Guinevere is a woman on a mission. Earlier in the week, one of her students, Finley Taylor, had been caught in possession of dark contraband. Now, his entire family is panicking, talking nonsense about protecting him from roving Guardian Death Squads™. In an effort to pull them all back from the edge, she has offered to stop by the Night Council Headquarters to speak with someone about his case. Now, she doesn’t expect to be told any specific details; those are privileged information. However, if she can find out how this sort of thing is usually handled, then hopefully she could use that information to allay the worst of their fears.

As luck would have it, Gwen is able to find a very understanding guardian, whose manner is stern but also reassuring. More importantly, this guardian is willing to patiently answer all of her questions, even the ridiculous ones that Finley’s mother has ‘helpfully’ suggested. After taking down several pages of notes and acquiring a small folder of official Night Council literature, Guinevere thanks the woman for her time before making her way out of the building.

Distracted by the act of juggling a multitude of items while trying to answer another paranoid text from Mrs. Taylor, Gwen fails to notice the person standing directly in her path. Sadly, she only realizes this mistake at the moment of contact, the jolt of which causes her to lose hold of everything she’s carrying. The notebook, folder, loose papers, and her phone all fly in different directions.

“Oh! Sorry!” Guinevere drops to her knees, scrambling to pick up everything. “That was my fault. I really should’ve been paying more attention.”