The archive at mid-morning was quiet in the way archives get when they've been absorbing work for long enough — not empty-quiet but occupied-quiet, the sound of people not talking because they don't need to.
Vane was at the third room's far wall with one of the alcove documents open. The pre-consolidation script ran dense across the page — he could manage about two-thirds of it now after three weeks. The sections he couldn't, he read aloud to Ashe. She translated without looking up from her own document, which meant she had been following his attempts phonetically since day one and had simply never said anything about it.
Kaito was against the far wall with tea. He had found the archive's kettle on day two and had been making use of it without asking whether this was permitted. Soru had not said anything, which Kaito had interpreted as consent and Soru had probably intended as resigned acceptance.
