“So, where’s the school?” asked Alder, eliciting a shocked look from Alys that turned into an exasperated one quickly.

“If I knew, I wouldn’t need directions, would I?” she replied.

“Well, I’m sure we can manage to track it down somehow.” Alder rubbed the back of his head in thought, his eyes wandering around the area as he tried to think of the best direction to head off in.

Louie, who had been annoyedly watching, cleared his throat. “I can get us there.”

Alder and Alys looked at him and stared for a moment, surprised.

“Oh.” Alder managed. “Sorry, I guess I just didn’t think you’d be the type to hang around there.” he continued, and Alys moved her head in silent agreement.

Louie’s face contorted, scrunching up, and he brought his hand up, fingertips clenched together tightly. “For the record, I’m not.” he said through gritted teeth. “But I have lived here my whole life, and it’s not exactly a secret.”

Alder smiled, wide-eyed and bright. “That’s great!”

Louie sagged, the tight anger that had held him bunched together escaping him with a beleaguered sigh. “Has anyone ever told you you’re annoying?”

Alder just laughed off the remark, which didn’t improve Louie’s mood.

“Am I to believe you’re good friends?” asked Alys, who’d been confused by their exchange. They seemed casual with each other, which led her to believe there was friendship there, but the things they said almost proved otherwise.

“We will be!” said Alder cheerfully, and Louie slowly dragged his hand down his face before beginning to walk out of the square. Alder and Alys shared a look, unsure of whether he was leading them to the school or no longer willing to be seen with them at all, and quickly caught up.

“To the school, then?” asked Alys lightly.

“To the school, so we can get back to business.” Louie grunted.

“Oh I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?” Alys’s polite but distant demeanor kicked in, and she said it rather coldly.

“Yes.” growled Louie, though it was quickly shown up by a quick “No!” from Alder.

“We were just passing through the square back there,” Alder continued. Louie turned his head over his shoulder and levelled his sharp green eyes at Alder’s rounded brown ones. He’d found his hill to die on. He slowed to a stop, leaving Alder and Alys no choice but to follow suit, and turned fully around.

“She is interrupting something.” He started, pointing a slender finger at her. “We were passing through to get to my buddy’s place, so we could work and earn some money, remember?”

“Yes, I remember.” Alder said placatingly.

“Really? Because, as far as I can tell, you don’t! First it was the old lady who needed a hand with her bags, then it was the kid who was too scared to jump from that tree,” Louie began gesticulating wildly as he went on “I kept my mouth shut for those because hey, you’re doing me a favour, they’re quick, whatever. But this? This!?” he threw his arms at Alys, “We’re not going to have enough time, and it’s my life on the line, bud!”

Louie, done with his tirade, was left glaring at two startled faces. Alder took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh.

“I’m sorry, Louie, I am.” he starts.

“But?” Louie asks, knowing it’s coming.

“If they ask for help, we should help them. It’s the right thing to do.” Alder says, eyes and tone brimming with conviction.

“Well you need to get your priorities in order, because my issue is a lot more pressing.” Louie spoke with acid.

Alder took a breath to continue the argument, but Alys interrupted him before he could get anything out.

“If I might interject?”

The two boys turned to her, one with angry eyes and the other with a worried look.

“Please correct me if I get the facts wrong, but as far as I understand it, Louie has a pressing issue that he asked Alder for help with, which he agreed to do, but has continued to spend time helping others with seemingly less important tasks, much to Louie’s annoyance?”

Alder, a little embarrassed by how it painted him in a less-than-stellar light, nonetheless nodded, and Louie threw a hand up in a ‘close enough’ gesture.

“I apologize if I’m overstepping my bounds,” she began “But Alder is doing a good thing by helping people, biased though I may be.” Alder smiled in thanks and looked at Louie victoriously. “However,” Alys continued, to the slight surprise of the boys who both looked back to her. “Louie also has a point. Prior or more important tasks should be put ahead of any others.” Louie smirked at Alder, who had a ‘you win this round’ sort of expression.

“Thank you oh so much for your input,” Louie said, taking on a jokingly formal tone. “And now, we shall be leaving you, right Alder?” Alder crossed his arms, not happy but also not sure of how to proceed.

