Jacob and Sheriff Hueller left the training room and entered the Mess. The Mess was a large, industrial kitchen with a handful of cafeteria tables. Windows on one wall overlooked a side street and a small green area. Jacob saw that it was already afternoon. Christ, how long had they been training for? No wonder he was wiped.

The four deputies were already in the room. Xavier was by the coffee machine, humming to himself. Millicent, Ola, and Jimmy were digging into plates heaped with Thai food. Plastic take out containers littered the tables and counters. The smell of noodles and spicy chicken filled the room. Jacob salivated.

"Thai food again?" Sheriff Hueller asked.

Jimmy looked up and shrugged. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." He said around a mouthful of noodles. "Oh, hey! How was training?"

Jacob realized they were all looking at him, waiting for him to answer. "Tiring." He said.

For some reason the deputies all found this funny. They laughed and nudged each other.

"Want some coffee?" Xavier asked. "Coffee gives me energy."

Jacob had never had coffee before but he'd heard of its near mythical powers. He remembered turning down the joint Jimmy had offered him. "Sure, why not?"

"That's what I'm talking about." Xavier started prepping another cup.

"Keep it tame, Xavier." Sheriff Hueller said.

"I know, I know."

Sheriff Hueller grabbed a plate from one of the cupboards and started moving down the buffet line of half-empty take out containers. "Help yourself."

Jacob didn't need to be asked twice. He'd only had Thai food a couple times over at Thiago's house, but right now he'd eat sludge if it would fill him up. He heaped food on his plate and turned to find a place to sit.

Jimmy beckoned him over to sit with him and Ola and Millicent. Xavier and Sheriff Hueller had sat at the next table over. Jacob reluctantly went and sat next to the three deputies.

"So, how has your first day in the life of a Ranger been?" Jimmy asked.

"Hard." Jacob said.

Jimmy laughed. "It's not easy. I've heard people compare it to being a professional athlete, because you have to stay in shape and train constantly on top of doing the actual work."

"Yeah, if only we got paid so much." Ola said.

They laughed.

"How's the food?" Millicent asked.

"Good." Jacob said between mouthfuls. Never talk with your mouth full. He eyed Ola and Millicent, and Xavier and Hueller at the other table, where they were talking about a new heavy metal album. Were these the same people who had fought the Reaper last night? They had all seemed so intense. Millicent had been scarily severe, but she was probably younger than Jimmy, and was giggling and joking with the rest of them. Jimmy had been the only one that had seemed like a normal human being at the time.

"Do you always order Thai food?"

"I wish." Ola grumbled.

"No." Millicent shook her head. "Most of the time we cook our own meals. The kitchen here is well stocked, though it can get messy sometimes after certain individuals use it, ahem."

"Hey!" Jimmy said. "I've been better lately."

Millicent made a noise in her throat. "Of course." She turned her piercing blue eyes back on Jacob. "During an emergency situation like this, though, we don't have time to, so we order in."

Jacob frowned. "This happens a lot?"

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"Goodness, no, but... uh, how much does he know about the dynamics of the two-world system?"

Jimmy took over. "Yeah, so, there will be natural upticks in crossover events. They're part of the fluctuation in equilibrium between the two worlds. It's never been this crazy, but we'll occasionally have a stretch of weeks where it's higher than average."

"But then the system balances itself?" Jacob asked.

"Always. There's low times too."

"Does it ever stop?"

Jimmy looked at Millicent and shrugged.

"Not really." She said. "It can get slow sometimes. That's usually when a few of us will take vacation."

"Which will be soon, if we are blessed." Ola said. "After this it should be quiet for a while. I will be going to Cuba where there is real sun and warm sand, and maybe never coming back."

They laughed.

"Yeah, I'll probably go stay at home for a bit, maybe go to Seattle, see some old buddies of mine. Haven't been there since I graduated." Jimmy said.

"Off to Bali for me. Somebody's gotta hold down the fort, though." Millicent said.

"Are you volunteering?"

"Noooooooo. This is a nice Sanctuary to live in, being downtown and all, but even it's getting cramped."

"Wait, you all live here?" Jacob asked.

