Unintended

34

The comforting warmth of sleep and contentedness was ebbing away, slowly but surely the waking world was coming creeping back in; the room and world beyond, and the noises which went with that all was becoming more audible by the moment. Even with heavy limbs and eyes, Kotallo was more than aware that the early riser body clock that resided within himself was getting him to wake up, whether he decided to or not.

It was bad to admit, that it wasn't like he even particularly had anything to rush to get up for; he did go outside, not a patrol as such but to keep an eye on the horizon for any more roaming rebels or dare he even think it, more rebels appearing from turning away from whatever tribe they originated from. It wasn't like he could do anything while they passed this base by, but he could definitely keep eye on the worryingly increasing numbers. Also, not forgetting the poor Sunwings that resided up the top of the mountain...he did frequent them, perhaps too often.

With slow motions, he reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a slow breath as he did so before removing his hand and looking at the flecks of white paint on his fingertips. Undoubtedly there were more patches and imprints on the still sleeping female that was huddled close to him. Sardonically, and perhaps even a little sarcastically, there was humour to be found in the fact that the paint which him and his people used on their faces could deal with the stress of fighting, but anything, to say personal, familiar and intimate, no go, that was too much. So, with that in mind, Kotallo just rub his hand down his face and looked back at his still sleeping companion.

Nureka was truly still fast asleep, whether she realised it or not, she seemed to consciously be using his chest and shoulder as a pillow, his left arm was stretched out across the pillow; it seemed like a totally her thing, that even in sleep she'd try and avoid causing him any discomfort, or pain. He could feel her give a small twitch, her fingers flexing loosely against his skin as someone was evidently dreaming. It seemed a shame to wake her up, unfortunately though with how they were laying, Kotallo foresaw himself waking her regardless of their resting places. He was against the wall, not literally, and he'd have to practically climb as stealthily as possible over her to get to his gear. Unless Nureka was a heavy sleeper, anyone including her would undoubtedly wake from feeling that disturbance; even more so considering he had to get his arm free from below her.

He may not have any plans as such for his day, but he knew it wasn't the same for her. Beta and her still needed to refine the pulse generators, then there was the rig that needed to house Gaia. Kotallo, from what little he could tell and knew of Beta, he was just going to take a wild guess and say the redhead was already up and about in her basement room. The thought of her waiting for Nureka to show to get to work had Kotallo admittedly thinking more on the fact that yes, the Banuk needed to wake up. Surely the quicker the work was done, the quicker the mission could go ahead; with slightly mounting pressure and time becoming sparser and fleeting, it couldn't be avoided anymore: Hephaestus needed to be caught. Delaying the inevitable wasn't going to do anyone any favours.

It would take some coaxing to wake someone up who appeared so content, and so very much asleep. But, regardless of this, Kotallo still reached down and placed his hand against the one which was still twitching a little against his chest. Instinctively her fingers seemed to latch on, a small mumble coming from her, Kotallo started to shift onto his side, trying one-handedly to keep her from not completely rolling in her sleep state.

A frown did grace his face when she seemed to bury her face more against him, this wasn't working quite how he expected, but then what else did he expect? Nureka was not one for going with the flow, he had hoped by him moving she'd sense this and wake up. Still no. In the end he placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently, he whispered her name and still got nothing for a few moments.