Norok floated the wooden peg carefully over the table. It hovered above the table of matching pegs, all lined up in neat, organized rows. The peg trembled in the air, wavering in the grasp of his magic. He took a steady breath. With a slow exhale, Norok gently set it down, maneuvering it between two of the others. He threw his hands in the air victoriously, jumping out of his seat to do a proud lap around the table.

  “I did it,” he announced loudly, gesturing to the table as Kell and Will glanced at him from behind.

  “Great,” Will said, giving Norok an unimpressed nod. “I should have a hundred more in that pouch on the side. Set those ones next.”

  Norok groaned, throwing his head back in annoyance. The three had set up in one of Base Alpha’s many conference rooms, with two workshop tables that looked old and withered enough to be relics themselves. Stacks of abandoned journals and research paper littered the room, with cobwebs heavy from fly corpses and healthy spiders adorning every corner. While Will put Norok onto the arduous coordination training, he dragged Kell to join him at the other desk where they tinkered away at some mysterious project. Leaning over Kell’s shoulder, Norok frowned at the creation.

  “I thought you guys were making another gun,” he said pointedly.

  “We’re making a weapon, yes,” Will replied. “I haven’t decided if I want it to be a gun yet.”

  “Okay but,” Norok reached past, hoisting the prototype up with a single hand. “This is just a tin box.”

  “It’s not done yet,” Kell quipped as he yanked it out of Norok’s hand. He stuck a metal rod shorter than his pinkie finger into the slot on the side. “Now it’s done.”

  Will rolled his eyes. “I just need some time, I haven’t had a minute to think since we got here. But no matter what, we’ll need some kind of lever, right?”

  Kell sighed, tossing the box at Will. “Yeah well next time, build the lever by yourself… I thought we were building something cool today…”

  “I didn’t know you actually liked doing this stuff,” Norok said. It seemed like there was always something new to learn about Kell these days. From the range of combat prowess he had shown in the bootcamp trials to the endless knowledge about Fable he always seemed bursting at the seams, Norok found that there was more and more hiding just behind Kell’s friendly smile.

  “I used to do it with my brother,” Kell replied warmly. Then he added quickly, “Not weapons, I mean! Obviously we wouldn’t do that. But just like, tinkering with tools and stuff. Things to help us on the road.”

  “You could learn a thing or two from Prodikor,” Will said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “He maximizes his value by honing his skills in other areas.”

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  “Are you saying I don’t have hobbies, Captain?” Norok narrowed his eyes at Will.

  “I mean, do you do anything besides lean against walls and make things float?”

  “I eat and sleep,” Norok scoffed. “And I look pretty damn good doing it all too.”

  “Being handsome isn’t a trade, Norok,” Kell snorted.

  Norok balked at Kell, betrayed by his interjection. But finding he had no real retort, he silently added find a hobby cooler than making things to his mental to-do list.

  The sound of rushing footsteps echoed from behind the conference room’s door, and seconds later, Daimona came bursting through. There were still dark stains of cadet blood running up her pant legs, and a dark, desperate handprint was visible on her left sleeve, but Daimona herself bore no visible wounds. Norok would’ve been shocked to see any.

  With a wide fanged smile, she announced, “Corporal Simon is graduating me from cadet combat. She says she’s moving my training to the upper ranks for further evaluation.”

  Kell clapped, eyes wide with surprise. “Daimona, that’s incredible! I’ver never heard of anyone moving up so fast, especially after just joining base ranks.”

  “Congrats, Mona,” Norok said. She beamed at him excitedly before turning to look at Will. There was a tense pause as he seemed to avoid her gaze, still fiddling with the box in his hands. With a stiff grunt, he offered a terse “Good work, Private,” before shuffling out of the room behind her. Daimona deflated as the door shut behind him.

  “Don’t let it get to you,” Kell encouraged, placing both hands on her shoulders and looking at her earnestly from under his hat. “He was like this last year too. He’ll come around.”

  “Yeah…” Daimona replied. Then, brightly, she said in a low voice, “Actually, it’s a lot more than an evaluation. I didn’t want to drop it on Will yet, not until I’ve made up for the whole bootcamp mess.”

  “What’s the Corporal having you do?” Norok asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “It’s a night festival only the best of the best get invited to,” Daimona said giddily. With both fists raised in anticipation, she continued. “Corporal Simon says I’ll fight against an opponent around my skill level, and there’ll be a ton of big guys in the military watching! If I do really well, they might promote our squad without putting us through bootcamp again!”

  “I’ve never heard of a night festival on Base Alpha,” Kell murmured, pressing his pointer finger against his chin thoughtfully.

  “Well,” Daimona chuckled, “you’re not exactly the best, Kell.”

  Kell scowled at her, but eventually offered a defeated shrug.

  “Maybe it’s a new thing,” Norok replied lightly. “In any case, when’s the fight? We’ll come cheer you on.”

  “Tonight, when the sun’s setting!” Daimona grinned, turning on her heel to leave. “Tell Irina too-- I was running all over trying to find her, but she must be training somewhere super secret. I gotta go get ready for it.”

  “Didn’t you just come from training?” Kell asked curiously.

  “Yeah, and now I have to eat!” Daimona stood in the doorway and smacked her stomach emphatically. “Can’t keep bashing faces on an empty stomach.”