"I think we don't want to rush you but don't expect any of us will be more prepared if we delay further."

"I'm good! And I would talk to everyone now, except that if I do they're going to worry, and then I'll have to think about them worrying, and maybe it would be easier to just do the thing now and tell everyone about it when I get back, unless there's some other reason for me not to?"

Also if she talks to everyone she might be less cool with the whole heroically dying thing.

"That plan makes sense to me. Are you all right?"

"Yeah! Well. Not in all senses. But I'm mostly OK. Uh... can I ask you a favor? Not, like, a big favor."

"Of course. I mean, I might not do it, but I can't think of any things I'd object to being asked for."

Medium-deep breaths. Calm breaths.

"So I'm sure nothing'll go wrong in a way that would make this at all necessary, but I wrote some letters to give to some people, just in case for some unfathomable reason I should happen to not actually come back in a timely manner? And it would be cool if you could hold onto them, just in case certain things that will not happen should happen to happen anyway."

" - oh. Of course. .... would you like a hug?"

"...that might be good."

He steps forward and scoops her up. He's very tall, really.

This is good. It would be totally overwhelming under most circumstances, but one of the cool things about knowing you're about to die is that you get to be scooped up by important people without worrying about the effects that this will have on your long-term relationships with them, because you will be dead.

She's small and human and scared and immensely sad. But she's going to do this.

"Thanks," she says, eventually. "I need to eat something and then go up first thing in the morning, however going up to the moon works. I'd say I could go whenever, but it's a long poem."

"Eating and sleeping first makes sense, then. We're very proud of you."

She laughs weakly. "Well. I try my best."

"Is there anything else you might need?"

She considers.

"...no. I think I'm good."

"All right." He does not stop hugging her.

Well then she will just be hugged for a while. This is good. She may have gotten super deficient in hugs over the past couple weeks.

Eventually she will decide that she is done hugging and and attempt to get herself unscooped.

"Good night! Let someone know if you do think of something you need."

"OK! Night!"

It takes her until he is definitely in the process of leaving to decide that she actually does have something else to say.

"...Fëanáro?" she asks, in the tone of someone who is not actually entirely sure whether she is allowed to use this word.

"Yes?"

"...language lesson. Slaves have numbers. Superiors have titles. Friends have names. ...My name's Imrainai."

"Imrainai. It's a very pretty name. Imrainai."

She smiles delightedly.

"Thanks. ...I'm good now."

And she goes to bed.

In the morning there's a breakfast, as normal, and people waiting outside for her.

She meditates and eats her breakfast and idly taps out a rhythm on her plate. She doesn't review what she's worked on. Doesn't need to. She just needs to be in a headspace where she's able to know for a fact that she can do this.

When she's ready, she goes outside to meet the people.

"Good morning. We're going to walk to the shuttleport, and then fly up. Is there anything you need or anyone you want to talk to first -"