Theo was tired. Even though his muscles were never tired these days, and his mana levels never really dropped, he was mentally exhausted. He left the courtyard of the College of War after bidding farewell to Sparrow, and started his plodding journey to the new errand he was assigned.

Still, he could put one foot in front of the other, so that’s what he did. He walked at a normal speed, still mindful that he was no longer allowed to zip around the city as he pleased. As such, he looked around as he focused on infusing the second step of Self Awareness.

The college courtyards were packed with people, as he left behind the College of War, and detoured past the College of Song (mostly just to hear whatever was being performed at that point in the ever-present circle). He lingered for a few minutes, enjoying how crisp everything sounded with the strength added by Bat’s Ears, as someone soft-spoken stood in the centre and just talked. It was a meandering monologue, dipping into poetry and philosophy, and while it had no instruments or singing, it was still musical in how it sounded. Theo watched as the sky seemed to grow darker the longer he focused on the speaker, and soon they faded into the background as twinkling stars seemed to shimmer in his mind.

He was entranced. The speaker finally stopped speaking and the air cleared, wind washing away the wisps of darkness. Getting up, Theo quickly (but still at a reasonable speed that someone who had no mana could achieve) rushed away from the courtyard, before the next performer started and he became spellbound once more (although in this situation there was an actual likelihood that the spellbinding was literal).

As he walked alongside the edge of the central park, he saw couples lying in each other’s embrace in little nooks under fruit trees, people running around the whole of the park, and some (but not many) with instructors like he had been with Sparrow. The breeze carried with it the scent of wildflowers and ripe berries, and it was a lovely gift that Theo received with care.

If he was being honest with himself, Theo would have to admit that there were times when he was glad it was forbidden to run at top speed around the city. Being given the chance to appreciate the things around him and be in the present moment were certainly much more pleasant than rushing through a blur and trying desperately not to hit anything. It gave him time to think, and certainly made it much easier to infuse internal magic.

Theo left the college district, and made his way through the House District. Even though all the mansions here were large and expensive and impressive (one way or another), it felt a bit flat. Austere statues with no life in or around them, and barely any plants (except for incredibly manicured ones).

It started to remind Theo of this painting of a horse he had seen in the shop to the right of the cobber’s in the Commerce District. It looked beautiful, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t a horse (even if it cost a similar amount), and it wasn’t free or independent or alive. It was just a painting. Likewise, these mansions were houses, but they weren’t homes.

He power-walked carefully, trying to get away from the buildings that looked more and more like paintings. At least it was pleasant to look at, Theo mused.

He made it to the inner ring gate, nodded to the guards, then walked through and into the Commerce District.

It was a big loop surrounding the entirety of the inner ring, and given he had only a vague idea where exactly Frank’s Meats was located, Theo started walking in the direction of food, and lightly compressed some mana that he moved into his nose as he let go of infusing Self Awareness. The third step of Dog’s Nose activated, and suddenly the crowded cacophony of the Commerce District became overwhelming.

A lady wearing a strong perfume had walked through the area a minute ago. A horse had defecated in the mud a while ago and it was being tracked all over the area, stuck to a little girl’s dirty shoes. There was fruit that had been cut open, and the smell of a cucumber weeping sap as a bored stall-minder slowly chews a bite like cud, feeling no urgency to finish his bite or his snack. The stale, nose-turning sour pungency of sweaty bodies packed together in a small space lingering in rooms without ventilation and crowds. And finally, a growing concentration of spilled blood running onto the ground, dirt drinking greedily as iron tinted the world.

Theo headed towards the blood, and felt it grow stronger and stronger in his senses until it was the overpowering backdrop (and he had the overwhelming urge to empty his stomach). He walked past the fruit stalls and carefully sidled past all the people milling about, until he saw the dirt itself turn rust red. He turned off Dog’s Nose, and felt some unconscious tension leave his body (but only some, as he still had to try and block out the intensity of the blood and meat around him) as he started to wander the shops.

