Zana woke without drama.
There was no sharp cry, no sudden sound that fractured the quiet. It began with movement, a small stirring beneath the blanket, a shift of limbs that Willow noticed before she heard anything at all. The crib made the faintest sound as Zana's body adjusted, and then her mouth opened in a soft, searching motion, her breath changing rhythm as sleep loosened its hold.
Willow was on her feet immediately, though she moved carefully, the way she had learned to move since her body had begun asking for gentler negotiations. She leaned over the crib and looked down, her heart lifting and tightening at the same time as Zana's eyes fluttered open, unfocused and dark, still carrying traces of wherever she had been before waking.
"Hi," Willow whispered, the word instinctive and unplanned.
