[It’s dusk, the bonfires more for show than any practical reasons – though the gardeners do feed them with trimmings and branches from the hedges, heaving them in great bunches to make them spark and flare higher towards the twilit sky. Koby’s been careful about his task, carrying a stack of files through the numerous bonfires – not in the least bit uncommon for him, by now. Nearly everyone’s seen the earnest young man cart huge armfuls of books or papers or files around the estate, which almost has him able to hide in plain sight.
Still, he’s cautious whenever he comes to the base of a fire, smoothly pulling a carefully-sized portion of papers from the file on top of his stack, not so small that it’ll float away on the breeze, but not so thick that it won’t burn easily. Koby tosses the portion of notes – some typed, some handwritten, diagrams and maps and lists – into the flames, lingers long enough to ensure that the writing isn’t easily visible, then moves on. He has it down to a science.
Once he’s further away from the crowd, Koby feels more relaxed crouching down and pulling out the paper, tossing it into the coals of one fire and pausing to catch his breath. It’s here that Matt finds him, making him stand upright, like he’s about to bolt, clutching his much-diminished stack of files to his chest.]
yesssssss
Still, he’s cautious whenever he comes to the base of a fire, smoothly pulling a carefully-sized portion of papers from the file on top of his stack, not so small that it’ll float away on the breeze, but not so thick that it won’t burn easily. Koby tosses the portion of notes – some typed, some handwritten, diagrams and maps and lists – into the flames, lingers long enough to ensure that the writing isn’t easily visible, then moves on. He has it down to a science.
Once he’s further away from the crowd, Koby feels more relaxed crouching down and pulling out the paper, tossing it into the coals of one fire and pausing to catch his breath. It’s here that Matt finds him, making him stand upright, like he’s about to bolt, clutching his much-diminished stack of files to his chest.]
Oh. Matt. Hi. You – startled me.