Light crept across the ceiling, pale and slow. Elynara blinked, eyes unfocused, letting the shapes blur until the beams overhead looked like rivers of soft gold.

She let out a breath, rolling onto her back. The quilt tangled around her legs as she stretched, toes flexing until a quiet pop eased the tension in her calves.

Her arms felt heavy, but not in a bad way. It was just the weight of yesterday’s training letting itself be known, a reminder that progress had a price.

Starpuff hovered into view upside down, its glow blinking in the half-light before it dropped, landing squarely on her nose.