**Chapter 134 – The Second Day**
Tuesday started similar to Monday.
The group woke up in the academy's rhythm, but everyone's head remained in the same room. Kuroe left the late-night shift with visible dark circles. Harley replaced her without saying much. Astrid was already preparing the morning materials in the corridor.
— Any change, send a message — Kuroe said.
— I know — Harley answered. — Go sleep.
— After the first class.
— No. Now.
Kuroe opened her mouth, closed it, and ended up going.
In the cafeteria, breakfast was too quick to seem normal. Marina barely touched the food. Rina drank the entire tea in silence. Lirien observed the door as if expecting someone to appear there at any moment.
— Her breathing last night was stable — Sylvara commented. — No worsening.
— Stable is still far from awake — Astrid answered.
— I know. I'm saying what there is.
Joker, sitting at the end of the table, only nodded.
— Keep the shifts the same. If anyone needs to switch, switch early. Not in the middle of the period.
— I'll switch with Marina in the afternoon, if she wants — Rina said.
— I want — Marina answered. — Just don't forget to bring clean water this time.
— It was once.
— It was enough for me to remember.
---
The first morning class was Basic Combat Practice.
The open field behind the main building was already marked with training circles. The instructor of the day, a broad man with a rough voice named Torven, separated the class into pairs without wasting time.
— No heavy magic. No trying to kill your classmate. I want posture, movement reading and control.
The group entered the line as always. Elowen's absence became evident again — not only for them, but for part of the class. She usually finished the exercises with an irritating precision, and the empty space in the alignment showed.
Torven went through the list with his eyes.
— Elowen?
Harley answered before the question could hang:
— Fever. Still resting.
Torven grumbled.
— One of the few who doesn't waste my time and she gets sick. Typical. You two — he pointed at some random pair — take the place. Rest, position.
The training continued.
Punch. Dodge. Controlled fall. Guard switch. The sun rose slowly, and the sound of bodies hitting mats filled the field. Astrid and Rina trained together with more force than necessary. Marina and Sylvara kept a clean rhythm. Lirien corrected her own base twice. Joker and Harley, as usual, seemed to be only fulfilling the schedule — efficient, without exaggeration, without drawing too much attention.
At the end of the session, while the class dispersed, Astrid passed the towel over her face and spoke low:
— You pulled too hard in the last round.
— You too — Rina answered. — Don't come talking as if I were the only one.
— I'm stating it.
— Then state it quieter.
Harley laughed through her nose.
— You two fight even to agree.
— We're not fighting — both said at the same time.
— Sure.
---
At the break, the rotation continued.
Marina entered the room with a covered bowl of broth and a jug of water. Harley was still in the chair, elbow on her knee, looking at Elowen.
— Your turn — Marina said.
— Five more minutes.
— No. Out.
Harley stood up, stopped beside the bed and adjusted the blanket up to chest height.
— If she moves a finger, yell.
— I'll send for someone. Now go.
The door closed.
Marina sat, removed the old damp cloth, replaced it with a clean one and stayed listening to the breathing. It was still low. It was still constant.
She adjusted Elowen's bangs to the side and spoke without expecting an answer:
— Astrid almost broke a boy's nose in training today. By accident, according to her. I don't really believe it.
Silence.
— Rina is also more irritated than normal. I think everyone is. They just don't admit it.
Marina stayed looking at her quiet face for a while.
— It's strange. You entered a short time ago. We had barely finished getting used to you in the middle… and now you're already missing.
She let out a breath, lower.
— At the orphanage we grew up piled together. There was always noise. There was always someone. When someone disappeared, even for a day, the place felt crooked. You didn't go through that with us from the beginning… but even so. You're being missed.
Marina reorganized the small table just to occupy her hand.
— So come back. In your quiet way. In your stubborn way. Either one works.
---
In the afternoon, the Basic Magic Theory class was quieter.
The teacher — a tall woman with round glasses and a soft voice — wrote circulation formulas on the board while the class copied. The group paid enough attention. Every now and then, someone looked at the empty chair and then pretended they hadn't looked.
At the end of class, when the students were already standing, the teacher stopped near their row.
— Elowen still away?
— Still — Lirien answered. — Resting.
— A pity. She usually turns in the cleanest notes in the class. If needed, someone can bring the material to the room.
— We'll take it — Sylvara said. — Thank you.
