━━ CHAPTER TWO / missed plans

Every part of Ronny's body ached when she woke up the next day. Her ankle was sprained from her escape and after dropping off the artefact, she hadn't had the energy to bother wrapping it. That was a mistake. It throbbed and ached and she squeezed her eyes shut as she rolled over, desperately trying to ignore the pain. Her studio flat in London was as messy as it always was.

Plates soaking in the sink that she had intended to clean up before Thoth sent her to Italy for a week but now they were stinking out the flat along with her washing that had been neglected for at least three weeks. The bruises on her arms and her sprained ankle didn't make her want to do any housework so she stayed in bed until Thoth appeared.

"You should have seen his true intentions," His voice boomed through her head but this time it actually made her flinch. He sounded angrier than usual and she snapped her head to look up at him, narrowing her eyes. Her elbows supported her weight as her head twisted up to glare.

"Save the lecture," She snapped as she pushed herself out of bed. Thoth wouldn't let her sleep now and she didn't feel like being berated for being lazy as well as failing the mission. Her oversized sleep shirt covered her sufficiently as she trudged over to the sink. She grabbed her first-aid box from the cupboard under the sink and slammed the door shut before collapsing against it. Her kitchen was small and cramped but even then she didn't have the energy to walk to the table. It was a few steps over but all the energy had been drained from her.

"You let another man die." Ronny took a deep breath - trying to calm her racing angry thoughts - and grabbed the roll of bandages to wrap around her ankle. She didn't have any ankle braces left. They had all been used up and she was beginning to think that heels were not as practical as she initially believed.

"People die every day. I'll save the next one," She mumbled in response, pressing her foot against the floor. The end of the bandage trapped underneath the heel of her foot and using it as leverage to begin wrapping her foot tightly. She had become adept at caring for herself after incidents like the previous night.

"Veronica," His voice boomed so loud it made her physically wince, again. It hurt her head as it reverberated through her skull. She opened her eyes and glared up at him. Her hand gripping the roll of bandages as she waited for the lecture that was no doubt coming, "I picked you to be my Avatar. You must do better," The anger simmered beneath the surface now and Ronny felt like a scolded child. The mental weight of another death already felt somewhat suffocating and Thoth was only going to make her feel worse.

"Maybe I was the wrong person to pick," She snapped as she aggressively pulled her bandaging around her ankle. She knew it was too tight but she didn't care. If he was going to treat her like a child, she would act like one. She continued to wrap in silence before using tape to hold the bandages in place and threw the roll of bandages into the box before walking across the flat to sit on the edge of her bed.

The heels had left her walking heavily on her feet and it only made her bruised ankle ache more than it already did. She felt like crying. Pain had become second-nature to her but there was something so overwhelming about it now.

"I waited ten years for you. I am the God of Wisdom. My choices are not ones to be questioned," He responded as he walked across the flat. He was always hunched down because of how low the ceilings were and as he walked over to sit beside Ronny on the edge of the bed, his mummified ibis skull was lower than she was used to seeing it.

Once he'd sat, his staff rested between his legs and his torso had returned to its usual height.. He seemed so human in that moment even with the glaring differences between the two of them.

"Marc will be back in London by tomorrow. I'll follow him and see what I can find about what he did," Ronny responded. She had calmed down significantly but her eyes were pricked with tears. Her fingers ran through her hair before she let out a soft sigh, falling back against the bed. She loved the excitement of the missions Thoth sent her on but when she failed, it hit her harder than she ever expected it to.

"I have more news," Thoth said, his head dipped down as Ronny stared up at the ceiling. She could see the edge of his head as she breathed slowly. News was never good from him. The throbbing in her ankle continued despite the calming breaths and this time it was certainly her own fault. She would have to adjust the bandages before she went out. She'd promised to meet Kaylea for coffee in a few hours.

"Ammit's followers are searching for a way to find her tomb. Arthur Harrow may be a man to watch. He has a neighbourhood he supports in London. Find him, watch him, do what you do best and don't fight anyone." Ronny's head snapped up at the mention of Ammit, sitting up but before she could ask anything about the cult, Thoth had vanished into thin air. She felt like screaming, her hands slamming beside her on the bed before she stood up. She pushed her hair out of her face and glanced around. Part of her wanted to scream for Thoth to come back but she brushed his disappearance off. Thoth would have told her if there was more news.

So, instead, she grabbed her phone and connected to her speaker. Her upbeat playlist played as she began to get ready for the day. Housework came first and the washing up was quickly put in the dishwasher before she adjusted the bandages on her ankle. She then dressed and threw a load of washing into the machine before setting it off.

She grabbed her laptop and sat on the sofa. It didn't take her long to track Marc's credit card and find the flight he bought a ticket to. She opened the flight tracker and made a note of the time he would get in. If Kaylea didn't keep her for too long, she'd follow him from the airport to see if he went anywhere other than the flat.

Then it was research into finding who Marc had killed. The reason why was obvious, he was a mobster and had probably facilitated so many deaths. Committed so many acts of evil in his life but death was not satisfying justice. Maybe Ronny was sadistic but she wanted people like him to suffer for years and years thinking about what they had done stuck between four concrete walls. There was something so much more satisfying about that.

Thoth seemed to agree. It was one of the many things that drew the God to Ronny. Her strong moral compass and opinions lined up with his philosophy. Her love for archeology, Egyptian mythology and fighting skills were added bonuses.

It was only Kaylea's incessant buzzing to be let into the building that brought Ronny back to reality. She had fallen down a research rabbit hole and had lost track of time. Panic rolled through her as she aggressively closed the tabs on her laptop, slamming it shut and rushing to let Kaylea in. She unlocked the door of the flat so Kaylea could walk in now that she had been buzzed in downstairs. Ronny then - on automatic - walked to the kitchen and filled the kettle up and mentally prepared herself to play another game of charades with one of her only friends in London.

"You're not ready..." Ronny could hear the pout in Kaylea's voice and Ronny pushed an awkward smile onto her face, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Sorry, I totally lost track of time." She lied through her teeth and Kaylea shrugged. She closed the door behind her and flopped down onto the couch.

"That's alright, just hurry up. We have time."

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NOTE; no marc/steven content this chapter and it's a lil bit shorter but i hope you enjoyed nonetheless <3