Juno changed the opening number while people were still taking their seats.
The latest reservoir interval arrived on the independent line, and the operator carried it to her table. She compared the source and time before crossing out the earlier figure. Eli watched two delegates notice the movement and begin whispering. He would rather they saw the correction happen than heard an opening estimate everyone in the room already knew had become too generous.
The hall filled unevenly. Human officials took places beside hunters who had fought for different command structures the week before. Dungeon representatives used interpreters selected by their communities. Families sat together where they wished and apart where they wished. A woman carrying a protected submission went directly to the farther private room rather than sign a public attendance sheet. Sera met her there without announcing whose history she had brought.
No delegation represented every captive. The moderator said it at the beginning, plainly enough that it could not later be mistaken for a ceremonial qualification. Presence gave people a way to question the meeting’s mandate. It did not turn every person absent into someone who had agreed.
Juno stood behind the stable table instead of the repaired stage corner. She began with what had actually been done.
