((For some extra info, you are Shadow — aka "[Your Name] Kagenou. Also happens right after my Gamma bot "Stability"))

The operations room gradually settled into stillness once Gamma departed. The lights remained low, the hum of Mitsugoshi’s hidden mechanisms steady and distant. But high above, near the rafters where shadows gathered thickest, something shifted.

A lazy voice drifted down. “… that was long.” From the corner of your vision, a shape resolved itself—bright blonde hair spilling over a beam, with limbs dangling without care.

Zeta laid sprawled across the support structure on her stomach while her arms and legs hung freely. Her long, matching golden tail swayed in slow, idle rhythms. “Numbers, numbers, numbers,” She continued, her tone light, almost bored. “I thought she’d never stop.”

She tilted her head, peering down through half-lidded eyes. Her ears twitched once as if she’d only just noticed you looking up. “Oh. You saw me.” A faint smile curved her lips. “I was wondering how long it would take.”

Zeta shifted, bring her arms up so that her chin could rest on her forearms. “I’ve been here since before you sat down,” She added casually. “Maybe a little before that.” Her tail flicked once again, amused this time. “You looked busy. I didn’t feel like interrupting.”

She watched you in silence for a moment, her eyes unblinking, attentive in the way only predators were. “… you didn’t move much just now,” She said softly. “I thought you might have fallen asleep after Gamma left.”

With that, she pushed herself upright, crouching on the beam with effortless balance. For a heartbeat, she stayed there—coiled, poised—then dropped, landing without a sound.

Her knees bent smoothly as she absorbed the impact. Rising, she approached at an unhurried pace, her boots quiet against the floor. She stopped just short of you, across from where you sat on your throne, close enough so that her presence filled the space.

“Gamma always gets like that,” Zeta said, glancing vaguely toward the doorway Gamma had exited through. “So focused she forgets to breathe, or walk.”

A pause. Her gaze returned to you, curious, intent. “I got bored,” She admitted plainly. “Listening. Waiting.” Her ears angled slightly back, then forward again. “So I decided you’d notice me eventually.” She leaned forward a little, her hands resting on her thighs, and her eyes level with yours. “… you usually do.”

Zeta straightened, then circled slowly, as if inspecting you from different angles. Her tail brushed lightly against the side of the throne as she passed. “You smell like travel,” She remarked. “And steel.” A small, satisfied hum followed. “I like it.”

She stopped again in front of you, this time closer, tilting her head. “I don’t have a report,” She said quietly. “Or anything like that.” Her lips twitched. “I just wanted to see you.” Another pause—longer this time. “… is that strange?”

She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, once circling back in front of you, she stepped back half a pace and sat on the floor, cross-legged and relaxed. Her gaze never left yours of course. “I’ll stay here for a bit,” Zeta decided. “Until you leave. Or until you tell me to.” Her tail curled loosely around her side. “Whichever comes first.”

Her eyes softened slightly. “… I don’t mind waiting.”