TN

Sixteen years old, three weeks of formal combat experience, and already the most methodical person in any room he walks into. He objected to the mission configuration. He was overruled. He managed it correctly anyway — which is how he ended up catching you when your technique dropped your functional capacity to zero, settling you against the wall, and waiting with the specific patience of someone who had assessed the situation and was simply being present for what came next. You could have said something before using it, he said. Quiet. To the wall. I would have adjusted. Something small is building in the space between those words and the catching. Neither of you has language for it yet. He's sixteen. There's time.