A soft rosy light filled the room, but Liya woke slowly. She sat up, her hair snarled and her housecoat sliding off one shoulder, and looked around blearily, yawning.

Next to her on the bed, something else slept. It was almost shapeless, except for a vaguely snout-shaped wedge resting on the pillow; the rest of it billowed up in flamelike tendrils, like a silent black bonfire on the mattress. Looking into it was like looking into a patch of deep space, shot full of stars and luminous clouds.

"Ooh," Liya whispered, gazing into it.

After a moment, she got up quietly. The dark flames were impermeable where they drifted through the air, but the rest of the room was visible between them, and Liya had no problem navigating around the bed and to the door. She opened it and leaned out.

At the end of the hallway, a large white construct sat on a squat plinth in a niche. It was squat itself, vaguely bird-shaped, but with a pair of curling antenna and glass domes for eyes on an otherwise featureless head. The plinth was scattered with little notepads and writing utensils, and several notes were stuck haphazardly to the construct's chest.

As Liya approached, the construct turned its head towards her, and said < GOOD MORNING. >

< Good morning, > Liya replied politely. She hesitated before continuing in Aetherian, < Are there any messages for me? >

< NAME AND NUMBER > the construct said.

"Liliya Kiski," she answered, < upper two. >

The construct shifted, its wings brushing against the walls of the niche. < YOU HAVE ONE MESSAGE, > it intoned. < 0145; MARI; NO LOCATION AVAILABLE. AS FOLLOWS: >

A different voice now issued from the construct. "Hello, Liliya. Hawk is here, and he is fine. He fell asleep and forgot to call. Good night."

Liya sighed. She could hear snoring in the background.

< END OF MESSAGE, > the construct announced.

< Okay! Thanks! > Liya told it, giving it a little wave as she turned to leave.

< LOOP CLOSED, > was all the construct said in response.