Re-l looked seriously at him. He wasn't in great shape, though the night's sleep had helped a lot.

"If you hurt yourself," Re-l said, "I'm going to feel unfairly responsible, so are you sure you can manage that? Because I can get you up without climbing gear."

She continued to study him, and then quickly raised a hand and dug it into his trapezius muscles, right where she thought the most tension was.