The warehouse held heat like a clenched jaw.
Not the kind that drifted or softened. It sat heavy in the metal walls and soaked into the concrete, rising in slow waves that blurred the rafters overhead. The air shimmered faintly, thick enough to make distance feel warped. Most beasts would've been sweating through their clothes in minutes.
No one here was.
Scaled shoulders caught the low amber light, dull and steady. Tails shifted lazily across the ground. A few leaned against stacked crates, others perched on broken pallets dragged into a rough circle. No one was relaxed, but no one was tense either. It was the kind of room where things were decided long before voices were raised.
"…you let it go too long."
The voice cut in mid thought, already irritated. The general who spoke didn't move much, just tapped a claw once against his arm like he was counting something that had already passed.
"We didn't let anything," another replied, unimpressed. "It wasn't ours to take."
