Moon Knight: Nightly Affairs

Chapter 02

Present Day
On the busy streets of Fez, Morocco, a woman looks around at her surroundings to see if she can find the place she's looking for. She holds a map out in front of her, glancing down at it quickly then back up to look at the names of the buildings before her.

People brush past her as she stands in their way trying to figure out where she is and which way she needs to go. They mutter unnecessary comments at her or excuse me's, to which she completely ignores.

After about twenty minutes, the mahogany haired woman finds the place she was looking for, the Al-Qarawiyyin library. She looks to her right, then to her left to make sure she's not being followed.

She tugs her tan baseball cap down, hoping nobody would recognize her. She's wearing a white, long sleeved crop top that ties in the front, paired with beige pants which ruffle at the top, tying around her waist and beige sneakers.

The woman quickly enters the quiet building, making her way to the long, dark wooden tables where people are found reading their books, typing on their computers, doing their homework or sketching in their notebooks.

However, one woman, at the far end of the table in the back, glances at the time on her phone with an unopened book in front of her.

The mahogany haired woman walks over to the table and sits in the chair across from the other woman. Her curly hair pulled back into a messy bun, dressed in a tight green shirt, a black jacket with two pockets, blue jeans and black sneakers. She looks up and watches the woman sit down and make herself comfortable.

"You look different," the curly haired woman leans forward with a smirk, placing her arms onto the table, crossing them.

The woman chuckles, "Yeah, well, you of all people should know you've gotta change your appearance to not catch any unwanted attention."

"Right, the typical hat move," she laughs as quietly as she can. "I mean, the outfits cute, but I could definitely tell who you were the moment you walked in."

"Thank you?" the woman sat opposite of her chuckles with a small smirk. "On a serious note, though, there is a reason I told you to meet here, Layla." She pulls out a folded piece of paper from her bra and opens it, sliding it across the table. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

Layla examines the page, mumbling things to herself as her fingers trace the image. She grabs the book beside her and starts flipping through the pages, hoping she can find some answers within the old texts. 

The woman in beige and white silently watches, bouncing her leg anxiously, waiting for answers. She takes a look around the library, not seeing much that would activate her paranoia, but she still feels the need to check for any potential threats or anyone that would recognize her. She looks at the people sitting at the tables: an old man silently reads his novel, three kids around the age of ten are discussing some school project, a couple watch Netflix on a shared laptop and two tourists whisper amongst themselves as they look over a paper map of Fez. Her head quickly turns back to Layla as she starts explaining her findings.

"Ma'at's scales of Justice and her feather of truth," the curly haired woman points to the images on the paper she was passed, while sliding the book over to the other woman. "Obviously, the heart is self explanatory, but the Ankh could mean one of two things: life or in other cases... death." She hesitates for a moment before asking, "Why do you need to know this stuff, Eira?"

"I don't go by that anymore," she quickly responds, then pauses for a moment before saying, "I can't go by that anymore. Too many people know me by that name, so use my real one."

Layla furrows her brows and opens her mouth to say something, but she's cut off by the brunette tourist that was sat a few seats over.

"Hi, so sorry to bother you two, but I saw that you have the book we're looking for..."