{lisa}
lisa stood before Javir's manor, her bag slung over her shoulder and a determined set to her jaw.
[Well, here goes nothing,] she thought, taking a deep breath before pushing open the door.
The familiar scent of ho washed over her as she stepped inside. For a mont, lisa felt a pang of nostalgia. It had been a while since she'd spent more than a night or two here, busy as she'd been at the academy.
"lisa!"
"Oof!"
Before she could even set her bag down, a purple blur slamd into her midsection. lisa grunted, staggering back a step as Hazel wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug.
"Hey, squirt," lisa laughed, ruffling her little sister's hair. "Miss ?"
Hazel nodded eagerly, her tail swinging like a puppy's.
"lisa?" Margaret's voice called from the kitchen. A mont later, her mother appeared, wiping her hands on a dishcloth.
"Hi," lisa sowhat bashfully waved at her. She grinned, extricating herself from Hazel's grip to give her mother a hug. "Sorry for dropping in unannounced."
Margaret waved off the apology.
"Nonsense. This is still your ho, you know. But what brings you here? Is everything alright at the academy?"
"Everything's fine," lisa assured her, following Margaret into the kitchen. The sll of sothing delicious cooking made her stomach growl. "Actually, I was hoping I could stay here for a bit. Things are about to get pretty hectic."
Margaret raised an eyebrow, gesturing for lisa to sit at the kitchen table.
"Oh? How so?"
lisa sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"Well, we've got this big presentation coming up in class. I've been paired with... Jaylin, if you can believe it."
Margaret's brows shot up.
[Yeah, yikes.]
"And then there's the whole court sorceress tutorship thing I wrote to you about. I'll be making so frequent trips to the palace. And, although the academy is closer to the palace than this house is, Jaylin doesn't stay at the dorms. So, if I didn't co here, I'd be bouncing around, back and forth, between three places, every day. I don't want to do that.
Instead, I thought it might be easier to stay here for a while."
"What about your classes, though?"
"I'll be skipping them," lisa declared. Margaret didn't look happy about it. "I've been performing well enough to where the professors straight-up told they don't mind, mom. It'll be fine."
"If you say so," Margaret said with a sigh.
"But, yeah," lisa continued, "I'll be... staying here, for a little bit."
Margaret nodded slowly.
Then, she said:
"Oh, the food!"
A quick flash of movent later, Margaret set a plate of freshly baked cookies on the table, the scent making lisa's mouth water.
"... Well, you know you're always welco here, sweetheart. Your room's just as you left it. Though you might want to dust a bit."
lisa grinned, already reaching for a cookie.
"Thanks, Mom. You're the best."
As she bit into the warm, gooey cookie, lisa felt so of the tension of the past few days start to lt away.
Sure, she had a mountain of challenges ahead of her – Jaylin, the presentation, the court sorceress – but for now, she was ho.
---
{Isabella}
Isabella shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her tail twitching with irritation. The hard wooden chair felt like torture compared to the soft, warm nim lap she'd grown accustod to.
[Fuck,] she thought, glancing at the empty seat where lisa usually sat. [I hate this.]
Her eyes drifted to Armia, catching the darian girl's gaze for what felt like the hundredth ti that day. They shared a mont of awkward acknowledgnt before both quickly looking away.
As the professor droned on about magical theory, Isabella found her mind wandering to their upcoming presentation.
She and Armia had barely discussed it. So, as the class was about to end, Isabella figured it was about ti to talk.
When the bell finally rang, signaling the end of class, Isabella watched as Raven practically bolted for the door without so much as a backward glance.
[Well, soone's in a hurry,] Isabella mused, gathering her things at a more leisurely pace.
She approached Armia, who was lingering by the door.
"So," Isabella said, forcing a casual tone, "about this presentation. Any brilliant ideas?"
Armia's tail swished nervously.
"I..." She looked away. "I haven't really tried any magical parries yet."
Instantly, Isabella deflated.
"So we're starting off at literal zero here. Great," she muttered. "Whatever. I'll teach you how to do it. I'm going to guess the answer's yes, but are you free in the evenings?"
"Why are you guessing that?" Armia raised a brow.
Isabella smirked.
"Because the girl you'd usually bury your cock in during that ti won't be around much, so yeah."
Armia instantly blushed.
"... Yes, I will be."
"Cool. See you tomorrow."
And, with that, Isabella walked away.
