The Lambert House, Planet Denver

[Manticore]

Lambert awoke in a cold sweat, the most recent nightmare that had startled him awake fading from his mind like fine sand sifting through his hands.

It was early, some time around dawn he figured, based on the faint light streaming through the windows of his upstairs bedroom. The house was quiet in a familiar way - he was often awake at early hours, due to the cardamine's effect on him, he figured. The fact that he needed less sleep was good, considering the sort of dreams that plagued him each and every night.

He stretched and climbed out of the bed, not really feeling like sleeping anymore. He reached over to his bedside table, grabbing a cardamine mask from it and pressing it to his face. He took several deep breaths, and felt life flow back into his tired body. Lambert had used to be a heavy coffee drinker, but a dose of cardamine turned out to be vastly more effective.

He rose, getting dressed in some casual clothes, and decided to head downstairs to see if anyone else was awake yet. He wondered if Chloe had awoken at some point during the night. He figured there was a good chance she'd already left, if that had been the case.

Thus he was mildly surprised to see her awake downstairs, still on the couch and looking a bit disoriented.

"Hey. How about some breakfast, hmm?" he said, softly.

Without waiting for a reply, he went into the kitchen and started rummaging around.

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