of a crocodile. A pair of square ears created their own sort of crown alongside his long face and took him back to the days when he'd considered both his father and uncle kings in their own right. At the same time Horus could still recall his feelings that day; all the agony and his horror, "I couldn't even look at you."
"That was your choice." Set reminded him, "I don't expect you to act so childishly again. At least set an example for the boy."
"That boy can take care of himself." He insisted immediately, "Two wrongs don't make a right."
"Then we may as well go and kick these bastards out of your city," His uncle determined.
"You couldn't tell me you wanted a divorce?"
They both froze.
And the Lord of the Desert got off his mount slowly, shifting back to face his previous wife.
Horus' aunt glared at him, "You have audacity even I couldn't imagine calling that his habit."
"I expect him to be better than me."
"I would have given it to you, Set."
"She wouldn't have said yes."
"You don't know that."
"I do."
"Set, you were fulfilled with her…" She looked so betrayed, but apparently not for the reasons that the falcon god would have assumed, “And you couldn’t tell me ?”
"This is not your burden to bear, Neph."
"How am I the goddess of love in death," She insisted. "If I keep you from her, alone, who you would kill and die for?"
The fearless brother of his father's dynasty shifted uncomfortably at the call out, "I should have told you."
"You were my brother first." Horus noted when her eyes darted to his golden form, "He was young and angry at both of you. Forgive yourself. Sissy and I do."
She took off into the air and flew back toward the palace. And as the older god retook his chariot, Horus did the same.
From the sky he screeched a plan to his uncle.
Then it took ten minutes.
Apophis' mortals were put down like the rabid dogs they were as a form of synergism he hadn't felt since his father's reign sparked between them. Standing atop a mountainous pile of their corpses, Horus had to confess his own elected memory loss. There were few things as easy as battling at the side of the war deity his father had summoned whenever dirty work needed to be done.
It had never even been a thought after their battle for Egypt concerning who would take Set’s place at the head of the City Guard and his military forces. Sobek, who looked so like the only father he acknowledged and fashioned himself after, met them at the top of the priest pile and embraced Set, before taking the men to look for Bek. The Lord of the Air didn’t reckon that they’d have much luck, but he had to try. And he speculated that Anubis would feel better after his brother made clear that their father was divorced from Neph, not them.
“What do you carry with her scent?” He demanded as they both panted in the aftermath of the fight.
The answer was what it was as the corner of the old man’s mouth turned upward, “That’s none of your concern.”
Horus just shook his head as Sha howled somewhere in the distance and they took off to find both of the twins. He was going to kill Bek for running off like this. The mortal should be at the palace where they knew he was safe. Now both of them were in the wind.
Their journey led them out of the city and to the banks of the Nile. Worked out well enough that when he touched down and Set’s chariot pulled to a stop beside him, Bek was kneeling by the edge of the water next to Sha. He didn’t look to be hurt and they both contemplated yelling at him for disappearing like that, but seemed to be flipping the proverbial coin back and forth between themselves.
“She disappeared at the edge,” His advisor hissed in acknowledgement of their arrival, unperturbed by their ire.
“She can’t be swimming,” Horus rose up into the air and looked toward both ends of the river, but found nothing. He shrieked unhappily as he came down, "She's out of my sight.”
“I wonder why that is,” His uncle didn’t really seem to be wondering as he eyed a bask of crocodiles guarding their nests on the opposite bank. “Out of the way, boy.”
Bek did as he was ordered quickly and finally noticed when his best friend’s jaw ticked at his immediate movement so Set could get to the water. His brows drew together as the gold deity snapped at his darker counterpart, “Carry something of his too?”
An ethereal glow spread from the god’s hand easily and he seemed to ignore his nephew for a moment as he searched, but when he stood to acknowledge Egypt’s King it was with a grin, “No. Never met him until I revealed your lie. Feeling insecure?”
