The Sands of Time

Ammon snuggled down into Nour's tunic further than what he already was. Just being comforted by a woman with a mother's touch was helping. "Thank you, Nour," he said, still sobbing but not as bad as before. He pulled away long enough to wipe his face on the back of his arm. "I have a few memories of those who allowed the Pharaoh to....do what he did. They were all Medjay working alongside my father and all were present during my....ordeal."

"Then they too shall meet their fate. No child deserves to have such cruel things done to them. I'm sorry, Ammon" Nour said softly. She looked to the shadows for a moment, and nodded before Seth emerged. Seth placed a warm hand on Ammon's shoulder, and looked at him with a mixture of pain and love in his eyes.
"You will have justice, my child, I promise." Be would drag the pharaoh back from the field of reeds if he had to, and he would most certainly make the Medjay pay for their failure to protect the innocent. Nour just continued to hug Ammon, as that was all she could think to do. Her presence was indeed warm, comforting, and definitely motherly.

Ammon seemed to melt in Nour's arms, his muscles relaxing as his stress and pain melted away. This is what he wanted. A family to protect and love him. His father was always away on missions and his mother...well...he didn't speak of her so he never had the comfort of a mother's hug. It felt nice..

"Come on, let's get out of this gods forsaken city" Nour said with a soft smile as she brushed Ammon's hair from his face. She turned her attention to Seth, and smiled warmly. "I'll see you tonight, my lord." At her word, Seth disappeared, leaving for the desert. Nour turned to Ammon with the warmest smile, and her smile only grew brighter when she saw he had a new marking. It was Seth's marking, but with a slight difference, it had Nour's name there too. Seth had chosen Ammon as Nour's guardian.

Ammon smiled and gave a nod, now more calm than he had been previously. "Let's go then," he said simply, mounting up on Saba once again. He didn't seem to notice his new marking.

Nour hopped onto her horse, and began leading the way out the city. A few kilometres out of the city, they met up with Masika, and she quickly fell inline with the two. Nour led them on a day's ride through the desert until they reached the ruins on a small house where a young man had already built a small fire with a hyena sleeping at his side. Nour leapt off of her horse, and raced towards the young man before getting him in a headlock, and ruffling his hair.
"They still act like kids" Masika said with a chuckle. Once the two were done play fighting, the young man approached Ammon and studied him seriously for a moment before smiling.
"Ah, allow me to introduce myself. Madu of Ombos, twin brother of Nour, and champion of the opener of ways and a god of war, Wepwawet" Madu said proudly.

Ammon slid down from Saba's saddle and turned towards Madu, offering a nod of respect and an introduction of his own. "Ammon Rashidi, son of Aten and Guardian of the god of death, the afterlife and judgement Anubis." Any champion of the gods would know why he'd said Guardian instead of Champion. Anubis had not yet granted him his true Champion markings. The only mark he bore was what everyone called a curse: the jackal with a cobra clamped in its jaws sitting square between his shoulder blades.

Madu studied Ammon for a moment, examining his markings carefully. He realised why Nour had summoned him, why she needed him and Masika. They were going to help him become a champion.
"I see that Seth has made you Nour's temporary guardian" Madu said with a smile. "He must see something in you if he tasked you with protecting his wife." Nour let out a sigh, and grabbed some things from her horse before heading inside and setting up a spot to sleep for the night.

Ammon watched Madu for a moment before he grabbed some of his own things and went inside, following Nour's example and finding himself a place to sleep for the night. "He always like this?" He asked, referring to her brother.

"Most of the time," Nour said with a chuckle, "but he takes champion business seriously, as well as the service of the gods. He's still not sure how to act around Seth." Nour pulled some bread from one of her bags, and handed some to Ammon. Masika and Madu entered the ruins, and set up their sleeping spots. Madu cuddled up with his hyena while Nuru searched for Sanai.
"The Greeks and Romans are working together, if Egypt is to survive, we will need to fight. I'm afraid we cannot let this continue."
"I agree, Madu, but Ammon needs to be trained first" Masika said with a sigh.

