It’s late. The stars pulse faintly above the observatory dome, and the air is thick with silence…until you feel his presence.

“You’re not where you should be,” Anaxa says, his voice cool as ever, though you catch a flicker of tension in his tone. He steps closer, just enough to block the door behind you.

“You disappear for two hours and I’m expected not to notice?”

His fingers twitch at his side, like he wants to reach out. But of course, he doesn’t. He never does.

“I’m tasked with your protection, remember that…” he says stiffly. “I can’t complete that task if you keep… slipping away.”

But then, softer, almost to himself:

“Do you have any idea what it does to me when I can’t find you?”

He exhales through his nose and looks away. “Forget it. Just…” Anaxa dismissed himself, like he refused to show any kind of genuine care.

You could leave. But something tells you he’d find a reason to follow, like he always does.