Immature though it was, Gem felt envy and jealousy broil beneath her skin as Astra walked around the room. She’d been confined to her bed for three days, and yet blondie was already able to move around better than her.

It almost made her want to spend the extra fifteen hundred or so credits on more of those bandages to finish healing her ribs. Being left with only seven hundred seemed a worthy price to be rid of her contemptible condition.

Her desire died seconds after sparking to life. Using credits on herself would help Gem reach fighting condition sooner, physically speaking. That was only half of her problem, though. Once she’d recovered, however long it took, Gem simply didn’t know if she could bring herself to compete once more.

Thoughts turning to the grinning face of Simona, she closed her eyes and tried to think of something, anything, that might distract her from the memory.

Astra inhaled, seeming to half-gargle as a scraping noise much like a cough dragged free of her throat. After some two seconds of it, the sound abruptly cut off, as though it had encountered a physical barricade. Then, she coughed.

It was the same way she always cleared her throat. The same exact way, each and every time she’d done it. Gem had lost count of how often the girl had made the insufferable, revolting noise over the hours. Her blood turned to fire as she levelled her gaze at the blonde.

“Astra, are you trying to force one of your lungs out through your mouth? If so I could help, just let me know if you need a hand by making that fucking noise again.”

The girl shot back without a moment of hesitation.

“Sorry, I just heard you sighing like a fucking fairy tale character and assumed we were having a contest to see who could make the most obnoxious, irritating sounds.”

The two of them stared at each other for a few moments. Astra’s face was mostly neutral, but there was the definite spark of annoyance in her eye. She was practically daring Gem to continue the argument.

Looking away with a huff, Gem decided not to oblige her.

***

By the time Unity and Crow came to the stand he’d recommended, it was almost surprising to see it still standing.

The place had been closer to the worst of the damage than even Unity had expected, and by the time they’d come within half a mile of it the streets had begun to be cluttered with rubble, or scarred with jagged cracks.

It was closed, of course. The owner had clearly not been one of those desperate or fearless enough to remain close to such a dangerous area. Still, small miracles were miracles nonetheless.

Granted, if Unity were to start counting miracles, it seemed only fair to him that he take into consideration the various decidedly un-miraculous details in his surroundings. Most notably the severe damage to the stand, or the shattered remains of what he guessed was the head of Gilasev Menza’s statue.

“I don’t suppose you have any other suggestions?” Crow asked, his voice hollow and heavy. Unity eyed him for a moment before answering.

“There’s a pub near the Crux, the drinks are cheap and it’s relatively classy, by which I mean it’s rare for there to be more than one knife fight each night there.”

The blonde boy nodded absently at his words, then gestured for Unity to lead the way. He obliged him.

Making his way through the streets, careful to keep an eye out for any uneven or particularly sharp sections of ground, he found his mind drifting back to Crow’s response. He seemed disgusted by the devastation, that was normal. And yet there appeared to be far more heat to him than most mystics.

Could he have had personal experience with such things? No, surely not. Selsis wasn’t a place Unity had even heard of, it was in the middle of nowhere. With the last Faction War a decade and a half behind them, where could Crow possibly have seen anything like the magic-born destruction around them?

“So, what do you think about our chances in the Sieve?”

Unity’s attention snapped back to Crow at the sound of the boy’s voice.

“Do you want the honest answer, or the dumb, optimistic one?”

Crow seemed to think for a moment.

“Surprise me.”

“Ah, well I’m sure we’ll do brilliantly,” Unity said. “All we need is to believe in ourselves and remember to treasure our friendship, if we have enough faith in each other I’m sure it’ll cause all of our magical abilities to become six months more developed.”

Smirking, Crow shot back.

“Well now it’s just impossible to tell which answer that was, I’m leaning towards honest…?”

Unity grinned.

“Can I have your real thoughts, now?” Crow continued, a sudden, serious strain in his voice. Unity found the smile leaving his own face as he answered.

