Work Text:
Strands of golden hair fell over her shoulders like rays of sunlight, swaying to the movement of her head like curtains. She popped a green grape between tender lips from the mountain of fruits that Seth held up. Seth watched with unwavering eyes, chin resting on a balled fist. He watched like he had nothing better to do; not like he was born to protect Egypt, or to fend off evil. No, he watched as though he was born to worship her existence instead.
His eyes followed her every move: her cheeks, rosy as they chewed the grape, her lips, a pale pink smiling at the delicacy, her hands, soft and slender as they landed on her lips where they had delivered a grape. This beauty whom he had been lucky enough to have been bestowed as his wife, this beauty was his for all eternity, and his chest inflated with that thought alone.
His very own Goddess.
So immersed in etching this momentary image into his immortal memory, Seth was unaware of Nephthys’ approach. When he had regained his focus, his beloved had already become mere inches apart from his face, a charming smile ever-present on her lips. “Seth?”
Her voice trickled into his ears and they rejoiced. She pushed his hand, which held the plate of the fruit mountain, aside and he set it down on a near table.
“Yes?” He answered coughing shortly to regain his voice as he croaked. For how long had he been staring at her?
“You looked faraway.”
No. Believe me, I was with you.
Oh but of course Seth wasn’t one capable of pronouncing such words of obvious affection outwardly. So instead, he settled for a shake of his head and a curt, “I’m alright.”
She took his response in stride anyway, because she knew him. She knew her brother, she knew her husband well enough to know that his love was pronounced through actions rather than words. She stole a look at the plate of fruits he had held out, the same one he always made sure to keep stacked with the finest and ripest of Egyptian seeds—for her.
She bent away and back to her spot where she had been watching in delight as priests played the harp before them in worship. Her golden strands held Seth’s attention once again and he was overcome by a strange desire to see them dance to the commanding winds. To see her smile in broad daylight, the landscape of the wide and open desert beneath her. He knew she would without a doubt, find beauty in its emptiness. In fact, there was a very possible situation in which his wishes can be met. A strange organization of words tumbled from his lips shortly.
“Would you like to ride the chariot with me?”
The music still played, but for them time had suddenly stopped. Nephthys regarded his words as a strange invitation, though somewhere in her heart she sensed a certain desire answered. It was not very often that Seth allowed her near anything that related to his duty. He thought his position cruel and often bloody and as such, the idea of having someone join him on his chariot which he so often rode to battle, was naturally unwelcome.
Now, Nephthys has ridden her fair share of chariots, so it was not for the desire to experience. It was only that she had never experienced this with him. He rarely allowed her a peek into this other side of him. When he was around her, he was all sunshine and rainbows—well, the Seth version of that—and while Nephthys sensed his love and devotion in that choice, she also felt that it had been restricting her own devotion to him, her own love. She wanted to see all the parts of him. Even if he wasn’t taking her to battle, to ride with him, to see the world how he saw it…wouldn’t that be close enough?
So, to hear his proposition, Nephthys was fairly surprised and very pleased.
Her expression may have been a clear enough indicator of her thoughts for Seth whose mask hid his own appalled one. Nephthys’ eyes had widened, her cheeks darkened and her fingers clasped tightly over her lap.
Seth looked away before he could fully analyze her reaction, feeling flustered by his own lack of control over his tongue. How could he ask her to ride with him? What a pathetic request! Ride the chariot? What was so enticing about that? Why would she agree to such a childish idea? They were married. They had a kid. They were parents! “Never mind that—“
“I would love to.” Just as she was the Goddess of Harmony, her voice had the immediate effect of calming his splurge of frantic thoughts.
“You would?” And she responded with a very enthusiastic nod of her head. He looked away and positioned his hand in a way that hid his own giddy smile.
Seth couldn’t explain exactly how things progressed, but in little time he found himself standing before a real chariot, unlike the usual one he rode made of sand, with a hand stretched out toward his wife. Her hand grabbed onto his without thought and he led her onto the chariot. His eyes traveled downwards as he noticed her bare feet, they stepped up unto the golden platform as though feathers. He smiled as he stepped up beside her, his own footsteps so heavy and arrogant unlike hers, light and elegant.
