Kael quickly found himself in an antique-looking office. Sean, the man that had been serving them when he and martin had visited first, had been tending the bar. He had brought Kael here when Kael voiced his interest in meeting the illustrious owner again. The office had been empty when they arrived, but Sean had reassured him that Barbara would be with him shortly. Too apprehensive to sit still, Kael's eyes scanned the room in an attempt to soothe his nerves.

Aging pictures of events and people, smiling as they waved towards the camera or standing solitary in front of ruins that Kael doubted to be located anywhere close, decorated the walls. On shelves to his left and right, he saw books so old they were at risk of falling apart. The desk sitting in the middle of the room was a beautiful dark red and brown example of high-quality artisanship. Simple decorations, carved into the wood, elevated the desk from simple to intricate without drawing the eye too much, making it seem gaudy.

The black, bulky typewriter sitting on one side of the desk and the small, delicate golden lamp reinforced the item's dual purpose as a piece of furniture and artistic statement. The more Kael looked, the more details and exotic objects he found. Entering the office, Kael felt as if he had wandered into a museum exhibit rather than the workspace of a restaurant owner. The room was filled with so much history that every item told a story.

He had been sitting in this office for a few minutes now and anticipated that he could spend a lot more time just looking around. The distraction had helped him remain calm enough to not run at the first sign of... well, anything really. Had his decision to come here been the correct one? Who knows, but at least it had been HIS decision. Not forced by circumstance or dragged by his friend. Suddenly, he heard the door behind him open. Jumping up, nervously rubbing his hands on his clothes, Kael waited. Footsteps followed, and a few excruciating moments later, he stood face to face with Barbara again.

With a warm smile on her face, she looked at him. "So, we meet again, young Kael. What can I do for you today?" She said, stretching her hand out for him to shake. Reciprocating the gesture and hoping his hands would only be clammy, Kael did as he had planned: going all-in.

"Hello, Miss McMillan. I, uhh, thought about your offer a lot and, provided it still stands, I would like to take you up on it." He hated how stiff and scared he sounded, but the sentence Kael had practiced since he had boarded the first bus let him respond without stuttering, too much at least. With the handshake out of the way, and his statement made, Kael was out of objectives, floundering. He could only wait for what was to come next. After what felt like minutes, Kael saw Barbara motion towards his chair, inviting him to take a seat. While he sat down, Barbara seemed to contemplate what he had said as she sat down herself. The silence that descended upon the room as the older woman thought felt like ten job interviews crammed into one.

After what seemed like forever, she had come to a decision. "Alright. There are many formalities we have to finish, but let us begin with the metaphorical elephant in the room: Your story." Terror returned more intense than ever. It called into question all of the events that had led him to be here. Had he been played like a puppet? Would they keep him to experiment on when they learned about his past? Kick him out because of what he had done to survive?

Suddenly he looked up, and his eyes locked with Barbaras. Those eyes only reflected the concern she showed on her face. Did he have no more trust in him after all? Suppressing a sigh, he looked at the calm face of the person he would trust with his life. "Haa. Well. It all started on a stormy night about a month back..."

Telling his story from start to finish reminded him of how little he knew about what he was doing the entire time. His encounter with Jacobi Myerscough was first on the list. He had gone with the flow and accepted whatever the man had done to him in the last minutes of his life without question. Granted, he was not sure there had been an alternative, but he should have asked more questions at least. By the time he talked about his previously maimed leg, the look of pity in Barbara's eyes hurt more than his leg ever had, and he rushed through that part.

His sister was next. He gave Barbara a rough rundown of his life, starting from the point of their parent's disappearance to his living on the streets. He had taken to looking at Barbara's desk when the pity and compassion would not leave her eyes. The altercation with Jason and his subsequent acceptance of magic followed. Here too, he had just accepted what was happening without asking why.

He mentioned the friendship between him and Martin that had formed after surviving the night together. In passing, he explained his excursion to the "Dream-Street" and his improved senses before finishing his story with his on improving his mana pool. The last part took him a while to explain since Barbara had many questions for him. There was a lot of feeling and imagining involved that was hard to describe with words.

By the time he had finished his tale, his throat felt parched. Silently, Barbara stood and walked to one of the wooden cabinets lining the wall. Opening it, she reached in and took out two crystalline glasses and a flacon filled with a clear liquid. Returning to the desk, Barbara set them down and poured about a finger in each glass. Next, she pushed one of them to him while taking the other for herself.

Leaning back, she lifted her glass to him with a smile. "Just a little something to calm the nerves and wet the throat." Kael followed her example and raised his glass before they both took a sip. He had expected the burn of alcohol, what with the fancy bottle and crystal glass and all, but what he got was something different. The burn was there but muted by the taste of spring. He did not know how else to describe what he had just tasted. It was fresh and tasted of fresh-cut grass and flowers. Taking another sip, he closed his eyes for a second and let the sensations flow through him.

"You like the liquor then I take it?" Kael only nodded, still savoring the aftertaste. "No wonder. If what you have told me about your specialization is correct there will be a lot of that in the future. There is a lot to unpack in what you have told me today. But I think the first order of business is to get you off the street. We have rooms here for staff, and if you are willing, you can take one of them as I promised before. You would have to help out with the inn, however, should you want to stay here long term. Secondly, continue improving your mana quantity and control every day, taking care not to overdo it, of course. For the rest, I will need some time to think and research. I don't know a mage called Jacobi Myerscough, and while I have suspicions for what he did, I will need to confirm them first."

She only stopped to check if he was still listening before continuing. "So. Next, you should get your belongings and return here soon. Once you are back, I will introduce you to the staff that is present at the moment. We can talk about the rest tomorrow." Kael understood her intellectually but had no idea how to react. He felt like he was in a daze as his brain tried to comprehend everything she had just told him. All the while, she guides him down to the dining room. There, she talks with Sean for a moment. The man enters the staff area and returns a little later, carrying two huge backpacks. He is handed both, and after denying their offer of support for the trip, he leaves the restaurant.

A little later, he found himself standing on the subway platform, waiting for his train to arrive. He had entered with but a story and a questionable talent for magic. Now he was leaving with a place to stay, a job, and, possibly, a teacher and place in school.

Was his life finally turning around?