"Micha?"

I look up from the table. Eyelids drooping, I can almost feel the bags under my eyes growing. I've been working on more blueprints for the last two hours. Trying to figure out exactly how the dragon should be structured is harder than I thought. There's not exactly a 'how-to' manual or anything, and after two workdays, Vivvy still hasn't got those anatomy books. Add to that, I think Fraze might've melted a beam or two.

"Fraze, what have you two done."

"Is it supposed to smoke at this stage...?"

I raise an eyebrow. Niko's frantically waving a plastic cloth, trying to wave the smoke away. Fraze's eyebrows look nonexistent. If I hadn't been awake for the last forty-eight hours, I'd laugh at the black signes. I get up from my chair and walk over. The left arm sizzles. Smoke bellows from within, two wires sizzling sporadically.

Damn, what have they done?

"How did this happen, exactly?" I say, stifling a yawn.

"That's a great story," says Niko. "But to sum it up, it's all Fraze's fault. Definitely not mine."

"Hey! Niko!"

I roll my eyes, lightly pushing both of them away. They've somehow managed to short circuit some of the wires. I lean in, squinting at the mess. Thankfully, there's no fire, just a lot of smoking and sparks. It looks like they managed to get some of the gears tangled with the wiring. Great. That's something I'll have to fix myself. If I wasn't dead tired, I'd be screaming.

"We'll, on the bright side, not all hope is lost. Can you go get me the box underneath my desk? Please try not to blow it up."

"No promises," mutters Niko as he goes to get it.

"Sorry, dude."

"It's fine," I say, yanking the gear out with a wrench. "Hopefully when we get those anatomy books, I'll be able to map this out better."

I yawn, eyes watering. The gear comes outs with a sharp plop. Bits of green wire hang out from the sides, dangling and dead. My nose immediately screams. Ugh! It smells like burnt fish! I toss it across the table just as Niko drops the box down. I nod at him, taking out new wires and getting back to work.

We're about halfway done with the skeleton. Minus this little accident, all the limbs just need a touch up. We're done with the neck and the twins have started the programming. The torso is in place, but still held up by wires. It'll take a few more days to finish all the parts, and then a couple more to put it all together.

I breath deeply, accidentally inhaling some smoke. My lungs burn a little but I can't seem to care. My entire body just feels like rubber. The only thing with feeling is my head...which has decided to constantly pulse with pain. All I've done for the last few days is go to school in the morning, work on the dragon all night and day, try not to murder Niko, Fraze and Vivvy, and then repeat the whole thing again. Again. And again. And, again. Okay, maybe not that much, but it sure as hell feels like it.

"Hey!"

I quickly look up. Pearl swings the door open, a box of scrap metal in her hands. Phe trails behind her, something square in her hand. Both of them have gotten less sleep than I but look ten times as energetic. How do they pull off these types of things?

"Girl, you're too...happy. Come back when you're more tired, like the rest of us."

She sticks out her tongue. I return the gesture as she drops the box onto her work desk. It always amazes me how quickly she can get to work. Once her head is down, looking at the table top, she's in another world. Her sister, on the other hand...

"Guess what?" pipes Phe.

She leans her elbows down on my table, cocking her head. Strawberry hair tumbles off her shoulders. I have the strong urge to cut it all off. How can she see anything like that?

"What?"

"Look what I'm reading."

Now I'm irritated. I look up, nose inflamed. Can't she see that I'm actually working on something important-

"Dragon anatomy!"

"Yup."

She smirks, popping the syllable on her tongue. I grab it from her and set the wires down. The book smells new, not a single speck of dirt on it's rosy red cover. Finally!

"How'd you get this?"

"Vivvy got it for me, duh," she says. "She couldn't be here today. Her mentor's making all the med kids come back to class, but she'll still help in the evenings and stuff."

Phe must notice my face drop. She pats my shoulder, giving me a reassuring smile. I nod. Vivvy really hasn't done much. I can't blame her; She knew next to nothing about tero-magic and wasn't good at lifting heavy things. But she's my sister. Her being here means a lot.

"Well, I guess I understand," I mutter not-so-understandingly. "Can you fix this for me? I'm gonna have to rework the blueprints, hopefully not too much."

"Sure thing, Captain."