Horus shoved him off when the asshole shook Nile water off on his armor, but all he got was a wink before the big mouth snapped the reins and took off. Unwilling to lose Bek again, he grabbed him and took to the sky. There wasn’t a bit of him that didn’t flinch when the boy spoke up.
“My sister and I share a lot of things,” He laughed a bit as he said it, “Lovers aren’t one of them.”
Egypt's king didn't respond mostly due to embarrassment over getting caught. There wasn't really time to do so either because it took no time at all to follow his uncle blazing a trail down the bank for miles. When they finally found her the reason their daughter had been shielded from his sight was obvious. Mau was fast asleep on her stomach as she floated down the Nile on the back of a gargantuan beast that the Lord of the Desert commanded like a favored pet.
"Jaku," He called for the crocodile's attention with a growl, "Bring her to me."
And it didn't hesitate to listen, turning to swim toward them like a twenty foot log drifting to shore. She wasn't unmarred from the fight in her iconoclasm as the Nile crocodile let Set pick her up. Bruises and gashes littered her body and that was no surprise after taking on twenty men.
When the god was able to pick up and hold her to his chest with one arm, their relationship was unquestionable as her instinct in slumber was to snuggle his neck and lock a hand in the neckline of his armor. Horus had to admit that he hadn't seen his uncle look at anyone the way he did this girl. And it was evident immediately why Neph was upset he didn't just ask for the divorce.
More priests would certainly be coming and they didn't have time to waste. Rushing back to the palace it was still early on in the night, so Horus knew they needed to wait until the next morning to depart. Especially when Mau needed a healer, but Bek insisted that they were still going to Sekhmet's temple. His advisor needed time with Zaya after the day he'd faced, which the King completely understood as he herded Hathor away from his sleeping daughter when she couldn't quite get over her fascination.
It was easy enough to accept that he couldn't pursue Bek immediately, but letting him be far away was more of a challenge. The same protective flare lit in his chest concerning the boy's twin sister and he put both of them in smaller suites next to his own. Horus knew he'd never get a wink of sleep if they were far away.
Horus still hesitated to leave his uncle in the girl's room, but his wife laughed and pulled him along, "She can handle him."
Set had been staring at the love of his life and only glanced up at them when the comment caught his attention as maids brought in healing ointments, "We'll see how good your hearing is when she begs for my attentions."
He just shut the door without comment.
Hathor hummed under his arm though, "Him faux-confident is interesting. I've never seen it before."
The King stopped where they were entering their bedchamber, "She won't want him there?"
"No, but only never facing him again would be worse." The goddess seemed to realize that he was debating making the war deity leave her, "They have much to discuss."
"But if she's not ready…"
"She was ready a decade ago," She laughed, "He's the hold up."
"Why?"
"Fear of rejection mostly. He didn't know who Bek was when he tried to kill him, but that's no acceptable excuse and he knows it." Hathor studied him as they disrobed and climbed into bed, "We all have our follies."
"Oh, here we go."
"Why aren't you pursuing him?"
"He's asleep!" Horus defended himself, "After a very long day."
"Zaya has had a long day; the husband she was supposed to grow old with is a god and she's over thirty now." Scoffing, she foretold, "He takes after my sister and is about to go look for a distraction."
"You're ridiculous." He rolled over and feigned going to sleep until he heard the door to Bek's suite open, "I hate you."
"Liar." Once he was up and almost to the door she suggested, "Have you considered he didn't think it would be possible to couple with you?"
He seemed struck by the thought when he looked back at her for a moment while throwing on something to be decent, "It's more than possible with a quick pot…"
"But what if he doesn't know about those; most mortals don't," Hathor reminded that fact of her potions, so few gods used them unless they were just in the mood for a challenge. "Try what the rest of us do and explore your human form."
She could tell by the look on his face that it had never once occurred to the big dolt. It was only right to express her feelings, "Birds can be razor sharp or dense as a pile of rocks, I swear."
"I love you."
"And I love you," She promised, "Enough to go enjoy the show from the Queen's Chambers."
