Another thankfully dreamless night went by, and Jon woke up in bed the next day. He was somewhat surprised with the warm feeling he woke up with as if it had been with him the entire night.

There was also another part of his body that felt cold and drained of energy. He decided to just focus on the warm parts and pushed himself out of bed.

Am I late? Jon rummaged through his bag, taking out and switching into a nebulous combination of overalls and shirts before zipping his bag up again.

Am I staying somewhere else? …Yeah…

Jon picked up the bag over his shoulder and opened the door.

When he stepped out into the hallway, he saw that the front door was wide open, and both Hector and Mallory were taking turns walking in and out of the house.

“Oh, hi Jon!” Mallory said and waved gleefully as he stepped through the hallway and turned into his room.

Hector came right after.

“Oh, hi, Jon,” Hector said in a less gleeful tone, though this was expected.

“Do you want to leave any of that stuff here?” Hector asked, pointing to the large bag.

Jon shook his head. He barely had anything with him, and he assumed they would be staying a couple of days elsewhere.

“You might want to be a packed up for a few… oh, you probably already know that.” Hector scratched the back of his head. “I guess you really did get adjusted to this stuff already. Well, anyways, you can set up outside.”

Jon nodded and walked out to the front of the house. The horses were already set up with the wagon. Jon pushed his one bag onto the back of the wagon and climbed in the front, directly in the middle.

He waited patiently, slouching in his seat until he was met with a loud greeting.

“Morning, Jon.” Macy stretched out the syllables in her words as she stepped out of the house. She was still wearing the same clothes as the day before.

Jon waved.

“When you come back, are you gonna be staying with us?” Macy asked.

Jon shrugged, then he nodded.

“Great. Hector usually spends all his time away anyways, and he rarely comes home. Mostly because he avoids it… but it would be nice to see you again. And for you not to be a stranger. It'll be nice to have someone around who actually wants to be here.”

Jon nodded affirmatively.

She dawdled in place for a bit, before turning and walking back into the house.

“See ya.” As she stepped in the door, Charlotte stepped to the side before making her way out herself.

“Jon…” she said. “I…”

Jon waited for her to speak.

She suddenly climbed into the front of the wagon sitting next to him.

Jon was a little bewildered, but he made space for her anyways so that she could sit down.

“Hey, Jon. I just wanted to… I mean…” She looked down. “If I may have suggested anything last night… I…”

“Come on, out of the wagon!” Hector called. “That’s not for fun! We need it for work!”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Charlotte quickly kissed Jon on the cheek before making her way out clumsily.

“Golly, Hector, you don’t have to act like I’m a kid!”

“If you didn’t act like one, it wouldn’t be a problem!”

Charlotte went up to her brother and wrapped her arms around his back, holding him close.

“Hector, take care. Really.”

They stayed still for a few moments.

Jon heard what he was sure was a muffled “sure,” before Charlotte let go. Hector threw whatever he had left into the wagon.

Mallory followed and tossed the last of his things up there as well. Jon was surprised that Mallory didn’t seem to have many things. He had three medium-sized bags at most.

Mallory then went to Charlotte and they gave each other a warm hug.

“Be well, Mallory,” Charlotte said.

“You too, big sister,” Mallory replied.

They pulled apart until they were holding hands, and then let go as Mallory went to his seat beside Jon.

Jon was starting to understand that Mallory was a lot more comfortable with warm greetings than Hector was. Jon had just assumed they were both awkward all of the time. Thinking back to the times when Mallory took Jon around the castle and talked with all of those people made Jon feel kind of dumb. Mallory was incredibly adjusted to speaking with people. Perhaps the most adjusted of all them.

Mallory was looking at a book in his lap when he noticed Jon staring.

“Huh?”

“Wha-?” Jon didn’t realize this was the case, and he felt embarrassed.

“I… I was wondering…”

“Yeah?” Mallory closed his book, saving his page with his finger but otherwise sitting up and waiting for Jon to speak.

Jon was still trying to form the words when he felt Hector’s warm body crash into the seat next to him and smother him.

Jon adjusted to Hector’s entrance as Hector complained.

“It’s gettin’ a little tight in here…” He turned over back to his house, where Charlotte and Macy were watching. Charlotte was still outside. Macy kept her space, standing with the frame of the door, but present otherwise.

“Bye, losers!” Macy waved her hand casually, but despite her mean words, she had a kind smile. “Bye, darling.”

“Bye, Macy,” Mallory said with a low undertone.

“See you when we get back.” Hector whipped the reins, and the wagon set off.

Jon watched the two women as they pulled away. The way they stood apart, told Jon that they still probably weren’t on speaking terms. However, they still made the effort to stand together in a sense. A sort of goodbye.

Another home to come back to… Jon knew that this thought had a lot of weight to it, but he tried not to process it too much. He decided to just let things go.

“So…” By the tone and direction of Mallory’s voice, Jon could tell the question was meant for him. “What do you think of the place?”

“Fine,” Jon answered. “Good.”

“There’s nothing good about that oversized piece of crap,” Hector muttered. “All it’s good for is a place to train, and that’s it.”

Jon and Mallory looked at each other, not sure what to make of that comment.

“Places to go, places to be...” Mallory settled into his seat.

Places to go, places to be… Jon liked that phrase. He settled in his seat as much as he could as well.

The carriage ride settled into its quiet phase. Jon had begun to dally while absorbing the new pastures around him for a second time. He eventually noticed Mallory muttering to himself while folding his hands into different shapes.

Jon was deciding whether to ask about it when Hector began talking.

“Is Macy okay?” Hector asked suddenly.

“Yeah, man, she cool. I mean, she’s a little… you know… sad… but it’s fine.”

Hector didn't’ say anything back, but it was clear that he had heard the answer.

“You know, you can just talk to her,” Mallory said. “It’ll be easier.”

“What am I supposed to say without you around?” Hector asked.

“Just say you miss me.” Mallory shrugged. “It’s bound to get some sort of conversation.

Hector made a “humph” sound. Jon saw that Mallory, for once, seemed to enjoy the attention. He had a smug smile on his face.

“Well, anyways,” Hector said, his attention still on the road ahead. “I wanted to ask you about…”

“Spellcasting?” Mallory cut in.

Hector sucked his teeth. “At least let me ask…”

“Ask away!”

Jon was happy to be in the middle of their convection. He wanted to hear it all.

“Uhh…” Hector, his face still staring ahead, strained his eyebrows in thought. “I mean…”

“I’m waiting…”

Hector scoffed, but it was more for his own inadequacy to say something, than to Mallory’s curt remark.