She smiled up at him and stood on her tiptoes. It happened all too fast, even for someone so experienced in war, for someone who depended on his fast reflexes—to stand before a gentle beauty who hid her sly professionally, this revered God of War was powerless. She stole a kiss faster than Anubis cries when that idiotic cat of his disappears for seconds—Seth meant to say she was quick.
Seth’s eyes bulged only momentarily before he kissed her back. It was short, it was sweet, it was very much like her. She pulled away and smiled up at him. Her cheeks rosy, her smile proud, and her eyes swimming with joy. Seth looked away immediately, his own face overcome with unrivaled warmth. His neck should have been as red as his hair right about then. Who would have known something as stupid as suggesting riding the chariot together would please his wife so? He felt a strange bubble of laughter swell in his chest at the simplicity of this situation.
She was adorable.
He cleared his throat as he looked ahead, fearful that should he look at her immediately, he fall ill with a lovesick fluster. “So…let’s hold the reigns now,” Seth said, his voice less commanding than that of a war-oriented God, and more similar to that of a helpful mentor. But despite the effort on his part, Nephthys showed no movement on his right. Did she perhaps not hear him?
He opened his mouth to repeat in case she truly hadn’t heard him when she spoke. “Reigns? But where are the—“
Seth smirked in mischief. “Hold them.”
Seth pulled her hands up and led them to the reigns, white leather adorned with intricate golden design and colorful beads of blue and red. Their fingers carefully circled the leather and his voice, a mere whisper, trailed into her ears. “Now pull…and watch.”
Nephthys overcome with shudders, still listened, and just as she pulled firmly, Seth made a strange, loud clicking noise with his tongue. Sand gathered around them and rose to form and shape a pair of huge winged creatures.
Nephthys was not new to the entire sand-manipulation display, but it still mesmerized her: how he could give life to things inanimate, as though he breathed a part of his soul into them. It did not seem like he controlled them, simply that he gave them form to act as living beings.
The two creatures flapped their wings unanimously, pulling the chariot upwards. Nephthys let out a loud scream of excitement as she struggled to keep her balance. Her hair slapped Seth straight in the face, obstructing his vision, but nevertheless he was, of course, quick to steady her, a hand against her elbow.
“Careful.” His voice sounded more stern than intended so he cleared his throat and asked, “Do you have a destination in mind?”
Nephthys yelled over the roar of the wind, “Far enough that we’d only be back by nighttime!”
He couldn’t bring himself to iterate to her the dangers of such a request because her brightness had already entranced him. In the recess of his mind, countless possibilities played with an ominous air, but how bad could it really get? Was he not the God of War? Nephthys was as safe as she could possibly ever be with him by her side. And with that thought, Seth obeyed like the devoted husband he was.
The dunes beneath them blurred like a sea of golden waves. Though…between trying to maintain his balance and trying to direct his wife toward a safe zone, Seth was too preoccupied to make his own wish of ”admiring the vision of Nephthys’ hair playing to the winds” actually happen.
“Ne—woah—Nephthys! Don’t—to the left—TO THE LEFT—“ Seth’s screams fell on deaf ears as he heard another maniacal giggle resound from his wife’s delicate throat.
“Oops, that was my right.”
Seth fixed his wife with an incredulous look but she was busy looking ahead at the golden landscape. At least, she was looking where she was going…? thought Seth, but he found himself laughing along as his hand slid to her waist ever so naturally. Whether to keep her safe or to keep himself from falling, it didn’t matter—that was where his hand belonged. Without a doubt though, the revered God of War was struggling to keep his life intact as he was on this date with his wife—his wife whom he felt like he was getting to know for the first time all over again.
