Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
*:･ﾟ✧
It's Corbin's first time setting foot in Egypt. Having been born and raised in a more tame environment of the US, the heat had smacked him upside down when he and his mother had left the airport early in the morning. It's exhilarating all the same, but not so much to Leah who's already familiar with the lay of the land. She'd spent the majority of her early adulthood as a security detail accustomed to legal operations, though the arias of Egypt seemed to beckon her towards it the most. Before Corbin's time, she had managed to sign herself off with an ambitious archaeologist as a prestigious member of his escort: Abdallah El-Faouly.
The man himself was — and still is — incredibly driven, perhaps to recklessness, but that would never make him shy away from help. Leah knew all too well how much of a risk Abdallah was initiating by uncovering ancient Egyptian sites and tombs, in search of unique relics and footprints marked with historical value. It was a sort of competition in itself, one she had been a part of, at first, for the money. What began as a business transaction eventually grew into an honest friendship between her and Abdallah.
"Hey, it's gonna be fine. Don't overthink it."
Beneath the mastering sun, Corbin chuckles sheepishly to himself. Cairo is overflowing with energy; new sounds, sights, and smells which sidetracks him in passing. Him and his mother are side by side, walking shoulder-to-shoulder. "It does feel like my heart is about to give out, but I'm mostly excited about our job. I want to know what it's like out there."
"And you will, Sweetheart, but remember that when we get there, it's crucial that you're on your best behaviour. This is by no means a vacation for any of us." Leah has swung an arm around her son, keeping him close. "I trust you'll do your best for a good first impression, yeah? Even though you're my kid, my vouch for you won't take too much into effect. Abdallah is very delicate about his expeditions."
"Mom, I'm a star student of yours. I'll ace it."
Leah squeezes Corbin into a side-hug. She releases him a moment later and is briefly patting his back, smiling from ear to ear — the crevice of her eyes wrinkling. "To think I'd walk the streets of Cairo once again, on my way over to Doctor El-Faouly with my own son by my side," she reflects gleefully. "But here you are, taking after me... Listen, Corb, I know we've talked about this in the past, but when it comes to your powers..."
"Then they're off-limits. It wouldn't be necessary for me to use any of my mysterious abilities and scare people off; have them think it's creepy... Mom, we've been over this at least fifty times already."
"Sweetheart, trust me when I say there's nothing in that desert which can't be killed with a bullet."
Corbin's 20-year-old mind can only picture what his mother must've toiled through in order to say that. Leah would spare no detail about her primed 20s and mid-30s in Egypt, until she sought to actually settle down and conceive a child of her own. Her contact with Abdallah severed, he had reached out to her just a few weeks ago in order to hear if she'd be interested in returning to the sands of Egypt, in the pursuit of what he praised as 'greatness'. The deal involved payment, of course, and even Leah's own son couldn't pass that up.
