*Oona's POV*

When Juliet returned that night to work on her seed for Andy, her focus had not only returned, but was bolstered by the force of a renewed determination. Before I took her to my workshop she even hugged me! "I'm going to do this, I promise."

She surprised me when she asked if Andy could leave, to help her concentrate. With a quick kiss goodbye, Andy left to return to their home. After that, Juliet worked at a frantic pace. It worried me to see her so agitated, but I could think of nothing to make the situation any easier.

Six hours later, clearly running on very little sleep, Juliet had finished the seed itself, and had just started on its customization, much more progress than I would have anticipated. However, she was showing definitive signs of exhaustion. She had dark circles under her eyes and worry marked her face. Eventually I persuaded her to return to her touring music act, to get a few hours of sleep. When she left, she promised she would finish the seed the following night, that she would get here as soon as possible, and stay until it was finished.

I thanked her, but in my mind, I knew that two days or less would surely not be enough time for either Andy or Juliet to make more seeds, should their first efforts have failed. The odds of all three seeds, the creations of novices, working perfectly, were very slim.

With only three nights left to share with Andy, two the next time I awoke, I found my thoughts growing melancholy. I didn't want to be reduced to a mere essence, to have to leave him and my new friends. My contemplations were so disturbing to Andy, I had to shield them, so that he could sleep.

---

The following night, Juliet arrived early, saying she had deceived her crew and told them she was starting to catch a cold, and that she needed to go to bed right after her concert. She didn't speak as she worked on her seed, handling it carefully but with the fire of resolve sharp in her eyes.

I was shocked when, only four hours into the night, Juliet came to find me in my sitting room, where she'd asked me to stay in case she had questions. Her eyes were tired but bright. "I think I did it. I think it's finished!"