Work Text:
Tetheus had grown familiar enough with his fellow Officers' habits by now to know where to find them at one hour past dawn - traditionally, the time to put in a bit of weapons practice before gathering in the great hall for a communal (and thus by definition often chaotic) breakfast.
Alfeegi: in his office, at work, resisting the temptation of going down to the kitchen to get some coffee, as the staff were under strict orders not to serve coffee to anyone before breakfast or after midnight.
Given the long hours he made, Tetheus kept expecting to walk in and find Alfeegi's desk quite empty of work one day, with Alfeegi sitting behind it somewhat at a loss regarding what to do now. Thus far, every time he walked in, the piles of paper on Alfeegi's desk seemed taller.
It was a mystery.
"Five more minutes." Alfeegi didn't quite snap - Tetheus was one of the (possibly lucky) few whom Alfeegi did not perceive as not pulling their weight around the Palace.
"I will be expecting you in fifteen," Tetheus said.
Alfeegi nodded, attention firmly fixed on the papers in front of him once more by the time Tetheus let himself out.
Kai-stern: in the room where they had once kept the firewood, near the kitchen, fast asleep in a sleeping bag Tetheus thought could not possibly be at all comfortable or a proper substitute for a bed.
The lengths he went to in order to not be found by Alfeegi were rather astonishing, Tetheus thought, even when he sometimes wondered if that was truly all it was, if perhaps there was some if not more reasonable then at least more serious reason for Kai-stern to sleep in a location known only to a handful of people, rather than the quarters that he should have thought of as 'home'.
Supposedly, Kai-stern was a light sleeper.
Supposedly, there had once been a narrowly avoided diplomatic incident involving Kai-stern and a throwing knife and a rather adventurous young woman who was not quite aware of the difference between flirting with someone by complimenting their costume, and wishing for that someone to sneak into your bedroom in the middle of the night.
"I'm really very comfortable here," Kai-stern said, eyes closed.
"Yes," Tetheus said, his tone implying he was too polite to disagree.
"An extra few hours of sleep would be much more useful to me than weapons practice."
"No doubt."
Kai-stern opened one eye. "Half an hour?"
"Fifteen minutes," Tetheus told him.
Ruwalk, now, Ruwalk could be tricky. To some degree, he was as much a creature of habit as the rest of them. Unfortunately, Ruwalk's habit was to pursue a social life.
Tetheus could not say he disapproved; the security risks were minimal to the point of being non-existent, really. Besides, it made discovering where to find Ruwalk on any given morning a bit more interesting, a bit more of a challenge before breakfast.
On this particular morning, Tetheus figured the palace library might be a good bet.
"I'm just resting my eyes for a moment."
Tetheus sighed. Kai-stern did not handle exasperation well, and Alfeegi tended to go along with it too much, but Ruwalk simply accepted it for it was.
"It's a really good book."
Tetheus glanced at the title. "Presumably, it will not become any less so if you would read it at a more leisurely pace."
Ruwalk put the book down on the table. "There's a sequel," he said.
"Breakfast will be served in about two hours."
Ruwalk was not an idiot; there was no need to spell things out for him.