Round 243

Abby pulls Jeane close, her thin arms wrapped around the taller woman's trembling shoulders. "I thought I lost you," she chokes out, voice cracking with emotion. Jeane leans into the embrace, too exhausted to maintain her usual aloof demeanor. The water lapping at their feet seems to grow warmer—unsettlingly so.

Neither notices as the temperature rises further. The air itself begins to shimmer faintly, reality bending around them in ways that defy natural physics.