The funny thing about Tazendra was that most defeats rolled off her like water off a duck's back. But people who had known her before might have spotted her change. Before, she fought with skill but almost a reckless abandon. Now, after the Interdimensional Rift, she was... well, still forward and all-in, but less likely to seek out fights and more likely to request backup. In truth, the knowledge that her death would kill everyone on her home world was doing what little else could do: make her cautious.

Right now, though, she was working, shaping a stone, in deep concentration. A number like it were in a pile.