Edmondia: "C-cousin? Are you here?"

His eyes were closed, his blankets were filthy, and there was a bitter aftertaste on his tongue. The ache in his backside had dulled to a roar, and his breathing sounded strange, even to himself.

Seth dared to peek out through his lashes into the depths of the tent.
EnsTren: "A-atemu?" His voice was very hoarse, and he could not seem to stop shaking.
Edmondia: Atemu dropped to his knees by his cousin, leaning over him. "S-Seth? Are - are you okay?"
EnsTren: Seth bit his lip and tried to pull away. "M-musten't touch me cousin, d-don't sully y-yourself."
Edmondia: Atemu paused, then leaned over him again, eyes sad. "...what's wrong?" He took him by the shoulders and propped him up, shoving the soiled blanket away. He bit his lip, searching his cousin's gaze with a worried expression on his face. "Are - are you hurt?" His voice was very innocent, betraying his true age, and his eyes were very wide in the flickering brightness of the tent.
EnsTren: Seth flinched and hunched his shoulders, biting his tongue hard to stifle a scream, his eyes welling with tears. "Y-yes cousin... T-they d-did something t-to my legs," he offered him a weak smile, "So I-I c-couldn't r-run. I-I'll get buh-better... with the h-help of th-the healers."
Edmondia: Atemu flinched visibly in the dim light and tugged at his arm. "Can... can you get up? We - we have to get away, there's too many and they're too close... we - we have to sneak away, you can do that, can't you?" He slipped an arm around his shoulders, leaning down to whisper against his ear, "Can you try?"
EnsTren: Seth gritted his teeth. "For you, anything." And he laborously got his legs up under him, pain searing down his spine, and he nearly started crying again. Instead he gave Atemu what he hoped was a reassuring nod and shuffled into a stooping walk, leaning on his cousin as little as he could manage.
Edmondia: Atemu wrapped a careful arm around his waist, trying to support him. "It's okay - you can lean on me a little more, I won't mind, honest... they say I'm getting bigger..." His grip tightened as he shifted to take more of his weight. "Come on, we have to be careful..."
EnsTren: Seth nodded but did not speak, because talking hurt his sore throat and chapped lips. He cautiously leaned a bit more on his cousin as they snuck away. He still hurt everywhere, but with the possibility of getting away, without the threat of "more" - he could concentrate enough to use a bit of his own shadow power to help, for his cousin's sake.
Edmondia: They moved as silently as two small children could, ducking behind tent flaps and hiding in the shadows that so adored them both, holding their breath whenever guards passed by and shrinking away from those bright places where fire crackled low on the sands.
EnsTren: Atemu could tell his cousin was afraid of those men, perhaps even terrified.
Edmondia: It frightened him.
EnsTren: His cousin wasn't afraid of anyone, except maybe him... sometimes...
Edmondia: What had they done to him?
Edmondia: And he hesitated, crouched down in the shadows with his cousin trembling against him, watching the glow of firelight on dark-lined faces, and wondered what to do.
EnsTren: He could smell blood on him, old and some of it new, perhaps wounds opened from walking. But they couldn't stop now to tend to him, the healers could fix almost anything anyways.
Edmondia: When the group of men drifted away, he nudged Seth to his feet and headed out of the camp, eyes on the dune that he had hidden his horse behind, praying to all the gods he could remember that they wouldn't be seen.
Edmondia: Beneath his palm, he could feel Seth's heartbeat pounding.
EnsTren: The healers would fix him, he knew they would, he would make them fix up his cousin.
Edmondia: His eyes narrowed vengfully as they made their shuffling way around the dunes that protected the camp.
Edmondia: They would.
Edmondia: Or he would kill them.
Edmondia: Just as he would kill all those who dared defile his cousin.
EnsTren: Seth pulled back as they came upon the horse. He didn't know if he could ride. No. He would ride, he had to.
Edmondia: At his cousin's soft command, the horse knelt, and Atemu was very careful as he eased him down, letting him lean heavily on the horse. "Stay here," Atemu whispered into his ear, "Don't move."
EnsTren: Seth nodded tiredly, his head bobbing as if he had no bones left. Trembling as he tried to regroup.
