The clean tooth pressed into North's new scar and stopped.
Pink-brown tissue dimpled around its point. Beneath that closure, the three-lobed turning knot pulled once against its vessels. North's white neck plate rose far enough to grind the tooth along the seam.
A thin line of animal blood crossed the black edge.
Rina placed four replay marks beside the current feed. The inner ring had approached four times since North entered the yard. Each earlier pass stopped short when the animal breathed back or a support frame changed load.
The fifth approach had reached living tissue.
Tova remained beneath the outer guard on the same axle. Her right hand held the rail. The tight line across her coat still entered the drum beyond her boots.
"If we turn the whole carriage, we turn her," Caleb said.
