Ventus wandered through Ra's temple, though he seemed to ignore the vast amount of gold and jewels that made the building. Instead, he looked to make sure Ptah was long gone. When he deemed it safe, the blond let out a sigh and settled on a window sill. He had been a bit intimidated by Ra's power to stay and converse with the god. As he sat there, the servant bit his lip and glanced towards Anubis' temple. When he did so, a sense of longing flooded him. "Master, please come home," he murmured under his breath.

Ra had already traveled to the human realm by the time the jackal god returned. A clawed hand rubbed at his sore neck as he wandered to Osiris' temple. Ma'at was the first to enter. He moved close enough to a pile of pillows before he let his body drop. The wings folded over his own body as he groaned. "Damn Sekhmet, always making things worse." His words caused Seshat to poke his head up from his tablet. The blond frowned and crawled over to his lover and began to massage a shoulder. "I can only imagine the carnage he has been able to convince the mortals to do."

Isis gave a hum from his position as he cradled an exhausted Osiris. "It will only get worse. I hear Sekhmet and Ptah have been arguing even more. If they separate," he paused and frowned, "the things Sekhmet will do to the humans are unimaginable. You three will never be here." The justice keeper groaned at the realization and buried his head under one of the pillows. "Don't say that! I don't even want to think about such things!"

Anubis chose then to finally cross the threshold and chose to lean against a wall despite his body's protests. Instantly, crimson eyes settled on his form before Isis spoke. "You do not need to stay here and socialize with us. You should go back to your temple, I'm sure your servant awaits you."

Anubis shifted his gaze and attention to the 'goddess'. "What is that supposed to mean? Isn't he here with you?" This earned a shake of the head from Isis. "No, he never showed up. Perhaps he wanted to spend some time alone."

"You left him alone out there?" The god growled faintly as he bristled. Ma'at lifted a wing to see what caused the sudden commotion before he wrapped it around the writer in case the already irritated Anubis lashed out. Even Osiris tensed slightly as his head rested in Isis' lap, ready to get up and interfere if needed. Seshat decided to speak up and chose his words carefully. "Don't worry so much, Anubis. He is probably waiting for you at the temple right now. Why don't you go check?"

Anubis tightened his jaw in response before he spat out his own response. "He is not supposed to be alone! Set may be gone, but there is one more idiot god out there, at least. He isn't safe when there is no one to protect him." He pushed away from the wall as he looked at each one of the other immortals. "When I return, we discuss how this foolishness in the human realm can be finished." With that, the jackal god turned and left the temple so fast his cape snapped behind him.

Ven sat at the window sill, confused in why his master had not come for him yet. He knew he could try to leave, but he risked being caught by Ptah. The blond just could hope that the jackal god would find him. He know silently cursed himself for not going to Isis' temple, at least they could have told the brunette where he was. As he thought, his fingers idly trailed to his marks that had been, dare he say, lovingly placed on him. Suddenly, memories of that night flooded through his mind, which gave him an idea on how Anubis could find him.

His song, the claimed siren call that put the god in such a daze and coaxed him back into the bedroom and caused him to act without holding back. Surely if it had worked that night, perhaps it could work now. The servant took a breath and began to hum the melody of one of Anubis' hymns. It did not take long before he parted his lips and let the words flow from his heart. His song filled the temple and drowned the silence in Ra's temple as it echoed throughout the halls.

Anubis had just set foot on the steps of his own temple when his ears picked up the faintest noise. Even he had to strain his hearing to pick it up off of the evening breeze. It took only moments to recognize the melody, which instantly relaxed him. His back straightened as he turned towards Ra's temple before he headed to it. He had already become entranced a few steps to the horizon.

As he walked up the steps, his footsteps silent, the words grew stronger. The servant had raised his voice more as his worry grew. Ven pulled his knees to his chest as he sat alone in the dark temple. A string of moonlight kept him from sitting in pitch black, the moonbeams poured through the window and illuminated his hair. It gave the teen an ethereal glow, almost seeming a god himself.

Anubis took in the sight as he approached and paused mere feet from the mortal, silent. The temple grew quiet as Ven felt the presence, his face lit up upon sight of the god. "Master! I'm so glad you're back!"

The words drew Anubis from his dazed state as he blinked and looked about. It took a moment to realize where he was, though he was confused. It wasn't his temple, but Ra's. "What are you doing here? You should have been with Isis and Seshat."

