Day two at Stormgate Flats looked the same from a distance—same chalk arcs, same poles, same Guard trucks parked like patient animals. Up close, everything was tighter. The engineers had rerouted two cable runs to reduce noise. Seraphina had added four more tripods. Rachel had a second screen for vitals. Reika had pushed the tape line another five meters back.
Lucifer was already there when we rolled in, hands in his jacket pockets, eyes on the flag streamers Chief Kade had hung to make crosswinds visible. He'd flown down last night after finishing relief flights in the North. Tiamat wanted a watcher who lives for precision. He qualifies.
Two new observers stood behind the tape with Concord badges: a Tidewalker caster—blue-gray hair, serious eyes—and an Umbral Adept wearing a plain black mantle. They didn't speak. They just watched. Fine by me.
