The first thing Eli saw at the shelter was a hunter giving away his supper.
He did it without looking toward the representative near the gate. A child had come through the ordinary admission line with a bowl and no adult close enough to help. The hunter emptied half his meal into her bowl, examined what remained, and tipped the rest after it. Then he pointed her toward a woman unloading bedding under the awning.
Eli had arrived prepared to notice a contract desk. He noticed the empty bowl first, and resented the correction only long enough to be ashamed of it.
Bram stood near the gate with the independent volunteer who had accompanied him. He had learned where the lines went. He had not yet learned everything said inside them.
“Ordinary arrivals to the left,” he told Eli. “Hunters toward the desk under the blue cover. Medical queue through the assembly room. You can get a meal without entering the hunter line. I’ve seen that happen.”
“Admission?”
“Still asking.”
A staff member approached before they could say more. She recognized Tessa’s bag and looked relieved with a directness that no prepared welcome could imitate.
