Theo took a sip of his beer, trying to look like he was savouring it (instead of just tolerating the flavour). But still, it was familiar, it was The Pub.

“Why did you come with me here, anyway? I know you prefer the Guild.” Sparrow was sat next to him at the bar, swirling around a glass of wine (not to aerate it before drinking, but simply to have something with which to distract their hands).

Sparrow put down the glass, sighing as they looked at Theo. “I’ve got another diplomatic mission. So I thought I’d let you know before I disappear for a few weeks. Fred’s going to cover my Deception class, but I wanted to tell you in person.”

“It’s only been two weeks since you came back from another diplomatic mission. Are they always this frequent?” Theo was thrown, not only by the fact that Sparrow was leaving on another mission already, but he just realised that this meant it had also only been two weeks since class had started.

So much had already happened, and as much as Theo hoped things would calm down, he had a feeling that wouldn’t be something in the cards. “Are you going to talk to another dragon? Ooh, maybe a basilisk?” He wondered aloud, drawing a tired chuckle from Sparrow.

“I wish, that would be much easier.” They downed the contents of their glass, draining it in an instant (without spilling a single drop). Sparrow gently dabbed at the corner of their mouth with a napkin they procured from somewhere.

They sighed. “I’m heading to Etol. The tensions have been rising, and the current situation in The Woods isn’t helping. There’s also a few sensitive things that we are both aware of that might have gotten out. So they’re not happy about that either.” Theo wracked his brain for what those ‘sensitive things’ could be, as Sparrow raised two fingers and Alan slid another full glass of wine over.

The wine inside sloshed about, but nothing spilled, even as the glass wobbled slightly. Sparrow was almost halfway through it when Theo remembered that Libera was once the High Priest of Etol. “Is it because those documents from Liber-“

“Yep.” Sparrow cut him off. “And while we weren’t the most tight-lipped regarding the issue, for the information to have reached Etol already means that some people in Union City have a very convenient channel to the higher ups over at our neighbours.” Sparrow was talking in more cryptic terms than normal, but with the lessons in Deception, Theo could figure out what was going on.

There were spies in Union City feeding information to Etol.

“That’s not good.” Sparrow barked out a laugh.

“Not in the slightest.” They finished off the glass, shaking their hand at Alan to indicate they didn’t want another glass. “So that’s what I’ll be handling. Keep studying while I’m gone, and I’m sure that Chrys and Kevin and all the staff at the College of Song will be happy to help you. Even Esther, I guess.”

Sparrow hopped off the stool, placed some coins on the counter, and patted Theo on the shoulder before starting to leave The Pub. “Well, I’m off to Etol. See you in a few weeks, Theo.”

Theo put down his beer, scrambling out of his seat. “Wait, you’re leaving now?!” He wasn’t sure if he’d registered what Sparrow had said correctly, but the wave of their hand as they continued out the door, not looking back, was all the answer he needed (which was good, as Sparrow walked out without saying another word).

---

“So yeah, Sp-The Dancing Wind’s gone off and they’ll be back in a while, but I’m not sure exactly when.” Theo shrugged, tossing a grape up and trying to catch it in his mouth.

It bounced off the bridge of his nose, and he scrunched his face up as Finn guffawed, slapping his knee. They were eating lunch after the Offer audit, Theo and all the bard students who attended the audit. Jenny, Simo, and Bruce were also sitting there. Turns out they had also attended the morning audit at Bruce’s insistence, but they hadn’t realised last week (as it was before they met and bonded over Jenny’s reckless and self-destructive actions).

Theo found the grape in the grass, brushed it off, and popped it in his mouth (without throwing it). Finn whistled, using The Fisherman’s Song to send a single grape flying through the air, showing off as it twisted and turned, doing loop-de-loops. Eventually, its journey came to an end, and shot into Finn’s mouth.

It was Theo’s turn to laugh as Finn started to choke, the grape flying at too fast a speed to do anything but get lodged uncomfortably in his throat. He got over even as he laughed, landing behind Finn as he patted him on the back. The force of the pats increased as did their frequency, as Finn continued to choke, and Theo didn’t know what to do.

Bruce gently pushed Theo out of the way, pulling Finn up onto his feet, wrapping his arms tight around his midsection and pressing inwards, almost as if he was trying to life Finn up.

After a few pulses, the offending grape flew out of Finn’s mouth and into the grass.

As Finn breathlessly thanked Bruce and tried to recover, Theo had a feeling that that particular grape wasn’t going to be brushed off and eaten.

---

“Morning, Rowena.” Theo greeted her, as she approached Thelonious’ classroom Sayday morning. Somehow, it was just the two of them. Theo was trying to treat her normally, and not as a noble, which wasn’t helped by her current mood.

Rowena had a pensive look on her face, quietly nodding in response to Theo’s greeting and very visibly wrestling with some thoughts.

Theo sighed to himself. She might be a noble, but she was also his classmate, and his own discomfort wasn’t as important to him as much as making sure she was okay. “What’s wrong?” Her eyes flicked to him, before glancing away. She rubbed the side of her neck as her other arm held onto her elbow, shrinking in on herself (curling up in a way that was slightly reminiscent of prawns).

“thsbll.” She mumbled, rushing through words, not looking at Theo.

“Sorry, what did you say?” Even with Bat’s Ears, he couldn’t make out what she was trying to say.

She took a calming breath, letting her hands fall. “There’s a ball. Coming up.” She sounded defeated.

Theo froze. Balls were a fancy noble thing, weren’t they? Did he know enough to talk about them? “Oh. Nice.” Theo kicked himself.

Rowena sighed. “Not particularly. There is plenty of posturing and politics and networking. My father is hosting, and evidently wants me to help. But…” She bit her lip, looking down at the ground. “But everyone there will be a noble, most of whom will be wizards, all of whom look down on action magic.”

Theo was starting to see the problem. He had no solutions, but he wasn’t going to stand by at let Rowena suffer by herself. “Well, if there’s any way that I could help, let me know. I’m sure Finn and Drew would be the same – none of us want you to be having a bad time.”

“Unfortunately, attendance is limited to nobles, so I cannot invite you to be there.” Rowena paused, a spark of mischief in her eyes. “However, to assist my father, I will be organising the music and entertainment, and he is happy for me to handle security as well.” The ghost of a sly smile made its way onto her face.

A moment later, one slipped onto Theo’s as well.