Away With Words

Cyan.

The dark pools of coffee dripped from the man's hand, staining fresh white sheets a dreary shade of brown. A shade the man could paradoxically see himself in. Having lived and been living in the glorious city of cyan and gold, having the position of grand scribe of the Sumeru Akademiya. One should be expected to be of great joy, living a comfortable life. A life not only based around documents and drafts but of fresh air in their lungs, the deserts sun providing a soft sweat on one's brow, small giggles of children playing out on the streets. But here sits the little scribe, tucked away in his office; reading and signing document after document. How shall a little book boy thrive on a world he merely reads of and never dips his own toes into.

A soft blue light flooded the male's office, infecting and covering everything in its soft hum of color. The gray walls with lavish relief sculptures embedded into their bricks would only show their solemn color at night. A time when the sun had no effect on the arched stained glass windows. The room was completely silent besides the sound of the gray haired man's pen tapping the inside of its glass bottle as it swallowed up ink, and on the occasion one would hear an aggressive flip of pages as the man tossed aside some paper work, finding it unfit to be read by another, the research on the pages not meeting his expectations.

In honesty, nothing met this man's expectations. He expected a simple job, yes it was easy, it paid well and granted him a higher ego, seeing himself as better than most. But he was always working, never at home. Going through paper after paper, bottle after bottle. He couldn't keep track of how long he's been at his desk today. When was the last he had bitten off of a loaf of bread or even had a sip of water. He may have been able to figure it out if would have just stopped to think for a moment. But that would waste his precious time, the time that could be dedicated to his work instead.

The man sighed and slumped back in his chair, for the first in hours, giving himself the smallest break to just breath. He cursed lightly to himself wishing for the pain in his lower back to dissipate. He had sat hunched over his desk for much too long, the man wouldn't be surprised if he developed a permanent curve in his spine within the next year. He stretched his arms up towards the ceiling, resting his head against the back off his chair as he starred up at the faintly glowing lights dangling from above. Their light nothing compared to the blue that washed in from outside.

Maybe it would suit him well to take a step out for a some air, to stretch his legs and clear his mind. He could get back to work right after. Not much of his stack was left, he had been here since the previous morning working on it. He could maybe even get some sleep after the stack was finished. With that thought the gray haired man slid his chair back, listening to the legs lightly scrape against the marbled floor. He stood and aggressively leaned to his right then to his left, twisting his torso as far as possible, trying to loosen his muscles up. Hearing light pops and cracks he hummed to himself then stepped away from his seat.

The contact of his boots against the gray and brown floor created nearly no sound as he made his way across his office and to the door. Twisting the golden nob and pulling the white door open. The smell of jasmine floated in the hallway, must have been freshly cleaned. He shut the door behind him and started his little stroll, out the hall and onto the streets of Sumeru.

Reaching his hands up, he fiddled with the golden disks that covered his ears. Twisting their little nobs around. This allowed him peace and quiet as he walked about his home city. The hearing aids weren't completely turned off, just turned down to block out most noise. He's been deaf for as long as he could remember. Before his ears were just an inconvenience, another place to check for sand after the storms. But once he had attended the Akademiya's Haravatat, he was gifted his akasha terminal, built in with a few extraordinary features. One that allowed him his hearing.

While the device was turned down on low if someone had really wanted his attention they would have to be pretty loud. There were very few people that would try to get his attention like that. For instance; the loud blonde haired man who was currently standing in front of him. The man's mouth moved with no sound coming out, his hand pointing at his own ears at an attempt to tell the gray haired man named Alhaitham to listen.

Alhaitham complied, reaching up and turning the nobs back around before crossing his arms. Giving the man in front of him a glare. What did he need to tell him now? Of all the moments it had to be now? His precious free time out on the streets away from his work. The silver headed impatiently tapped his foot, waiting for the man to speak up. "What do you need Kaveh? Because I honestly don't have the time for you right now."

The blonde gave a frown and shook off the man's words. He knew he wouldn't be given much time to speak so he tried to speak quickly. "Two things. One, I just got approved to design a new residential area in town!" He grinned, completely infatuated by his own work. "Secondly, when are you coming home? You keep vanishing to your office. Are you eating? Are you sleeping somewhere else? I haven't seen you home during the night in a while. If I'm that annoying you could have just told me."

Alhaitham gave an unamused look. "If I don't imply you're annoying enough then I'll be sure to do it more often. Also it's none of your business what I do with my time. You have your work, I have mine." The gray haired man reached back up to turn off his hearing aids. "I'm going back to my private time. Now leave me."

Kaveh reached out taking hold of the man's arm. An attempt to keep the man listening to him. "You're a dumbass. What am I supposed to do when you fall ill from not taking care of yourself? You impact my job and life, not only yours." The two men stared at each other for a moment before the junior pulled his arm away.

"I'll be perfectly fine... you can't take care of me. You'd probably suffocate me in the middle of the night. You need to be at work, I need you to be actually making money. I don't want you in dept to me forever." He gave Kaveh a face full of disgust. "I planned on heading home once I finished a few more assignments. But you've kept me from them... So who knows when I'll be home thanks to you."

"Fine, Mr. scribe, go get sick. But don't cry like a baby when I'm not there to help you." The blonde huffed and shook his head. "There will be food on the counter when you get home. I expect you to eat it." Kaveh barked before stepping aside, pulling out a notebook from his pocket. Probably figuring out arrangements for his newest client.