After several hours in the library, Mayday is at her wit's end.
On Lizzy's advice, she has been studying magic on her own and can now manage a passable ward without setting the letter on fire. But the subject she's been studying today is totally different, and the texts in the library aren't any help. And she hasn't gotten a response to the owls she's sent home since Christmas.
The problem boils down to this: she's running out of web-fluid, she can't get a hold of her Dad to get more, and even though she's memorized the formula for emergencies she's pretty sure she can't just go buy the ingredients or find a lab with which to make more. Sure, she could just do without, but the Christmas incident makes her suspect that she might need it.
There's only one person left who could help her (well, two, but she hasn't seen Dom in over a week), and while she's not eager to explain why she needs the web-fluid, she's out of ideas. After discarding several drafts, she finally finishes the letter and sends it.
( Owl to Professor Maturin, clumsily but passably warded to melt into sticky glue if anyone else tries to read it )