The primary group arrived at eleven-thirty that night — he felt Annabeth's precise energy and Percy's sea-shimmer and Thalia's lightning-crack signature from two hundred meters away and noted, with the specific satisfaction of a plan aligning with its predicted shape, that they were exactly on time.
He stayed at the camp's eastern edge, where he had told Bianca he would be. He could feel the battle beginning inside the building — the shimmer of monster engagement, the specific crack of lightning that meant Thalia was in it, the sound of things that were not quite ordinary sounds.
His role in this battle was not to fight. His role was to be here, available, and to handle anything that moved toward the eastern grounds so that the primary group could operate without their flank being exposed. He had been clear with Theron about this: they were not entering the main battle. They were securing the perimeter.
Two dracaenae came around the east side of the building, drawn by the battle's energy, moving toward the pine tree line where fleeing students might have gone. He stepped into Lantern Step and moved.
The engagement lasted less than two minutes. He was not alone — Theron was alongside him, staff and celestial bronze knife — and the advantage of Lantern Step against dracaenae was almost unfair: snake-legged creatures had excellent straight-line speed and poor response to unpredictable lateral movement, and shadow manipulation made his positioning genuinely opaque to their tracking. Two dracaenae dissolved into gold dust in the December dark without, he noted with satisfaction, making enough noise to draw attention from the main building.
He returned to his position at the camp's eastern edge and held it.
He felt the battle inside resolve — the specific quality of a combat ending rather than pausing, the sharp edges of monster signatures dissolving, the remaining divine presences reconfiguring from combat-mode to human. He felt Artemis's presence when the Hunters arrived — a cold, silver precision that was nothing like any other divine signature he had encountered, the quality of the moon when it is fully out rather than rising or setting.
He did not go inside. His presence at Westover Hall was authorized reconnaissance, not a position in the center of the action. He stayed where he was and let the story develop as it developed.
He was there, though. He was exactly where he said he would be.
[ WESTOVER HALL BATTLE — LOG ]
Kael's engagement: Eastern perimeter
Entities engaged: 2 Dracaenae
Outcome: ELIMINATED
Method: Lantern Step + shadow positioning
Duration: <2 minutes
MANA spent: 22
Injuries: None
Primary battle: NOT ENTERED
Main group (Percy/Annabeth/Thalia): handled
Grover: secured
Di Angelos: present for Hunters' offer
Artemis: ARRIVED, silver signature confirmed
The Hunt's offer: extended to Bianca
Bianca's choice: ACCEPTED
She chose the Hunt.
As she was always going to.
That is her right.
The note: she has it.
That is also her right.
To have the information
and make the choice with full knowledge.
STAFF TECHNIQUE: Rank B confirmed under pressure
LANTERN STEP: Performed correctly under live combat
XP: +25 | Level: 7 → 8 (pending calculation)
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