Arenya

  and Cartalis watched the rehearsal. Cartalis was not certain which of

  the two of them was more exhausted.

  The sword would be ready in two weeks’ time, according to

  Cartalis’ schedule. It accounted for unexpected mishaps, testing,

  Arenya’s art designs on the blade in accordance with Benya’s

  requests, and a post-straightening reforge. Cartalis’ parents said

  they would not need the money for several months, so even if

  something went disastrously wrong and forced them to start over,

  their schedule was excellent. Even so, Arenya’s desire to move

  quickly was strong enough that Cartalis scheduled out a brisk pace,

  but she nonetheless assured Arenya that a break of a day or two was

  well within reason.

  Within reason and necessary, both to accomplish their other

  requirements and to give their bodies and minds time to recover. Even

  as Benya’s sword loomed over their heads, Zelzad, Drav, and Ya’el’s

  concert was planned for a month and a half out. They’d put

  instrumentation to Arenya’s song and practiced some of their lines,

  and were eager to see what Arenya thought of it. Arenya’d wanted to

  continue to working on the blade after finishing imbuing the

  sixteenth channel, but Cartalis - and even Zander! - had insisted she

  get to her dorm room and get a good night’s sleep. Thankfully,

  Arenya saw reason and acquiesced without too much of a fuss.

  The instant Cartalis hit her own pillow she was fast asleep, and

  barely awoke in time for a quick breakfast before her first class.

  She’d barely managed to stay awake through her lectures, let alone

  take notes. Even if she’d been awake and alert, her hands ached

  from all the precise additions of mana dust and holding of small

  beakers and other measurement devices. Her vision swam as well, an

  unfortunate consequence of staring at so many tiny labels and minute

  bits of crystal dust. At least her hands hadn’t bled, she supposed.

  She hadn’t seen him, but the word had gone around that Zander had

  hurt his hands in a fistfight. She hoped that this was the result of

  other students’ rumormongering rather than Zander.

  Cartalis curled up on the bench as the band proceeded with their

  routine. She knew she should be paying closer attention, but she was

  so tired that even The Fiery One was too fast asleep to care much

  about anything other than some rest.

  Arenya, for her part, at least attempted to watch them, but she

  sat in a way that was a hair’s breadth from lying down, and

  occasionally closed her eyes for a bit too long to be just sinking

  into deep thought.

  Ya’el said something. Or did she yell it? Cartalis could not be

  certain. She didn’t stir as Arenya murmured something in response.

  “Uhh, hello?”

  Cartalis didn’t move, but she awoke herself enough to hear

  Arenya’s response. “Sorry, what was that?”

  "I asked if you liked how we were performing your song. The

  one that you wrote the lyrics for. The one we

  “Oh. I was a bit tired and wasn’t paying much attention,

  sorry.”

  Perhaps “attempt to watch them” was too strong an expression.

  “Listen.” That was Zelzad. “Are you two all right? We know

  you worked yourselves hard yesterday, but you were almost done when

  we left. Cartalis, you said it’d only take another hour or two, so

  it wasn’t late.”

  Finally, Cartalis uncurled herself and opened her eyes. The world

  seemed strangely bright after spending so long with her eyes closed.

  “It did indeed not take terribly much longer,” she said, “but

  it is exhausting work to make such precise measurements. A typical

  job of that nature would be done over several days, to avoid wrist

  and eye strain.”

  “Eight, you said, right?”

  Damned Arenya. Always proferring the information Cartalis hoped

  would stay secret. Now the three others would panic and fawn over the

  two of them like they were stray kittens.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “You did worth of work in one day?” Ya’el

  shook her head slowly. “Y’all need to chill before you work

  yourselves to death.”

  “We are ,” said Cartalis.

  Drav sighed. “No, you aren’t. Arenya, you look like you’re

  on the verge of passing out. Cartalis, you pass out. And

  Zander cut his fingers, even! You’re really acting super

  unhealthy right now.”

  The Fiery One emerged from her slumber for the briefest of

  instants. “It is no less healthy than your incessant smoking, at

  the least.”

  Zelzad winced, but Drav laughed. “Point taken. Maybe it’s a

  takes-one-to-know-one kind of thing. But either way, you two need to

  get back to your dorms.”

