The next morning, Katarina was already at the bench when Eva walked in.
"Morning, Caelestis."
Eva sat down without looking at her.
"Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Whatever you're about to say. Don't."
"I wasn't going to say anything."
"Good."
"I was just going to ask how you slept."
"Fine."
"Good. Soundly? Comfortably?"
"Montecardi."
"No unusual dreams? Nothing... distracting?"
Eva put her bag down on the bench, stood up, and turned toward the door.
"Okay, okay, I'm done," Katarina said. "Sit down. We have work to do."
Eva stood there for a second, wings tight, jaw set, flush creeping up the back of her neck. Then she turned around, sat back down, and pulled out her notes.
They didn't mention it again.
What they did instead was watch the container. The formation was still running. Blue and green, steady hum, cold to the touch. The qi loop had been cycling for sixteen hours without interruption and neither of them wanted to jinx it by celebrating too early.
