Chapter X

~But there's people like me~
~That nobody sees, so nobody cares~

It had been several days since the brutal attack, Osiris had barely been recognizable. It wasn't hard to find the assailant, Seth had been covered in his brothers blood. It took several waves of man man Sobek could get in and subdue the enraged god. Busy fighting off the human guards, Seth didn't even have time to blink before he was caught in the older gods vice like grip. It didn't matter how much he struggled against his former mentor, Sobek knew better than any other god how to subdue him. After an extremely brief struggle, with one single blow the reptilian god had knocked Seth unconscious, allowing the guards to take him away.

It had been several days since the attack and Seth was trapped like a wild animals in a prison cell, chained down and vulnerable. He didn't like it for one second and wouldn't let a single person near him, even biting a few who were stupid enough to venture close enough. If it weren't for his overwhelming instincts, the god could have probably reasoned with his captures and negotiated civilly, he was a king, and he knew he should act as one, but a primal animal like instinct kept him from doing so. The only thing on his mind was getting free, though he could easily break the bindings holding him, he managed to restrain himself, but for only one reason. He knew his king was on his way to see him, only he was able to properly punish royalty. Seth feared facing Ra, but he held out some smidge of hope that the old friend would be merciful. He knew the severity of his crimes, Seth wasn't blind, and was almost sure of his fate, but the least he could do was hope.

The red haired god wasn't sure how long it had been, or how out of it he had been, when he noticed a god before him, the first in what felt like ages. Looking up, Seth was met with a pair of piercing blue eyes. There was clear disappointment there, and a surprising lack of anger. "Things were going so well, Seth."Ra spoke sadly, shaking his head." I had high hopes for you. " He shook his head as he turned around."I'm sorry Seth." The king began to walk away, causing a panic to start to set in for the redhead. Seth called out for his king, but got nothing in response, besides a wave of dismissal. A young blonde haired god, a spitting image of his mother, stood in waiting wielding a perfectly sharpened blade, a cruel smile on his face, making his dark eyes glisten with delight.

"Ra!" Seth cried, desperately "Ra please! Don't leave me!"here called constantly, but all he got in response was a sad shake of the head, his king refusing to look him on the eyes, though he's clearly looked upset. The redhead continued to cry out for his king, pulling and tugging at his chains. He could feel the warmth of his own blood, as his bindings cut into his wrists and neck.

The menacing young god came up beside him, those brown eyes just gleaming with hatred."I never like you." Shu whispered to the god, drawing back his blade...

Seth snapped awake, sitting up with a gasp. His hand instinct fully went to his throat, his breathing ragged at a best. The small god looked around, having to take a few seconds to really come back into reality, and realize he was in no real danger. The gods shoulders slumped and his arm dropped down behind him for support. He could practically feel the blade etching across his skin, it was a disgusting feeling that made him shudder. He didn't understand why his mind had to twist the past around in such a way, he knew very well events had played out far differently than his messed up mind wanted him to believe, but everything feels so real, it was sickening.
Attempting to calm himself down and catch his breath, Seth couldn't help but feel like he was being watched, and usually his instincts rarely failed him. Moving over towards the edge of his rocky perch, the small god managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of eyes as they darted back down under the water. A new chill came down the gods spine at the realization that he wasn't completely alone. He hated crocodiles, they were one of the only animals higher on the food chain than him, and Seth would be lying if he said he didn't fear them. Come too close to the waters edge, and they were always waiting. Sure, the god could easily overpower a simple mortal croc, but the large animals had one major advantage: the water. He could fight off one of the lumbering beasts, but drag Seth into water, he was practically useless. The thought was unpleasant at best, he actively avoided being near such things.

