EMMA'S POV
Rain transformed the settlement into something elemental.
It slicked stone walls until they gleamed like obsidian, pooled in uneven hollows between structures, softened voices and blurred edges. The sound of it was constant, not loud enough to dominate but steady enough to make silence impossible. For the first time since they had crossed the ridge, Afin welcomed the noise. Rain erased tracks. Rain masked scent. Rain bought time.
Time, however, was a currency that never stayed long in circulation.
Inside the outer ring, people moved with restrained urgency. The settlement was not chaotic, but it wasn't calm either. This was a place that had learned to exist under pressure, where preparedness had replaced comfort and vigilance had become routine. Faces turned as Afin's group passed—some curious, some wary, some openly hostile. Others looked away entirely, the practiced indifference of those who had learned that seeing too much carried its own risks.