“Basically?” He began. “We’re fucked. Our two strongest members have been knocked out, leaving us with only the weakest mystic in the entire event, an artificial who is quite rightly despised enough to be target number one for almost everyone and a dumb kid from the skiks who refuses to use credits even to heal himself.”

The blonde boy opened his mouth at that, but Unity cut him off.

“I saw the relief on your face when you found out you didn’t have to pay for the relics we’d use to treat Astra. Between that and your moronic proclamation to the whole of Bermuda during last orientation, I’m guessing you’re planning on winning the Eclipse’s Nectar to help you with the God killing?”

Crow stared at his feet, his answer a mumble.

“When did you figure it out?” He asked.

Unity shrugged. “Not sure, I think I did it without realising. You didn’t exactly make it hard, you know.”

“Well it doesn’t matter,” Crow raised his head as he spoke. “You knowing my plan here doesn’t change it, I need to win the Eclipse’s Nectar.”

“And how many credits do you have now?” Unity asked him. Crow seemed to hesitate before answering.

“Just under three and a half thousand.”

“And with the Nectar costing around ten thousand, that’d mean that you aren’t even halfway there, even after hoarding all your credits and somehow remaining in fighting condition through sheer fucking luck.”

Crow didn’t meet his gaze.

“Don’t bother trying to talk me out of it, Unity.”

“Why? It’s a stupid goal and might get you killed.”

“I don’t care, it’s what I have to do and it’s what I’m going to do. There’s nothing you or anyone else can say to convince me otherwise.”

He made no more argument than that. Being confronted with such irrational, unyielding stubbornness brought back vivid memories of the boy staggering towards battle even with his own entrails hanging out.

It wasn’t the sort of attitude that Unity alone had the power to sway, and so he instead decided to drop the issue.

“We’re about halfway there,” he said.

Looking around, there was a noticeable decline in the general level of disrepair in which the streets were. Compared to their first destination, at least. It made him quite optimistic that the pub would still be standing if nothing else.

“So what’s this place like, exactly?” Crow asked him, the curiosity in his voice just a little too forced in. Still, Unity appreciated that he was at least trying to play along with the change of topic.

“I already told you.”

“You told me almost nothing, apart from it’s relatively not rough and a person may or may not get stabbed most nights depending on how much you were joking.”

Unity huffed.

“Oh that’s plenty of information to work with.”

“How about giving me a bit more. Like maybe telling me what sort of people normally frequent it?”

“Ah,” Unity found himself grinning. “I thought that was obvious from the cheap drinks and closeness to the Crux.”

He could practically hear Crow’s teeth grind as the boy answered.

“How about, just for a moment, we imagine you’re the smartest person in the universe, capable of leaps of logic that nobody else can come close to matching. How on earth did you draw such an amazingly difficult conclusion, oh Unity?”

Unity found himself chuckling.

“Well, when you put it like that I’m suddenly overcome by the urge to explain exactly how clever I am.”

Crow arched an eyebrow, waiting for the explanation. Unity obliged it.

“It’s pretty much “the” tavern for Sieve contestants, given how close it is and the fact that its prices are low enough for a bunch of magically gifted adolescents to afford after travelling across half a continent.”

“Ah. Does that mean we’ll be meeting anyone we know?”

Unity shrugged.

“Maybe one or two, I guess it depends on how many other contestants wanted to go out for a drink after what happened. I’d be surprised if too many of them were eager to leave the safety of the Crux, but then the tavern’s only about a hundred metres away.”

Crow nodded absently, and Unity found himself frowning.

“Are you hoping to meet anyone in particular?” he asked. The blonde quickly focused back up again, shrugging rather too hard to be convincing.

“There are one or two people I’d like to see, but I can just go and visit them whenever I want at the Crux.”

Unity eyed the boy for a moment, then turned away after failing to find any semblance of logic in his attitude. Authentics, he reminded himself, were a very strange bunch.

***

When they came to the tavern, Crow found himself awed by just how accurate Unity’s description had been. At a glance, the small, wood-walled building screamed nothing more than “cheap and convenient.”

It was thankfully undamaged, though very little of the area this near to the Crux had been seriously affected, and judging by the warm light escaping through the foggy glass of the windows, there were people inside.

