Every fiber of Andie’s being was strained under the pressure of her Dream’s forward push. It was excruciating, but she’d never been good at stopping or slowing down. The pain just made her want to push harder, to blow this stupid thing away so she could finally breathe. Once more in a feedback loop of pushing too hard just making her want to push harder, one that would surely destroy her some day - were Dyllan and Cedric not there to play the better part of her valor.

She wasn’t worried about that this time, though. A fraction of her power stood no chance against the entirety of it. Besides, she could already feel her Dream weakening. Stupid thing was an engine without a fuel tank. Courage needed hope - the belief that victory was possible, however unlikely.

But hope was not magic, it could not be made from nothing. It needed faith in something. In gods, in reason, in people, in fate or free will… in yourself.

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Andie’s hope had always run on pride, on the belief that hard work and an open mind could move mountains - on her own Arrogant conviction that nothing was impossible for her. She’d never shied away from accepting responsibility for her mistakes, but that was only because if she failed for reasons beyond her control, then that proved her success did not hinge solely on her own abilities. She was willing to rely on others and share in the credit for her accomplishments, but only because she took as much pride in her friends as she took in herself - she’d earned Dyllan and Cedric’s friendship, just as they had earned hers. She’d never hesitated to encourage others, to tell them they could reach any star she could, but that was because she didn’t like the idea that her success was because of something inborn - something unearned.

She was fueled by ego - a good natured, generous, and friendly ego… but ego all the same. Her Dream rejected that ego, and was doomed to exhaustion because of it.