"Stay safe."

Alexi matched Katherine's bow with one of his own, waiting a beat after she disappeared into the night before turning towards his own room. The still-burning light from Edda's window brought a quiet chuckle from the Scribe's lips as he passed, not surprised -though certainly amused- that the Sister would watch to ensure he was alone in his final steps back home. 

Well, he had approached her door late at night with a woman by his side... [i]And[/i] had Charles come by to make matters even more suspicious. Hard to blame the pious Sister, really.

Tonight though, Alexi could say he was glad to stumble alone into his bare, darkened room. The day had been a long one to start with -the scribe up long before the sun working on the still-unfinished translation. Everything that had happened this evening, from the stress of searching for an escort to the attack and everything between and after, had only piled the exhaustion higher. He barely made it the few steps from door to bed, making sure he dropped his pack off with some semblance of care before collapsing upon the stiff mattress. Sleep found him almost instantly, a blessed mercy, one not even the brief worry that he might not wake up before dawn could stave off. Such concerns would be dealt with later, when the soft sigh of his breath no longer lulled him further down into heavy, dreamless sleep.

~-~-~-~

Luckily, such concerns didn't need to be dealt with, after all.

Years of early rising caused him to stir before the sun, groaning against what light found his eyes as he for a moment contemplated rejoining sleep and damning the consequences. But no, not today. He had a job to complete, a journey to start, and he well knew that God did not easily grant second chances. This was his time to grab or let pass, and there likely wouldn't be a second.

So with grumbling that he hoped couldn't be heard past the walls of his own room, Alexi stumbled out into the world of the awoken.

Sleep-clumsy hands found a pair of clothes that hadn't been slept in, and somehow managed to swap them on with something resembling competence. They were of the same theme as before; expensive fabrics undyed and undecorated, a heavy traveler's cloak completing the ensemble to combat the pre-dawn chill. His pack was still nearby, packed with the food and supplies he thought he needed, along with the documents he still had to complete. Alexi spared a moment to root out the gold coins Katherine would ask of him from the depths of his bags, otherwise keeping only copper and silver in the small pouch on his person.

It wouldn't do to advertise wealth, after all. One who lived on church grounds was encouraged to practice the appearance of frugality, and more pressingly, he who didn't make a show of his wealth was less likely to be robbed of it.

Not that it had stopped the attackers from the night before.

A cold thought that helped shake the dregs of sleep from his mind, but Alexi chose not to dwell on it now. He was awake, he was ready, but Dawn was rising, which meant he needed to be out and in the square, lest Katherine feel he made light of their arrangements.

So he moved quickly, shouldering the pack once more, and bolting behind him a room left with naught but a single pair of worn clothes, books, and what few supplies he felt he wouldn't need. More bare than usual, likely to be cleaned out before he returned, but it hardly mattered now. Now was when he started his journey, and so the Scribe stepped quickly out from behind the shielding hedgerows and into the square itself, Dawn just breaking behind the grand scene of the Cathedral as he scanned the area for his escort.