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Dream Begin
Anepou stood at the window of the train. It was speeding through the Sahara Desert, taking him to Egypt, the place his ancestors had first emerged in. He knew there were others on the train like him. He had thought he had even seen a familiar face, some one he, maybe, even maybe cared about in a twisted and complicated way. Was it her? He didn't know, for sure. No one had told him who else was coming on this trip, his home coming, as his mother had called it. He wanted to see the places where Anubis first walked (was he real? His family believed so, but Anepou questioned such things.) and were the humans had feared judgement from him, for if their hearts were too heavy, his judgement sent them to Ammit for destruction. Did the humans there fear Anubis now?

He could not help doubt it, for he had seen stories of new gods, risen in the many millenia, that had different names and faces, or even seemed to be faceless beings of omnipotence. Still, he wondered if one such as him might remind them that Anubis had once been loved, and feared, because after all, he existed... That was evidence of such beings, and that faceless one had no such thing. He sighed, and turned away from the window, moving back to the comfortable seat he'd been shown to, and lounged in it, gazing at the people moving through the train. He wondered, vaguely, if she would pass through and confirm that he had seen her.

Anepou was idly pondering a visit to the Dining Car, as it was getting close to time for a meal, but he did not feel hungry. Nervous, perhaps, unhappy with how his life was going, because it felt directionless and empty, and not particularly exciting, but not hungry, no. He sighed, deeply, knowing he should be hungry, and maybe even excited because he was heading to Egypt, but... He just felt empty right now.

He leaned his head back, and closed his eyes, his long, slender throat visible. His jacket was hung up on the coat hook on the wall, and he was wearing a fitted shirt that would show his lightly muscled figure nicely, not that he'd done it with the intent to draw eyes. He just had to look appropriate, for his FAMILY'S sake. He had left the doors open to his compartment, not particularly worried if some one came by. Whoever they were, the odds of them invading was low. Few people ever felt the urge to bother him, in situations like these. His mother might hear of it, and she was rarely kind to those she felt had insulted the family name.

And if... if she was on the train, and happened to pass by, well he doubted she'd come in. He was sure she did not want to see him, and would just keep going. If she did choose to come in, however, his mother would never know, because he'd never tell her and no one else was likely to notice. Everyone who knew both of them knew there was complicated history.

He thought, anyways.

Anepou's eyes opened, and he slowly lifted his head, not expecting that the first thing he would see when he did was... well, HER, across the room from him. His eyes widened, their unusual golden-brown glittering from the reflected light. He couldn't help but stare for a long moment, studying the young Doctor who he'd known, so complicatedly, for so long.

After a moment, he wrenched his eyes away from her, and looked around the room, seeing where she might go, before realizing he was at the only table with a free seat. He looked down at the tea he'd been given, silently, for a long moment, before looking back up, and meeting her gaze. He waited until he was sure she knew he was looking right at her, and gave a gesture at the empty seat, showing that he was willing to have her join him.

He had no idea how else to handle this, but he would do his best to be gracious. It hurt, somewhat, seeing her standing there, strong and beautiful as ever. He was sure she was doing well, because she never seemed to do less then well, when unconnected to him at least. She may have broken it off, but deep in his heart, he was sure it was his fault. He must have done something to drive her off, after all. But, perhaps, at least, today they could act like friends, and he could pretend things had meaning, even if the moment she left, he knew his life would go back to it's hollowness.

He found himself pondering that he was, in fact, rather lame.

Ane watched her walk across the carriage's interior, noting her grace, and that unique way she of carrying herself, as if nothing in the world mattered to her but her. He found himself thinking, for a moment, of when they'd met, and wondering why on earth he'd not seen that as a sign that he would end up hurting.

He looked back down at his tea, a twist of his lips crossing his face as he realized that perhaps in some ways, that was why he'd 'not seen it'... He had, but chose to try anyways, because he was an idiot with a masochistic streak. He managed to get his expression back under control by the time she sat down, so he looked up to greet her.

"It's been a long time, Ruth. How have you been?" He replied, choosing to start with a more traditional pleasantry, before responding to her rather... sharp comment, even if most people would think it was the most minor of things from her tone. He put a pleasant smile on his face that in no way reflected his inner turmoil and hurt, and added "I had little choice on the matter. Mother made it clear, with Father's passing, that SHE was going, and if I did not..." He paused, and closed his eyes, for a moment. "Well let's just say she reminded me of the VIEWS of Egyptian men on a single woman, especially of Egyptian heritage, wandering around on her own. I could not risk something happening to her." He knew all too well what could happen, it wasn't as if the Sah name was unknown, let alone the part where his father had died.

He had a duty to his mother, to protecting her well being, even if he did not desire the duty he was being pressured into alongside that.

"And I see you have chosen to take that chance to see Cairo, and the pyramids, that you mentioned once or twice." He gave a slight, pleasant smile. "I can't blame you, it must be hard to get away from your practice, given the need to make the rent and all."

He noticed she had evaded his question regarding her well being. He controlled the urge to sigh, knowing this was just how she was. She kept the world at a distance, and that he had ever been let in, at all, was... Something short of a miracle. Why couldn't he just let this go? It was slowly destroying him.

Then again, so was his mother's need to make him live his life to HER standards. Why did Father have to have put such frustrating restrictions in the will, making it so easy for her to control him? Maybe that was why his heart had clung to Ruth, even with her shoving him so hard out of her life. Somehow, he had felt free of them, during that time.

Her comment about worrying aspects brought a wry smile to his face, one that, perhaps, showed more then he intended. He had no clue that in that moment, the exhaustion and pointlessness he felt appeared across his face. "Well, I will promise to avoid the Hospital and premises, as long as I remain healthy and whole." He paused, then tilted his head in acknowledgement of a thought. "And mother too, of course. If she ends up there, I would be derelict in my duty if I did not stay by her side." Part of him wondered how bad it would be, really, if he didn't...