Anapi saught out warmth since he could seek at all. He'd lounge in the courtyard, basking in the afternoon sun. He always asked for his morning drink to be milk fresh off the stove, a dash of coffee and sugar for flavour. He'd chase after his older sister, however annoyed she got, if only to get her to carry him the rest of the way.

The sun stayed the same, coffee had grown bitter, and Kleopatra only more peeved. The family grew bigger, their father happier. But Anapi got colder and colder.

So he found warmth in the sting left behind in his throat after a good drink. He surrounded himself with warm people with arms ready to embrace him.

Unlike his two siblings, Anapi didn't need to become a hermit to avoid becoming a fool. He could spend hours among the people in the harem, kiss every face he found pretty and his heart would stay in its natural rhythm.

Yet it stirs just a little when he sees a guard gesture for him. Whoever was sitting in his lap is promptly shoved off for his legs to be quicker, the many cushions on the floor just another thing to step over. Anapi never liked anyone. He assures Kleopatra and Harmak of it; assures himself. He plays dumb to trick. Sometimes himself.

"Sending a letter was too much of a bother I assume?" The old doors to the hole in the wall spot click shut behind him, the single window that's too high up barely letting in sunlight. He's warm despite it.

The two should discuss matters meant for those who reject the gods' blessings. And though he stares at the eyes of a killer and hears his sister's plans in his ear, Anapi hopes the topic will stray. "It's only a matter of reports, and I know you're capable of encrypting. So I must conclude you're here to see me personally."