"I was on my way there, honest. But I ran into Ptah and he grabbed me. I managed to get away, so I ran, and came here. I remember you told me to when I first came here." Although the jackal was relieved the boy remembered his words, his eyes narrowed at the information. "That god is aching for his hands to be removed from his body painfully." He sighed softly before he looked to the servant he had his mind on the whole time he was away. "Let us retire to my temple, it has been a long day." This caused a huge smile to lighten up the blond's face. He jumped up and quickly made it to his master's side and they walked together back to the obsidian temple. "How was your day in the human realm, Master?"

"I had to deal with the result of Sekhmet's envy. I believe that says enough," he replied as he wrapped his cape around the teen without much thought as they continued their way home. Ven instantly moved closer to the warmth of the god's body, though he frowned at the answer he had received. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that, Master. Is there any chore you would like from me once we reach the temple?"

"It seems to me that, once again, you have had enough excitement for the day." This time, he did not smile when he spoke.

Instantly, Ven's heart dropped. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he looked at the trail they walked on. "Can I make it up to you somehow?"

The god almost stopped in mid-step before he looked down at the mop of blond."Why would you want to make it up to me? What you should do is relax, especially after what happened to you." The servant refused to look at the god. "I keep causing you trouble, which adds more stress to you on top of what you have to deal with normally. That's not what a servant does."

Anubis felt the strings on his immortal heart pull as he heard the disappointed tone. He paused their steps for a moment and placed a hand on the teen's head. "Once the war is over, things will quiet down. Everything will go back to how they were." When the god received a tiny nod, he gently coaxed the other to walk once more. "If there is anything you need, Master, I am here."

By now they had walked into the temple and to the bedroom. Ven pulled away from the god, bowed, and retreated to his pillow pile as he sighed. Another pang filled Anubis' chest as he watched the mortal as he sat on his bed a moment. The blond shifted and wiggled out of his linens until he was only covered by a wrap around his waist. The dark purple marks along the pale skin caught the god's golden gaze.

Before he could say anything, Akil and Bomani bounded into the room, gave a happy yelp and pounced the unsuspecting blond. Their tails swayed furiously, happy that their playmate had returned. Ven gave a soft yelp before he laughed and pet the two hounds. "Hey you two, I missed you both!" He could not help but let out a giggle as he was attacked by two slick tongues.

Anubis glanced over as he undressed himself. He could not help but smile softly at the sight. Instead of getting ready for bed; however, he simply changed from his religious garb to something simple. He slid his plain bracers onto his wrists before he adjusted his plain linen wrap. The jackal only spared one more glance to the servant before he slipped back out of the temple, now eager to seek a solution to end the war.

Ma'at was the first to notice his presence and glanced to Osiris to notify him. The group was huddled together for the most part. The winged 'goddess' held his lover close with an arm as Osiris sat with Isis in his lap, occasionally he ran his hand through the healer's raven locks. Once Anubis approached the circle, he spoke. "This war is going to wipe out everyone if something is not done soon. I haven't seen such bloodshed since war broke out in our own realm." Ma'at nodded in agreement before he sighed. "The question is, what can we do about it? Your answer is nothing, it is not our job. We merely help the dead, we have no say in the affairs of humans, only how their afterlife is spent."

Isis leaned against his husband as the keeper of the feather spoke. "The reason is has become this bad is because Sekhmet is angry. He will continue to take his anger out in the human realm as long as Ptah causes trouble. His mishap with his eye is proof of that." Seshat sighed and buried his face in his lover's shoulder, his own response muffled against the skin. "So, do we force Ptah to behave somehow? It does not seem likely." he pulled back to look at the others. "Who else are the humans giving worship to? Sekhmet cannot be the only one."

"Ma'at, Anubis, Isis, Neyphytys, Isis and I, of course. I doubt the humans know about Set being gone." Osiris answered as he watched the fingers of the healer trace patterns on his muscled arm. Ma'at pouted suddenly, "it's not fair. As far as I know, the humans were not even close to feeling threatened. This war sprouted out of thin air after-," the 'goddess' paused in the middle of his sentence, as if he realized something important.

Isis and Seshat simultaneously looked to the darker brunette, each with a raised brow. The writer pulled back further from the warm body to look him directly in the eyes. "Once what, love?" Ma'at spared a look towards the jackal god, who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts before he continued with a cautious tone. "…once Ventus stepped foot into the meeting in the temple of Ra."

