Chapter 916: Morning Announcement (2)

"Charlotte Raven will serve as scouting lead for the day," Sheila said. "Her focus is short-range route assessment connected to the Southern District, the central structure, and nearby safe movement. Scouts do not move beyond assigned boundaries without reporting."

Charlotte smiled from near the side of the crowd, looking far too pleased at being publicly named useful.

"Liam Hunter will support scouting as needed," Sheila continued. "He will not be fixed to one team. He will function as a free-response asset, moving where he is most useful or where I assign him in an emergency."

That drew murmurs.

They were not loud enough to become disorder, but they were immediate. Some students looked toward Liam. Others looked at Sheila. A few faces tightened with the familiar discomfort of seeing him given freedom no one else had. The reaction was not surprising. People liked structure until structure admitted that not every weapon fit the same rack.

Sheila did not let it grow.

"That flexibility is deliberate," she said. "Forcing every capable student into a fixed line would waste resources. Yesterday proved we cannot afford waste. Some roles must be stable. Some must remain mobile. Liam’s will remain mobile unless I decide otherwise."

The murmurs thinned.

Not gone entirely. Accepted enough.

Liam kept his expression flat. Asher glanced at him with a grin that looked like trouble.

"Free-response asset," Asher said under his breath. "Fancy way to say roaming inconvenience."

"Better than loud hazard."

Asher looked offended. "I am a precise hazard."

"Debatable."

Sheila’s gaze shifted, landing briefly on Asher as if she had sensed the conversation’s direction without hearing it. "Asher Hawthorne will remain attached to threat response. If a confirmed danger appears and the assigned team cannot contain it, he is one of the first students sent. He is not to be buried in routine patrol work unless there is no active threat-response demand."

Asher folded his arms. "Acceptable."

Someone nearby muttered, "Of course he likes that."

Asher turned his head slightly. The student immediately found the ground fascinating.

Sheila moved on. "Now the second problem. Food."

The courtyard changed in a different way.

Students who had been focused on the central structure now looked more uncomfortable. Yesterday’s rations had been unpleasant but available. This morning, the reality of a fourteen-day assessment pressed more sharply into their stomachs.

"Our supplies will not carry the entire year through this assessment," Sheila said. "We begin controlled hunting and gathering today. Not free movement. Not wandering. A small group will leave through the southern approach, remain within set range, gather what can be identified as safe, hunt if possible, and return before the assigned limit. No one eats anything not cleared."

The reaction was tense. Several students looked toward the tree line beyond the wall as if the forest had leaned closer just because Sheila named it. Veyrhold had been dangerous enough. Going back outside after finally reaching the walls felt wrong to many of them, even if hunger made it necessary.

Sheila looked over the crowd. "I will take volunteers with suitable skills before assigning anyone."

Before she could continue, Liam spoke.

"I will join the hunting party."

The words were not loud, but they carried.

Heads turned. Asher’s brows lifted. Charlotte’s smile sharpened. Chris’s eyes narrowed, not because Liam had volunteered, but because the timing had shifted the crowd immediately.

Students who had been considering volunteering hesitated for a different reason now. Some looked relieved. Others seemed to measure the danger again and find it slightly less impossible with Liam attached to the group. A few who had no business volunteering looked like they wanted the safety of his presence more than the work itself, then thought better of it under Edith’s stare.

After a few moments, four more students stepped forward.

One was a broad-shouldered spear user with enough outdoor experience to name edible root signs without embarrassing himself. Another was a quiet nature-affinity girl who had helped identify plant growth near the outer wall. The third was an archer from Kara’s rotation, steady but not exceptional. The fourth was a water-affinity boy with good sense and a small hunting knife he seemed to know how to use. None looked eager. That was probably in their favor.

Sheila looked at Liam.

Liam looked back.

He saw the decision form before she said it, and immediately disliked it.

"Liam will lead the hunting party," Sheila said.

The courtyard accepted it faster than Liam did.

He stared at her.

Sheila’s expression remained calm, but there was something in her eyes that told him she knew exactly what she had done. He had volunteered publicly. He was the safest choice to put with the group. If she sent him merely as a participant, the others would still look to him once danger appeared. Naming him lead only made the reality official and gave her a cleaner chain of responsibility.

It was tactically correct.

Irritating.

Asher made a small choking sound that might have been laughter. "Hunting captain shadow bastard."

Liam did not look away from Sheila. "I volunteered to join."

"And I assigned you to lead," Sheila said.

"That is abusive."

"That is command."

Charlotte’s voice floated from the side, delighted. "Congratulations, Liam. Responsibility looks awful on you."

Dylan, unable to stop himself, added, "Captain of snacks."

Ariana elbowed him lightly.

Liam’s eyes remained on Sheila for another second. Arguing in front of the year would undermine her and waste time. Sheila knew that too. She had used it. Once. Maybe twice if he counted last night.

He would remember this.

"Fine," he said.

Sheila inclined her head slightly. "Your range limits and return time will be given after the briefing."

"Generous."

"Necessary."

He gave no answer.

Sheila looked back to the gathered students. "The hunting party leaves only after route confirmation and perimeter coordination. No other student exits Veyrhold without assignment. If you are not on the hunting team, restoration, defense, medical support, patrol, salvage, and water restrictions remain your work. We move by plan, not impulse."

That was nearly the end. Liam could see it in the way Sheila drew breath for the final command. Students shifted, preparing to scatter into duties. Felix adjusted the Command Log under his arm. Edith looked ready to begin dividing movement lines. Chris turned slightly toward his exterior teams. Ariana and Dylan were already glancing toward the central road. Quenivarius seemed to be muttering something to Maxwell about relay integrity, while Maxwell looked like he regretted being literate.

Then every academy insignia pulsed.

The sensation cut through the courtyard like a silent bell.

Conversations stopped mid-breath. Several students touched their marks instinctively. Others looked down at their bracers or uniforms where the insignia’s signal pressed against skin and Myst. The pulse came again, steady and unmistakable, carrying the academy’s authority through every student at once.

Sheila went still.

So did Edith.

Felix’s hand tightened around his stylus. Ariana lifted her head sharply. Chris’s expression shifted from irritation to alert calculation. Asher’s relaxed posture disappeared. Charlotte’s smile faded into interest. Liam felt the pulse settle under his skin and looked toward the center of the courtyard, already knowing what it meant before anyone said a word.

The academy had issued the first task.