They kissed and he hurried down a secret passage to get to the hall leading to her harem ahead of Bek. Truth was that in a lot of ways he was still a young god and certainly a very new king, but he was infinitely aware of both. Having never explored his human form was a shining example of just that.
Gods didn't typically share that with each other and before Bek it hadn't seemed like there would ever be a reason. He was aware of the concept though and knew it to be an intimate thing to share with a mortal. It would have occurred to him so much sooner that he had someone to share it with except for Zaya. Truly Horus had thought Bek uninterested in anyone else, because mortals couldn't typically give that sort of devotion to more than one person.
Shifting near a mirror leading into the harem, he actually got distracted by the ability to take in the palace from a mortal’s perspective before even taking himself in. When he finally looked at his reflection though, Horus had to admit that he wasn’t all that disappointed. Still taller than Bek and larger than the average human, now they were just in the same weight class. And he was not going to call the sensation erupting in his stomach butterflies, just because that thought made him so very excited.
With a moment to get adjusted to his new size, Egypt’s king took a staying breath and turned to go herd his advisor, best friend, and son as far away from here as he could via seduction. He’d managed well enough with Hathor when they'd been courting. It struck him as he twisted down the halls toward their rooms that Bek was his heir.
No one had really been worried about him producing one. Not with him only having been king for ten years. Especially among gods, because they were born so rarely. It was something that they needed to talk about though. Horus wouldn’t let anyone else even think about taking that title from him.
Unless… That assumption might have been unfair to Mau. If she was older, then it was hers by right.
He’d have to ask Ra and gauge both of their interest in taking over after him, honestly.
Those thoughts had him so distracted once they took root that he managed to waltz right into Bek. Even with them far closer to the same size he still knocked the thief backward with their collison and hurried to catch him. Luckily size was pretty much the only thing that was different about this form. Horus was realizing quickly that he had all the same access to his strength, reflexes, and other divine abilities. Logically he knew that gods used their larger forms to establish a differentiation from mortals and false superiority, but he really could just see staying like this most of the time for convenience, if it wasn’t for those dumbasses.
"Sorry," He offered right away, grabbing him about the hip and around the back of his head to make sure nothing was injured, "This was probably a bad time to experiment."
"Horus? Holy-" Thief eyes looked to take in every change he could as the smaller man was maneuvered back to his feet by the larger. When he got there, still it was difficult to fathom, "Fuck me… What did you do?"
He chuckled, "My wife suggested maybe you'd never considered me a contender due to size. I didn't realize how right she was."
"She-"
"Excused herself to the Queen's Chambers for a night."
"Horus…"
"Tell me you don't want this."
Bek sighed in frustration, because he appreciated what Hathor was trying to do, but, "I really need something uncomplicated right now. You're… Not."
"We do not have to talk. I won't lie to you…"
Divine nature simply was and they were possessive. The trait from Ra magnified in them far more than humans. Though Bek wasn't obsessed with it, he'd come to understand much about them in a decade, so Horus hoped he'd understand that he wasn't saying the next part to coerce him into anything.
"If you went in there, I might hurt them."
"Fuck me…" Bek shook his head, "No, that is not hot. It is not. This day is fucking with me."
Horus smirked.
Movement from the harem disturbed their private conversation. Horus knew that Ramses was probably the most attractive priest in service to his wife; at least from the masculine perspective. Older, but not elder, he had that sort of thickness that came with time and effort. Tattoos graced him artfully, black ink symbolizing all his wife and her favorite sister stood for, along with dark hair thick and wavy that extended to a short beard, plus some dusting on his chest. All visible in nothing except black leather pants, probably only put on because he was leaving a shift.
Raven eyes narrowed in on Bek's ass where the younger mortal was unknowingly caught between them. He paid no mind to who he thought was another mortal with him. Why would he? No other mortal outranked Bek. Few even held a candle to Hathor's most honored priest.
