“That might be our fault.” Sparrow conceded.

“Oh really!?” Theo winced as her sarcasm. “The diplomat who got captured, and their apprentice who went to rescue them?”

Maria held up a hand before they could protest, massaging her temples and face with the other. “Look, I understand that they took you hostage as retaliation for the spy incident and the, well, general rising tensions, and there’s nothing you could have done to make things better.” She conceded, and Sparrow crossed their arms, mouthing ‘thank you’.

“But you!” She whirled around to face Theo. He tensed up, trying not to show fear. “What were you thinking!? Going alone, and then causing such a ruckus leaving? If you’re going to infiltrate and free someone, do it like a proper spy and don’t get caught!”

All Theo’s protestations and justifications for why he did things the way he did got stuck in his throat, unable to leave his lips. Thankfully, Sparrow jumped to his defence.

“We both know that nobody else could have pulled off what he did, as fast as he did. I’m just happy I’m not stuck in some dungeon being tortured.” Maria was not impressed. At least, until Sparrow continued. “Plus, Theo here might have just revolutionised action magic.” Sparrow patted him on the back, and he stumbled forward slightly, distracted and still mostly frozen.

Maria looked at him with curiosity like a cat who’d spotted a rather interesting rat, and Sparrow gestured with their head for him to elaborate. Theo scratched his head, doing his best to not be intimidated by her dissecting stare. “Uh, I’ve learned to weaponise ranged backfires using other sources of sound?”

They had practiced on their way back, and ironically for something that relied on not properly controlling mana, the hardest part was control. As they were essentially cutting off the mana supply early and messing up the formation of magic, consistently outputting the same strength backfires was difficult.

What was equally difficult was stopping the backfires from snowballing into an endless chain. Without a clear focus, the mana would often latch onto the backfire itself, and the backfire would occur almost by itself again and again, leading to a series of rapid explosions that continued unprompted until you ran out of mana and fell unconscious.

Theo knew this painfully clearly, from all the times that Theo woke up in a bed with Sparrow by his side on their trip home.

In other words, it was inconsistent, unreliable, risky to use, and indiscriminate in its targeting.

Hence the practice.

To demonstrate, Sparrow whistled a dry twig over from the park and, holding it a safe distance from everyone, snapped it mid-air, and continued to snap it regularly.

That was another complication. Unless there was some obvious action or predictable noise, there was nothing for the backfire to latch onto. The more regular the pattern, the easier it was to start casting and get ready to backfire. Still, Theo was sure he could learn to be creative enough with enough time.

He sent out mana and by the fifth snap (and before it became a pile of incredibly small wooden shards) it exploded.

It was a bit larger than expected, and the wasted mana from inefficient and aborted casting almost formed a second backfire before he forcefully stopped himself. It felt like swallowing an apple whole, but he kept it down, and with a clenched fist the remaining mana slowly dispersed itself.

Maria nodded, approving. “I see how you desecrated a church.” Theo winced. “That looks promising, and I hope you develop it into something world-changing. However, that doesn’t change the fact that you two sparked a war. And while it admittedly was a long time coming, now we need to prepare for that.”

Theo nodded, but before he could ask how to help Maria shut him down. “Not you. You’ve done a lot of good, but you are still a student. You are not a graduate, you are not a teacher. Go rest, you need it.”

Theo disagreed. He’d done nothing BUT rest the past few weeks…backfire practice aside. And the performances. And the running.

But the point stood that he didn’t need to rest.

He looked to Sparrow, who shrugged as if to say ‘she’s got a point’.

“But I-“ Theo started to protest.

Maria held up a hand face drawn tight like she’d just swallowed a lemon. “No buts. You need to rest, no matter how your body feels.”

He thought to Jenny, working hard. “But, what about the War students running drills?” He protested.

“They didn’t just go on a solo rescue mission to a hostile country. Take. A. Break.” Those last three words were delivered with a somehow gentle tone.

Her eyes softened. “I know you want to help. I know you want to do more. But if we let someone who’s just finished their first year here to do all of our jobs, then we’ve failed as teachers. We’re not only here to teach you, we’re also here to protect you. And while we are teaching you how to survive in an often hostile world…that only goes so far.

“You are capable. But you’re still a kid.” Theo bristled. “And I mean that in the nicest way. But I don’t want you to think of yourself as a soldier, as a warrior just yet. How long has it been since you’ve done something just for fun? Not sparring, not magic, not making money or performing…just because?”

Theo paused, mouth open.

He shut his mouth. He had no answer, because he frankly couldn’t remember the last time.

Maria stared pointedly at Sparrow who, instead of arguing or making a joke like they normally would, simply looked away from her gaze like a scolded child. “Well then, we’re failed before we started.”

She turned her gave back on him, and he tried not to flinch. “This is how you kill yourself. You work until your body gives out on you, magic or no. You work until it is the only thing in your life until you might as well be dead.”

She gestured, and Sparrow obediently followed her as they walked away, leaving Theo in the reception of the College of Song.

She paused, and looked over her shoulder. “And make sure you have a session with a therapist booked in. You shouldn’t be feeling guilty for taking a break.”