[System Notification: Mental strain at 62%. Recommended rest period: minimum 5 hours. Azure flame regeneration complete. Status: Optimal.]
She blinked, then acknowledged the message silently.
Her gaze drifted toward Rong's group. He had taken a spot near the wall, still seated rather than lying down, his arms folded behind his head in a posture that looked relaxed but wasn't. He was watching her.
She didn't look away this time either.
Whatever fragile truce they had tonight would need to hold through morning.
It wasn't trust. Not yet. But it was something.
She laid down finally, on her left side facing the room, coat pulled close.
The weight of her body settled slowly onto the mat, and the ache of the day began to creep into her limbs. It wasn't exhaustion, not quite but the kind of weariness that lingered deep in the joints, earned through motion and vigilance, through choices made under constant threat.