In the corridor, as soon as they turned the corner, Astrid spoke low:
— How much accumulated material is she going to have to copy?
— A lot — Lirien answered. — History, theory, practice… and whatever else appears.
— I'll separate my notebooks later — Marina said. — At least the handwriting is legible.
— Mine is too — Rina countered.
— Yours looks like a chicken fight.
— That was unnecessary.
— It was honest.
Joker, walking a little ahead, commented without turning:
— Leave the material organized in the room. When she comes back, I don't want to see a mess on top of the bed.
— Yes, sir — Harley murmured, imitating his tone.
He looked sideways.
— Don't do that.
— I do it when I feel like it.
---
At the end of the afternoon, Sylvara and Kuroe stayed together in the room for a while.
Sylvara reinforced the areas that still needed care with a short green glow. Kuroe changed the external bandage on the arm and checked the temperature with the back of her hand.
— It's not too warm — Kuroe said.
— The body is stable — Sylvara confirmed. — Tired, but stable.
Lirien appeared at the door, leaned her shoulder on the frame and observed Elowen in silence.
— Her flow is less extinguished than yesterday.
The two looked at once.
— Less extinguished how? — Sylvara asked.
— Like someone who is still deep… but not at the absolute bottom. It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. But it's moving.
Kuroe stayed looking at Elowen's face for a long second. Then she pulled the chair and sat.
— I'll stay a little longer.
— You said the same thing yesterday — Sylvara reminded.
— And I'll say it again tomorrow, if needed.
Sylvara didn't insist. She only adjusted the blanket and left with Lirien, leaving the two in the room.
Kuroe stayed silent for a while. Then she spoke, low:
— When we were smaller, at the orphanage, Lysithea always said that sleeping too much after getting hurt was also a type of work. The body solved what the head couldn't handle.
She looked at Elowen's immobilized hand.
— You didn't grow up with us there. You didn't go through the same nights. You didn't eat Graciela's delicious food every day… although, on the rare times she burned the pan, she still made us eat. Said waste was worse than bad taste.
Kuroe let out a breath through her nose, almost a short laugh.
— We complained. She cursed in dwarf dialect. In the end, everyone ate anyway. Then laughed. That kind of thing sticks.
She rested her elbow on her knee.
— You didn't live that with us from the beginning. Even so, in a short time you were already in the middle. Training. Table. Mission. As if there had always been a place.
— I don't talk much. You don't either. I think that's why it didn't feel strange.
Silence.
— So listen, if you can listen. We're here. We're not leaving.
---
Later, on Astrid's shift, the room gained another type of conversation.
Astrid turned the chair backward and spoke like someone arguing with an awake person:
— You know what irritates me? You being so new to the group and already managing to give too much trouble.
No answer, of course.
— Rina took months to stop distrusting new people. Marina too. Me… fine, I accept fast. But even so. You arrived, sat, fought, stayed.
Astrid ran a hand through her hair.
— In the past we almost lost people. More than once. So when someone new enters and suddenly matters, it gives a nasty fear. Fear of getting used to it. Fear of losing.
She looked at Elowen's chest rising and falling.
— I'm not saying this to be dramatic. I'm saying it because you disappeared for two days and already messed up the house.
A short breath, almost a laugh.
— So fix it soon. Despite the short time… you're being missed.
---
At night, the group gathered again in the corridor.
The fatigue was already visible on almost everyone. Even so, no one suggested loosening the schedule.
— I'll stay now — Astrid said.
— Me after — Rina completed.
— Me in the late night — Kuroe said.
Harley crossed her arms.
— If she wakes up in the middle of the night, the first thing someone does is call the rest. No solo heroism.
— Understood — they said together.
Marina looked toward the door.
— Two days.
— Two days — Astrid repeated. — And she still hasn't opened her eyes.
— She will — Joker said. — Until then, we hold on.
— We're already holding on — Harley answered. — It's just getting dull.
No one laughed out loud. Only a little, from the corner of the mouth.
Inside the room, Elowen remained motionless.
But somewhere far too deep to answer, their voices arrived. Loose conversations. Old memories. Phrases spoken in the dark to someone who still couldn't reply.
Her breathing, for the first time since Sunday, seemed a point less shallow.
Almost imperceptible.
Almost nothing.
Almost.
**End of Chapter 134**