Hajin lowered himself beside the shelter wall, discovering halfway down that the chair he had refused would have been a very good idea.
Vella caught his elbow before his shoulder struck the stone, easing him onto the folded blanket while he tried to look as though the descent had been intentional.
"Comfortable?"
"Ask me when I finish getting here."
The child watched from her pallet with Loccy's coat gathered near her feet, following the careful way he placed his right arm across his lap.
Hajin ended the Stream before opening the room's private discussion, letting the last public field disappear while the child watched his wrist.
Behind Vella, Sava carried the recovered witness plates toward a padded shelf, keeping each one separate as its warmth settled through the cloth beneath it.
The missing voices stayed gone while the little plates remained, giving Hajin something to look at when the pain threatened to take all his attention.
"Are those people in there?" the child asked.
