Kael didn't return to the main road.
Instead, he followed the outer boundary of the settlement, where the ground dipped and rose unevenly and the structures grew sparse. This was where tools were stored, supplies rotated, and oversight loosened—not enough to be lawless, but enough for rules to blur.
That was where he felt it again.
Not pressure.
Expectation.
Kael slowed.
Ahead, a small clearing opened between storage sheds. A rack stood near one of the walls, its contents half-covered by a weathered tarp. Practice equipment. Utility tools. Things meant to be used, not displayed.
He approached without hurry.
A long staff rested among them—plain wood reinforced at both ends with metal rings. Balanced. Functional. Not ceremonial.
Not watched.
Kael lifted it and tested the weight.
Acceptable.
He didn't spin it. Didn't flourish. He simply adjusted his grip and felt how the length shifted his range, how space responded differently now that distance could be claimed instead of closed.
The hum in his chest steadied.
This wasn't ownership.
It was borrowing.
Footsteps approached from the far side of the clearing.
Two figures this time.
Not guards.
Their movements were too controlled for patrol duty and too relaxed for enforcement. Both wore neutral clothing, but Kael recognized the cut and reinforcement immediately.
House-trained.
"You adapt quickly," one of them said as they came into view. "Most hesitate when their habits stop working."
Kael rested the staff lightly against the ground. "Hesitation is expensive."
The second figure smiled faintly. "You're learning the settlement faster than expected."
Kael didn't respond.
Pressure rolled outward then—wider than before, shaped to test boundaries rather than collapse them. The clearing distorted subtly, dust lifting, air compressing.
Kael adjusted his stance and shifted the staff—not to strike, but to anchor himself.
The pressure flowed around him.
Not broken.
Redirected.
The figures exchanged a glance.
"So it's not just proximity," the first said quietly. "Interesting."
Kael stepped once to the side, the staff tracing a smooth arc through the air. The movement wasn't aggressive. It was positional, claiming space without threatening it.
The pressure weakened.
"Enough," the second figure said. "We're not here to escalate."
"Then leave," Kael replied.
They did.
As the clearing emptied, Kael lowered the staff.
Borrowed space had limits.
This tool wasn't meant to last—but it bought him time. And time was enough, for now.
Kael leaned the staff back against the rack before leaving the clearing.
He didn't take it with him.
Not yet.
Some tools were meant to be chosen.
Others were meant to be earned.