Hajin kept the feeding channel slammed shut while Cessy gathered the very last of her fire above the waiting length. His left hand steered the fighting loops under Mother's descending joints while the hunger inside him whispered about easier wins.
Cessy watched his wrist long enough to see the joining loop hang slack around her forearm.
"Keep that hungry part of you asleep," she warned, stepping clear of the fracture, "I'd rather help with the spider than become your next meal."
"Then put the fire where she opens up."
"And you?"
He jammed his heel against the surviving shelf, "I'll hold the damn road, you just make sure there's something left of her to hold."
The tether carried their timing without letting either will into the other's foundation as her fire climbed toward the scythes. She followed his tension while he followed her flame, and the contamination stayed locked inside Vella right where it belonged.