Edmondia: "...don't worry," Atemu breathed, and his eyes were very dark in the moonless night. "I'll destroy them for you," he purred, and when he smiled, his teeth were far too sharp for the mere boy he was supposed to be. "You won't have to be afraid anymore."
EnsTren: "You're... too good to me c-cousin."
Edmondia: His smile deepened. And he slipped away into the night.
EnsTren: And Seth collapsed against the horse as soon as he didn't have to keep up his strong face.
Edmondia: The darkness pressed warm and close around him, heavy and thick, flooding his lungs and clearing his clouded mind.
EnsTren: It was good, it was home. They kept him in the light at all times so he couldn't use his powers easily, so he couldn't sleep easily and would be disorientated.
Edmondia: It wrapped around him and sank into him, warm and familiar, and in the silence, the vague memory of his mother drifted across his mind.
EnsTren: He buried his head into the horse's hide, took in the scent of its life and... resisted... but it didn't work, sleep beckoned him with a heavy hand, and it was all he could do to keep his lashes parted and his consciousness awake.
Edmondia: And the Shadows whispered their vengeance into his ears, caressed his skin, and curled around him - and then rushed towards their silent summons. He was so sleepy... but he wanted to watch them die.
EnsTren: He told the horse to stand up slowly, and he held onto the saddle, walking with it near the edge of the rune and then told it to kneel again. He crawled the rest of the way.
Edmondia: At the crest of the dune, his cousin stood, ebony flame twined around him, a figure that was inky black save for the wild eyes that glowed violently in the night.
EnsTren: He sighed happily, his cousin was so beautiful, it made him smile. He was... actually glad that they had taken him, better him than his cousin.
Edmondia: Better for everyone.
Edmondia: Atemu smiled down at the bandit camp, watching the fires glow as did the stars above. From this far away, the ugliness was masked, and the firelight seemed cozy and bright.
Edmondia: And the world ripped apart in a rush of shrieking madness that sang of death and the wind.
EnsTren: A small, dangerous smile curved Seth's cracked lips. Beautiful... And he looked down at the death, and carefully licked his lips, letting his eyes flutter halfway shut in contentment, watching the blood and shadows flow over and sink deep within the golden sand. He dug his fingers into the saddle as the backwash of death washed over him like pleasure and laughter in the night.
Edmondia: The Shadows all around him screamed their joy to the empty skies, and when the heady rush faded and only the desert lay before him, he could hear Atemu laughing with delight.
EnsTren: And he giggled with him, a chattering, not quite sane sound, for he understood his cousin very well now.
Edmondia: Beautiful Shadows. Beautiful, beautiful cousin, racing back up the dune, eyes utterly wild and bright, still laughing as he skidded to a stop before him, sand spraying beneath his feet.
Edmondia: "I did it!" he giggled, "I did it, for you, for us! The Darkness - it still loves us both!"
EnsTren: He giggled again, sounding perhaps a little like the hairy tree humans from far in the south that were sometimes brought up to amuse his cousin. He pushed himself up, pain dulled by europhia, and held his arms open to hug him.
Edmondia: Atemu flung himself against him, giggling into his throat, and he wrapped his arms around him and squeezed him tightightight. He smelled like the sky and the Shadows, and maybe he was hurting, but it was worth it just to hold him and squeeze him and pet him while the lingering echoes of darkness embraced them both.
EnsTren: It was good, it was cold and warm and so perfectly dark, hiding them both from the bad things that Atemu killed, making him feel safe again.
Edmondia: Safe now.
Edmondia: Beautiful, wonderful, brilliant lovely cousin.
EnsTren: And they held each other tight until the darkness that still loved him - oh, he had been so afraid that it would be lost to him! But they had to wait until the darkness drew away because they lived in the world of light and they needed to see it.
Edmondia: And slowly they clambered onto their horse, and turned their faces to the east.
EnsTren: But the shadows went away, the europhia went away. And he had to curl down and bury his face in his arms to hide his sobs. It hurt so much to ride.
Edmondia: And Atemu wrapped his arms around him and held him tight and whispered into his hair, and curled the darkness around him as best as he could in the face of blinding light.
