Theo woke up with a pounding headache.

As he blinked away the sleep, he realised that he wasn’t in his shack, nor was he sleeping in his bed.

The next think to make itself known to him was a pain in his neck, as he realised he’d fallen asleep in a chair, and the back of the chair was what he had ended up using as a pillow. The back of a wooden chair was not the most pleasant thing to fall asleep on, even for one used to less than luxurious bedding like him.

Theo stretched, cycling Rest to see if that made him feel better. His headache remained pounding, and his muscles stayed sore. Dimly, he remembered what Drew had said about Rest and things like sore muscles.

He switched to Striding Wind, and his neck thanked him for it. His head didn’t, as the headache was not going away, unfortunately.

It wasn’t bright out, which made him wonder how long he had actually slept until he realised it was because he was indoors, and the gentle glow of the orange lights stayed as ambient as they had always been.

He had fallen asleep in the Guild of Magic.

There were no windows, which made some sense for a building in the base of a tree, but it wasn’t helping him get his bearings.

Looking around, he found the only one at the table was Sparrow. They were sleeping on the table, bent over and resting their head on their arms.

Chrys was at a completely separate table, wearing a skin-tight top and pants (which were presumably worn underneath her armour) as she examined her paper armour, carefully inspecting the runes to see if any needed any touching up.

Kevin and Esther were nowhere to be seen.

He looked over at the bar, and found Eva standing there as always, polishing a glass. He stood up, wincing at the scraping of the chair against the floor, and made his way over to the bar.

“Morning.” Eva was perfunctory, not looking in his direction.

“Morning. What time is it?” Theo whispered.

“Not too long after dawn. Would you like breakfast?” Eva gave him a knowing look. Breakfast sounded wonderful.

“That would be lovely.” Eva nodded, and after a moment of no response from him, put the glass down and held out her hand, making direct eye contact.

Theo’s eyes widened, as his cheeks turned red. He searched his pockets, but found almost nothing. Eva quirked an eyebrow (acting as if she had no idea where the money went, almost as if she wasn’t the one serving them round after round of drinks last night).

He thought for a moment, before glancing over to Sparrow’s bent over, still-sleeping form.

“…can you put it on Sparrow’s tab?” Eva cracked an almost predatory smile, and nodded.

“Right then, the best breakfast we’ve got on offer.” She disappeared before Theo could protest, and he just hoped that it wasn’t an absolutely exorbitant amount that he just made Sparrow owe.

Waiting around with nothing to do for a moment, Theo properly took in the Guild. If his blurry memories were any indication, the place was far cleaner than it should have been. Askavel was no longer lounging around, and Theo couldn’t see him anywhere.

There was a group of warriors armed to the teeth, a mix of leather and metal armour, sitting and discussing around a table as they gestured to a piece of parchment with daggers and gauntleted fingers.

Eva had come back from wherever she had disappeared to, but ignored his presence, so Theo shrugged, and went to greet Chrys while he waited for breakfast.

“Morning.” She just grunted in response, holding up a piece of glass up to a panel, squinting with brow furrowed as she concentrated on if the runes were looking alright. The piece of glass disappeared somewhere, and the runes on the piece of paper lit up, before fading again.

Chrys nodded, satisfied, as she turned to Theo. “Sorry, was finishing that off.” She apologised, before looking him up and down. She raised an eyebrow. “First time drinking like that?”

Theo ignored her question as he tried to not react (and only very slightly turned red). “Where’s Esther and Kevin?”

While her face betrayed no reaction, her shaking shoulders told a different story. Still, if she was going to pretend like she wasn’t laughing, Theo was happy to do the same. “Kevin left to prepare for his audited class, and Esther went out on a mission.”

It hadn’t sunk in previously that these were actually all teachers at the Colleges. It was something Theo had known on a conceptual level, but he was still thrown off a little by knowing that one of the classes he was going to audit today would be taught by someone he had talked to (and lived through a near-death experience with).

A massive platter of sausages and toasted bread, with butter and cream cheese and pickles and a handful of grapes and strawberries was placed in front of Theo. He turned to thank Eva, and paused as Sparrow looked down at him, a knowing smile on his face, amusement twinkling in his eyes (and no anger, which hopefully meant he didn’t care how much Theo had spent).

“Seeing as you used my tab, I’m eating half of this.” Theo had no complaints (especially considering it was big enough that he wasn’t even sure if he could finish more than half in the first place).

Chrys eyed their plate, then shook her head, thinking better of it. “I’ll be off. Thanks for the adventure, Sparrow.”

Sparrow waved them off, mumbling a muffled “See you round!” through a mouthful of carbs.

Theo shrugged, and joined in. After the first bite, he understood why Sparrow had been so…enthusiastic about the food.

---

Theo sat back in his chair, trying not to belch. To his surprise, he’d managed to finish of half of the food there, and while he was definitely pretty full, it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. Sparrow looked pretty satisfied, humming to themselves with their eyes closed, leaning back and almost napping in their chair.

Theo wasn’t sure if it was the hangover or just the quality, but it was probably one of the best things he’d ever eaten. Rich sausages, crisp bread, and bright fruit to cut through it. His headache was also better, so that was good.

“Hey, Sparrow?” Theo asked, as Sparrow slowly turned to face him, eyes still closed.

“Mmm?”

“Should I take it on? The responsibility I mean.”

For a moment, there was no sound but the squeak of Eva polishing a glass. Sparrow lazily opened their eyes. “Take on the legacy of the founders and make Union City a better place?”

The silence returned, as Sparrow mulled over the question. Their eyes focused into the present moment, as they did mental calculations.

“How do you feel about it?” And now it was time for Theo to mull things over.

After a whole minute of silence, he opened his mouth.

“It’s…terrifying. I don’t know what I want to do, but I’m not sure it’s this. And as incredible as this is, and as much as I would like Union City to be better, I’m not sure I’m the right person for this. I’m not ready. I…” He trailed off, searching for more words that never came.

“It is a lot, but I think you can do it. And maybe this is what you’re supposed to be doing.” Sparrow sat upright in their chair, as the group of warriors headed out the door.

“And you’ll never really feel ready, trust me. Sometimes you just have to run and just see where you end up, instead of overthinking it and never taking a step.” Sparrow got out of their chair, nodding towards Eva. They patted (slapped) Theo on the shoulder.

“Now, you’ve got some audits to go to.”

Theo nodded, as Sparrow staggered out of the Guild, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

“You should do it.” Well, almost alone. Eva was still there polishing a glass, and apparently eavesdropping on their conversation.

Theo paused for a moment, before shrugging and moving over to the bar. “What makes you say that?”

“The letters Sparrow read out last night. You’ve got the potential to change the world, apparently. You’re not going to do that sitting here worrying. Take it from someone much older than you, the only things you end up regretting are the things you don’t do.” Eva peered into the glass, before putting it aside and sizing up Theo.

His brow creased slightly. “You don’t look that old.”

Eva silently laughed to herself, and her skin flickered. For a moment, the colour shifted towards that of wood.

It was the same as all the trees outside in The Woods.

“Go to your audits.” There was mirth in her voice as she shooed him out.