The decision is not announced.
It does not arrive with a council vote or a formal order or even a quiet acknowledgment passed between leadership, and yet I feel it settle into the packhouse like a shift in pressure, subtle but unmistakable, as if something foundational has been adjusted while everyone pretends nothing has changed. The bond hums low and alert beneath my ribs, not pulling me anywhere, just keeping me aware, and I know with a certainty that feels almost calm itself that we have crossed from understanding into action.
Adam does not say what he is doing. He does not need to.
He simply starts changing the rhythm.
Training schedules adjust without explanation, not harder and not lighter, just irregular enough that habit can no longer carry people through on autopilot. Patrol