"Bek, long time no see," He grinned and approached the younger man warmly. "I can stick around if you're in need, baby bo-"
It was in the way Bek's eyes darkened. Beautiful face gone flush at the sound of that deep rich voice behind them. Then the use of a pet name he'd always kept privately trapped in his own head for fear his best friend would be pissed off about its use.
A screech shattered glass for three hallways.
Horus only stopped because he realized the cause was him. A fact brought to life by his son being stupid enough to jump between him and the other mortal. When he did though, immediately going back to human form and as the priest ran off thankful to be alive, it struck him what his boy had just done.
Brown eyes alight with anger at him for all but attacking someone who hadn't even touched him, while strong hands locked against the King's chest in an attempt to physically halt him even momentarily, Horus had to know, "Do you love him?"
"That had nothing to…" Bek growled, frustrated. "I wouldn't have gotten through the last ten years without Ramses, but more for his services then him."
"Oh." Divine eyes envisioned the darker man, "He looks like Set with long hair."
"You have got to let this go, Horus!" The great love of his life besides his wife scoffed, "The only reason I even started up with him was because…"
"Because?"
"You know what? It doesn't even matter." He turned and started back towards his room.
Horus didn't want to fuck up their relationship. Throw away ten years in a day. Attempting to get into their usual rhythm, he led the boy gently by his arm to the secret passage, "Why, Bek?"
"Horus…"
"We've talked about everything for a decade, Bek. Please, I… I can't lose you to all this." He was so far from above begging, "Talk to me."
The mortal thought about it for a few long breaths, but finally confessed, "He didn't look anything like the person I wanted most."
He chuckled, "You wouldn't be dumb enough to go for a lookalike."
"In your wife's harem? I'm no fool."
There wasn't so much pressure in the dim lit tunnel, him only taking Bek's hand to lead the way, "What qualities did he have that you wanted?"
"Ask me what you truly want to know, coward."
A second thought occurred to him. Bek wanted a distraction. Not kid gloves. Fine.
Spinning to snatch him, Horus used one hand wrapped around his throat to pin him to the wall. His other hand locked on the back of a thigh he'd spent ten years admiring, a longing finally explored. He could do razor sharp, "Have you spent a decade pretending that mortal could handle your bratty tendencies?"
The boy's breath hitched and he hardened, "H-Horus…"
His chuckle was dark and dangerous, "That it wouldn't take a god to make you feel out of control for a second." Grinding his leg upwards, he whispered in Bek's ear still, "Don't tell me that pretty mouth hasn't spent ten years calling him by my favorite title." Feeling usually sure hands clutching at his shoulders, he ordered before tasting the sensitive flesh behind his ear, "Make it up to me."
"How?"
"You know how."
"F-fuck me."
Leaving a hickey behind, he started to pull away. It was more an exclamation than a directive. Brown eyes were screwed shut as his head was thrown back against the stone wall, "So close, baby boy."
A moment was stolen behind closed eyes, before Bek finally seemed to commit to pursuing him too. The hand at Horus' neck moved up to curl in blond hair to pull him closer again. They locked eyes, sharing air for a moment, before he commanded, "Fuck me, daddy."
Horus wound up picking him up by his ass to stumble into the King's Chambers. Using a partial shift so that his wings were accessible, they flew up to the bed without breaking from a tango of tongues.
After playing for several hours, making it quite clear that he best never find Ramses alone with the younger man again, he finally knew the exhausted boy needed to sleep. Bek was so beautiful in his bed, but eventually he let himself drift off too.
It wasn't until he woke up alone that he realized seducing him was a ruse. Not just perpetrated by Bek either, oh no. Dense as a pile of rocks, indeed. So, if Hathor set his son up to escape toward Sekhmet's place with a head start, then the one aiding his likely missing daughter was…
"NEPHTHYS!!!"
She had to have left the palace. The old man had already killed her once and this time the love of his life left him alone in bed; it was not a good time for testing. Horus shook his head, armoring up to go keep the peace, so he could drag his uncle after the twins.
So much for fucking boredom.