u/Domi4

It's the first time I'm disassembling my bike so I have couple of questions.

Bike is 2026 Cube Nuroad Pro with Shimano Cues drivetrain. It drives great but it was time for some maintenance.

I wanted to clean cassette and chain so I removed chain and rear wheel.
However, after removing the wheel, the cassette seemed loose and I just got it off. It wasn't tightened by anything to the wheel. It does seem attached to the freehub which came off with the cassette (2nd picture).

Is cassette tightened to the wheel by the axle when the wheel is mounted?

Another question: One pawl on the free hub is oriented differently and doesn't seem flexible like the others. Is that normal?

Thanks for the help.