The first sign of a new light route came two nights later.
A southern pair on the adjusted secondary line reported a brief, carefully masked scent crossing the rocky ground west of the old dry creek cut. Not a full group. Two, maybe three. The trail was light and deliberately broken, but it was fresher than anything we had seen since the interception. Torren brought the report herself just after midnight.
Asher listened once, then looked at me. The decision passed between us without a long discussion. This was the opening we had been waiting for.
We left under full quiet protocol with a tighter group than before — Asher, Torren, Renn, one additional silent-mover, and me. The goal was no longer simple interception. If the scarred woman was testing a replacement route, we needed to track