Unity led the way, pushing the door inwards and stepping inside. Crow followed him, and almost gasped at the atmosphere.

The place was not crowded, but there seemed at least three dozen people seated about it, despite its area likely being no larger than Crow’s room at the Crux. The floor was fitted with heavy planks that didn’t creak much under foot, the walls adorned with unlit torches.

Tables were located next to the windows, something which would have been unfeasible were it not for the glass fitted into the frames, and on the far wall opposite the counter, there was a fireplace.

It was midday, and no flames burned within the place, but there seemed an impossible warmth to the establishment. It took Crow a few moments to recognise it as the same kind he’d always felt back at Selsis, during those communal viewings of plays or other performances at the town hall.

The warmth of community, something so strong that even the frigid air of despair clinging to Bermuda as a whole was unable to make its way through the walls.

Though he made a concerted effort to look around, Crow saw no familiar faces occupying any of the tables. He didn’t dwell on his disappointment, though.

Making a beeline for the counter, Unity’s face showed such eagerness in the glimpse Crow caught of it that he felt compelled to follow the boy. He doubted his friend would do anything, but he’d learned it was generally better to be safe with Unity.

He’d been speaking to the barkeep for only a second or two when Crow came within earshot.

“And I’d really like to get as much drinking done as I can before I’m arrested, imprisoned and likely executed. So would you mind just pouring as soon as you can?”

The man grunted in reply, then picked up a mug and began filling it. Unity stepped back and turned to Crow as he waited.

“I lucked out,” he grinned. “This bloke wasn’t watching our last task, so he doesn’t know I murdered someone yet.”

Crow found himself frowning, both at Unity so brazenly calling his accidental killing murder, and the fact that word of such an incident had failed to move around. His second issue quickly disappeared as he realised the state of the city.

Of course rumours were slow to travel when moving through streets as fragmented as a battlefield.

The barkeep slid a drink across the counter, and Unity responded by pushing back a handful of glinting silver coins. Crow recognised them quickly as the unified currency of the Unixian Alliance, moons.

Unity swept his wooden mug up into his hands, bringing it to his mouth and tipping his head back as he knocked the contents down. Lowering the drink, he sighed in satisfaction and smiled at Crow.

“I think I really needed that.”

Crow said nothing, simply turning to the barkeep and asking for a drink of his own. He wasn’t sure whether the man heard him specifically request a weaker one, but his attention was pulled away before he could make sure.

Unity had nudged him, quite hard, and when he turned to look at the boy he saw a wild grin lighting up his face.

“Dude look who just walked in.”

Turning to the entrance, it took Crow a few moments to recognise the dark skinned, curly haired girl as she stepped inside. Ajoke Balogun looked around her shortly, seeming to scrutinise the people residing in the pub. Her gaze quickly settled on Crow, however.

No, not Crow. Unity. The moment she saw the boy, she turned to step out, only for an absolutely enormous man standing next to her to place a hand on her shoulder and keep her from doing so. A whispered conversation seemed to pass between the pair, and once it was done they began making their way over.

Unity placed his drink back down and began walking forwards, coming to a stop at the exact moment as Balogun when the two of them came to within two paces of one another. The giant man stepped around the two, coming to lean against the counter near Crow.

Up close, Crow realised that “man” would not have been the best word to describe him. His skin was lined and weathered, its texture made harsh prematurely by exposure to the elements, but it clung to an ovular, youthful face.

His hazel eyes bore no wrinkles from age, and his clothing seemed far too tight around him. The apparel of one who had recently grown no small amount, and could not afford to replace what he wore lest it happen again.

As Crow opened his mouth to greet the boy, he realised he was winking at him while nodding to Balogun and Unity, smirking as if in anticipation of some much awaited entertainment.

Facing back to the pair, he heard Unity’s shrill voice cut through the low, muffled sounds of the tavern’s patrons.

