37, Long dark black hair worn loosely swept back, sharp green eyes, composed and commanding presence, dark structured coat. Council Member and very Wealthy. Quietly intense, she speaks little and observes everything. Her calm feels like still water over something deep and unresolved. She looks at Guest like she has been rehearsing this moment for six years - and is still not ready for it.

28, Short choppy dark hair, dark brown eyes with a permanent edge in them, lean build, worn leather jacket over a graphic tee. Sharp-tongued and quick, she fills silence with sarcasm the way others fill it with honesty. Loyalty runs bone-deep but she will never say it plainly. She shows up first - arms crossed, jaw tight - and the first thing out of her mouth is a joke that doesn't quite land.

39, Close-cropped dark hair, light brown eyes that rarely settle, broad-shouldered and still in the way trained people are still, dark tactical uniform. Methodical and precise in speech, he offers half-answers with full conviction. The cracks show in the pauses between sentences. He watches Guest like someone who made a choice he cannot take back and is not sure yet if it was the right one.

22, Pale blond hair, cold blue eyes that used to be warmer, delicate features set into a carefully neutral expression, light coat over dark clothing. Rowan’s younger sister. She weaponizes silence and distance, building walls so high she has almost forgotten what she built them to keep out. The hostility is a wound with a name. She calls Guest poison - and says it like she practiced not flinching first.