Sanai slithered out from beneath Ammon's tunic as always and landed around Nuru, giving the weasel a soft hiss and flick with her tail. Ammon listened, eating slice after slice of the bread Nour had given him.

"Well, if we're going to fight these invaders, Ammon will need to get as much training as possible. We might even have to get the gods involved" Nour said before eating some of her bread. Nuru scampered around Sanai, likely wanting to play. Madu's hyena watched over the group, occasionally looking to the door of the ruins.
"The lady of slaughter will definitely join the fight. She loves a good fight" Masika said happily.
"The lord of chaos will definitely grant us his aid. I will pray for the assistance of the other gods. Ammon, Madu, please convince Anubis and Wepwawet to assist us."
"I will speak with my lord, but I cannot guarantee he will assist us" Madu said sadly.

Ammon couldn't help but lower his head at this. "I don't know if Anubis would listen to me," he said simply. "After all, I follow his command without question. Why would he listen to someone with no experience?"

"He will have to listen to you because he is a god of Egypt, and if his people die, he will lose his strength. The gods may not care all that much about us, but they care about themselves" Madu explained before digging into his bread and some honeyed figs. Masika nodded in agreement before looking to Nour with a questioning look.
"No, I will not speak with Shezmu! He is a threat to not only our gods, but to us as well. Look, I will serve our gods, I will even fight and kill their gods, but I will not speak with the god that would kill, dismember, and cook my husband!" Nour turned away from the others, and opened a small leather pouch, staring at its contents as she ate.

Ammon stayed silent, finishing his bread before he settled down on his pallet. There were so many things he wanted to ask, but refrained. These people were supposed to help him connect with Anubis...hopefully they'd succeed.

Nour rose to her feet, and headed outside, resting a hand on the wall. Her breathing was quick and shaky, and then she vomited. She wasn't well, that much was certain. Masika was drunk, and had fallen asleep. Madu was snoring loudly, cuddling his hyena. It seemed like neither of them heard how ill she was.

Ammon woke to the sound of Saba's concerned nicker and rose to his feet. Rubbing his eyes, Ammon made his way outside the ruins and over to where Nour was. "You alright?" He asked, concern edging his voice.

"Just a bit ill, I think" Nour said softly, still leaning against the wall for support. She had her suspicions, and she was somewhat scared of being right. "I-I think I'm... pregnant" Nour said with a sigh. She honestly didn't know what to do if she was right, but she would still train Ammon.

Ammon looked taken by surprise at this statement. Pregnant? "How?" He asked, his question sounding rather stupid. He knew how but...Nour was the wife of Seth... How could she be pregnant by him? His eyes bore a slight confusion.

"The gods are not all that different from us, Ammon" Nour said with a small smile. She brushed some hair from her face before looking back to Ammon. "The Greeks have many stories of mortal women baring the child of a god, so it is not impossible." Nour straightened up, still trying to recover from her earlier nausea.

Ammon merely gave a nod and handed her his water container. He figured she'd need a drink after that.

Nour took a dip of water before handing the container back to Ammon. She felt a bit better already.
"Thank you, Ammon. We should probably get some sleep, we have a long ride ahead of us tomorrow. My condition will not interfere with your training" Nour said with a smile before heading inside. She curled up on the floor, Nuru curling up beside her before the two fell asleep.

Ammon watched her go back inside, though he himself couldn't bring himself to go back to sleep so he simply stayed outside, watching the stars shimmer in the sky. What would he be taught? And would he become worthy of being the Champion to Anubis?

As usual, Nour was the first one up that morning. She offered the gods a small prayer before preparing some form of breakfast for everyone. She set out an egg each for Sanai and Nuru before sitting down to enjoy her honeyed figs and dried meat. She handed Juni a bit of dried meat, and she was a bit upset that she had no fresh meat for the hound.

Ammon returned to the inside of the ruins shortly after Nour fed the beasts carrying with him a desert hare, which made Juni whine about it. He sat down and tossed the hare towards the hound before setting down to eat his own rations, listening as the hound ate the hare greedily.