Still staff.

Kero shakes his head. "You still channel your magic through the staff. She doesn't have a staff, and her magic is weaker because of it."

"Where can I get one?"

"I only had the one, sorry. Maybe Theo will make you one sometime."

"I can make staffs? ... Or is this one of those 'yeah, eventually' things? And is there a way to specifically stop my magic from channelling through my staff?"

"Eventually, to both things."

"Oh, right."

He walks further away from the staff and tries again, to see if he can get it to work after one final try. He'd rather it be sooner than 'eventually'.

Nyet.

Ugh.

"Oh well," he says, giving up. He fetches his staff again, then goes back over to Sadde and Kero, leaving Windy out for now.

"So you have a magical artefact that allows you to fly better and faster but you won't, and I'm okay with using the artefact but can't and am stuck with a less powerful version of Fly. Is that right?"

"Yep," he says. "That's right."

"Mm. I see."

Theo's not sure he likes that expression.

"I will have fun nettling you, I can just see it."

"I look forward to it," says Theo. "Maybe I have thicker skin than you think."

"Oooh, is that a challenge? What do I get if I win?"

"The satisfaction that you got under my skin?"

"Mmm, I suppose that'll have to do."

"And what do I get?"

"You can't win! I have forever to get under your skin!"

"You're not ever gonna give up?"

"Okay, if you make me give up, you win. Name your prize."

... "I hadn't thought this far ahead."

"If I had thought you had, I would not have given you the option."

He laughs. "I guess I walked right into that one."