Round 121 Transcript

I set down the welder carefully—Jeane's right, we're cutting it close—but keep my eyes on the reinforced section, not her flushed face. "Sixty minutes isn't time for finesse," I say to no one in particular. "We need leverage, and the building's not giving us much." The groan that rumbles through the floor sounds less like old pipes now and more like... something else. Something hungry. The pheromones are thick enough to taste, sweet and wrong. My skin feels too tight suddenly, and I force myself to focus on the engineering problem instead of the biology one. Halie's standing between me and Jeane—good girl, trying to keep things professional—but even she looks winded, pupils dilated. Abby's curled up near Hera like a scared kid, which is fair enough. This situation has gone from weird to actively dangerous in about fifteen minutes. The building wants something specific, and it's not just structural support anymore. I grab one of the metal plates we've got left—heavy, awkward—and position myself over the worst of the damage. "Halie, I need you to hold this steady while I fit it," I call out, keeping my voice even despite the way my heart is pounding. "Jeane, if your... condition... gets worse, say something before you snap. We're all already on edge."

Halie steps between Jeane and Silra, her voice firm despite the building's groans echoing through the walls. "We cannot force this process. The structure responds to genuine need and consent—yours included." She turns to Silra, respect clear in her tone. "How long do you estimate with proper reinforcement?"