Ren removed the book from my bag and put it back on the shelf.
I watched him do it.
"I was taking that."
"You asked me to check the weight."
"I might need the diagrams."
"You copied the relevant diagrams."
He laid the thin route folder beside the bag. It contained the current drawing, the return instructions, and the exercise assignments. The heavy book contained another hundred things I would not be permitted to investigate tomorrow. I left it on the shelf.
Ren put the water flask in its place, closer to my back. The repaired strap settled against the bag without twisting. Kara's extra length remained folded through the buckle, useful for adjusting a load and entirely unsuitable for hanging a person over a drop.
I checked the buckle while Ren counted the ordinary items on the issue sheet. Food, cloth, chalk, pencil, small lamp. No extra sword. No supply taken from the treatment reserve because I had thought of a situation in which it might help me personally.
