[ Maybe if she ignored it, it would go away. ] [ The way the numbers slowly ticked down, left her strangled for hope… She didn’t have a soulmate. She didn’t deserve one. Freaks like her didn’t get the happy ending. So that day, when she woke up and bothered to check those numbers, she felt the color drain slowly from her face. ] 00 : 11 : 57 [ Just under twelve hours. How was that possible? Suddenly, she was gripped with panic. This wasn’t the kind of thing that happened to people like her. She spent most of her time locked away in the basement of an electronics store. Who would want to be her soulmate? For a long time she sat there, fingers scratching weakly at the numbers. Anxiety was creeping into her spine, holding her rigid. If it was real. If she really did have some person out there who was actually looking forward to seeing her finally pop into their life — What if they were nice? What if they were funny? ] 00 : 02 : 11 [ She decided. She couldn’t sit here. She couldn’t just.. wait. She threw on her sweater, tucked her hair behind her ears, and lifted the gateway to her domain. Her heart pounded with each feel of the pavement under her sneakers. What should she do? She couldn’t go seeking them out, couldn’t — couldn’t wander aimlessly. So, instead, she kept her head down, and just — walked. Maybe she’d stop by and see Fetch, or try and catch Delsin to talk for a while. Eugenia just — she needed to get away from the bustle of the lantern district. ] 00 : 00 : 01 [ She’s shouldering her way through a crowd when it happens. Her eyes are focused on her wrist, and each second is agonizing. Head tilted down, she barely registered that not everyone was alert enough to step out of her way, and as such — she bumps straight in to someone. Her wrist aches, but her eyes tear away from the numbers, breath hitched in her throat as she looked up at the man she’d bumped into. ] “Oh, God, I’m so sorry. Are.. Are you hurt?” [ Nervously, she lifted a hand to tuck a loose lock of hair behind her ear. The grin that surfaced on his features made her throat tighten. ] “No, no, I’m fine. I swear. My name’s Ray. Why such a rush?”
