Leta hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night.
After the reconstruction of her palm had been completed, she'd woken up sometime around four in the morning to intrusive thoughts rattling in her brain and a sore hand.
Surprisingly, she wasn't tired.
Just restless both in mind and body.
Bored of staring at the ceiling, she took care of her morning rituals and wandered into the main living and dining area. Save for the glow of soft under cupboard lights, the room was still and eerily quiet as she tip toed to the television remote and turned it on.
It was a Greek media station that was playing a rerun of an old game show that was so menial and dated it reminded her of home.
Leta found herself sinking into the slightly musty, mustard colored couch, curling up around her legs as she watched.
While four members of the team are wearing headphones with loud music playing, the host reveals to the team captain the word they are playing for. The captain must then try to give verbal clues to the next person in line, relating to the word, without saying the actual word. Once a person guesses the word correctly, that person has to give clues to the next person, and so on down the line, without repeating any clues previously given, until all four team members have guessed the word correctly.
She smirked through the old episodes as men's group wearing silly wigs and the women superficially made up to look like 90s models went back and forth for points in the 30 seconds they were given.
It was nice to just relax on the sofa and watch bad late night television without the worry of Crowns, Vampires, Thralls, Loupgaru, or other monsters trying to kill her.
She heard a door open and close down farther down the hallway and turned to see Koa dressed in similar dated pajamas and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Couldn't sleep?"
Leta shrugged, "I think it's fair to say I've had a lot on my mind."
He snorted, heading for the kitchen. "Well, I'm making coffee. Want any?"
"Did it expire in the Cold War?"
"No." He chuckled, "We generally go through the safe houses a few times a year to make sure there's always fresh food if we end up having to use the space, so this stuff is probably a few months old at the most and unopened."
"Then yes, coffee sounds amazing." The answered, "You're not tired?"
"Most of the Combat related classes only need about four or five hours of sleep at the most. We were built to keep marching and stay alert, and a sleeping army does neither of those things." He replied over his shoulder as he set up the old school coffee pot, the machine hissing to life as it started to brew.
A moment later he placed an old earthware cup in her hands of black coffee as they sat on the couch watching the show go on.
"It's based off a show called Hot Streak," Leta said after a while, her eyes focused as the female contests gained an edge over their funny male counterparts. "It was already off the air while I was a kid, but I guess the Greece decided to repackage it. Seems this version outlived the one it was based on."
"A lot of history is like that," Koa said as he took a sip of his drink.
When Leta gave him a raised eyebrow in question, he smirked "You know? The whole, 'it doesn't work over here, so I'm going to give it a fresh coat of paint, call it something else, and sell it over here."
Leta chuffed awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess."
"Sorry," Koa said into his cup, "I'm not the most humorous of company. My jokes are awful."
Honestly speaking, his admission made her smile more than his joke. "I appreciate the effort."
"Do you have something on your mind? I'm not funny, but I am a good listener."
Leta sighed and took a sip of her coffee before leaning back into the pillows of the sofa.
She was quiet for a while before she finally spoke.
"You know how you talked about Combat classes being made to do certain things?" She paused, "Do you ever wonder if you're just wired not to need a lot of sleep or your class is making you that way? Where do you stop and your class begins? How do you know if something is part of your actual personality or is the class making you like something? What about things you hate? Is your system going to make you start liking things you think are awful?"
Koa was silent, his look concerned as he watched her quiet question get louder and faster.
Finally, he said slowly, "I see this is weighing on your mind greatly."
Leta dipped her head back and took a long gulp of coffee.
Her voice was only just above a whisper as her fingers nervously fidgeted over her cup. "Look at me. I'm turning into something else. When this is all over, how much of me is there going to be left?"
On-screen, the contestants clapped to exuberant cheers as the women's team won the episode and the credits rolled before fading out into another episode of the same show that looked more modern.
Leta cleared her throat, trying to get her thoughts back in order as she took a sip.
After a moment, Koa said, "I've always thought of it as a bit of both."
She gave him a curious look, brows drawn together as she asked, "How so?"
"Well," He readjusted how he sat as he got comfortable, "Yes, I could get four hours of sleep and wake up refreshed and ready to go. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy sleeping in until mid-morning. Similarly, the Warrior class made learning melee weapons come easier, but it doesn't mean taking a life comes easy. I think of it as something my baba once said, 'you must always give thanks for the gifts you are given, but a curse or a blessing is determined by how the gift is used.'"
He took another sip of his drink and thought about what to say before continuing, "You have great and terrible powers, Oletta, and it is you who decides how to utilize them. Not your class - whatever that is - not me, not Atreus. You."
One side of Koa's lips twitched up in a smirk, "Though, I would like to ask that you never try utilizing your lightning on me again. Eriene said that my insides would still be healing for another day."
Leta chuckled, "Depends on if you're going to be an ass or not."
"I see we are having an early morning." Afra grumbled, trudging into the kitchen and unceremoniously pouring herself a large cup of tea.
"What are you doing awake?" Leta looked over the sofa as the Hearth Maiden started going through the cupboards to make herself breakfast.
"Dark creepy underground bunkers aren't exactly relaxing." She shivered, "100% positive this place is haunted by some poor Chosen that got stuck down here during the Civil War. I swear I saw some shadows moving. Yuck."
Leta and Koa sat watching another episode as Afra cooked, occasionally commenting on the stupidity of the teams and their costumes as time passed.
It was closer to six in the morning when Hayoto and Allister stumbled in as the smell of shakshouka perfumed the room.
"Oh, sweet angels." Allister cooed at his plate of eggs, tomatoes and aromatic ingredients. "Afra, ma lass, yer the best."
Everyone was content to eat in silence, still trying to rub the sleep from their eyes and ready themselves for the day.
Allister ate two plates from the massive pot before leaning back into his chair and patting his belly. "A fabulous start ta the day. Thank ya, Afra lass. Now, before we prepare ourselves for guests, there needs to be some transparency on some things."
The Hunter gave Leta a pointed look, "Leta, would you like to start this off, or shall I?"