End of Sallow

Dreaming is still how the strong survive

"Ya fuckin' did it!" Alec slapped his shoulder, his voice ringing with pride that caused Theo to grin triumphantly at the fruit he'd managed to steal. It was an impressive haul by any means, he'd just managed the extension charm and was able to steal from a new vendor without them noticing anything. Fruit was a bit of a delicacy during this time of year, and everyone had grabbed whatever their favorites were and were chowing down.

"Theo, you're amazing!" Grace said happily as she plopped a slice of an orange in her mouth.

Alec hummed, agreeing with Grace, but eyeing her as he normally did. For whatever reason, the two of them didn't get along and neither could give Theo a true reason why.

Grace said she didn't like Alec's attitude.

Alec just called her a cunt.

It made a group conversation difficult, but now with Alec finally agreeing with something she said, he felt whole.

Alec nudged his shoulder with his own, a sly grin coming to his face. "I told ya I could teach ya that charm. And ya performed it easily. Do ya know how advanced that magic is?" His voice was low so the other kids couldn't hear him, but ten year old Hawke heard him fine and he couldn't stop grinning.

"Hawke!"

Theo turned to face Alice, a girl around his age. She had red frizzy hair that was always trying to escape the braid it was in. She had freckles covering her face, neck and arms, and she was somehow always dirty but smiling. She was one of Theo's closest friends.

"Did you get all of this?"

"Sure fuckin' did," Alec answered for him with a proud smile.

He turned and opened his mouth to explain the story – the non magical one he had planned, but the girl leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Hawke," she smiled before grabbing an apple and walking off with it. Theo stared after her, wide-eyed, a slow grin spreading across his face.

"Well would ya look at that?" Alec chuckled. "Got yerself a little girlfriend."

Theo heard Grace inhale a bit too sharply and turned to look at her. She was glaring at the ground, her cheeks pinked. "You alright?" He asked her gently.

She looked at him and forced a smile. He frowned, hating when she hid her true emotions from him. "I'm fine." She answered tightly. She stood and walked In the same direction that Alice had gone. Theo watched her, confused. She obviously wasn't fine, why would she lie? What was wrong?

"I wouldn't worry about her," Alec muttered. "She'll get happy in the same pants she got mad in."

Theo hummed before picking up a peach. Alec was probably right, but Theo couldn't help but feel something was off. He tried pushing the feeling aside for the moment, enjoying the fruits of his labor.

---x---

"Hawke," Alice giggled as she pulled a leaf from his hair. "Have you been rolling around in the grass?"

"Sure. You know me," Theo grinned, watching as she flicked the leaf away before looking back at her. He couldn't tell her that Podex had him searching for ancient magic. She wasn't one with those capabilities and Podex had made it clear that Theo was to keep silent, least he want his friends to face the consequences of his actions.

They were sitting in front of the orphanage, Theo leaned back against a tree with Alice sitting on her knees in front of him as they talked, a summer breeze swirling the dirt and leaves around them in soft eddies.