It was a breath of fresh air, in a sense other than that of the wind whipping against his face aggressively as they flew. No, Seth meant Nephthys herself. Like a caged bird meeting the air of freedom for the first time in a long time, that was his wife right then. Seth will admit, however, that she was enjoying this limitless freedom by flapping her wings too damn hard. To any onlooker that could catch sight of this chariot with their naked eye, it would look like they were performing some spectacle, riding waves in the air. They must look ridiculous! Though, Seth was once again too preoccupied to worry about how they must look. For, with every dip, their feet levitated slightly and their stomachs sunk, and with every climb, their shoulders hunched and their breathing became difficult.
He needed to free the reigns of his wife’s hands, and soon. Because putting aside his wife’s erratic piloting, Seth’s desert compass was suffering confusion and he worried they might veer off into any undesired obstacles.
“Neph…Nephthys!” Over the sound of the blaring wind, his wife couldn’t hear him. Quite frankly, Seth thought she was probably ignoring him on account of a mischievous intent. So he willed the sand of the flying Griffins to shrink their wings, providing a lower force and dulling their speed. He didn’t want to play dirty, he had wanted to let her do her thing. But she was doing her thing too irresponsibly! Wasn’t she the God of Harmony? Now where was the harmony in her riding? He almost laughed to himself when he sensed her movement.
Looking at his wife, she had turned her neck toward him and held him down with a glare.
“Give me back the big wings.”
Seth was momentarily frozen with shock at her snarky attitude, followed by a chuckle escaping his lips. “No. I will not.”
“Seth!”
“No! Now give me a moment to figure out where you have taken us.” Seth looked around, as he began to measure the width of the desert and to count its dunes, as though either of those occurred in a rotation with which he was fully familiar. To Nephthys, it was bewildering. To have memorized the depth and length of the desert? What an impossible feat,she thought.
But it, nevertheless, made sense. No one spent as much time scouting the desert as he. He spent days, months, on the lesser joyful periods for herself, even years out there. Whether it having been to protect Egypt from monsters, break apart caravans or to save the lost subjects, Nephthys thought them all mere excuses for Seth to simply be one with the desert. To be out there.
In fact, a little part of herself felt an uncanny jealousy…of the desert. An awfully quiet smile took residence on her lips, and Nephthys ceased her hilariously childish tantrum.
Seth noticed. Eventually, and quite thankfully, Nephthys settled down and gave the reigns to Seth. Instead, she stood and watched the scenery in awe with a strange sense of sadness in her aura. “It’s so beautiful… It makes sense.”
Seth asked absentmindedly as he enlarged the wings of his sand beasts once more, “What does?”
“Your love for the desert.”
He took her words in silence. She continued, “It’s so effortlessly beautiful. So silent. So warm. It makes sense—how I’ll never amount to it.”
Seth’s breath hitched. His hands settled the reigns down, and he took one step toward his wife, wrapping his hands around her waist. She shuddered beneath him, and in an unusual display of public affection—though without anyone but the grains of gold around them to witness this miracle—Seth rested his chin in the crook of her neck, prying his lips to speak…
…but it was in that exact moment that a huge wave of sand smashed against their skins interrupting this important moment of confrontation. Seth’s muscles tensed, and his nerves hissed in alarm. In one swift movement he pulled Nephthys behind him as his vision narrowed at the intruder. He noticed only one remaining sand Griffin carrying their weight in his peripheral vision before turning back toward the monster.
With a bloody aura radiating off its skin in waves, a ginormous, lizard-like creature latched onto the chariot with three rotting green claws, dragging them down and bringing them to lower altitudes. Seth extended his arm and black matter formed into his infamous and lethal, cursed weapon. His eyes glared down and his flush lips pursed as he swiftly swung his weapon down, cutting smoothly through the three claws, detaching the monster from the chariot.
“Go back.” Two words alone and yet they were enough to douse Nephthys with a reality check. This was her husband, this was the God of War and this was his desert. He jumped off the chariot without any other instructions and down into what looked like a sea of monstrous creatures. Simultaneously, a stream of sand flew upwards and rebuilt the previously fallen, second Griffin. He was likely not addressing Nephthys, but the Griffins with that command.
