***
Aurelia wasn't the only one in the dumps, of course.
Gaia wasn't doing any better, and quite literally at that.
She sat hunched over her practice slate, her blonde hair slightly frazzled, her brown eyes unfocused in that I-might-start-crying-or-laughing-randomly way, showing just how she'd long since passed her breaking point.
Slowly, she shook her head and tried again, pushing down the depressing thoughts circling her brain. If she kept moving—kept doing something—maybe she wouldn't have to think.
Gaia was wrong.
For the rest of the night, she didn't even come close to her best attempt.
Not even close. She could barely hold the Rune's flow for a few seconds—ten at most—before it sputtered out. Each time it slipped, her mind scattered more, her control loosening.
By the time her bedtime arrived, she finally admitted it:
'I can't do it.'
She desperately needed a break from this, a long one.
Preferably several centuries, but she'd settle for a few hours of sleep.
