[ cassian might not have been around as long as some of the others, but it doesn't mean he hadn't already memorized the layout of the ximilia. he's used to space stations, but even when he's spent excessive time on a starship, it's not like he had considered it a living space like the ximilia has become. because... he lives here now. apparently. ]

[ he likes to tinker in the lab, which is where he'll be sitting today. while a lot about ximilia is familiar to him on a technological level and he's a fast learner, there are still mystery pieces he's trying to sort out as he does indeed sort through the physical pieces. just as curious to him are the people that come in, because it's not as frequented a room compared to some of the others. he wants to get a sense of who else might like to tinker, compare it to his notes about who helped with what back in the olivia situation. categorizing resources and all that fun stuff. ]

This is not your box of mess, is it? [ he glances at whoever comes in. the answer doesn't matter to him so much as how they answer it. ]

[ it's not that cassian likes the common room, but he does like getting a sense of the people around him. they're stuck in close quarters, and he's admittedly kept to himself a lot more than he normally would - something about being dead and pretending he's working through that. he is not. he's just tired. he knows he should be getting to know these people if he's going to accomplish the goals here, but it's the first time he doesn't feel that mission-like pressure to be on all the time. maybe it's the dead thing again. ]

[ he mulls over the book collection in the common room, all of the titles unfamiliar, but he's making a mental list of the ones he might want to read first simply by appeal of title. it's not like he's had a lot of leisure reading time, ever. should he get some company: ] Have you read any?

[ at one point, he picks one at random and sits in an armchair, hunching over enough in what he assumes is an approximation of comfort while still being able to observe over the pages without actually looking like he's looking. he doesn't want to focus on the book so much as use it as an excuse to sit around and people watch whoever might come by. ]