Through the binoculars, he could see Gabriel pacing along the southern bank of Selanne Pond from where he roosted, safe and warm inside one of the many F.O.W.L. conference rooms six stories up. Well, it could be debated whether he was safe within the confines of F.O.W.L., but he was decidedly warm. For some reason, his employer saw fit to keep the thermostat at extremes -- either too hot in the Winter months, or too cold during the Summertime. Whatever it was, everyone always complained about being uncomfortable. Steelbeak suspected they did that simply because they could. That, and they were sadists. Whoever the hell 'they' were, which was a thought commonly pondered amongst the ranks within the organization.

Even after his temperamental display following the shopping trip, Gabriel continued her aloof attitude toward him. There had been a meeting with High Command in the evening, after which she continued to be secretive. Morbid curiosity made him decide to start spying on his own partner in an attempt to get to the bottom of everything. Steelbeak convinced himself easily that doing such things were important not just for himself, but for Gabriel as well.

As much as he hated admitting it, if either of them wanted to succeed within their partnership -- let alone survive it -- they needed to be getting along. They should have had open lines of communication, in a perfect world.

"Dis world is far from ideal, ain't it," he muttered to himself. It didn't take much effort at all to recall particular events which perfectly illustrated the musing.

With an angry gasp, he watched as a springy-haired blonde approached Gabriel, greeting her with a disconcertingly long hug. Something like that was just another thing to add to all the ways in which the world was unfair.

That hug got Steelbeak's imagination going for a heartbeat. Maybe Tegwen wasn't into men, and that could explain her resentment toward him. Would that scenario be so bad, if he got to watch at least?

He shook his head. That scenario would be horrible! Besides, when she was drunk, she'd been much too friendly to be one of those women.

Maybe she likes both.

Steelbeak smiled before going back to the binoculars. His smile faded quickly.

"Of course she's meetin' wit' Tegwen!" He hissed. And geez, did she look happy to see Gabriel.

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