Nephthys peeked down, her mouth hung open as multiple creatures dug themselves out of burrows buried beneath the sand. They bared rows of teeth sharpened by perhaps human bones throughout countless years. Had they mistakenly come across a den with her irresponsible piloting? Nephthys couldn’t think, Seth’s words, heavy on her heart, echoed in her ears. But her steering was required no more as the sand creatures were evidently flying to Seth’s whims.
She only caught one glimpse of Seth disappearing beneath the crowd of blood-thirsty creatures, and she was frozen helplessly in place before the sight was behind her.
Her pupils shook. “No! Turn back!”
Hands trembling, yet determined, latched onto the reign, and she pulled back with all the force in her body, attempting to turn the chariot around where her husband had been left. Unfortunately, those damn stubborn Griffins wouldn’t easily let, Seth’s unwavering intent clear within them.
Nephthys felt responsible, despite any objection Seth would propose to deny that later. She knew that he could survive this without any difficulty, but she couldn’t turn tail and leave even if Seth himself wished it. She wanted to be there with him, she wanted to be there for him. She wanted to help. Nephthys wanted to prove that she could hold her own for Seth. She did not want him to distance himself once again at this given chance. She only just entered his world. She couldn’t let him hide it all away from her once again for her own safety.
So with newfound strength, Nephthys fought for control over Seth’s sand. Her body trembled with urgency and her eyes glowed white as she pulled at the reigns, her resolve unquestionable. The sand creatures resisted visibly, Seth’s power still flowing confidently in them, but Nephthys would not let, and eventually the chariot made a hard turn to her whims. She slammed her hands down, the Griffins comprehending the seriousness of her demand and zooming faster into that commotion in the distance.
As she neared her husband, she saw two monsters decapitated and bleeding, stranded around the battleground while Seth struggled between four remaining others. There was blood, so much of it, coating Seth but none of it his, and yet the sight made Nephthys’ blood boil.
In a moment her world had flashed and then became dark.
It was a strange occurrence, the strength that swept through her body upon seeing the sight. She was stranded in a vacuum of darkness within a moment of heavy silence until two glowing strings of golden and scarlet appear at opposite sides. Nephthys watched as the reached out to one another. It felt as though eons passed before they touched ends and connected, and perhaps in this other world of darkness, eons did pass—but they still managed to become one in the end. And that event which felt so long, ended in split seconds of real time.
The following moment when Nephthys opened her eyes, she felt matter trickle between her fingers and situate within her palm, forming into a rigid physical object. Looking down at her hand, there was a long sword from compact sand, strong enough to cause threatening damage, yet light enough for her to swing without struggle.
Strangely, she felt that just right then, someone was looking at her. Her eyes searched for Seth, and there he was, holding down the resisting monsters with loops of sand, but his eyes were strained on her. When their eyes met, Nephthys remembered the two strings connecting.
Seth…?
Her heart swelled with an emotion she couldn’t particularly place built on a wishful theory, but she felt her body bloom with confidence nevertheless. Seth turned around once again, and swiped at the monster nearest to him, another creeping up behind him, becoming free of the sand that had previously held it back. Without a second thought, Nephthys leapt to the edge of the chariot and dove down above the creeping lizard. Sword held firmly within her palms, her bare feet landed on the monster’s head, and she buried her weapon deep into its skull, blood sprouting from the fatal wound, plastering some of her figure with its color.
The monstrous creature froze its advance and and wobbled beneath Nephthys who held onto her lodged sword for balance, swaying slowly with the huge corpse. Nephthys gasped and pulled her weapon, struggling to pull it free, when she felt a warm hand wrap around her waist and snatch her away, leaving the sword to remain with the corpse. It was Seth, needless to check.
Nephthys yelped as Seth settled them slightly further from the remaining two monsters advancing on their figures.
“The sword—“
“There’s plenty of sand around, Nephthys.” She could hear the smirk in his voice, but before she could look him in the eyes in question, Seth had flown away toward one of the pair of bloody creatures, wordlessly entrusting her with protecting his back and fending off the other one.