It didn’t take him long to find Frank’s Meats, mostly from the amount of blood soaked through the dirt around it. Entire nations of flies flew around in clumps and spirals, travelling between blood seas and shit mountains. It didn’t have a sign, but Sparrow’s description of it being “the last place you’d want to buy anything you intend to eat” was startlingly accurate and helpful with the navigation.

Theo walked through the open door, into a dark, frigid room. The floor was sticky, with a layer of coagulated blood lying underneath enough pooled blood that his feet splashed as he walked, and every step took a little effort as the floor threatened to come with his feet, stuck to his shoes as they soaked through the thin material. He wished that he could continue his normal strategy in distasteful areas of walking around anything too concerning, but unfortunately the state of the floor (and really, the state of the entire store) was consistent enough that nowhere was safe.

It was hard to make out the majority of the store, so Theo activated Owl’s Eyes to see what was in front of him better.

It was better than he had expected. Sure, it was pretty much a normal butcher’s shop, but Theo would take that over the almost-clingy floor and army of flies. He also absentmindedly noticed that the flies stopped at the entrance, almost like there was a barrier there. If there was mana or runes, Theo didn’t notice.

A loud thud echoed, as Theo whipped around to see a large leg the size of his entire body slammed onto a stone counter. It crumbled slightly from the force, as the man who had placed it there raised a massive cleaver and brought it down onto the meat. Bone was cut through, and there was a slight scrape of metal on stone as it touched the counter.

The man holding the cleaver was a sign to behold. With just about as many scars as Sean and enough muscles to qualify as a bull, it was an intimidating sight to see him aggressively and consistently (almost rhythmically) dismember the leg.

“Fuck are you looking at?” Without looking up from his work (or skipping a beat), the man shouted at Theo. He jumped, startled as his muscles all contracted and he leaped almost to the height of the counter (which was one of the unintended consequences of internal magic training on your body – comically absurd responses and reactions).

When he landed again (with the squelch and give of a floor made of custard, feeling it seep around his feet all the way up to his ankles), Theo tried to prepare a response that died on his lips.

This had to be one of Sparrow’s challenge errands.

“I-uh, I’m here to pick up an order.” Theo tried to keep the tremor out of his voice, and failed. He had never met someone so aggressive before, even at The Pub (which, frankly, did deserve its reputation as the premier bar brawl destination). Then again, that could just be because that was where everyone went after work was done.

The man paused in his cleaving, taking a moment to move all the pieces he’d just cut to one side. “Who?” He asked. Theo was frankly impressed at how much anger they wielded with each word, but unfortunately admiration did not assist in addressing his hesitation or apprehension in this moment. He resumed his rhythmic pounding of the meat.

“The Dancing Wind.” Theo said, as there was a loud crunch. The butcher paused for a second, as his cleaver was now stuck in the stone, and it took a second to remove. Once it was free, he pointed it directly at Theo, who started to inch backwards.

“Fuck off.” Instinctually, Theo knew that was a command to get out of the store, and given his already-established backwards momentum, he raised a hand and nodded in polite acknowledgement/apology and started to head towards the exit.

“And tell that bastard to PICK IT UP THEMSELVES!” Theo winced and tensed, shrinking into himself as he desperately tried to get away from the patron saint of every irate and slighted drunk he had witnessed in The Pub. He managed to get out without another word yelled from behind him, even as each moment stretched out far too long for his comfort. His concentration faltered, however, and he earned himself a headache as Owl’s Eyes shorted out and the remaining compressed mana dispersed.

He stumbled out of the store, still slightly shell-shocked. His heart pounded in his ears, hands and feet numb, and it took him a moment to realise that he was taking rapid, shallow breaths. He was cold and shivering, his feet were coated with and stuck together by blood, and after the time in that shop with Owl’s Eyes active, the sunlight was blinding.

Massaging his temples, Theo tried to hum and generate some water so he could wash the multiple transitional states of blood off his feet and shoes. A slight mist formed around them, but it didn’t do anything for the cleanliness (or the smell).

Taking a deep breath, Theo tried to relax and undo some of the tension he had found in that store.

It didn’t work.