Seraphina was walking around when she found William at seven forty-three in the morning, which meant she had been looking since seven-fifteen and wasn't going to admit that to anyone.
She had a reasonable cover story prepared.
"Hey William I wanted to suggest a team coordination... no that sounds to obvious or the competition schedule."
A specific question about the survival scenario event format that she genuinely did have, though it could have waited until afternoon practice without any consequence. The cover story was fine. She had used worse.
The main training hall was empty when she checked it first. His essence signature wasn't there — she had developed an involuntary awareness of it over months of training together, the particular quality of fire and wind that announced him like a sound just below hearing.
She noticed its absence the way you noticed a room being colder than expected.
She checked the east auxiliary hall next but it was empty.