EnsTren: And he shivered and tried very hard not to get his blood on him, so he wouldn't know how he was hurt.He clung to the shadows desperately.
Edmondia: They reached the palace when Ra began edging over the horizon.
EnsTren: And that was good, it was so hard to hang onto the shadows when Ra laid his blessing down.
EnsTren: They raced into the courtyard and into chaos, guards rushing and servants scattering before them. He was twitching on the saddle, trying so very hard not to cry, and he almost did, he almost did. But everyone heard those held back sobs.
Edmondia: And Atemu was clutching him close even when the guards raced up to pull them apart, even when the pharaoh himself raced out from morning prayers to fetch his son.
EnsTren: He gave a piercing scream when he was pulled off the saddle, his limp legs suddenly falling together. He clutched at his bloody linen kilt with a small white knuckled fist so it wouldn't fall down and expose the shame of what they had done to him for all eyes to see.
Edmondia: He barely heard it as the pharaoh roared for the healers, could barely keep his eyes open as he was borne gently to the ground - the world was spinning.
EnsTren: He was bleeding, he could feel it leaking out of him, and the salty white stuff they put in him when they hurt him.
EnsTren: And then all went dark.
Edmondia: In the moment before he lost consciousness completely, he thought he heard his cousin calling his name.
EnsTren: He didn't know how long he had been at the healers. He knew he had woken up with terrible nightmares, a horrible cruel thing, a wrong thing for a shadow gifted child. Nightmares were supposed to be his friends and toys.
Edmondia: He woke up screaming in the daylight while the healers fussed and fretted over him.
EnsTren: He woke up screaming in the night time, a Healer always near to press him back into a healing sleep and to fuss over any wounds he reopened.
Edmondia: And sometimes Atemu was there.
EnsTren: Sometimes that calmed him, but he always searched his face for understanding, wanting make sure his cousin didn't know what they did to him.
Edmondia: And he didn't.
EnsTren: And that made breathing a bit easier.
Edmondia: And the honey cakes made him smile.
EnsTren: Even if they still hurt coming out. But eating them made him happy, and seeing him eat made Atemu happy. So he ate.
Edmondia: And sometimes in the mornings the guards would come rushing in to find their prince curled up with him in the thin bed he'd been given for recovery.
EnsTren: And inside of him the darkness was darker when that happened, and he held him closer, his strange eyes cold and hating. Did they look for him?
Edmondia: No. They hadn't found him.
EnsTren: Yet they looked for beautiful cousin Atemu. If he weren't his cousin he might start to hate him, but he was his cousin, so he didn't. He just hated everyone else, and reveled in it, showing his dear cousin the newest depth of the shadow he could touch.
Edmondia: And Atemu smiled for him. Only for him.
EnsTren: He showed his teeth ferally to the guards and held Atemu close.
Edmondia: And Atemu giggled when the guards backed away from them, and squeezed him tight when he said goodbye, and always promised to come back with more sweets and candies for them both.
EnsTren: And he smiled for Atemu, only for Atemu.
EnsTren: And when he was gone the healers would scold him because it was hard for his system to digest. Sometimes he was made to throw it up if it was still in his stomach. They fed him broth.
Edmondia: He hated broth.
Edmondia: He hated them, even if they were making him feel better, even if he was getting stronger.
EnsTren: Because they didn't look for him.
EnsTren: Because he knew they wouldn't touch his freakish sullied body if it wasn't for his cousin's bloody eyes.
Edmondia: So he let them fuss and worry and scold them, and all the time, he was growing colder and colder inside.
EnsTren: It made Atemu happy, he said he could feel his shadow getting stronger.
Edmondia: Was it a good thing?
EnsTren: Atemu was stronger than him, would always be. And they looked for him. And it meant that even if they wouldn't, he could still fight back better.
Edmondia: Be stronger.
Edmondia: And maybe... maybe when he was bigger, maybe he'd be able to protect him.
EnsTren: So getting darker was good.
Edmondia: Even if the healers weren't so willing to touch him anymore. Even if the servants had begun avoiding his gaze.
