pocketpretzels | Lisbon, Portugal, [All Day Sunday]

Again Llewellyn's delight was absolutely charming. "Hopefully they won't mind we're not as dressed up as they are."

"I should think they're accustomed to it," Watts said. "With all the visitors passing through. Resigned, perhaps, that no one is as prepared as they are for a formal event."

His own lack of a proper evening suit had been cause for some minor embarrassment not that long ago, and was on the list of things he hoped to eventually fix, but there was no particular rush. Especially since in Fandom, his own everyday wear was viewed by most as already quite formal.

"It's good manners, isn't it?" Steven said, by way of agreeing with Llewellyn. "Not making other people feel uncomfortable. Even if they're not dressed right. Polite, those penguins."

"Very well-mannered," Watts said with a nod. "Never actually seen any in real life before," he added, as if that hadn't been obvious from his initial reaction. "Only photographs, from the Discovery expedition a few years back. Though those were different penguins than these ones."

"I forget that that was still new for you," Steven said. "Things like traveling to the poles. Not that it's easy these days but it's easier to share what they find once they're there. Internet and the like. Penguins don't have it though. No pockets to store their mobiles, you see."

Steven was still enjoying himself with his stories.

“Well, that’s one advantage my suit’s got, then, despite being less formal, doesn’t it?” Watts asked. “Plenty of pockets.” Good for both mobile telephones and also snacks!

“Sorry fellows,” he said to the penguins. “And ladies,” he added.

"You know some penguins aren't fussed about that?" Steven said. "There's stories of two males like getting together and raising a little one on their own."

Watts nodded. “I’ve- a friend of mine pointed me in the direction of scholarly articles on the topic of homosexuality in the animal kingdom, following my failed attempt at-“ well, Steven knew what he’d been trying to do. No use getting into that.

That Steven might also mean stories as in picture books meant for children hadn’t occurred to him at all.

Steven gave Llewellyn's hand a comforting squeeze. "Could tell you all sorts of things about what it was like in ancient Egypt. Might not have used the words we do today but doesn't mean it didn't happen."

Of course the odds of Steven sharing these stories or anything else on the topic of ancient Egypt, asked for or not, would increase significantly when they were at the museum.

“I’d like to hear about that,” Watts confessed.

Of course, the fact that he’d deliberately sought out a museum with an Egyptian collection meant that any and all such stories were in fact asked for.

"Oh there's loads of things," Steven said. "Gods and humans alike. Which - I guess now that we know the gods are real means some of those stories probably were real. Not symbolic, I mean."

“Tell me one? ~~Entirely handwavily if you’d like~~” Watts asked.

"Did I tell you the story about Horus and Set?" Steven asked.

It said a lot about Steven's distrust of his memory that he had to question if he'd told Llewellyn this story, given that once it was learned it did tend to stick out amongst the others.

Watts shook his head. “You have not,” he confirmed.

"Right," Steven said, immediately warming up to the topic, "one day Osiris's throne is up for someone to take it. We won't get into that bit now, that's its own story. Anyway, two of the other gods want it. Set, Osiris's brother, and Horus, Osiris's son. So they've got to prove which one is worthy, yeah?

"Now in those days two men being together wasn't a problem. Family members doing it among the gods wasn't either. Family tree didn't have many branches there if you follow me. Thing that was the problem was who took a stronger role in the doing it. Especially if you wanted to take over a throne, you see."

Steven looked at Llewellyn to make sure it all made sense so far.

Watts nodded, because yeah, that followed.

It might not soon enough, given the story.

"Set decides he's going to give himself the advantage," Steven continued, still thrilled at the chance to talk about one of his favorite subjects. "He sneaks into Horus's room at night, has a bit of fun. Thinks to himself well that's done it then. Next time everyone's together I can prove it's me who should take over because - er -"

Amazingly Steven stopped being distracted enough to remember there were children around. "Erm. Well he left proof, didn't he? And where it was left, that'd prove which one of them was stronger, right?"

"Nice recovery, there," Watts murmured, tone full of fond amusement.

Steven smiled at the compliment and kept going.

"Now Horus, he says I see what's happening." Steven realized Llewellyn might not get the joke so added, "He's got the head of a hawk. Good vision, yeah? Anyway, he's having none of it. Cleans himself up, chucks all the evidence straight into the Nile.

"Then Horus goes to his mum, Isis, and says what are we going to do about old uncle Set? And Isis, smart lady she is, says what's good for the goose is sauce for the gander, isn't it? Or hawk in this case."

Realizing how that sounded, Steven felt a need to clarify, "Set's not a goose. Noone's rightly sure what he is. Sort of an aardvark giraffe looking thing. Suppose I could ask one of these days."

"Assuming he'd give you a proper answer. Though I suppose Konshu's not the only god you can ask." And the other one he knew actually liked him and all.

"I was thinking Taweret, yeah," Steven agreed. "Right, so Horus - erm - gathers his own proof of leadership. You know. So to speak. But he knows Set's not going to fall for the same trick he played, is he? Horus, being clever, waits until the next time Set's having himself a snack. Now Set loves lettuce - which is more proof of the giraffe idea, come to think of it.

"Anyway, loves it. Like Stark and sweet things. Can't get enough. So Horus takes his, er, evidence and puts it on some salad and offers it up to his uncle, nice as you please. 'Here you go, already got the dressing on it for you' and all that. Set loves lettuce so much doesn't even think twice. Eats it all down, would ask for seconds if he was able."

"The dressing, of course," Watts murmured, though he suspected that particular detail was embellishment provided by the storyteller. "How'd that work out?"

Steven had embellished a tiny bit. In truth lettuce in those days was shaped differently and suffice it to say the juice which came out of the leaves was not clear in appearance. Ahem.

"Well the gods gather, right?" Steven said. "And they say we've got to get this sorted. Osiris isn't coming back from the dead any faster than last time. Someone's got to rule, which of you lot is it?

"Set stands up and says well, I've got proof I'm stronger than Horus. And he does magic, right? To make the proof speak up. Course he's thinking it's going to make noise from inside his nephew, right? But because Horus was smart it doesn't. It pipes up from where Horus tossed it in the Nile.

"So the other gods, hearing that, say to Set why are you wasting our time? Anybody can have a - " again Steven adjusted his wording considering their location " - a, er, go in the Nile. We've all done it. No point bragging about it. Sit back down and stop making a fuss.

"Then it's Horus's turn and he says funny thing about what my old uncle here was trying to prove. And he does the same spell. And because Set ate the evidence sure as anything it pipes up from inside him. So the other gods say well there you are then, Horus was the stronger one, he gets the throne, see you all next time when we've got to argue about this again."

Steven finished up and looked back at the display they were in front of. Reminded of why he'd gone off on this particular tangent, he added, "Oh, and that's how Thoth was born. Set having that inside him. Bang, pregnant, out comes Thoth with two dads, just like those penguins."

"Just like," Watts agreed, eyes twinkling with amusement. "Wild to think of it possibly being true."

"But you see how nice it is, yeah?" Steven said. "Nobody bothered that it was two men or them having a child. It was the fighting over the throne they were fussed about. Not helped by how Set was a bit of a twat. Could give Konshu a run for his money there, I imagine."

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