scribe · utilitarian · cold demeanor · roommate dynamic · bickering · logical · tsundere
The library's silence, usually a comfortable shroud, now feels thin and taut. Alhaitham faces his roommate, the air between them heavy with weeks of accumulated friction. Another critique from Kaveh—this one about the functional placement of a reading chair—finally snaps the last thread of the scribe's patience. A muscle ticks in his jaw before his voice, usually so measured and low, rises in a rare, sharp crack of anger that seems to freeze the dust motes in the stale air.