EnsTren: He liked the latter though, it made him feel powerful. As for the former... Well, he'd ask them sweetly if he was getting better and if that was why he needed less tending, and he was sure Atemu would be pleased when he told him about his progress.
Edmondia: He was beginning to like the nervousness in their eyes.
EnsTren: Good.
Edmondia: Slowly, they let him return to his studies - he spent his days with the sacred scriptures and his nights playing with the shadows.
EnsTren: Playing with Atemu, and whispering dark things to each other, and finding new darkness together.
Edmondia: And he couldn't help but notice that when they were together, the others grew still more anxious, and did their best to hide away from them both.
EnsTren: They both liked that.
Edmondia: And when he could walk again, they had even more fun.
EnsTren: But he couldn't run yet, but it was okay, he would be able to soon enough.
Edmondia: And then they would really be able to play.
EnsTren: And get a bit more revenge.
Edmondia: It would be fun.
EnsTren: He sometimes wondered at the looks the adults gave him, the ones who weren't afraid of him.
Edmondia: What did they mean?
EnsTren: Espically the Pharaoh's. Of course Atemu's father wouldn't be afraid of him, but he didn't understand that look.
Edmondia: When he asked Atemu, though, he didn't know either.
EnsTren: They had shrugged together and hugged each other and giggled as they squished bandits in the prison.
Edmondia: But all the while, he could not forget those looks.
EnsTren: He wasn't sure if he liked them.
Edmondia: He wasn't sure what they meant. He didn't like not knowing, it left him uneasy and frightened.
EnsTren: He hated being frightened.
Edmondia: He hated it enough that one night, after Atemu was asleep, he snuck into the pharaoh's chambers and demanded to know why he kept staring at them.
EnsTren: It was perhaps one of the stupidest things he had ever done, but he couldn't stand to be afraid, so it was better to have a fast death this way than be frightened slowly to it.
Edmondia: And from the way the pharaoh was looking at him now, he really felt like an idiot.
EnsTren: It was better than fear though.
Edmondia: Anything was better than fear.
EnsTren: And the Pharaoh had told him that he had never seen anyone gifted with shadow find more darkness within them past the light of their Ka. By aging it may grow more, just as the body, but He did, he grew greatly. And though that might be put down to his ordeal it did not explain Atemu's growth.
Edmondia: For the first time in his life, he felt a pang of fear for his little cousin.
EnsTren: And he asked the pharaoh fearfully, almost begging the living god in front of him, Was Atemu hurt, too?
Edmondia: He couldn't be hurt, he couldn't be hurt, nonononononono...
EnsTren: The Pharaoh promised him hadn't been.
Edmondia: And he could breathe again.
Edmondia: But... then why was Atemu...?
EnsTren: And the Pharaoh smiled a little at him, and explained it two words, "For you."
Edmondia: He blinked at him, confused. He didn't understand.
EnsTren: "My son," he said, "Loves you very much, and opened the doors inside of himself to find what he needed to get revenge for you. Because he loves you. And I know you would do the same for him."
Edmondia: He felt heat rush to his cheeks, and dropped his gaze to the floor.
EnsTren: And he asked something more important, deathly important since Atemu had told him how he went off to find him on his own.
EnsTren: "D-does this mean t-th-that they'll look f-for m-me now?"
Edmondia: The pharaoh's gaze grew troubled, and sudden fear clenched in his gut.
EnsTren: "O-Oh...I'll try... to stay s-safe th-then." And he forced himself to straighten up and smooth his clothes like a man, because he was almost one, wasn't he? "After all, I should be able to protect myself."
Edmondia: "...you are still a child."
EnsTren: And his shoulders ducked and he gave the Pharaoh a dirty look, he had been about to apologize and excuse himself, "Not after what they did to me."
EnsTren: He sounded feral, like the wild hyenas and the lions.
Edmondia: The pharaoh's gaze narrowed dangerously.
EnsTren: And the little boy was shaking in his slippers, not because of the Pharaoh's gaze, but because of the memories he all but relived if he wasn't careful. He could feel them creeping up over and on him right now.
EnsTren: "Not after what they did to me, not after what they all did to me. Until I couldn't walk and then put it in my mouth and made me scream like the souls the priests rip from the bodies for Kemet."
