(Would you feel better if I didn't ask anything else about it?) she asked; Rachel knew that she wouldn't have been particularly eager to talk about the aliens that had destroyed her life, if she'd been in Shara's position.
(If you're honestly curious, I guess I wouldn't mind talking about it for a bit,) Shara said.
Rachel could tell that the other girl wasn't particularly enthusiastic about talking, at least not right now, so she decided to drop the subject. (Nah, I guess it's really not that important,) she said. (Still, it was kind of nice talking like this,) she paused for a moment, and then decided to offer Shara a bit more trust. (It really helped.)
Deciding that, in the absence of a watch or any real reason to believe she was running out of morph time, she would keep digging for a bit longer, Rachel reached out to Shara again.
(So, how's staying in the barn working out for you? Cassie treating you guys all right?) she asked, going for light and easy, just in case Shara's present circumstances weren't something the other girl liked talking about.
(It's been all right,) Shara responded, her mental tone feeling reflective; Rachel was glad that she hadn't actually brought up any uncomfortable subjects for the other girl. (Nothing like things were before, but I guess nothing's really like it was before.)
(Yeah,) Rachel said, with a brief, mental chuckle. (You can say that again.) Sighing softly, Rachel continued to dig away at the dirt wall in front of her. (You ever wish you could go back to the way things were?)
(Every day,) Shara said softly, while Rachel mentally slapped herself up-and-downside the head.
If there was ever a mother of all insensitive questions to ask someone, then she'd just stumbled on it.
Talk about foot-in-mouth disease, Rachel grumbled mentally. (Sorry, guess I forgot who I was talking to.)
(It's all right,) Shara said gently, inadvertently making Rachel feel that much more guilty about what she'd just said. (It's not something I bring up all that often, I have to admit.)
(Yeah, but that doesn't mean I should just forget about it,) Rachel replied, feeling the need to reassure the other girl. Sure, some people might think she was a bit harsh, but she always tried not to be deliberately insensitive.
At least, not if someone didn't deserve it.
(It's all right; you're not in the best situation for being thoughtful, it seems. No one who knew you would hold it against you,) Shara said, her voice as calm and gentle as it had ever been.
(Thanks,) Rachel said, smiling inwardly since she couldn't smile outwardly at the moment. (Hey, you mind asking how long I've been down here?)
(Not at all.) There was a short pause, which Rachel kept digging through. (Ax says it's been thirty minutes.)
(Thanks. You mind if I beat your record?)
(It's hardly a competition,) Shara said, with a soft, amused laugh. (Still, if you want me to keep time for you, I wouldn't mind.)
(Yeah, I'd like that. Thanks,) Rachel said, as she turned her attention back to digging.
After that, it was only a matter of waiting for Shara to tell her when forty-five minutes had passed – she might have wanted to break the other girl's record, but even with Shara herself to talk her through things she still wasn't crazy enough to want to be down here – and then Rachel could start making her way back up the tunnel. Back out of the confines of that dark space that she had willingly subjected herself to for the sake of keeping the other Animorphs from falling apart when their time came.
Breathing deeply once she had managed to make it back into the air and the sunlight outside of that stifling mole tunnel, Rachel began demorphing as quickly as she could.
"So, how far did you manage to get, after being down there forty-five minutes?" Cassie asked.
"I don't quite know," Rachel admitted, after taking a moment to regain her composure. "I mean, counting what Shara already got done… twelve, maybe thirteen feet."
"Thirteen feet straight down?" Jake looked a little impressed as he whistled. "That's actually pretty good. The top of the Yeerk Pool dome itself is probably, what, fifty feet down?"
"It wasn't straight down," she clarified. "I don't think the mole can dig straight down. The tunnel's got a pretty gradual slope; it's probably only four or four-and-a-half feet down."
(Well, this might take longer than I thought,) Tobias said, sounding kind of annoyed.