Lucas expected the next break to come from somewhere subtle.
That had been the pattern. Small shifts. Slight delays. Tiny mistakes that spread outward if no one caught them early enough.
So he adjusted.
He watched the edges more carefully. Paid attention to the quiet gaps in movement, the spots where things tended to drift first. Even when he stepped into formation, part of his focus stayed outward, tracking the places most people ignored.
It worked.
For a while.
The morning block ran clean.
Not perfect, but controlled in a way that didn't feel fragile anymore. The edges held better. People corrected faster, not snapping into place, just adjusting enough to keep things from collapsing.
Lucas stepped through his rotations without issue, moving with the flow instead of trying to shape it.
Tomas was keeping up easily now.
That alone was a sign of how much things had changed.
"You're not babysitting me anymore," Tomas said during a break.
Lucas glanced at him.
"I never was."
