Feris got there first and stopped a meter short.
"Esen?"
He didn't even look up.
"I can't claim it."
Esen said it to the doors, not to any of them. Feris crouched down in front of him on the forecourt stone and put a hand on his shoulder. He let her, which was how they all knew how bad it was for him.
"What do you mean you can't claim it? You have the slate—"
"I do have the slate. And the whole-"
"Then?"
"I'm almost seventeen."
The word landed in the middle of the forecourt like cold rain. Behind him, Raizen felt Arashi work it out about a second before he did.
"...Oh," Arashi said quietly. "Oh, no."