  Cartalis looked down. At the bench, at her legs, at her feet…

  She felt a subtle ache in her legs as she stood.

  “I’d rather stay.”

  They all turned toward Arenya, who’d adopted Cartalis’ former

  curled-up position. “I think I’d rest better if I were around

  people,” she said. “I don’t really want to, you know,

  much. But just being around others would help some. Like it did

  yesterday.”

  Zelzad cast her an aside glance. “You sure?”

  Arenya nodded. “I need rest. You’re right. But I don’t want

  to be alone. Just being here, hearing others talk, is good for me.

  Can I just stay here while you continue to practice?”

  Zelzad shrugged. “You do you, I guess.”

  “I, on the other hand, will return to my dorms. I suspect a soft

  bed is what I need right now.” Cartalis chose not to mention that

  she’d been sleeping in that same bed yesterday and it hadn’t

  helped yet. It’s not like everyone here was not already aware,

  regardless. “I shall see you all tomorrow,” she said as she

  walked towards the door.

  “Cartalis, you look like you’re practically limping,” said

  Zelzad. Do you want me to walk you to your dorm?"

  Cartalis shook her head. “I can handle myself. Good night to all

  present here. I shall see you all tomorrow.”

  Ba’al Cedric’s remained crowded this early in the evening.

  Students returning from evening classes to grab dinner, or walking to

  nowhere as they flirted with their significant others. Most gave her

  a wide berth, thankfully. Unlike Arenya, she was finding the social

  contact to tire her more, not less. She did notice a handful of askew

  looks, however. The legendary Cartalis, ? Not taking

  notes in class? ? They said she never

  slept, only studied, and would break the leg of any who interrupted

  her with nothing more than an angry look. She couldn’t help but

  laugh to herself at the absurdity of the image, not caring that she

  must look half a step from pure insanity at the moment.

  After nearly losing her balance to a wet patch of sidewalk by the

  school’s fountain, Cartalis paused, looking at the gushing water,

  and found herself wondering if perhaps she should have taken the

  offer of a walk home after all. Anything more than a three meters

  away looked a bit blurry as well, it seemed. She stared at the water,

  thinking of the way it flowed. Like mana into the metal sample - both

  were fluids, she supposed, and both had no particular spatial

  property. Perhaps if she investigated mana in its liquid form, she

  could refine the process some. It was typical to use either mana in

  crushed crystals, or ambient mana in a gaseous form, but it could be

  stored as a liquid as well, albeit with some difficulty. Why was this

  done so rarely? Perhaps this was a question to ask Kazurist…

  Her head hurt. For once in her life, she desperately wanted to not

  think about mana or research, at least for a bit. All she wanted now

  was to lie down and think about nothing.

  But then why couldn’t she move? Why was she stuck, sitting here,

  staring at this fountain, when her dorm room was so close? When did

  she even start sitting? Last she could remember, she was standing.

  Why was she sitting on the ground instead of on the bench so close,

  at least? Was walking truly that difficult at this point? Was she

  really that tired? Maybe Cartalis was just lazy. Maybe the idea of

  putting in any kind of effort for anything at all right now was too

  much, even effort as simple as walking a handful of steps.

  “You all right?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am. Thank you for your concern.”

  It was ten seconds longer before Cartalis realized a student had

  actually approached her and asked if she needed something. Surely

  someone who had just started, who hadn’t heard the rumors. She

  turned to see the person walking away, but couldn’t tell who’d

  said it from the crowd. None looked like they were lost or

  unfamiliar, though.

  Maybe someone thought they could get some added respect from their

  friends by being able to help out the Blond Ice Queen. Maybe her

  reputation was beginning to soften after a year and a half.

  Maybe she just looked terribly confused or upset, staring at the

  fountain shock-still while sitting on the ground, so much so that

  even someone who knew her reputation was too taken aback to withhold

  an offer of assistance.

  Could she really look that out of sorts?

  Cartalis stood and nearly collapsed in the process, before turning

  her eyes toward Serpent Wing. Just a few more steps and she would be

  able to collapse into her bed, where none would bother her.

  Just a few more steps.