We pull back for a breath and land with A’isha and ‘Zug-- two constables, two friends, two very different reactions to Ran being back in the hospital.
This page is about tone. Dry. Blunt. Worn down. There’s no panic here, but there’s no sugarcoating either. Ran’s hurt, again, and nobody’s surprised.
A’isha’s frustrated, maybe even a little guilty. ‘Zug, as always, plays the pragmatist. The guy doesn’t say much, but what he says cuts through. She doesn’t do anything the easy way. It’s not admiration. It’s resignation.
If there’s a theme here, it’s this: people don’t change just because they got hurt. Ran doesn’t. And her allies know it.
We’ve seen the blood. This is the bruise. Emotional, lingering, and all too familiar.
Next page, the temperature in the hospital shifts again-- quietly, and with someone even the cops don’t argue with.
