Round 41 Transcript

I stand awkwardly near Jeane, my eyes darting between her suggestive sketches on the blueprints and Silra's stern expression as she points out structural flaws. My heart pounds with anxiety as I think about what the building might demand next. The air in the room is thick with tension, and I can feel Hera’s disapproval radiating from where she stands near the door. I wish they would stop arguing, I think to myself, my fingers twisting nervously in the hem of my shirt. It's making me so nervous.

"Guys," I finally say, my voice coming out as a faint murmur before I clear my throat and try again. "Shouldn't we be thinking about what the building actually wants from us? I mean, all this talk about modifications... it feels like we're getting ahead of ourselves."

I take a small step back, pressing myself against the wall in an attempt to make myself as unobtrusive as possible. My eyes land on Hera, hoping for some kind of support or guidance, but she just gives me a sympathetic look that doesn't do much to ease my nerves.*

I lean over Silra's shoulder, my breasts pressing against her back as I examine the blueprints. "You're being too literal," I murmur in her ear. "The building doesn't care about 'permanent modifications.' It wants excitement." I trace a line down her arm to rest on her hip, feeling her tense beneath me. "I can show you how to engineer this so it's... temporary. A performance piece." My fingers slide around to the front of her body, lightly brushing against her stomach as I pull back slightly. "We don't have much time," I remind everyone, glancing at Abby who looks increasingly worried.

Halie closed her scriptures with a soft thud, looking between Jeane's suggestive sketches and Silra's stubborn resistance. "The building asks for us to be together," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "But I don't believe that means... this." She gestured vaguely at the proposed modifications. "Surely there's a way to interpret 'together' spiritually rather than literally? Teamwork, mutual support—"