Ease of Mind
"Get up. It’s nearly five in the morning."
"Mother…"
"Get up. I have things that I need to teach you today. It’s already late."
"Mother, it’s only five…"
"Up, Nesl’eris’ana."
Lerisa awoke sharply as those memories fluttered through her mind, jolting her from her dream. She should have gotten used to waking up like this every morning. That memory of her mother berating her was what always woke her up. She hated that memory. At least it was a decent alarm clock.
With a sigh, Lerisa pushed her blankets off of her and stretched, letting the cold air hit her skin. It was another jolt she needed to wake herself up. When she was finally comfortable with the cold air, she slipped out of the bed and let her feet hit the ground without a sound. She didn’t bother wrapping herself in a robe or anything similar.
Lerisa carefully walked out of the room and down the hallways of the unfamiliar ship, glancing around as she did so. Everything about Cipher Seven’s ship was different than her own, even if it was the same model. The engines hummed slightly different, the air was a few degrees warmed than how she liked it. Even the lights and the color of the ship seemed slightly off to her.
The Chiss woman glanced in the direction of her partner’s room and stopped for a moment, approaching the door. She could hear no sounds from inside. No snoring, no shifting, not even subtle breathing. He must have been awake already. If he was, that impressed her. Not many people woke up earlier than she did.
Sighing as she thought of Cipher Seven, Lerisa made her way to the kitchen and began to prepare breakfast. She hated Imperial ration bars. They tasted like dirt. She always preferred to eat something more substantial in the morning. She doubted Cipher Seven would appreciate the meal, though.
By the time he turned off the steaming hot water, Cipher Seven sighed with content. The moisture had warmed his skin, soaking into his sore muscles and aching whirling machinery--he'd still need it to get repaired, of course; the freezing cold of Alderaan's peaks hadn't boded well with the metal ignots. But just the same; the pain had thankfully dulled to a distant lull.
It wouldn't be a problem.
The young man quickly slipped on his uniform, buttoning it loosely, before making his way towards the mess hall. Though the uniform lapels usually snapped together quite close to his throat, now it barely reached his collarbone, exposing his neck. No one was awake to see him, anyways.
No one, that is, except a very much awake agent currently standing in the middle of his kitchen. He stopped short of the entryway, strands of his ebony hair threatening to drop rivulets of water onto his clean uniform.
"Agent," he greeted curtly, rubbing the towel through his dripping hair. She was up early. Not entirely uncommon, but...odd just the same. She was looking at him carefully--guarded, perhaps. Or maybe surprised. Well...in any case, she isn't exactly making it easy, not saying anything, he mused, irritated. The tinge of annoyance was new to him; it still unnerved him that he couldn't quite tell what she was thinking. Yes. That was all it was.
He stood there observing her for a moment, the ever constant whirling hiss of his cybernetic eye zeroing in on her small stature. He didn't know what to make of the Chiss. In part, he'd hardly said a word to her since she'd insisted on pestering him with those silly questions back at Headquarters.
Keeper knows what he's doing, he wouldn't just assign an ill-equipped, poorly skilled Cipher to trail after him--though...in the past... His mouth set into a slight frown. He wanted to go back into the shower.
His grey eye slid past her tiny form, settling instead on a steaming plate of...
...food.
His eye widened slightly. Icahrus' traitorous stomach rumbled in protest.
It smelled delicious.
