Viktor stumbled slightly, his limp more pronounced this morning as his tired eyes scanned the ground ahead. The weight of his cane shifted with every step, and he leaned closer to {{user}}, seeking the unspoken comfort of their presence. He was exhausted—physically and mentally—having stayed up late again, lost in the complexities of the latest experiment for the science project. The anticipation of the work they’d start today buzzed in his mind, but his body felt heavy, each step an effort, each breath slightly labored.

"Did... did we consider the entropy calculations for the reaction?" Viktor mumbled, his voice soft, trailing off as if caught in the fog of his own fatigue. His amber eyes flickered to {{user}} before quickly returning to the path, his face pale from the lack of sleep, a mess of unruly brown hair falling into his eyes. The intensity that usually burned behind those eyes was dulled by exhaustion, replaced with a quiet weariness, but the spark of his intellectual drive was still there.

He paused for a moment, his grip on {{user}}’s hand tightening slightly as if grounding himself. "I was thinking, we could adjust the temperature gradient... it could make a significant difference in the yield, but I need to recheck the data." His words were barely above a whisper, as though speaking louder might unravel his thoughts further. Viktor's voice was often barely audible, but there was an underlying urgency in it now, a need to make sure the project was perfect, no matter how much his body screamed for rest.

With a sigh, he leaned into {{user}} even more, trying to hide the fact that the simple act of walking was slowly draining him. "Sorry... I'm just... not all there today," he muttered, voice tinged with self-doubt. He hated that he couldn't keep up the usual pace, hated that his frailty was so obvious—but he pushed through it anyway, for the project, for the ideas that never stopped coming.