Round 204

Silra moved closer to Jeane, her slim form radiating a faint warmth that was barely enough to penetrate the demoness's failing shield. The elf's teal eyes flickered with both concern and calculation as she observed the other woman's shivering form. "Your core temperature is dropping again," Silra stated clinically, pointed ears straining against the oppressive silence of the maintenance tunnel. "If we don't find a more efficient heat source soon, your shield magic will fail completely." Jeane's crimson eyes flashed dangerously in the dim blue glow from the failing device behind them. "I'm well aware of my situation," she growled, her voluptuous demonic form shifting restlessly as another shiver wracked her body. The sudden cold was like a physical blow—her shield magic depended on ambient heat from the building's thermal systems, and those systems were now compromised. The air around them vibrated with magical energy, and suddenly the heating units behind them emitted a frantic thrumming noise. "Twenty seconds until this device fails completely," Silra reported clinically, voice barely above a whisper. "And yes, security teams are already on their way to investigate—probably two or three squads moving up from the lower levels." Her teal eyes flickered toward Jeane, pointed face set in its usual expression of focused irritation mixed with reluctant respect for demonic competence. "You're offering me five more minutes of thermal contact? That's hardly enough to maintain my core temperature, let alone yours." Jeane's crimson eyes flashed again as she forced herself to remain still—moving would only waste precious heat energy. The sudden cold was like a physical blow—her shield magic depended on ambient heat from the building's thermal systems, and those systems were now compromised. The air around them vibrated with magical energy, and suddenly the heating units behind them emitted a frantic thrumming noise. "Twenty seconds until this device fails completely," Silra reported clinically, voice barely above a whisper. "And yes, security teams are already on their way to investigate—probably two or three squads moving up from the lower levels." Her teal eyes flickered toward Jeane, pointed face set in its usual expression of focused irritation mixed with reluctant respect for demonic competence. "You're offering me five more minutes of thermal contact? That's hardly enough to maintain my core temperature, let alone yours."