“A.J! It’s been months, hasn’t it? God’s tear, the last time we met was when-”

The girl moved like a viper uncoiling, abruptly halting Unity’s words as she sent her foot thudding into that special spot between his legs. Crow winced, adjusting his footing slightly in sympathy for the particular injury.

A few gasps came from around the pub, mixed with plenty of amused cheers, and over it all Crow heard an extraordinarily high-pitched groan from the victimised testicle’s owner.

The artificial folded over, slowly dropping down until he was on his knees, then falling onto his back. Hands held firmly over his groin the entire time.

Staring down at the boy with a look of grim satisfaction, Balogun spoke.

“It was after you spent an hour commenting on the quality of my backside while I was trying to give a speech in Pangaea. When I told you that if I ever saw you again, I’d kick you so hard between the legs that you’d be just as sterile as the artificials that came before you.”

Unity groaned, sounding somewhat similar to a wounded animal. Balogun nodded crisply, as though she were dismissing a subordinate, and turned to Crow.

“You’re Crow Tempora, aren’t you?”

The way she phrased the question took him completely off-guard, such was the steadiness of her voice. Eager to avoid meeting the same fate as Unity, he hurriedly answered.

“Yes, I am. It’s, uh, nice to meet you ma'am.”

The girl blinked in surprise, and Crow felt his face burn.

“Ma’am,” the boy next to him laughed, voice deep and booming. “This one knows what’s up, eh boss?”

The giant’s accent seemed strange to Crow, and it took him several moments to realise why. Turning to the boy, he felt a grin replace his grimace.

“Excuse me, but are you from anywhere near Selsis?”

“Rachum, about five leagues north of it, so you’re not far off. Nice to see another country lad in this city,” the huge boy beamed. “I was getting worried it was nothing but soft city folk.”

The boy extended his hand, and Crow shook it, finding himself staring as his own seemed to disappear amidst the boy’s enormous, calloused digits.

“Name’s Fisher,” he grinned. Crow returned the smile. “Crow Tempora.”

Beside him, Unity began to shakily climb to a stand, his legs still mostly crossed and his hands still diligently shielding his crotch from further abuse. The artificial muttered as he hobbled to the counter and leaned against it. Crow imagined it was something about women.

Fisher turned to him, his grin faltering, then beginning to fade from his lips as he took in the sight of Unity. The artificial didn’t miss his expression, turning to him with his face twisted into a scowl.

“Maybe I should start charging people to gawk at the artificial,” he snapped. “Five moons for a minute, a star and you get to throw things. I’d be rich.”

Ajoke Balogun stepped forward, apparently prepared to give Unity a dressing down, but Fisher’s response came first.

“I was just wondering if you were okay,” he said, shockingly quietly for his enormous frame. “It looked like the boss landed that one quite well, and as a fellow member of the sturdier sex I know how sensitive that particular target is.”

Unity’s anger and hate disappeared, replaced by what looked like surprise and confusion. He remained silent for several moments, and Balogun seemingly dismissed him as she began to speak.

“I’d advise against having sympathy for this one, Fisher.” She said, matter-of-factly. “It’ll only serve to act as his weapon.”

This galvanized the artificial into firing back.

“Don’t worry,” he smiled, voice dripping with false friendliness, “it’s only really suitable to use as a weapon when someone has an enormous, overwhelming amount of it. Some people are just like that, almost as if they’re naturally predisposed to stay out of the action and take care of other people rather than doing things themselves.”

Crow was vaguely aware of city politics, enough, at least, to know that Unity had said something extremely sexist. Balogun seemed neither affected or surprised by the barb, simply smirking smugly at Unity.

Seeing her smile like that made Crow realise just how pretty the girl was. All smooth features, dimpled and big-eyed. It almost became difficult to remember her kicking Unity just a minute or two prior.

She made it much easier by speaking.

“Unity Eden, I am by no means limited to kicking you only once tonight. Don’t provoke me further.”

The artificial’s muttering stopped at that, replaced only by an angry stare directed her way. Crow wondered if, perhaps, it was his duty as Unity’s friend to step in. After a moment of pondering the girl’s kicking technique, he decided against it.