[This is going to be a disaster,] Isabella thought as she headed ho, her frustration mounting. [Why'd I have to get paired with her? Ugh. She's nowhere near my level.]
---
{lisa}
Soon, the ti had co.
lisa paced the hallway outside Jaylin's room, her tail swishing nervously behind her.
The manor felt impossibly large and empty, the silence broken only by the soft padding of her bare feet on the polished wood floor.
[Co on, l,] she thought, taking a deep breath. [You've faced down Shadow Mages and saved the king's life. You can handle one stubborn human girl.]
Still, she hesitated, her hand hovering over the door. mories of years of cold shoulders and averted gazes flashed through her mind.
[Fuck it,] lisa decided, squaring her shoulders. [We've got a presentation to do, whether she likes it or not.]
She knocked, the sound echoing in the quiet hallway.
No response.
lisa knocked again, louder this ti.
"Jaylin? It's lisa. We need to talk about the presentation."
She heard movent inside, but the door remained firmly shut.
"Look," lisa said, frustration creeping into her voice, "I know you don't like , for so reason. I get it. But we're stuck together on this, so can we please just-"
The door swung open abruptly, revealing Jaylin's scowling face.
"What part of 'leave alone' don't you understand, nim?" Jaylin hissed, her blue eyes flashing with anger.
lisa bit back a retort, forcing herself to remain calm. Experience exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire
"I'm not trying to bother you, Jaylin. But we have a job to do. The professor is expecting-"
"I don't care what he's expecting," Jaylin snapped. "I'll do my part, you do yours. We don't need to interact beyond that."
Before lisa could respond, the door slamd shut in her face.
[Well, that went well,] lisa thought sarcastically, running a hand through her hair in frustration.
She stood there for a mont, half-tempted to pound on the door until Jaylin was forced to listen. But what good would that do? It would probably just make things worse.
With a heavy sigh, lisa turned and made her way back to her own room.
Flopping onto the bed, lisa stared at the ceiling, her mind racing.
She rolled onto her side, hugging a pillow to her chest. Maybe tomorrow would be better.
[Yeah, right,] a cynical part of her mind scoffed. [And maybe Shadow Mages will start handing out flowers and candy.]
Still, what choice did she have? They had to make this work sohow.
As lisa drifted off to sleep, her last thoughts were of spells and strategies, ways to break through Jaylin's icy exterior. Their presentation depended on it, after all.
[Tomorrow,] she promised herself. [I'll try again tomorrow. And the day after that, if I have to. I'm not giving up that easily.]
For now, though, lisa had sothing else she wanted to do.
She made her way to Javir's study, knowing the professor kept an extensive collection of magical texts. Scanning the shelves, lisa pulled out a few promising volus on defensive magic.
Settling into a comfy armchair, she began to read. Her crimson eyes darted across the pages, absorbing information on magical theory and practical applications of parry spells.
"Ventus, spirare, defendere," lisa murmured, practicing the incantation under her breath. Her fingers traced the air, mimicking the spellsign described in the book.
As she delved deeper into the subject, lisa felt a familiar excitent building. The complexity of the magic, the intricate interplay of different schools of magic...
It was fascinating.
[Maybe I can create my own variation,] she mused, her mind already racing with possibilities.
Lost in her studies, lisa barely noticed the hours slipping by. It was only when she yawned, her eyes starting to blur, that she realized how late it had gotten.
[Well, at least I've made so progress,] she thought, gathering up the books to take back to her room. [Jaylin might not want to work together, but I'll be damned if I let that stop from acing this presentation.]
---
{Jaylin}
Jaylin tossed and turned in her bed, sleep eluding her as thoughts of lisa churned in her mind.
The nim girl's face kept flashing before her eyes.
It was annoying.
[Stupid nim,] Jaylin thought bitterly, punching her pillow in frustration. [Always the center of attention. Always Aunt Javir's favorite.]
For years, Jaylin had watched as lisa soaked up Javir's praise and guidance. It didn't matter that Jaylin was family, that she'd known Javir her whole life. No, lisa just had to waltz in and steal the spotlight.
But now... now things were different.
This presentation was her chance to finally prove herself, to show everyone – especially Aunt Javir – that she was just as talented, just as worthy of attention.
[I'll show her,] Jaylin vowed, a fierce determination settling over her. [I'll completely outperform her. I'll show her...]
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