The three of them looked at him. "Yes." They said in unison.

"That's what the barracks are for." Jimmy said.

"Oh, I thought this was like work and stuff." Jacob said.

"Well, it is work. This is our full time job. We live here when we're on duty." Jimmy said. "Eat, sleep, train, work, all here in the Sanctuary."

"Makes work life balance very simple." Ola chuckled.

"Or very complicated." Millicent said.

They all nodded as if she'd said something sage, but Jacob didn't really get it. He guessed he'd been looking at it as if they were superheroes coming together to fight magical creatures in their magical alter egos, then going about their lives and work in the time between.

"So you get paid by the Order?" Jacob asked.

"Yes!" Jimmy said.

"Can't do it for free." Ola said.

They all laughed again for some reason.

"I keep forgetting you're just a kid." Millicent smiled at him. "And that you're new to magic. I'm used to having Camilla around here."

Speaking of which, where was Camilla? Still in the shower? Jacob supposed girls did take long showers.

"He might be new to magic, but he's pretty good at it." Jimmy said.

Jacob blushed.

"What was Hueller showing you?"

"Uh, we were working on the resilience spell and sensing magic."

"Makes sense."

"He should learn to cast Production and Decomposition before he gets too reliant on Consumption." Ola said.

"You think?" Jimmy asked.

Ola nodded. "Yes, yes. Some of the students in my year at the Academy were too reliant on one type. Becomes a very hard habit to break. I could teach him some after dinner. Would you like that?" She asked Jacob.

Jacob nodded.

"Hueller, could I teach Jacob some Production and Decomposition?" Ola asked.

Sheriff Hueller paused, fork halfway to his mouth, then nodded. "Minimize your own expenditure, though."

"Yes, yes." Ola stood up. "We will let the food digest. Come find me in my office in a half hour."

Millicent also got up and the two of them brought their plates over to the kitchen counter, washed them, and left, leaving just Jacob and Jimmy at the table.

"So, did you go to the Academy with them?" Jacob asked.

Jimmy shook his head. "Millicent was there while I was, but she was in the year behind. Ola is a bit older. Xavier and Hueller are in their 30s."

"Oh."

"Think of it like going to university for something and then working in that field at a company. You might know some people, but it's not just people your age, it's like everyone who is working age. We've got a young group here. Hueller is young for a Sheriff. You could have a Sanctuary with people Millicent's age all the way up to fifty or sixty."

Jacob nodded.

"Wait, I just realized you haven't been to university or worked yet. Talk about a useless explanation."

"I think I understand." Jacob said.

Jimmy grinned. "It's a good group here. Everyone's got their little differences, of course, but any workplace will have that. It can get bad in some Sanctuaries because you're living and working so closely with other people. Millicent started out at the Sanctuary in Toronto but got transferred here after a year because she hated the culture there. I do have a bunch of friends from the Academy, if that's what you were asking. Haven't seen them in a while, though. Two are working in Seattle now, so I might go see them once this all cools off. I've thought about trying to get a transfer there, but I like everyone here and its home, so." He shrugged. "Probably be here for the foreseeable future."

Camilla burst through the kitchen door in a swirl of soapy scent.

"There better be food left." She growled.

Sheriff Hueller laughed.

Camilla stormed over to the line of takeout containers and sagged. "Ugh, thank God. Ooh, Thai food. Nice."

She heaped some on her plate and came and sat down at the table with Jacob and Jimmy. "Whatcha talking about?" She said between mouthfuls.

"Sanctuary postings and stuff." Jimmy said.

"Boring."

"Wait 'til you're a Ranger." Jimmy said.

"Maybe I won't be a Ranger." Camilla said. "Maybe I'll run away and join the Sons of Dynas."

"Camilla D'Angelo do not even joke about that." Sheriff Hueller said.

"Maybe I'm not joking. Maybe if my father doesn't let me go to the Academy this summer I actually will."

"Your father will come around." Sheriff Hueller said.

"Too bad he isn't around to help with this, eh?" Jimmy said. He pushed himself to his feet. "Well, you should go find Ola. Best not to keep her waiting."