Theo arrived with a rest plan, an interpreter, and a chair that had been checked before the gate opened.
Kellan had wanted to carry the chair himself. The clinic attendant asked whether that would leave him free to notice a problem along the route. He handed the chair to the assigned carrier and stayed beside his brother instead. It was the first useful thing he did that morning by declining the work closest to his hands.
The visit had taken two separate permissions.
The surface clinic had confirmed Theo could attempt the short journey under his present limits, with a defined seated interval and a return plan if fatigue increased. The council had invited the participants and approved the fresh route check. Neither permission had been inferred from the other. Sera’s local scouts verified the passage after the most recent surge and sent the receiving signal only when the retreat point remained usable.
Theo chose to continue after hearing the report.
He moved slowly, rested where planned, and did not apologize each time the party waited. Kellan kept watching his face until Theo said he could report his own tiredness. Kellan looked at the route instead. He could care without making his brother’s every breath into a verdict only he could interpret.