Nephthys kneeled down and buried her hand beneath the warm sand. She closed her eyes, feeling the urgency of the situation and recalling the connection of the two threads in that dark place. She felt slithering movement beneath her palm and watched as another sword came to existence. While she felt the strength and power at her finger tips, it was not from within her. She couldn’t explain how it had come to her palms, but this was without a doubt Seth’s power. He was not only entrusting her with his safety, but with a part of himself as well. Her heart hammered endlessly. Though the shaking of the sand beneath her feet as the monster neared her worked well to rouse her out of her thoughts.
Nephthys stood, eyes narrowed with keen focus, glowing as she gripped the hilt. The monster was upon her, it swiped its huge clawed hand, Nephthys jumped at just the right moment and landed on thick reptilian skin, and she took two huge leaps, balancing herself on its shoulder.
Once more, through eyes glowing crimson, Nephthys’ hair flowed and glided as it followed her movements. And there was Seth’s own wish being answered, though under circumstances he never expected.
She landed on the creatures shoulders and swiped harshly at its neck. Seth watched in silent awe, not for disbelief of her strength, but simply at the realization of how he had forbidden himself this sight. This was a God, not a feeble human subject he was married to. She could hold her own with little to no help. In fact, were it not for the fact that she had come without a real weapon, Seth wouldn’t have even needed to lend her any power. A guttural grunt resounded beneath him. He delivered the final blow to the tortured creature and then looked back at his wife.
He stood watch while Nephthys took the creatures last breaths and leapt of its wobbling gigantic figure, and Seth felt, needless to say, utter buffoonery. His face darkened as Nephthys neared him at a rapid pace. How does he face her? Knowing now that all that hiding and avoidance was clearly a mere waste of their time. They could have both been out and about, feeling the wind, exploring the desert together instead years in the past!
Seth pulled his headdress down as Nephthys came to be inches away from him expecting a chiding from his wife, only to hear her squealing in excitement, the blood splotches on her figure a strange contrast. Ah, the adrenaline. Seth bit back a smile.
“Did you see that! Did you?”
She smiled up at him, bright as the early day, and Seth finally smiled back. “I saw.”
“Hey, was this—“ She showed him the sword just as the sword fell apart into a pile of sand at her feet.
“Wha—the sword, was that you?” she insisted.
Who else could it have been? He would have snapped normally were it anyone else speaking to him, but this was his precious wife, so he kept it curt. Though he personally couldn’t describe the occurrence perfectly either. “More or less…”
Seth remembered there was a moment when he could feel the Griffins bending to his wife’s command, and he felt her desire, her urgency, her raw frustration. A moment of silence in a dark void occurred and Seth felt a barrier he had personally built, crumble before him. He could only give into his wife’s emotion, feeling the pure love in her actions. And he witnessed it, his power connecting with hers. He couldn’t explain it, but in that moment he had his own epiphany.
Perhaps they were all in essence simply…Gods, without the limitations. Perhaps they were one, their powers blending into one another, derived from one another. But looking at his wife in all her joy, jumping and swaying on the tips of her toes, perhaps it wasn’t that they were all Gods… perhaps it was simply the rawness of their admiration for each other that allowed this miracle…
“Maybe we’ll find out if we go out another day?” She looked at him slyly.
Seth’s switch was flipped once more. “How about I simply equip you with a sturdy weapon for defense next time. Doesn’t that sound less…risky?”
Nephthys hugged his waist and looked up at him beneath the long snout of his headdress. “So… there is a next time?”
Seth jerked back. Ah this woman…
Her eyes were so full of pure happiness and pride that Seth once again gave in. He pulled off his headdress and dipped his head, taking Nephthys’ face into the palms of his hands. His lips fell on her smiling ones gently. He whispered two simple words against her lips, “You win.”
And Nephthys knew that she did win. Wrapped in his arms, she felt as though she was one with the desert. She felt that love she had craved in his eyes when he gazed at the desert. Her fingers traced his jaw softly, and she smiled back in content.
Red and golden hair strands, much like the two strings amidst the darkness, tangled as the two Gods held each other in a warm embrace. That day, the dunes danced in admiration of the scene, one they may witness countless times in the near future.
Or it could have been simply because of Seth’s own happiness.