The next rest period ended without changing the black marker beneath Cassandra's name. She returned to Forest Hidden's boundary as Cassandra Selfmore, dressed in the same white suit she had worn through more academy meetings than she could count. This meeting would be different. She carried no guild authority, no development permissions, and no office from which she could turn a suggestion into an order.
Rangar waited on the other side of the gate. Martin stood beside him while Alexandra and Kumoe occupied a patch of shade farther down the path. The three-headed wolf had already noticed the smell of food coming from the Sairren district. Her curious head faced the settlement, her right head watched Alexandra, and the middle one slept through the conflict. The oldest elder opened a system panel in front of Cassandra at the boundary.
[Forest Hidden Restricted Entry Request]
[Account Classification: Condemned]
[Access Status: Restricted Probation]
