A technician raised a hand without looking away from her keys. "Wind variance on the second canyon set," she said.
"A pair is reading by ear." "Approved," Elira said. "Make it honest, not cruel." Screens kept moving.
The room softened a degree as the day found its middle. Coffee cooled. Someone laughed once under their breath when a student realized a map was upside down and fixed it without trying to look clever.
Someone else sighed when a different student made a mess and had not learned anything from it yet. The canyon tile flashed again, smaller this time.
The trio crossed a narrow spine without hurry. Lovely, someone thought, not meaning graceful, meaning fit for purpose.
The feeling lasted one breath, then became work again. Recognition held, quiet and real, not brittle hero talk.
It sat in the room like a chair pulled up to a table needing one more seat. No one named it out loud. Naming would have made it thin.