EnsTren: "Not after how they put their hands on me, not after what they made me say. Children don't do that, children don't say things like that."
Edmondia: "It was not your fault."
EnsTren: "It still happened, I can still smell them and taste them and feel them and see them and hear them cheering each other on as they took turns."
Edmondia: "It was not right, but you must not let it control you."
EnsTren: "I'm darker now, I'm stronger now. That means I can protect myself since no one will look for me. That means I can protect Atemu if they come for him. They wanted to you know."
Edmondia: "I know," the words were snarled, low and vicious. "I would have slaughtered them myself if I had been given the chance."
EnsTren: He flinched and took a step away, almost two, resting one foot behind him like a caught animal in flight.
Edmondia: "...Seth?" The voice was soft and sleepy, coming from beyond the chamber, from an ajoining room, "What are you doing here?"
EnsTren: He skittered slightly away, ducking slightly down as if he was getting ready to dodge something thrown but then he slowly straightened, jerking. "Ah-asking your most honorable and holy father why he looks at us so," he barely had a quaver in his voice, he was proud.
Edmondia: Atemu wandered out into the room, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, rubbing sleepily at one thickly-lashed eye. He came to a halt halfway between his cousin and father, brows furrowing as he sensed the tension in the air. "Papa?" he asked muzzily, "Why do you look at us like that?"
EnsTren: And the Pharaoh's viasage softened as he turned his attention upon his son, "Because you two are so much stronger, I am very proud."
EnsTren: Seth edged away, backwards backwards, away. He hated fear, he had his answer so he didn't have to be afraid of the look. But now he wanted to go back to his little pallet in the healers and be far away, because now instead of fear the pharaoh brought memories.
EnsTren: He didn't know what was worse.
Edmondia: Atemu looked back over his shoulder and frowned, before turning back to his father with a serious look on his face. "Seth is staying with me tonight," he announced solemnly.
EnsTren: He moved over to the wall, his sandals scraping on the ground. Atemu had gotten used to how Seth acted funny sometimes, especially when he felt he was cornered. It came in very useful for sneaking food out of the kitchens though, he was even better at it than before.
EnsTren: "I sh-should... The Healers," he stammered weakly.
Edmondia: "With me," the prince repeated primly, and patiently held out a hand.
EnsTren: And he looked both ways and glanced behind him and at the Pharaoh before going over to Atemu, shoulders hunched so much he looked almost as small as his cousin.
Edmondia: Atemu reached out and grabbed his hand, looking back up at his father. "I'm going back to bed now, papa. Can we have fruit for breakfast?"
EnsTren: His father gave them another odd look and them smiled at his son and nodded, "Of course."
Edmondia: Atemu stared up at his father adoringly. "Good night, papa."
EnsTren: "Good night, Atemu," he smiled again.
EnsTren: But not to Seth. The two cousins, who were as close as brothers, quietly retired for the night.
EnsTren: Though Atemu had to help Seth into bed though, because he still had a hard time sitting with his knees up. But he was happy to, because this meant they could share a bed, and it was much more comfortable than the little one in the Healers.
Edmondia: And Atemu always chased the nightmares away.
EnsTren: The Nightmares might be bad, but they were at least a little smart. They were afraid of Atemu. Seth wanted to make them afraid of him too.
Edmondia: He would figure it out.
EnsTren: Someday, some night, but not now, right now he had Atemu and it was time to go to sleep. Though come morning no one would be looking for him.
Edmondia: ...he could learn to live with that.
Edmondia: He hoped.
EnsTren: Then he had an idea. He nudged Atemu, "Atemu?"
EnsTren: "If... when I grow up and became your high priest, do you think they would look for me?"
Edmondia: Atemu considered it seriously. "Mmhmm."
EnsTren: "Then I'm going to be your high priest and protect you and have people look for me."
Edmondia: Atemu gave him a sleepy smile. "That sounds nice."
EnsTren: He imagined both of them hiding and making everyone look for them, but they would be in the kitchens eating cakes, that would be nice. He snuggled closer to his cousin and held onto him.
EnsTren: And they slept.