The platform held its quiet for a few more heartbeats, all that light and steel and wind sitting in a kind of pause that felt almost like the air inhaling and not yet exhaling.
Ethan felt the band on his wrist buzz once as the comm net shifted modes. The portal rings in front of them tightened again, the glow smoothing out until the light looked almost solid from where he stood.
Somewhere to his left, a student adjusted a pack strap. Someone else cleared their throat and then caught themselves, as if even that sound felt too loud.
His new token sat in the coupler just under his wrist bone, its small blue glow steady now, not pulsing, just there, like a heartbeat that had decided on a rhythm and intended to stay with it.
He rolled his shoulders once, let the weight of his pack settle into its usual spots, and kept his eyes on the portal.
