[POV: Thalos]
After the strange outburst earlier, the Citadel had been quiet for hours. Thalos had learned long ago that stillness did not mean safety, and the peaceful atmosphere only unsettled him.
The general stood alone in one of the watch alcoves that overlooked the inner courtyard—a place that should not have existed, yet did.
The stars above weren't real; he had figured that out within an hour of awakening. They blinked in patterns that did not correlate with the sky he once studied.
Still, he kept watch. It was habit, it was ritual.
It was… what he did when he was afraid, though he'd never admit it.
He leaned forward, his strong forearms braced on the cold balustrade, and exhaled through his nose.
~' You're too still, cousin.'
Your calm is going to break something someday.'
'Don't you ever get angry?'~
