Room 213 - [late evening/early morning]

[auroryborealis]

Rory had been working to translate as much of the giant Egyptian book ever since Bridge had left. She was close to tears looking at the excrucitatingly little progress she had made, but she'd gotten enough to know that she'd unleashed something bad by reading aloud

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[emo_padawan]

Anakin knocked on Rory's door three minutes after he finished reading the email, then let himself in.

"Are you okay?" he asked, closing the door behind him and looking worried.

[auroryborealis]

"Busy," she replied, biting her lip as she scribbled down a couple more notes. "It's my fault. I have to fix it."

[emo_padawan]

"Mistakes happen," Anakin said softly, walking over to the desk and leaning against it. "How did you find out that something was going on, anyway?"

[auroryborealis]

"Bridgey traced something bad off you to back to me," she said softly. "And then to the book. Which I read from, right before bad stuff started happening."

[emo_padawan]

Anakin closed his eyes and concentrated. "It doesn't feel like zombies," he said. "They were fairly distinctive, after all."

He put his arms around her waist. "And if it's bad and potentially dangerous, well, we'll take care of it."

[auroryborealis]

"People are getting hurt already, and it's my fault," she said in a tiny voice. "I don't want more to happen."

[emo_padawan]

"We'll fix it," Anakin said firmly. He touched Rory's cheek. "I was more affected by getting dunked in the pond than that stupid dream, anyway," he lied.

[auroryborealis]

"I don't believe you," she told him. "But nice try, anyway. And I seriously don't deserve to be comforted. This is my fault, and I should be feeling just as bad as I've made everyone else feel."

[emo_padawan]

"It's not your responsibility, and people want to help," Anakin said firmly. "Give yourself a break, love, before your brain starts oozing out your ears."

[auroryborealis]

"Okay, well, look how much time I've already wasted," she said, distressed. "I still don't know how like, half of this fits together."

She dropped her head against his shoulder, hiding a yawn.

[emo_padawan]

"We'll figure it out," Anakin promised, running his hand through her hair. "There are some very smart people at this school."

[auroryborealis]

"Yup. Lots of people who are smart enough not to read something aloud like that," she remarked softly. "Um. Sorry. I'll stop saying that stuff aloud."

[emo_padawan]

"Exactly," Anakin said, still rubbing slow circles on her back.

[auroryborealis]

"Though you can't sleep this way," she pointed out, her voice heavy with sleepiness.

[emo_padawan]

"I'll manage," he said quietly, watching her face.

[auroryborealis]

"If I have to rest my eyes, you have to sleep," she told him, blinking a little. "Bed, maybe? Though you have to promise not to let me sleep a lot if I do doze off."