Anubis found comfort in his original shape. He said it was less restricting, felt more natural to him. Yeosang almost preferred if he were Jongho, even at home, but he wouldn't demand that of Anubis so long as nobody saw him. The jackal remained a jackal until the evening, and he would only don his human skin again once they left the house.

Which was more often now. Anubis could be trusted not to do anything odd while he was among people finally, and Yeosang gladly took him along as his workout partner. They went on regular jogs together through the park in the area and Yeosang even got him a gym membership, which Jongho accepted enthusiastically (not that a god actually needed to work out.)

Like for Yeosang, the activity cleared Anubis' mind and made it easier to control his bubbling powers. And it battled his boredom.

Now that Anubis shared the most authentic part of himself with Yeosang, it was easier for Yeosang to trust him, odd as it sounded. His roommate may be a jackal-headed god, but he shared his story. More and more often, Yeosang caught himself letting his guard down and also sharing stories about himself. Stories Jongho didn't know yet. Not the cats or the plants, but about Yeosang's family, his studies, his mundane everyday life.

Jongho was interested in his crush in Seonghwa. On one hand, he was cheering on Yeosang to get it on with and "conquer" his desires. But then, in other moments, he sounded a tad too playful, a tad too inviting himself. Yeosang always shot him down, not interested in being used as a bed warmer by some god, but he had to admit it was flattering in its way.

Yeosang told him how their dynamic came to be. About his studies because he always liked stories about ancient Civilisations when he had still been a boy and about landing the job at the museum thanks to Wooyoung. He mentioned his kind boss, how Seonghwa first came in looking shy and adorable with his round glasses and soft sweaters and pink hair, and about developing those sweet feelings for him.

Jongho teased him about not having the balls to confess, but he always looked sombre when Yeosang told his stories. As if he missed hearing about the human experience during his long slumber.

For the first time since their weird encounter in the museum and since forging their alliance so Jongho wouldn't go mayhem in the world of humans, Yeosang found some sort of understanding with him. Sympathy.

In the time when he wasn't hanging out with his peculiar new friend, Yeosang was researching about him in books. He read about the eternal night and its plagues from countless perspectives throughout history, and he also read a bunch of perspectives on the god who was chilling in his living room.

The Anubis he got to know aligned with the being of the stories. He was neither a being of order nor chaos. As the middleman between life and death, he mostly focused on his embalming task.

Unfortunately, Yeosang found no stories about how the potential end of the world could be reverted. The Egyptians didn't have many tales about it to begin with, just fearing the night for the blinding darkness Apep downed on them during his chase. They wrote about locusts and about fires and the Nile river turning red like blood, but there was no solution. No godly intervention and no folk hero who slew the wicked serpent to bring the sun back into the sky.

All they could go on was Anubis' guess about Seth. Whatever side he took, Ra's fate would be decided.

To Yeosang, that meant they had to search for Seth and Ra in their current world; see if they could arrange a truce, but how would they even begin their search? So many people in so many places. Anubis awoke in Leiden, so they couldn't even guess that the gods would assemble in modern Egypt.

It was the chase for a needle in the haystack. Yeosang was discouraged whenever he trudged home without finding another way, and Seonghwa's care for him was humbling as he asked about him every day.

"Don't worry too much," Jongho told him one time while they were jogging through the park. Yeosang was the one who struggled to regulate his breathing despite all the working out he did over the years. Jongho chatted without breaking a sweat while he led their pace.

"If you were human, you would also worry," Yeosang sighed. Of course Jongho didn't understand. Humans meant nothing to him and they never would. They were a speck of existence in the grand scope of the universe he knew. Other lifeforms had been a lot more impressive than humans and their dark kingdom suited him for its lack of life as well.

They circled around the misty park. Most leaves already fell from the trees and the last few were dark and wilted. Dew clung to the grass and had them slip several times already.

Jongho's breath was whiter in the air than Yeosang's since he ran hotter.

"That's exactly what I meant when I said that you are too pretty for a scholar. A face like yours shouldn't be twisted into a contemplative frown." He said it with utter empathy, but Yeosang rolled his eyes.

"Not joining your harem," he snarked back, making Jongho laugh. His human voice was melodious and calm, where his jackal growled like a beast. Since seeing him in that form, Yeosang appreciated his human likeness more.

"You're right. My brothers wouldn't leave you in peace even if I kept you by my side under my protection."

They left it at that to slow to a casual walk, cooling off before they went back inside. Yeosang looked forward to the first snow, but Jongho didn't understand what he meant by that when he mentioned it. He hadn't witnessed snow before.

They had no answers for whatever destiny awaited them. Why they were in the Netherlands and not in Egypt or where Apep was. His schemes would play out one day, and while Anubis sensed the change in the air, he wouldn't be able to withhold it.

