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'I'd be a poor head of Information if I wasn't thorough.'

Faustite's attention reached Axinite. He considered the notion, lips pressed together, and decided that was an adequate enough description of himself: too ignorant to know what to be thorough about, and thus a poor second to Information. He cast his glance back to his own hands.

That might have been why Tama wanted to go to Axinite regardless. No, that had to be it — Faustite had proven nothing if not irresponsible, if not reckless or thoughtless. The project deserved to be heard by someone who would go over it with a fine toothed comb, rather than be treated as a manuscript tossed into the fire. And as much as Faustite resented it, notably for how it called to task his own failings, he couldn't find fault with it.

Tama just wanted someone competent.

"Don't trust me to do something so basic?" He couldn't stave the edge out of his voice. "Get Borax to do it, then. Or Jadarite. Sure they can figure it out without ******** it up."

Axinite listened to the two with a quiet, contemplative expression. Impossible to miss, there was a bit of surprise written on his face, behind the pressed lips and slightly raised brows. He stilled, and maybe thought better of interrupting the two at first but changed his mind before they risked derailing from the project.

“And it is a clever thing to have you here, too. Your input is valuable. This is good experience.” Faustite was, no doubt, finding some way to beat himself up. He seemed like he was always scrutizing himself, looking for flaws to expose and criticize before anyone else might get the chance.

Axinite wasn’t looking for flaws. This was good experience. Faustite had so much already under his belt and seemed to forget the long path he’d taken to get this far. He’d been hurt when he’d first been promoted. He needed time to heal. He was still learning.

Once, Axinite had been a new General King. It had taken him time to become what he was, even if he was driven to be everything at once. He suspected Faustite must feel the same pressure to prove that this responsibility was deserved, though he seemed a bit more prickly about it.

“It’s all just paperwork and jumping through hoops on my end. The boring things I do behind my desk.” Things Faustite had voiced dread for. “I’ll be glad to have you there on the ground, Faustite. A project of this sort might have issues we aren’t anticipating so I’ll feel more comfortable knowing your watchful eye is nearby. If you can help manage progress, you can take care of any issues and make sure Tama has everything he needs. And, if any problems or bumps arise in development, you can leave the deskwork to me. You both have quite an array of skills, I’m looking forward to seeing how this progresses.”

Tama knew Axinite had a reputation for being level-headed, but he hadn’t been aware at just how good he was a diplomacy, too. Just when Tama thought there wasn’t quite enough space in Axinite’s office to keep him from digging his claws into Faustite, Axinite’s stepped in to cool the situation.

“Thank you, Axinite.” Tama replied, trying to will the redness from his face. “I — um — we will leave the paperwork to you. When can the project begin?”

"Don't want to hold him up either," Faustite agreed, though he meant it in a more literal sense. He stood once Axinite concluded with his offer of tomorrow morning. That was sure to please the cat, knowing that someone was burning the midnight oil for him. Last Faustite knew, Axinite still had to be diurnal for his day job, so Tama got the added damage of sleep deprivation in on the unsuspecting General-King.

If all went as anticipated and Axinite got his approvals from Laurelite, then the cat would be sufficiently distracted with meandering around the sunken city. The downside to that was if he expected a chauffeur — for Tama had been to the team house and understood that Faustite could sometimes be found there.

"Before you get any ideas," he warned the cat, pointing at his furry chest, "I get up at 1700. Not a minute before. Call Albite if you need to borrow a pair of legs."

To Axinite, he offered his characteristically clipped thanks. By agreeing to hear Tama out and greenlighting his project, he spared Faustite the headache of listening to the cat moan all night about his hopes and dreams being dashed. And, perhaps, at some point in the distant future, he'd be thankful for a spot to relax in like company, too.

Axinite had been ready to bid them farewell, if only because he had already mentally shifted his goals and to-do list for the night and wanted to make progress on this new project for them. The additional question didn’t catch him by surprise but it still gave him pause.

“I don’t know that I could grant that permission on my own, but I can pass that request on for the others to review. I suppose, provided you had sufficient safeguards in place, it could be possible.”

There weren't exactly any rules against it, at least. Alcohol wasn’t really regulated down here, but perhaps only because it hadn’t been a problem. Yet.

He could see how it could have become an issue if they didn’t take care to guarantee that it wouldn’t.

“If you want to offer it, I suggest making sure you have an airtight proposal for how you intend to keep it safe.” The Negaverse might operate outside of the standard rules of the world but it didn’t mean he wanted to enable alcoholics, or give drinks to kids, or open up a door to let anyone abuse the system. Or others.

“A drink limit, check for ages, keep your eye on anyone who might be struggling. Just have a plan in place for how to make sure nothing can go wrong. I fully support adults having a space where they can relax and unwind, but things can be dangerous down here. I don’t want anyone to find themselves wandering in the Rift because they had a few too many drinks, all right?”

“Please. Pass on the request.” Tama said. “I will do anything required of me to keep the space safe and professional.”

The cat smiled. At least, it wasn’t a ‘no’.

“Well, I have much more planning to do. I’ll send the full presentation once I get back to MauHQ.”

Tama existed after Faustite. He knew better than to overstay his welcome — or his ability to not push his luck more.

The Mauvian already had more than he could have hoped.