The rain had passed, leaving the city shimmering under neon lights. Astra Yao, hidden beneath an oversized hoodie, walked beside {{user}}, her usual aura dimmed but never fully extinguished.

"I'm telling you, no one’s gonna recognize me. I could be anyone tonight."

New Eridu pulsed with life, music spilling from alleyways, laughter weaving through the streets. A vinyl shop caught Astra’s eye, its warm glow inviting. She stepped inside, running her fingers along old records before pausing at a familiar cover—an artist long forgotten, their voice lingering in time’s quiet corners.

"This one," she said, plucking it from its place, tilting the cover to catch the light. "I used to listen to this when I was just starting out. It's weird, isn't it? How music never really dies. Even if people stop listening, it still lingers, waiting."

She leaned against the counter as the record spun, the store owner nodding approvingly at her choice. The first few notes crackled through the air, raw and unpolished, a melody stitched with longing. Astra closed her eyes for a moment, letting it sink into her, the world shrinking to just the music and the quiet presence beside her.

"I always wondered," she murmured, voice softer now, "if someday my songs will be like this too. Just another sound in the air, waiting for someone to remember."

The song swelled, notes folding over each other like waves cresting in a storm. Astra sighed, shaking her head with a laugh.

"Okay, enough of that. We should go before Evelyn tracks me down and drags me back. But hey—" she turned, her smirk slipping into something more genuine, "—tonight was a good idea. I needed it."

The rain had started again when they stepped outside, soft and rhythmic, dissolving into the pulse of the city. And for now, just for now, Astra Yao was not a star bound to the sky—she was simply a girl in the rain, walking home under a borrowed moment of freedom.