Fisher turned to the Bârëi girl, his voice suddenly sounding less rough around the edges as it smoothed out into a pleading tone.

“Come on boss, if you’re gonna spend all night like… well, like this then you may as well have just stayed back at the Crux. Aren’t we here to have fun?”

“I’ll have fun if that little butcher shuts his mouth and keeps his hands to himself,” the girl snapped.

For a moment Crow was sure Fisher would back down, instead his next words held iron in them.

“Boss, you’re acting like a kid. If you’re just going to dedicate all your time to making sure he’s not speaking, why bother staying in the first place? Just ignore him, is he really worth the focus?”

It was strange to see the two of them argue. Like a fairy-tale princess shouting down a giant. Balogun backed down, however. Sighing and nodding in agreement with Fisher before turning to the barkeep and beginning to ask for a drink,

She either didn’t hear or deliberately ignored Unity’s question as to whether her already being hungover was responsible for the “bitchiness.”

While Balogun busied herself, Fisher turned back to Crow, pulling an exasperated face and exhaling with relief. Crow imagined he’d had the exact same expression himself after each of his many arguments with Astra.

“Thanks for helping, uh, calm that down.” Crow said. The giant waved a hand dismissively.

“Ah, it was no trouble. My boss can be a bit headstrong at times.”

“She can also hear you when she’s standing less than ten feet away,” Balogun called over her shoulder. Fisher grinned.

“Cute,” Unity grunted. Crow turned to see the boy climbing onto a stool, picking up his drink and downing another gulp miserably.

***

Gem stared at the page, picking over each word and desperately trying to force it into her memory. Her efforts made no difference, of course. The sentences before her seemed to rearrange themselves by the moment, words breaking into letters and swimming around like careening flocks of water hawks.

She felt her grip tightening on the leather of the book, her jaw clenching with anger and frustration as she began reading the same page all over again for the third time.

Studying was not for Gem.

In fact, even reading in general was something she’d never found herself able to truly enjoy. She’d never understood readers, how they could do it. Was it so easy to simply forget about the rest of the world and merely think to oneself for hours on end?

It was easy for Karma. Nonfiction and fiction alike, the woman could devour books the way other people swallowed grains of rice. Gem had often considered the possibility that she cheated, using her Eye of Analysis and all the abilities it made so easy as a way of absorbing the information more quickly.

That theory had some holes in it, she had to admit. For one thing it didn’t account for every other reader on Mirandis, and for another Gem wasn’t actually sure that speed-reading was one of Karma’s abilities.

More likely, it was just another one of the many ways in which Karma was exceptional. The more Gem thought about such things, the more she realised that it had never been a question which of them was superior.

Gem had slightly more potency, relative to age. She found magic a bit easier, and could see it, that was all well and good. But compared to how they performed at practically everything else, her even wondering whether she measured up to Karma had been pure arrogance.

Karma, she imagined, would never have allowed herself to be humiliated the way Gem had. Because Karma didn’t simply rely on being more powerful than her enemies. Gem had tried to think her way through that fight, and she was objective enough to know she’d made some wise decisions, but at the end of the day, her competence was as far from Karma’s as the average mystics potency was from her own.

She thought back to what Karma had said.

Treat her intelligence as an unattainable goal, she’d said. Speaking of the necessary means to reach it, practically recoiling at her own words, vague though they were… Gem couldn’t remember ever seeing Karma like that before.

That sense of gripping, sickening worry came over her anew. Fear for a friend, directed for the first time at Karma. And yet the woman’s words rang through Gem’s head.

She wasn’t to use her as a measuring stick. Inhaling, Gem forced her thoughts elsewhere. Even if Karma was undeniably cleverer than her, most likely cleverer than she’d ever be, all that meant was that she would surely be best suited taking her advice.

Moving her eyes back to the start of the page, Gem began reading it anew, silently swearing to herself that, this time, the information would enter her head and stay there.

***

“AND OVER THE FENCE THE OLYMPIAN WENT, HER HEAD AND ARSE ON LEVEL! HER FACE WAS DOWN, HER BACK UNGOWNED, AND WITH THEM SHE DID REVEL!”