Suddenly feeling uneasy, Seth pulled tail closer to his body, the ends had just barely been brushing the surface as he slept, and turned his attention to the sky. Judging by how little the sun had moved, the god guessed he hadn't been out long, probably less than a few hours, which was slightly disappointing, he was hoping for a little more rest. But nevertheless, he wasn't about to stick around with Egypt's apex predator breathing down his neck. Pulling himself onto his knees, Seth stretched out his back, raking his claws along the rocks rough surface in front of him. Finally pulling himself to his feet, he hopped down off his rocky perch and started making his way back towards the city. he wasn't exactly sure why, he had nothing to do that day, and Ra didn't need to watched over like a child, he could have easily just snuck away somewhere else to waste more of his time. Maybe find a nice tree somewhere not so close to the river side and spend a few hours there, or sneak away to the rooftops and enjoy the warm sun while it lasted. But no, the god wasn't one to just sit around and waste the day away, he had to do something, he couldn't sit still for very long and so far, he had spent plenty of time doing nothing already. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but Seth was sure he would find something at some point. So he found himself heading back towards the city, following the many trains worn into the land, traveled by both human, animal and god alike. The god extended on arm to his side, letting the ends of the tall dry grass brush against his hand as he walked, his blood like eyes gazing around the land. It looked dry and dead, a far cry from the lush lands of the delta, but Seth found it stunning all the same. the god had originally grown up in the delta area, he knew the land there well, but he would take this dry desolate landscape any day over all that lush grass and trees.

Seth wandered his way into the courtyard where he knew the trainees would be for the day. He wasn't sure why he was here, it wasn't his day to be teaching, usually him and the other trainers alternated days, today was about defense, Seth was all about offense. Coming into view of the others, Seth stopped short, intending only to watch, but the god quickly caught the eye of the instructor who was working with the young men. Sobek's eerie pale eyes bared down on the smaller god for a moment, and for a second he could have guessed then older god looked annoyed. Yet again, he usually looked annoyed, it was just his personality. "It's nice of you to stop by, Seth." The older god greeted a grim voice, which usually sent a chill down the gods spine. Sobek didn't talk much, but when he did his words were usually dry and his tone stern, which Seth couldn't help but wonder if he had treated his children in much the same manner. Seth didn't have much time to dwell on the subject when the larger god stepped forward, bringing his attention back to his surroundings. "Care to join us? " It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement, giving Seth very little room to argue as Sobek gestured for him to come front and center.

Sobek used Seth as sort of display, occasionally engaging in a small spar between them. The two gods were pretty equally matched, Sobek was older, bigger, and most likely stronger. He was much faster than his smaller counterpart, but for only a limited amount of time. Seth was smaller and sleeker, making it easier for him to slip away from an opponent, he didn't possess a lot of speed, but made up for with teeth, claws and skill. He was by far one of the strongest gods in Egypt, second only to his former mentor before him, though many had a hard time believing get such a small god could cause much damage at all, let alone live up to his reputation.

As Sobek grabbed one of the long wooden staffs from one of the students, Seth's eyes caught something familiar in the distance. He could see a hint of blue, just beyond the courtyard, paired with a familiar black figure. Standing in front of Anubis stood an even more familiar figure, sporting black hair and blue eyes. Ra was speaking to the young god about something, but the redheads keen hearing couldn't pick up on the conversation. Surprisingly, Anubis stood almost as tall as the older god, maybe an inch or two shorted, he was a tall slender god, with long legs and a lean frame. His tall ears were folded back, but not in an aggressive manner, more like a nervous one. The young god didn't look to comfortable speaking to his king, and kept shifting his weight from one leg to the other. Seth wondered what the two could possible be talking about that would put the jackal on edge like this, and he didn't like it, but restrained himself from intervening. Now with a handful on the you going gods shoulder Ra began leading Anubis away, disappearing around a corner. Seth didn't have time to think the situation over any further, as he felt a sharp blow to his legs, somewhere below his right knee, the force of the impact knocked him to the ground. The god let out yelp, mostly out of surprise but he couldn't lie, it hurt pretty badly. Sobek stood over him, obviously the one who had knocked him down, clenching the wooden staffing his hands. "And that is why you don't get distracted in a fight." He spoke firmly to the students before turning his attention back to Seth. The older god looked down with a look of disapproval, and tossed the staff onto the ground, which landed rather roughly on the ends of the small gods tail. Seth pulled his tail away, looking up at the reptilian god in confusion, sure Sobek was strong, but never used much force when training like this, their spars were supposed to be innocent, Ra had made it clear he did the want anyone getting hurt, which is why Seth didn't really understand why he would attack him in such a way. The hit was hard enough to cause some a age but not to break anything, it would certainly bruises pretty badly, thankfully the black fur there would conceal the would well. Turning away from the downed god, Sobek dismissed the class, before Retreating from the courtyard. Seth sat there on the grass for a little while, he had attempted to give up, but a pain caused his leg to give out under him. One of the trainees came over to the god, a young human, and offered a hand to help the god, but a quick snarl and a growl from Seth caused him to retract his hand. Seth wasn't a fan of help, and getting the message, the boy went on his way, sending a glance back at the god before he left.