Anubis snapped out of his stupor instantly and wheeled on the other with slightly bared teeth. "Don't you dare blame him for all of this!" They all jumped, Ma'at's wings quivered and extended out of reflex. "I was not blaming him, I was just making an observation." Osiris immediately cut in before Anubis could retort. "But you think he may have a connection in it all, correct?" When the ruler of the Underworld received a nod as an answer, Anubis growled. The justice keeper narrowed his bright blues at the jackal god. "Shut up, Mutt. I never said it was his fault. In fact, if anyone is to blame, it is you for bringing him to our realm!"

"Enough!" Isis glared at the two before he continued, "bickering will not help us figure out a solution. Now, Ma'at, do you have any theories to how Ventus is connected to this?" Before the jackal god could retort, Isis gave him a warning glare.

Ma'at gave a light snort and absently played with his headband. "It's just a shot in the dark, but I'm sure it has to do with one of two gods. But that's just a guess." He straightened up a bit. "Think about it, the kid shows up, I weighed him, and suddenly Set and Ptah were chasing him like Anubis did to Bestat." Anubis shot him another glare. The healer sighed as he thought about it. "They could just be greedy and hungry, but I do see your point." Seshat, however, frowned at the whole scenario. "I do not understand though. Ventus was just a servant in the other realm, why would anyone miss him?"

"They would not, unless it was one of the Pharaoh's favorites. I doubt that is the case of him being missing but someone wanting him to be forgotten," Osiris butt in as he shifted his lover in his lap, his face set in complete seriousness. "Ma'at, you realize that if your theory is wrong and word got out about your accusation, you would have grave consequences. Especially because of the role you carry."

"Assuming that Ma'at is correct," Isis glanced over the rest of them, "what do we do?" They all sighed, unable to think of what could be done. Ma'at grumbled, "I do not even know how a plan like this could work. Sekhmet never cared for Set. Maybe I am reading too much into things."

It was then that Anubis finally decided to speak, his eyes trained on Ptah's temple. "The green eyed monster." They all grew quiet as they deciphered the meaning behind the jackal's words. It was Isis who figured the answer out first. "Jealousy is a powerful emotion. As long as Ptah has his sights on anyone else, both Sekhmet and Set be at war with each other, in a sense. That lioness just wants the boy out of his life. Set probably wanted to use Ptah to get to him."

The winged 'goddess' shook his head suddenly, "but Set is dead. Surely Sekhmet could let go of his hate and end the war, right?"

"But perhaps he has not heard of Set's fate. I would not doubt that since he has been so engrossed in the war."

Anubis sighed and folded his arms across his chest. It was quiet a moment before the blond god piped up. "Unless, Set is not actually gone…" Osiris furrowed his brows a moment, "but Anubis claimed…" They all looked up, then towards the god in question. Isis shifted closer to his son before the question slipped past his lips. "You did not stay to make sure he was dead, did you?"

Golden eyes fell shut as his response, his head tilted slightly. The silent answer did not go pass the keeper of the scales, whose eyes widened in disbelief. "Anubis!"

"I was careless."

Ma'at sputtered, unable to form a word, until Isis held up his hand. Osiris looked away and rubbed one of his temples as he took the information in. His lover placed a hand on the ruler of the Underworld's shoulder before he addressed Anubis once more. "Return to your servant, I'm sure he has missed you terribly. We can discuss this further tomorrow."

The God of Death just stared at Isis a few moments before he silently got up and disappeared out of the temple.

Ma'at, on the other hand, was as opposite as possible. He fluttered about wildly in a nervous manner. "This is bad, this is very bad! If that prick is still alive, he could tell Ra! Then Ra would-"

"Ma'at, be still!" Osiris cut the 'goddess' off, not wanting to hear the sentence be finished. He gave the hysterical one a sole look that instantly quieted him. Seshat took the moment to wrap his arms around his lover and whisper soothing words in the scale keeper's ear. "Don't worry, we'll figure something out, love."

As Anubis walked to his temple, his mind was in a fog. All of these questions, yet not a single answer. At the same time, he was angry with himself for making such a mistake and not making sure Set had indeed taken his last breath. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he did not notice a hooded figure that trailed him from the shadows. The jackal god sighed as he took the steps gracefully and waved away the orbed servants that rushed towards him and offered food, wine and a warm bath.

Instead, he slid onto a lounge couch and stared out a window, a deep frown set into his features. "Why didn't I make sure?"

The hooded figure watched the brunette slip into the temple before they gave a soft sigh and quickly disappeared into the night.