“I wasn’t quite finished,” said Alys, angered slightly by Louie’s quick dismissal of her after she had supported him. “If you do assist me, as thanks I will return the favour. You can make a lot more money with a wizard on your side than otherwise.” she preened.

The two boys, Louie especially, looked shocked that she’d be willing to help them, but she wasn’t quite sure why. It was the polite thing to do, not to mention it would allow her the chance to actually practise magic. Not just in the safe environment of the school under the watchful eye of archmages, but actual, real-world application of the theory she’d spent so long learning. Her excitement grew the more she thought about it, and her haughty smile turned giddy quickly.

Then, above her, a chittering she’d become familiar with reminded her of how she got out of the school in the first place. Both her heart and her stomach sank as Spillsoft the squirrel gracefully clambered down the side of a building and ran around her ankles, Alder and Louie watching the whole ordeal, confused.

“Is this a wizard thing?” asked Alder, who was technically right but not in the way he thought.

“It’s my teacher, Professor Marigold.” said Alys dejectedly.

“Oh! Uh, hello, Professor Marigold, it’s nice to meet you.” Alder said to the squirrel with a small but respectful bow as Louie kept a wary eye on the animal.

“Not the squirrel you idiots!” Alys said, frayed emotions snapping. “This is her companion Spillsoft.”

Alder at least had the decency to look embarrassed whereas Louie just played it off like he knew that the whole time. ‘Honestly, these two,’ Alys thought, exasperated.

Spillsoft chose that moment to stop incessantly running around her feet and move down the road in the direction they were heading. It stopped and stood on its hind legs, looking back at Alys when it noticed she wasn’t following.

“It seems I’ll have to leave you two,” said Alys, tight-lipped. Alder looked crestfallen and Louie sighed lightly in relief, but she no longer had the energy to get angry at him. She felt resigned, and the sea of it swallowed any other budding emotions. She began to walk after Spillsoft, who continued skittering along ahead of her once she began moving.

“We’ll see you again, right?” Alder said, reaching his hand out after her. Realizing what he said was kind of embarrassing, he quickly continued with: “So you can help us.”

Alys’s steps faltered and she looked back over her shoulder, Alder noticed the hopeful look in her eyes, almost begging them to find her again. She couldn’t muster the nerve to speak though, she didn’t want to assure them she would in case it never happened and leave them disappointed. Instead of saying anything, she averted her eyes, then looked at her feet, then turned away and kept walking. Alder’s hand slowly fell as she left.

The two watched her go. She didn’t look back.

“We need to keep moving.” Louie said after they’d lost sight of her, brushing past Alder and snapping him out of his stupor.

“But…” he began, before realizing he didn’t really know what to say next. He frowned, and his gaze turned inward.

“Come on, she was never going to help us anyway.” Louie said, a seething emotion dancing under his tongue.

“She said she would.”

Louie turned back and looked at Alder.

“A person’s word isn’t worth a single coin.” Louie’s eyes narrowed as he spoke, and it seemed to Alder as if he was quoting someone. “Let’s go.” he turned back around and kept stalking onward, leaving Alder no choice but to lightly jog to catch up.

Louie’s long, angry stride kept him ahead of the shorter boy, who seemed too concentrated on thinking to properly keep up. They walked like that for some time, passing through crowds and busy streets, through winding alleys inhabited only by the city’s numerous homeless, they even cut straight through a park.

“Mine is.” said Alder suddenly.

“What?” Louie bit out, not sure what he was talking about and angry at him for even breaking the silence.

“My word is worth something.” he said, staring unflinchingly into Louie’s burning eyes.

He was right, Louie realized. He’d gotten distracted at times, but Alder had told him he would help, and had followed through. It was strange, Louie hadn’t questioned his integrity at all the whole time. That was unlike him. He realized that, for the first time in a long while, he trusted someone, if only a little. He couldn’t bring himself to say that, though, so he went with a different approach.

“You’re naive and stupid.” he said, though without any real malice. Then he turned around and kept walking, a tiny smile tugging on Alder’s lips as he caught up to walk beside him.