Seth managed to get to his feet, and tried not to react to the pain in his lower leg. It hurt plenty, but the god was good at concealing pain and weakness, it was a specialty of his. He took a step, limping heavily, and had to pause to steady himself. He knew the pain was only temporary and would fade within the hour. The small god could feel eyes on him, and looking over his shoulder he caught a glimpse of his former mentor watching him before the god turned to leave. How he hated crocodiles and their dead, watchful eyes. With a huff, Seth straightened himself up and tried to ignore the dull pain in his leg as he limped his way from the courtyard. For a second he considered heading in the direction Anubis and Ra had left in, but figured whatever the two of them were talking about wasn't for his ears to hear, so he chose let the two be, and instead wandered off hopefully to find something that would put himself to use.

For the rest of the day, the god had helped a few workers craft a new boat, the god was a surprisingly skilled craftsman, and was pleased to put some of his skills to some use. When night fell, the small god was late checking in with his king, and when he arrived Ra was already out for the night, which was slightly disappointing for the god, he was curious to know what his king wanted with Anubis. But he guessed that could wait till morning, so he just made his way back towards his own room, not to far from Ra's.

Tired from from working most of the day, Seth crawled into his own bed, and indent in the wall, maybe a foot or so higher than the floor. The hard stone surface was covered in a mess of blankets and pillows. It resembled more of a nest than a bed really. Ra had offered the small god better accommodations in the past, but he liked where he was at now, it was simple and did him well. Crawling into the nest he kept perfectly un kept the small god, now on all fours stretched out his arms before him, clawing slightly at the fabric beneath him, his long tail flopped against his back before he collapsed into the familiar bed. A large yawn came over the god, his lips pulling back from a mess of dangerous white, his tongue slipped past his teeth slightly, as he stretched out his right leg, which still felt slightly sore from earlier. Closing his mouth the gods lip caught between his sharp teeth, but was quickly corrected with his tongue. His teeth slid into place, fitting perfectly snug in their designated place, slipping past each other tightly, forming a formidable bite. His lips barely were able to cover the long fang like canines that did the majority of the damages, though the rest of canines most certainly weren't useless. Settling into his nest, Seth swatted away a fragment of bone, that had been entwined within the fabric. It probably used to be a femur bone of some long dead animal, but by now it had been chewed down to virtually just a stub. It was a habit the god had always had, and never really grew out of. He didn't really have many opportunities to put his jaws to good use anymore, it felt good to bite down on something every now and then. He typically stuck to bones, but at times did turn his attention to wooden chew toys, he wasn't sure which was better. The bones were far more natural, but seemed to shatter far to easily against his strong molars, wood was strong and tended to last longer, but it could leave behind unpleasant splinters at times. Tonight though, Seth wasn't in the mood for chewing, he was surprisingly tired and just wanted some sleep, which was weird to the small god. There were times he could days with little more than a few hours of rest no problem, but other times he was craving a nice quiet nap, or a solid nights rest. It must have something to do with his work load, or how important his work was. Never the less the god didn't feel like thinking too hard on the subject he was tired and hoped he could get at least a few hours or rest in before his day started in the morning. Curling up, the god tangled himself in the mess of blankets, and pillows, much like a dog or a cat, his tail draped limply across his sore leg. It annoyed the god that he was still hurt, and knew very well he would be feeling that in the morning, but his groggy mind made hard for him to care. His eyelids were to heavy now to keep open and as he rested his head on his arm, the red haired god allowed himself to drift off, safely tucked away in his room, into a dark sleep, though not too deep, he had never been a heavy sleeper, he could never afford to be.

~Why is it so hard to find someone who cares about you~