Lorrlyne arrived early, not early in the apologetic way guests arrived when they feared disturbing a household, but early with purpose, already dressed, already awake, already moving as though the day had been waiting for her rather than the other way around.
She let herself in quietly, shoes in hand, and paused in the entryway long enough to listen to the apartment breathe. The stillness she found was not empty or fragile, not the kind of silence that suggested exhaustion holding its breath and waiting to fracture, but a steadier calm that hinted something had worked the night before. Systems had held. Bodies had adjusted. No one inside was bracing for impact.
Lorrlyne nodded to herself and moved farther in.
