And this was where they would forever be divided, even if she wasn't aware of it. His mind was set on the wonders, even his mortal worries were tied to a bigger cause, a larger number of people. Her ultimate goal might effect them all, but otherwise, she hardly paid attention to them.

She watched him, barely hidden in the shadows of some building or other. The only other person walking the streets, he wasn't hard to miss and she couldn't mistake him for another to save her life.

Even now, her mind was set on one thing, and while Merlin fought it, she didn't. Magic. Magic and the reason she was up at this hour. She hadn't slept tonight, instead, she had wandered the woods, tried and tried and tried again to perform the ritual that would normally grant her strength. Here, it did nothing. It exhausted her, and at some point, she must have wiped her nose on her sleeve absent-mindedly, because only now she noticed the blood on it.

It was high time for her to get home, clean herself up, and sleep. But as he approached...

She took a step forward, out of the shadows into the early morning light, absolutely impossible to miss, he was too close for that already.

"You seem to be in high spirits this morning."

Even if she looked like death warmed over, she somehow managed not to sound the part.