Yeosang was so deep in thought that he startled when Jongho suddenly jumped from his side, ducking away on the other side of the path. His spooked expression matched Yeosang's as he turned his head, trying to see what offended the god this time. Street lights were still odd to him and cars scared him, but inside the park?

A lawn mower? But not during this season.

Thankfully, Jongho pointed the offending source out for Yeosang, but it was no kite, no kids playing with a scooter.

"What is that?" He screeched, not godly anymore from one second to the next. As if in hiding, he hovered on Yeosang's other side. Flattering, somehow. He always claimed he was so much manlier than Yeosang, but here he was, also just a coward.

Yeosang spotted what he was pointing at. A Great Dane - not the human kind - in all black, playing fetch with its owner. The dog looked friendly, panting and tongue flying, but Jongho stared at it as if he had a beast to hunt.

"A dog," Yeosang replied, almost yearnful. He always wanted a dog, a big one, so he could feel safe and have a friend to cuddle (mostly before Wooyoung moved next door), but no place he lived in allowed that. One day, when he had his own small house to research in and fill with items of his interest, he would have a big dog.

But Jongho looked at him as if he was trying to pass off a barefaced lie.

"That's not a dog," he protested, awed and terrified by the man playing games with the beast. Well, he came from a plane where dogs weren't domesticated pets. And before new breeds emerged and travelled the globe.

"It is. And it doesn't look all that different from you, actually." Yeosang peered at him, but of course Jongho was just Jongho today, no jackal-headed Anubis.

His scoff refused to believe Yeosang, as if he had been lying so far about this strange new world.

"How dare you, you worm? I am a jackal, known for my wicked nature, my intelligent and sharp wit. I am ancient and rare, the ruler of my kind." He bristled, returning to his spot by Yeosang's other side to show off his superior confidence like some kind of bird. Yeosang battled with a chuckle.

"Yeah, a doggo. Good boy," he said, lifting his hand to pet Jongho's hair, and he was surprised at how soft it was. For barely taking care of himself, his human form had many perks.

At the first moment, Jongho looked surprised by the sudden touch, not understanding its meaning. When Yeosang dropped his hand with a smug smirk, his scowl returned.

"I call you pretty, so you have grown bold. But I can take you apart once this is my kingdom. Lock you up and make you a proper servant," he growled, trying to look threatening, but not in this form.

Yeosang just shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah, if it gives you joy. But humans are pretty fragile, so don't be surprised if the death of my entire kind turns me into an empty husk." With that, he led the way out of the park and towards his home. Jongho glanced back a few times to make sure the Great Dane wasn't following them to rip out their throats, but the cold air remained peaceful and quiet.

They made it home, but before Yeosang hopped into the shower, he wanted to check on the cats. He was so worried the young ones might not make it through winter and ordered a bed for them to put under the roof at the backyard entrance so they could cosy up and share each other's warmth.

"You can shower first," he told Jongho, though it might be a mistake since the god liked to splash around in the water for hours on end and Yeosang had to beg him to just take baths even when he enjoyed the spray of the shower more. With a can of food, he hustled back outside into the cold.

The kittens were nearby, but thankfully none of them looked sickly this time. With cute meows, they bumbled over to cosy up to Yeosang and leech off his warmth. He petted them with gentle fingers, relishing their soft fur and little heartbeats under his touch.

To him, there was beauty everywhere in this world. In the animals, the plants, even in humans, destructive as they liked to be. Life was something wonderful, something worthy of protection.

But such were human sentiments. Yeosang was sure Ra would agree with him, but he wasn't here to protect his creation.

Not once he got eaten.

The mommy cat also came over to meow at Yeosang, rubbing up against his leg. He petted her with a sad smile. He wished he could do more for them.

"Hey there. Take good care of your babies, hm? It's getting cold," he told her and she meowed back in response, as if telling him she knew. Yeosang smiled, rubbing his fingers over her soft fur.

He missed his careless and happy life when the cats were his largest concern, no god and no apocalypse. It was a heavy burden to bear.

He should check in with Wooyoung more often, remember to get his mind off things. The only way to stay sane until Jongho reported any news about finding his family.

Once the cats finished their food, Yeosang cleaned up the can and told them his goodbyes with a last petting session. He shivered when he hopped back inside, all the sweat from their run cooled down from the cold. Not trying to catch a cold, he rushed back upstairs to hide in his cosy, warm flat.

Anubis was still splashing around in the bathroom when Yeosang took off his shoes. He glanced at Seonghwa's cactus on the desk, where it had flourished and stood healthy and green with pride now.

Time to bring that one back home next.