Raucous cheers arose through the tavern as Unity screamed the remainder of the lyrics, grinning stupidly and swaying one way and another atop the table. The ale in his mug sloshed around as he wavered, sheets of the drink splashing at his feet, though he didn’t seem to care.

Crow grinned, joining in with the cheering. His own drink was considerably more settled in his mug, the floor around him much drier than many other parts of the pub, but it was still his second. A warm buzz was building amidst his insides, growing with every swig.

He decided to take a break before ordering another, lest he join Unity on the table.

“Misogynistic bastard,” Balogun grumbled. Crow glanced at her.

She stuck out in the tavern, and for more reasons than her dark skin and frizzy hair. Where most of the other patrons wore the garb Crow had grown used to seeing in Bermuda, all bright colours and light fabrics, her own attire was a deep red in colouration.

Rather than seeming to cling to her, it was more like it hung off her frame, and the rounded edges on other outfits were nowhere to be seen, replaced only with large squared angles. He thought it seemed rather like she was wearing several strips of carpet, so thick and uniform was it.

Of course, even disregarding her wardrobe, the girl didn’t seem to be making any effort to fit in in the first place. She remained seated, drinking sparingly and enjoying her own company. It reminded Crow in so many ways of how Astra had used to get around town-wide gatherings.

He grinned, thinking back to the last time they’d attended a festival together. She’d ended up feigning a stomach ache and walking home, certain she’d enjoy the evening more in solitude than she did surrounded by partiers. Crow imagined she’d been right.

The smile died on his lips as he recalled more details. It hadn’t just been the last festival they’d gone to, it had been the festival in Serasis. And it had been Galad who’d let her head home on her own.

Crow took another gulp of his drink, tipping the remnants of the mug down his throat, not stopping even as he felt the sudden volume burn the walls. Placing it back down, he motioned for another.

“Are you thinking about the Sieve being cancelled?”

He glanced back to Balogun, confirming that it was, indeed, she who had spoken. He’d heard the girl say several sentences so far, and yet her accent still seemed so strange to him. It seemed to intensify at each vowel, like she was shouting without raising her volume.

Realising she was still waiting for an answer, he spoke.

“Pardon?”

“I just noticed your face drop all of a sudden, I assumed you were worried about something and that seemed a safe guess. Was I right?”

“Yes,” Crow lied. Then realised he ought to lie better. “Well, sort of. It’s a lot of things. The Sieve is one, but-”

“There’s also the fact that whatever destroyed the city might come back, and that you might be caught in the crossfire the second time?”

Balogun, Crow realised, had a strange habit of interrupting people. He found himself wondering just how different things were in Bârëi.

“I was going to stop at just the city,” he answered. “I had a view of the crater from my room, though the battle was over before I could look outside.”

“Ah.”

The girl swiftly glanced away, as if attempting to hide her face. Crow suddenly felt a rush of guilt at embarrassing her, even if unknowingly.

“I couldn’t see from my window,” she replied after a few seconds. “I walked by the ravine on my way here though, took a wrong turn.”

There was a certain dispassion in her voice which unnerved Crow. He couldn’t tell whether it was feigned as a show of strength, but it grated against his nerves to hear with such a conversational topic.

“Do you think the Sieve’s going to be cancelled,” he asked. To his relief, she cooperated entirely with his attempt at changing the subject.

“I really couldn’t say,” the girl sighed. “With Reginald Tamaias dead, the remaining organisers could do anything. They haven’t already cancelled everything and ran, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t ditch the city the moment something makes them less than completely certain they’re in control of things.”

Crow realised for the first time that he knew almost nothing of the Sieve’s organisers, administration or anything else of significance behind its scenes. Nodding to avoid appearing simple, he tried to think of something to say.

There was no need to bother, Balogun’s head snapped to stare across the room at the sound of a particularly loud bellow.

“HER LEGS WENT ALL THE WAY, HER EYES A BURNING GREY, HER HAIR WAS BLACK, HER TORSO STACKED, T’WAS A MIRACLE SHE COULD STAND!”

