When he paused for air, or maybe dramatic effect, Seth took a good look at his surroundings.

"I know my roommate would have bit more panache in the style department, but being as trendy as me isn't easy. Well? Seth gotta say something."

"I think you... Should relax. Please. Today has been, for lack of a better word, insane. So I could really just use a second." He plopped down on the nearby couch, sinking into the soft cushions. Joe perched himself on the chair across from him silently, though he leaned toward Seth.

"So..." he whispered shyly.

Seth sighed. "You said before that whatever I've heard about you is only 'partially true.' Joe rolled his eyes. "I know you're thinking about me and Minis tiff at Ministry inc.'s annual charity to the awards show."

Joe was absolutely still for a moment, before he finally smiled, though it looked almost painful. "Not At All My family is the only number one purveyor of enchanted objects worldwide, but why would you know that? Besides... This was the whole point! To come to college, have new experiences, fly under the radar. Become the person (I) want to be, you know?"

"Joe... I know exactly how you feel. Honestly, that's the same thing I was hoping to get out of the college experience."

"Joey do you ever feel like no matter how hard you try, nothing fits? Like the things that you think are going to make you happy never do?"

"Absolutely. It's how I felt all the time. Until I arrived here, that is."

"This morning I was at this college I used to think was finally going to be my place in the world, but it very quickly become clear that it wasn't. And then I got here and, yeah, it's a little weird and a little hard to believe, but for the first time... Something finally feels right. And now it's... all going to be taken away."

"Taken away? I don't understand. Why would--" Seth voice trembled as he finally tell him the truth, revealing the secret he have been keeping in since his arrival. "I can't do most of the magic." he said genuinely worried.

"What?" Joe voice startles him, and he lowered his tone to barely more than a whisper. "I can do most but the rest.." he threw his hands up, unable to explained, not even knowing what happened himself.

"And I don't know what to do now. I'm afraid of what will happen if I tell someone, but I know I can't leave." he watched Joe guiltily as Joe stared at him wide-eyed.

"You're... You're not going to, like, erase my memory, or melt my brain, or--"

"I'll help you at the Nate of magic, but let go to macfarlane shop for the marble to your protection now. And let wait for the day Steve will teach you all!"

"Thank you... I mean, seriously, I thought you won't help me, I don't know, light me on fire? Can you guys do that?"

"Well I certainly can, being a Fire-ATL and all. But I won't. Part of the reason I come to college was to meet all different kinds of people! And you, Seth, are quite an interesting kind of person,"

"But have you considered that there may be magic in you? Have you tried any?"

"Well... there was that thing with the door?" Seth protested, feeling something weird in him.

"No, no the doors are enchanted to accept the tenant's genetic code. That wouldn't count." Joey tapped his fingers on a coffee table, his eyes roving the room. When they stopped the conversation for a seconds, he grinned and hopped out of the chair.

"I've got it! Come on, let's go before Macfarlane shop closes."

"Wait, wait," Seth resisted to make any move from his sitting posture. "Where are we going? I thought we couldn't leave campus!" He followed Joey across the room and found himself facing a door with a variety of doorknobs in different shapes and sizes screwed into it.

"Seth, there are few pre-selected places we're allowed to go. Like Khart Square, for example." Only when Seth noticed that each knob was a neatly inscribed label above it.

"Seth's room,' 'Joey's room,' 'Khart Square'... Wait. Are you saying my room is in there?"

"Sure. So is mine, and Khart Square, and the lagoon. That one opens up in a Baobab tree, though. It can be quite unpleasant if you run into a Khartoumspire one of the anarchies which against orders."

Joey examined the labels carefully, until finally he found the knob labeled 'Khart Square.' He turned it and pushed the door opened.

"Whoa." Seth imagined his surprised in appearing in another square— which were having traits like domain of a certain abstraction. simply(A realm.)

"Charming, right?"

In the afternoon sun, the square were bustling with activity. Seth saw a stately woman with deep red skin and tusks dragging a kicking toddler with impish horns past a magical toy store... Beyond that, a pair of men with pointed elfish ears and webbed hands debated over a beaded bracelet at a stall marked 'Frams.'

"Is that... A troll?"

The seven-foot-tall woman's head whipped around in his direction. Joe grabbed him arm and started leading him away hurriedly.

"God, I forget how backwards the non-magical worldview is. They prefer 'mountain folk's these days," Joe spitted off his bars. "Come on, no time to waste! We need to get you something to help with that whole 'no magic' thing."

"And how, exactly, are we supposed to fix that?"

