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It's a still, starless night tonight, a little chilly but there's not so much as a light breeze. There are no crickets; the fire probably scared them away. As Senel clambers up onto the rooftop, his shoes click against the tile, and it's a jarring contrast to the eerie quiet.
Jay is silhouetted against the sky, almost entirely in shadow. He doesn't turn or move. "Senel," he says, not a question or an invitation, just a statement of fact.
Senel nods, even though he knows Jay can't see him. "Yeah." He takes a seat beside the other boy, staring down at the street below. It feels...strange, and sort of sad, to see Werites Beacon so deserted. Even late at night, there were always a few stragglers hanging around--oddballs who kept late hours, or couples sneaking out to see each other. "They haven't come back yet, huh?"
He can feel Jay staring at him out of the corner of his eye. "If they had, I would have told you about it. Shouldn't you be asleep right now?"
"Shouldn't you?" Senel replies evenly.
That gets him an incredulous look. "I have to keep watch. In case you hadn't realized." Jay looks out into the distance again. "Besides, I'm used to this."
Senel rests his chin in his hands, leaning forward; he tries and fails to catch Jay's eye. "You're not the only one who's used to it, you know."
Jay snorts softly. "I can see things you can't. And you sleep like the living dead."
"That doesn't mean I--" But he stops, because trying to argue with Jay will get him nowhere fast and, as much as he hates to admit it, Jay has a point. Instead he reaches for the bag he brought up with him and holds it out to Jay. "I thought you might be hungry. You've been out here for hours."
"You think a lot of things," Jay replies, but he takes the bag and, after rooting around in it for a while, pulls out the overzealously wrapped sandwich.
Senel just grins. "Harriet did the wrapping--to keep it warm, I think she said. I think she just wanted something to do. Don't worry," he adds quickly, seeing the horrified look on Jay's face, "she didn't make it. I did that."
"And I'm grateful for that." Jay takes a cautious bite out of one corner and chews. "Do you normally put fried eggs in your sandwiches, Senel?"
He just had to point that part out, didn't he. "Not really. It's been a long day. I guess I just wanted to try experimenting a little--" He stops. Jay probably doesn't care about what he does for stress relief. "But everyone else seemed to like it, anyway."
"It's not bad," Jay allows. "I'm merely surprised. I was under the impression you were here to get me to come back downstairs."
Senel shrugs. "I wasn't really expecting to be able to convince you."
"If I were you--" Jay takes another bite out of the sandwich, chews, and swallows. "I would have laced this. I'm sure Alcott has some sort of drug for the purpose."
Silence. Senel just stares at him.
There is a long-suffering sigh. "That was a joke, Senel."
"Right. I knew that." Jay snorts again, but Senel ignores him. "Anyway, who says I didn't?"
"No one," Jay replies, without missing a beat, "but I know you. You're not going back down?"
"I thought I'd keep you company." Jay doesn't respond. They sit in silence for a while. Senel watches the closest streetlight, the one partially burnt out by the fire. It's flickering a little, as though it might go out at any moment.
Jay's face is as impassive as ever.
After a while, Senel leans forward again. "You know," he says, shooting Jay a significant look, "I used to do this a lot, before I came to the Legacy. Out on the sea, or--sometimes on land too, when I thought they might have caught up to me and Shirley. I spent more nights than I can count sitting outside like this. Keeping watch."
Jay isn't looking at him. "It must have been peaceful. Quiet."
"You think?" Senel says. "I actually thought it was a little...lonely, I guess. You're sitting out there for the sake of other people. For the sake of protecting other people. But the thing is, they're all asleep. There's no one out there but you. You're on your own.
"I never split the watch, though. Shirley offered, when she could, but..." He shrugged. "I wanted to let her sleep. I guess you could say I was trying to protect her. I thought I should--" thought I deserved to, his mind supplies, but Jay doesn't really need to hear about that-- "take that burden on alone."
Jay steeples his fingers. "You're projecting," he says, in that tone of voice that used to make Senel want to slug him a little. "I suppose you might not have noticed, but I'm not you."
"Maybe I am," Senel concedes. "I'm only saying I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore. When you try to do everything yourself, it's...hard on you, and sometimes--" he thinks of Shirley's stricken face, her screaming at him: why? why can't I do it? why can't I do anything the way I'm supposed to? "--sometimes it can even make you blind to the pain of the same people you're trying to protect."
"Are you saying you're in pain, Senel?" Jay asks dryly, drawing out the word pain a little.
"I don't know. Are you saying you're trying to protect me?"
Jay gives him a brief, startled glance before scowling in a way that reminds Senel of the one time he'd made the mistake of suggesting that Jay was kind of short. He doesn't answer the question.
"That's about what I thought," Senel says. "There's a thermos of tea in that bag too, by the way, if you're thirsty."
"I noticed." For once, Jay's looking right at him. "I suppose you're going to stay up here all night."
Senel lets himself smile. "I figure four eyes are better than two, right?"