Stroth woke abruptly to the sound of knocking on her apartment door. Momentarily disoriented, she realised she was still in her daytime clothes, slumped at her desk atop a pile of books, screens and notes. Sunlight streamed through the blinds. It wasn’t the first time she had fallen asleep working.
The knock came again, accompanied by the placid voice of her neighbour, El-Sondur. They had grown close after bonding over both being from Aglostarros, and Stroth eventually won the approval of El-Sondur’s twin children. They often checked in on each other, both physically and telepathically.
“El-Endelle?” El-Sondur called, using Stroth’s Ele name. “We didn’t see you at the feast. Is everything okay?”
Stroth hesitated, looking over her notes. She hadn’t meant to miss Elforsht, but any distraction from the Centurion problem felt like a betrayal of those at risk. Reluctantly, she stood, intending to see off El-Sondur politely and continue working. To her surprise, the door opened not only on her neighbour but also El-Sona - one of the twins - clinging to her robes.
“Your thoughts are loud, El-Endelle,” El-Sondur explained. “You have a weighty task ahead, but it will be harder if you don’t care for yourself.”
El-Sona timidly tapped on Stroth’s leg, and handed her a strange device, explaining, “this helps me think sometimes, so it might help you too.” Stroth saw that that the trinket was vaguely round and adorned with buttons and greebles.
“Thank you both,” Stroth responded, voice wavering with tears. “This means everything to me.”
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