It was remarkable how, upon seeing that it was Fisher who was leading the slurred singing of the new verse, Balogun’s lips seemed to thin so much as to turn into a pair of tightly pressed lines amidst her face.

Apparently unaware of the great peril he was in, Fisher continued jovially laughing and dancing away. For such a huge fellow, he could move surprisingly well. Crow found himself genuinely impressed even as a contagious smile began to seize his face.

Unity danced alongside the man, as did several other patrons. A dozen or two more had arrived over the last hour, quickly filling the pub out and contributing to that familiar energetic hum Crow had seen in other, more populated places.

It hadn’t taken long for the drinks to begin flowing, and the tongues to begin flapping.

He glanced back at Balogun and found that the girl’s annoyance had begun to subside. It seemed her ability to remain angry was greatly undermined by seeing others enjoy themselves, something else that reminded Crow of Astra.

A chorus of cheers and gasps came from the far side of the room, and Crow spun just in time to see Fisher lifting a woman up over his head with a single hand. She screamed, and he realised her age was likely not far from his own, but began to laugh almost immediately.

***

Gem finished the chapter, finally, and practically slammed the book down on her bedside table. Throwing her head back, she closed her eyes and felt her arms drop limply beside her, gasping at the relief of not needing to continue holding anything.

She could feel some sort of pressure leave her eyes even through their lids, and realised just how physically exerting it had been to stare so constantly at something in such a way.

Reading, she reaffirmed, was most certainly not for her.

Astra walked by, coming to within a half dozen paces of her bed as she whisked past. The blonde’s eyes were affixed solidly on the floor at her feet, her lips moving to shape silent words and her hands fidgeting uncontrollably with an erratic, nervous energy.

Suppressing the urge to snap at the girl, Gem tried to continue resting at peace. It wasn’t entirely Astra’s fault that she was so irritating, looking at things from her perspective her anxiety was quite understandable. A lot of effort had gone into the Sieve, the girl had fought, bled and screamed to get as far as she had.

It seemed the notion of it all being for nothing had only just gotten to her.

The girl passed again, and Gem felt a bite of anger. She was worried, too. And yet she was handling it like an adult, there was no reason Astra shouldn’t have.

“Could you please try to keep still?” She blurted out, having the self control to keep the irritation from her voice, if nothing else. Astra paused, then rounded on her with such suddenness that it made Gem jump.

“No, I can’t. Can you just do what you do best and focus on yourself instead of scrutinising every little thing I do for an excuse to get annoyed and make me miserable?”

Her temper flaring, Gem responded to the girl’s outburst in kind.

“Oh shut up, I’m not exactly thrilled with everything that’s going on either. I just keep it to myself rather than making everything that happens to me everyone else’s problem.”

The blonde’s eyes widened, a hysterical, almost disbelieving grin spreading across her face.

“Holy shit, do you hear yourself? You aren’t going through the same thing everyone else is you little bitch, don’t act like you have the first idea what it’s like for the rest of us when you’ll be fine no matter what happens.”

Gem paused at that, stunned into a momentary silence, then shot back after a moment of consideration.

“What on Mirandis are you talking about?” She asked, her anger blunted by confusion. Astra’s reply was accompanied by a sneer.

“By the Teary Eyed God, do you genuinely have no idea how different your life is to everyone else’s? Okay, let’s try and break it down. What do you think will happen to me if I don’t succeed here? Why do you think I decided to enter this year, rather than waiting to become more powerful? Did you assume it was just vanity or arrogance, like you?”

The girl waited only a moment before continuing, clearly not seeking an answer.

“I need to succeed this year, Gemini, because if I don’t then that’s one less year I have to get noticed by someone powerful and actually make something of myself. To get the chance to be recognised for my abilities and escape my fucking shitty town, do you understand? Has that gotten through your thick skull? Some people can have their lives fucking ruined by bad luck, and this would bring me one step closer to that happening.”

Gem didn’t say anything. What could she?