I spend the rest of the afternoon with one eye on the blueprint and the other on the textbook. As every minute passes, my irritation just grows. Look. I know I'm no dragon expert, but I know machines, so why am I so off in everything? Growling, I scribble notes, using sticky notes to insert my new design. As time slips by, my blueprints look like a hodgepodge of pink paper. And I'm only on chapter one!

"Hey, Micha, hear that? Sounds like Vivvy is here."

Nose in the blueprint, I jolt my head up. There's footsteps overhead. And they're far, far too steady to be Samuel. You could always hear how drunk he is, seemingly even when he's sober (and yet probably suffering from a hangover). I crack a smile, unable to really focus on anything. Who knew building a dragon would make you this tired?

The door swings open. Sure enough, she's there.

"What's up- Micha, why are your eyes so red? You know, it really doesn't suit your purple bags."

"Thanks, sis," I grumble. "Did you come here to help or did you come here to try and roast me?"

She raises an eyebrow, closing the door behind her. I frown a little. My eyes are pretty itchy, but who cares? I got a dragon to build! I pick up my pencil again. It wobbles in my palm, tapping lightly on the sides of the desk.

"Oh, praise the Lord you're here!" says Niko. "You know what you might need? Some good gear sorting, and then some tool cleaning."

Vivvy rolls her eyes as the twins giggle.

"You just want to leave."

"Well?" says Niko, shrugging. "Can you really blame me? I'm not trained in this type of...stuff. Things. Whatever. Point is I want to leave."

Pearl snorts. Vivvy shoots her a look, her gaze then traveling around the room. I look back down. There's still work to be done, after all. Phe had just finished fixing Niko and Fraze's mess.

"You know," says Vivvy. "Good idea, Niko, you should go. I think all of you should go do something that doesn't involve grease. At least for the rest of the night."

I drop my pencil.

"What?!"

How could she say that? We need to get to work! How could anyone just completely betray me, no, my dragon, like that-

"Yes!" says Niko and Fraze simultaneously.

The two bolt towards the door, the twins starting to put some of their stuff away. Well. I see betrayal runs in my friend circle.

"C'mon, dude!" says Phe. "Everyone needs to take a break. Get your mind off of things, you know? A little bit of fun isn't going to kill your project."

I grit my teeth, rolling my eyes. Why can't they understand?

"Hello?" I say. "I need to get this thing finished. You just don't understand, you and your sister have dragons!"

She narrows her eyes, pushing in her chair. Pearl gulps and looks down. I can't believe it. Is she really, really, going to fight with me? Niko and Fraze are already at the top of the stairs, but Vivvy's still here.

"What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing," I say, scowling. "If you want to take a break, fine. Go fly with your dragons, or paint your nails, whatever girls do."

Her cheeks turn as red as a tomato. Pearl drops her head into her forehead. Thump. Without looking up, she grabs her sister's wrist, restraining her.

"Oh, that's it, you're getting it now dummy!"

I can't help but laugh, even if there's a bit of fear behind it.

"Come at me, then!"

"Oh for crying out loud," says Vivvy.

Without missing a beat, she steps in between us. Her palms go up. It's as if we're wild animals about to rip each other to pieces. I blink slowly, not realizing I've gotten out of my chair until I sit back down.

"Okay, you all definitely need a break. C'mon, Micha, you're going. And you're going to have fun and not think about your dragon for the rest of the evening. That's an order!"

"Oh, please," I say, crossing my arms. "What are you going to do? Drag me out by my arms? I'll say it again; If you want to go out, have fun. Be yourselves for a while. But I need to get this done."

"Well, why?" pipes Pearl.

Things go silent for a moment, tension melting away. Why did I have to do- No, no. Keep your head together. I breathe out loudly. What did she mean? Wasn't it a bit, you know, obvious? It's obvious. Obviously.

"Because I have to. I have to have this, you know that."

"You can survive another day without your dragon," says Vivvy.

She moves over, almost floating over the floorboards. I feel her palms press into my shoulder. They're warm. I meet her gaze. She looks concerned, eyebrows furrowed. Her eyes look lost. Something melts inside of me. It feels like a gooey mess, but there's less tightening in my chest. Sleepiness, and somewhere close to peace, quickly grows from it.

"I guess."