OOC: Ladon arrives from In the Gathering DuskThough not given to insomnia, Ladon had barely slept a wink. Even with Dahlia ensconced in his spare room, safely away from any toxins in her own quarters, he couldn't seem to drift off. Instead, after hours of tossing and turning and staring at the ceiling, he'd finally given it up as useless. Changing back into his work clothes and padding quietly around so as not to wake his sister, he left her a note then hung his keys around his neck and headed for the lab.
He didn't live far, and the dawn chime had not yet rung by the time he was letting himself in. It was odd seeing the place empty and quiet, the large room shrouded in darkness. Navia's desk was unchanged from the way he'd left it the afternoon before, and the charro percolator, which he'd gotten used to always being burbling away, was still and cold. Not needing any more light than the basic illumination that spilled in from the hall, he strode unerringly around the scatter of obstacles.
The instant he unlocked and opened his door, though, Ladon tensed. The lamp on his desk was on, its circle of light puddling on a number of files that he hadn't put there. Other shapes, boxy barely visible, bulked nearby. And, from somewhere in the darkness to his right, there came the sound of soft, steady breathing. Eyes narrowed, he directed them away from the light, letting them re-adjust as he focused on ... his couch?
That was the source of the breathing, and he could just make out a shape curled up, apparently asleep. Dialing the overhead lights up to a quarter full, he relaxed again, recognizing Navia. So the boxes and folders must be the files he'd sent her to get. But why were there so
many of them? These couldn't all be about Dahlia, and even if she'd gathered the records from a few other people to cover who she was really interested in, it wouldn't amount to what he was seeing here. Clearly, there was something bigger than he'd expected happening here.
Stepping into the room, Ladon shut the door behind him and did a rough estimate of the amount of paperwork involved. He could see where she'd plowed through it, separating several out into stacks of varying heights -- a monumental task, no wonder she was tired. Deciding to let her sleep, he paused to pull the blanket up from where it had slipped down before moving to his desk. His administrator had a beautifully logical and organized mind, he ought to be able to suss out the direction of her thinking.
Settled into his comfortable chair, Ladon set to work.