the stars that dot midnight
She's falling.
There's been a resurgence of the followers of Ammit, and the streets of Cairo haven't been safe, even if the goddess herself has ceased to exist, and the cultists still hit hard, especially with a pipe to the throat.
She looks up at the rooftop, watching in slow motion as someone grabs the throat of the Ammit cultist by the neck and throws them off. Sure, she might survive this. There's only forty one floors to the Grand Nile Tower Hotel, maybe Taweret can pull something off with her corpse-
Arms wrap around her, and they spin as she's flown back up, dropping her back to the roof right in time for her to plant her foot onto someone's chest and kick them onto their back. After the last cultist drops, she turns to look at her savior.
He wears something similar to what Marc does, but instead of mummification bandages, it's solid fabric, and he wears a black mask over his face, black also interwoven throughout his suit. As if reading her mind, he drops the mask, revealing the cold and calculating face of Jake Lockley. "Thanks for saving me back there," She says, nervous about what he'll do.
"No hay de qué," Jake replies, and she's worked hard enough at Duolingo for this exact reason and moment to understand his nonchalant dismissal.
He starts to turn to leave, and she grabs his arm. "¡Hey, espera!"
Jake turns, looking down at where she grips him before giving her his attention. "¿Qué?"
"Tengo un montón de preguntas. Nosotros... tenemos muchas preguntas. Y si vas a luchar contra el sistema del que eres parte, sería bueno al menos averiguar por qué." She stutters and stops a few times in her effort to speak Spanish, but he waits patiently for her to finish.
Jake huffs before letting his suit fall away, leaving him in a brown overcoat. He puts a red flat cap on that he fishes out of his pocket, and he nods towards the roof exit. "Vamos. Let's get food."
Layla blinks as he opens the door, a certain silencing fury filling her.
Have I been putting up with that damn Duolingo owl for nothing?
Jake hands her a to-go bowl full of kushari, his own hands full of a heaping serving of mulukhiyah. "What are your questions?"
Layla is offput by the thick Spanish accent he sports; she's used to Marc's slight Chicago boldness and Steven's Cockney chiming, but this is something completely new. "Well, I suppose my first one would be…why did you stay Khonshu's Avatar?"
"Why did you stay as Taweret's?" He shoots back between a mouthful of food.
"That's…" Layla huffs, choosing to take a bite of her food rather than answering him immediately. He waits for her to finish, and she sighs. "It made my dad proud. I feel closer to him when I'm doing hero stuff. I'm a role model for my people."
Jake hums. "Interesting." He lightly stabs his food with his fork, gears turning in his head. "I stayed his Avatar because in the end, I know it'll protect us. And I'm good at it."
"Protect you?" Layla questions.
"You really think that if Khonshu leaves us, we'll be safe from whatever enemies Marc has made? That you both have made?" Jake gestures to the hotel and shakes his head. "No. It's not that simple. I'm our last defense. They can live whatever lives they want to. But I will be ready when the time comes to stay alive."
He's a lot more considerate of the others than she originally thought. They continue to walk and eat, and after a few bites, she asks, "Why don't you talk with them?"
"They live the lives they were meant to live. I live the life I was made to live." Jake looks at the ground, frowning in a way that is reminiscent of Marc, but much more…melancholy. "It's best I stay away and keep separate. I know what they must think of me."
"You don't let them speak their thoughts to you," Layla bites out.
"Tell me," Jake asks, still calm in the face of her anger. "Why do you care so much? You put so much time and energy into them, and yet you also take the time to try to break past me."
"Because you're still part of them, whether you like it or not," She answers. "You can't keep dodging around me chasing you down."
"Yes, so I've realized," Jake sighs in annoyance. "You've been hunting me when they're not home."
"I'm not doing it to monitor you. I'm doing it to have you realize I'm here for you, even if you feel like the others aren't. Besides, you've obviously been watching me as well." Layla takes another bite of her food. "I can say, your methods are…effective to the point that it scares them, but if you were more transparent, I think it'd be better for all of us."
"Es más seguro de esta manera," Jake mutters.
"And if it isn't safer this way?" Layla fires back.
Jake chuckles, amused by her translating and giving response. "Then you can spit on my grave."
"Look," Layla says with a scowl. "At least promise you'll meet me back here at the food cart once a week. I won't press you to meet with the others. I just…want to know you more."
Jake stops and squints at her. "You play with fire, Layla."
"Yes, but I'm sure Avatar healing can cure burns," She jokes.
So suddenly, he takes her arm and pulls her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Foolish scarab," He whispers against her scalp. "I'll try to meet with you if Khonshu doesn't have something he needs me for."
Layla pulls back, nodding as her hands shake. "Yeah, fine."
"I will get them back home now. But promise to stay safe on your patrol. Don't do anything that would draw me out. The less chaos, the better."
She watches as he crosses the street and blends into the shadows of an alley, disappearing without a trace.
She jumps to the top of the roof of a library, crossing her legs as she continues to eat her food. Scarlet Scarab will finish her patrol, then go get five hours of sleep before Marc and Steven wake and she'll tell them all about her first full encounter with Jake.
Layla thinks of him, his desperation to keep them arms length away despite sharing the same body; she never would've thought he cared so deeply. She brushes her forehead, as if she'll still be able to feel the heat of his lips. Why did he do that? Why does he care for her despite knowing nothing about her?
Jake is the night for her, she realizes, as she looks up at the stars. Sure, scary things may happen at night, but they're just as likely to happen during the day, and the light of the moon has the same cool yet mysterious comfort to it as Jake's face does, like the wind of the desert sands caressing her skin on a hot night.