Joey or Joe stopped abruptly in front of a shop labelled 'Maison D'Yew.' The sign in the window described it as 'Your one stop shop for one stop shopping'(Orbs.)

"Let's get inside and see if they have what we want."

Inside, every square inch of the shop are packed with clothes, knick-knacks, and all manner of glowing, spinning, and rattling mystical objects.

"How are we even supposed to find anything in here? Joe?"

That's where I come in! Oh, um, just a second, please. Voice replied from nowhere.

A rustling from the pile of lamps on Seth left made him jumped. A mountain of rusted candelabras avalanches off of a high shelf, heading straight toward him!

"AHH!" he ducked, bracing for impact! But it never came.

"Sorry about that! I was organizing some of the floghart's droppings we store under this armoire."

Seth took a hesitant peeked up and saw that the candelabras had been stopped in mid-air and were hovering just over his head! Macfarlane in Seth's front flicked a vine-wrapped hand and the candelabras re-stacked themselves on the shelf.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you." Seth stared at her, wide-eyed and she gave Seth a knowing smile. "Second time meeting a wood nymph? Let me introduce again, Aster Macfarlane. I run this shop." She held out her hand, and when Seth shook it, he were shocked at how her skin felt both like polished wood and flesh all at once.

"I'm Seth Parker Papkins, short Seth,"

"I should say... I like your shop!"

"Thanks! It's my mother's actually. Well, my grandmother's. I guess it was her mother's before that. What does ownership really mean, anyway? If I feel the most strongly about something, does it then become mine?" She paused thoughtfully, looking off into the distance as her eyes grew dark and clouded. After a while, it seemed obvious that she's checked out completely.

"Interesting..." Macfarlane's eyes lightened and refocused on Joey as she shook her head clear. "Oh! It's you again! I was hoping you'd be back."

"I assume so. I spent a minor fortune the last time I was here. Listen, love, do you have any marbles? Orbs. My friend here is worried about the first day of classes and wanted a boost."

"Yeah. Anything?" Seth also asked from the other side.

Macfarlane looked at Seth, her eyes brighting.

"So you're a Khartime student too? You both are so lucky!" She skipped off toward the counter and disappeared behind it. "I've been begging Papa to let me go, but he's still bitter about all that wand business."

Macfarlane popped up from behind the counter, coughing and covered in dust. She slammed a polished wooden box down on the counter, with 'Ministry Miracle Marbles' written in gold curlicue handwriting on the lid.

Seth gave Joey a looked before gingerly lifting the edges of the box, revealing four multi-colored orbs within.

"Wow, cool! What are they?"

Joey plucked a clear orb from the box. Opaque, white smoke began to curled inside the glass.

"Huh... One of Ministry Inc.'s bestsellers. Each of these orbs contains enough magical to perform one spell per element. They may be small, but they quite a punch. Like one very beautiful, very down-to-earth heiress we all know and love." With a smile, he placed the white orbs into Seth palm, folding his fingers over it.

"Seth, and this little guy is all yours."

"But... why would magic people need something like this?"

"You can use it instantly instead of taking the time to build a spell, and it won't use up any of your own magic so you can cast again immediately!"

"They're the very best on the market! Of course, they'll only work for the element with which they correspond."  Macfarlane started marketed the orbs to Seth.

Seth looked a little bit closer at the contents of the box, and saw a variety of colors in the tendrils of.smoke. Blue, green, red... "How do you even use it?"

"Ah. Aster, do you have any singles?" Joey asked. Macfarlane rummaged through a drawer before handling Joey a dusty blue orb.

"It'll cost you, and I must insist that you go outside to--" Joey rolled up the marble between his thumb and forefinger, raising it upward the ceiling... And a raincloud appeared overhead as the blue smoke dissipated from the marble. It began to poured!

"See? Easy."

"You ATL never listen!" The leaves in Macfarlane's hair rustled as she glowered at Joey. She flicked a finger and a strong blast of wind blew the cloud and the rain away, leaving Seth completely dried.

"Oh, don't be such a tenacious toad, Macfarlane. What do you think, Seth? These will surely come in handy."

The notification appeared on his wrist watch again.

<These special, one-time use orbs will help you stay at Khartime and will unlock special spells and options throughout the school!>

In that case... Seth took the whole set.

"These'll at least help me fly under the radar until I can figure out what to do next!" He handed Macfarlane a few bills from his wallet, she peered at them curiously.

"I hope that's enough?"

"Absolutely not. This money is worthless. Lucky for you, I can fetch a high price for it on the collector's market!"

After, saying goodbye to Macfarlane, Seth and Joey headed back through the portal to their dorm.