A Familiar Scent
Nephthys closed her eyes as the familiar scent of sandalwood and rose drifted throughout the bedroom. It seemed like every day brought about a new event - whether it be some creature rampaging through a town, or a foreign god declaring New Kemet as their own. And this was on top of her usual duty of sailing through Duat with Ra and the others. Using incense helped put her at ease during rough times.
(She found herself using far more than usual these days, however. She was thankful her followers had given her so much.)
Nephthys looked out the window, seeing the pitch-black darkness of night barely illuminated by the moon. As much as she enjoyed the technology of modern life, she missed gazing at the stars - Sothis in particular. Maybe the city lights had something to do with the diminishing stars, she thought. The dull scenery made her drift off again, thoughts of both her old and new life swimming around in her mind.
She wondered who - or what it was that forced them to leave earth and move to this strange new territory, and why. What was their purpose? She desperately wanted to go back home but she knew whoever sent them here wouldn't allow it. Though everything looked the same, it was nothing more than a pale imitation of the Kemet of olden days.
He'd love it here, much more than anybody else. Where are you now, Sutekh?
Nephthys' eyes shot open. She turned to look at the incense stick burning nearby. Now she knew why this scent seemed so familiar; it reminded her of him. After he left, Nephthys decided to use this particular scent sparingly; no matter how much she loved it, this scent brought up too many memories. Memories of both pleasant times and times she wishes she could forget.
It was the last gift Seth had given her before they separated for good. He had always boasted about his creations before, but he seemed especially proud of this one - said it was "strong and sweet, just like us." Or something like that. When asked why he gave her an incredulous look and stated how obvious the answer to her question was (He was never good at explaining things.) But the more she thought about it, the clearer his words became to her.
The scent, as far as Nephthys could tell, was a combination of rose, oud, jasmine, and sandalwood. She remembered how it overwhelmed her the first time she used it. (Seth, on the other hand, loved it and was surprised when Nephthys expressed her distaste for it.) But it gradually softened as time went on, developing into a warm, earthy scent, with the flowers settling neatly into the background. Perhaps that's what he meant when he said that.
As much as she loved that memory, Nephthys felt a sudden wave of sadness wash over her once she realized she had gone back on her word of not using this particular scent so much. She had been using it more than anything else ever since she and her comrades left earth.
She realized she had lit the last one.