This story takes place in a suburban town of decent size - not exactly a city, but definitely not small town America. It boasts a modest sized mage population, around 20 mages working in town and its surrounding area. The mages are set up in cabals, one of which is home to our protagonists. They are moderate to high power level for this town, and no one has any idea how they survived long enough to get there.
Local Awakened life is governed by one particular old and powerful cabal that serves as the magic police of the area, keeping the other mages in check. The protagonists are not well liked by this cabal, and have been threatened for their shenanigans in the past. If that cabal finds out about their most recent “exploits,” there might not be room for re-education this time - if they get caught, this will definitely be the last straw.