{lisa}
lisa sat in class, trying her best to focus on the professor's lecture.
Isabella nuzzled into lisa's neck, her fluffy tail swishing lazily behind her.
By now, lisa had accepted that her lap really was going to be the kitsune's seat from here on, and it looked like everyone else had too since no one was even giving them weird looks anymore.
"Mmm, you're so comfy, cuz," Isabella purred, her breath tickling lisa's skin. "I could just stay here forever."
lisa just sighed.
"You're not half-bad either, I guess."
Isabella pouted up at her while lisa tried to keep a straight face.
[Though, I guess I should be thanking her. Free Essence. I'm sure as hell not going to turn that down... But that pout is just too cute.]
As the professor droned on about the intricacies of elental magic, lisa's mind began to wander.
[The tournant is coming up soon,] she mused, absent-mindedly stroking Isabella's tail, which made Isabella purr quietly. [I wonder...]
lisa leaned in close to Isabella's ear, keeping her voice low to avoid drawing attention.
"Hey, Izzy," she whispered, "I was thinking... Do you maybe want to train together for the tournant? We could spar, work on our techniques, that sort of thing."
Isabella stiffened slightly, her tail going still as she looked up at the nim.
"Oh, um..." she hesitated, looking away. "I would love to, lisa, but... I'm actually going to be pretty busy for a little while."
lisa blinked, surprised by the unexpected response.
"Busy? With what?"
Isabella shifted on lisa's lap, suddenly seeming uncomfortable.
"It's just... well..." She glanced around as if checking to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "I can't really talk about it right now. It's kind of a secret."
Isabella giggled like she was talking about a secret lover or sothing.
[What could she be up to that's so hush-hush?]
She opened her mouth, ready to press for more information, but then, she stopped herself.
[... I guess I shouldn't pry,] lisa thought, swallowing back her questions. [If she wants to keep it to herself, that's her business.]
"Don't worry," Isabella said, laying her head down on lisa's chest. "I'll let you know about it soon enough. Just... sothing I'm working on."
"Ohhh," lisa nodded slightly. "Okay.
---
The morning classes flew by in a blur, and before lisa knew it, it was ti for Javir's much-anticipated dueling class.
She walked into the training grounds, her heart pounding.
Training with Raven yesterday had been fun. lisa wanted more of that. It was the one itch she hadn't been able to scratch over the last 8 years.
Javir stood at the front of the class, her fiery hair tied back as she assessed the class.
"Alright, everyone," she called out, her voice ringing with authority. "Today, we're going to be working on your basic combat skills. I want you to pair up and start sparring, using the techniques we've been practicing. I'll be coming around to observe and offer guidance as needed."
lisa nodded as she took a practice sword from a weapon rack.
She looked around, hoping to train so more with Raven but soone else had already approached the girl.
[Guess I'll have to find soone else to spar with.]
Just then, Javir's voice cut through the chatter.
"lisa, you'll be working with Jaylin today. And Armia..." She paused, scanning the room. "Looks like you're with ."
lisa blinked, surprised to be paired with Javir's niece.
Sotis, lisa forgot Jaylin was even in her class. That was, probably, no coincidence, given how hard Jaylin tried to avoid her.
[Even back at Javir's house, I've barely ever gotten to spend any ti with her. Oh well. I an, it's not like we're friends or anything.]
She glanced over at the human girl, taking in her confident stance and the easy way she held her sword.
[Great. She's probably way better than , too,] lisa thought wryly.
But there was no ti to dwell on it. Jaylin was already advancing, her blade flashing in the light.
lisa raised her own sword, barely managing to parry the first blow.
The force of it sent vibrations up her arm, and she gritted her teeth, trying to rember everything Raven had taught her yesterday.
But Jaylin was relentless, her attacks coming fast and furious.
It was all lisa could do to keep up, her practice sword moving desperately to block and deflect.
[Damn, she's good,] lisa thought, sweat beading on her brow. [I can't even find an opening to strike back!]
Thankfully, Jaylin took a couple of steps back, letting lisa breathe.
At that mont, lisa risked a glance over at Armia, wondering how the darian girl was faring against Javir.
To her surprise, Armia seed to be holding back. Every move she made looked sluggish and half-hearted.
Predictably, Javir was having none of that.
Javir frowned, lowering her blade.
"What's going on, Armia?" she asked. "Why are you holding back?"
Armia sighed, her draconic tail swishing behind her.
"It's just... Ladies don't fight with blades," she said, her tone prim and proper. "It's not befitting of our station."
Javir's eyebrows shot up.
She smirked back at the girl.
"That's news to ."
But lisa could hear the rest of the conversation, she felt a sudden, sharp pain in her ankle.
She yelped, her leg buckling beneath her as Jaylin's foot swept out, hooking around her ankle and sending her tumbling to the ground.
The human girl stood over her, eyes narrowed.
"Yield," she said, the point of her sword hovering inches from lisa's throat.
lisa swallowed hard, her pride stinging almost as much as her ankle.
[Damn it. I can't believe I let myself get distracted like that.]
Reluctantly, she nodded, and Jaylin pulled her blade away, already turning to walk toward the other side of the room.
lisa sat up, rubbing her ankle ruefully.
[Well, that was embarrassing,] she thought, her cheeks burning. [Good that it happened here instead of in a real fight, though, I guess.]
As lisa caught her breath, she glanced back at Armia and Javir, their conversation drawing her attention.
Armia, her posture stiff and her expression tense, seed to be struggling to explain herself.
"N-Noblewon aren't supposed to care about fighting," she insisted, her voice strained. "It's just not proper."
But Javir wasn't having it.
"Excuse ?" she said, one eyebrow raised skeptically. "I'm a noblewoman, and I've always been a fighter. It's never stopped from being a lady."
Armia flushed, looking away. Her resolve wasn't shaken, though.
"Yes, but... but you're human," she stamred, grasping for an argunt. "You can afford that luxury. For soone like , it's different. I," she looked back at Javir, "I'll do my best in the tournant, but... I want to win it my way, professor."
Javir frowned, clearly not understanding Armia's logic.
But after a mont, she sighed, shaking her head.
"Alright, Armia. If that's how you feel, I won't push you."
---
After class, lisa found Armia sitting alone on a bench, her shoulders slumped and her tail curled around her feet.
Without really thinking about it, lisa walked over and sat down beside her.
"Hey," she said softly, trying to catch Armia's eye. "Are you okay? That conversation with Javir seed pretty intense."
Armia stiffened.
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"I... It's nothing," she said, turning away. "Just a difference of opinion. It doesn't matter."
But lisa wasn't convinced.
For a long mont, Armia was silent.
Then, with a heavy sigh, she began to speak.
"All my life," she said, her voice low, "I've struggled to be seen as a lady. A proper lady is supposed to be feminine. Graceful. ?" She flexed her right arm. "I'm just... gross.
I an, look at . I'm huge, muscular, with scales and a tail. People see , they see my arms, my legs, and... that and they don't think 'lady', they think 'brutish darian'. So, sure," she kept going, "a woman like Javir can pick up a warhamr and she'll still look like a damn queen as she smashes people's heads in. But, ?
The mont I even look at a blade, I know that's all anyone will ever see as. A warrior, a fighter, but never a lady."
By the end of all that, she was so quiet lisa almost couldn't hear her.
[Wow,] lisa leaned back against the bench. [I... I guess I can see where she's coming from.]
Seeing her, Armia did the sa.
They both stared up at the sky for a mont, neither of them breaking this silence.
Until Armia said:
"It's been a while since I talked about that with anyone."
"Yeah?"
Armia nodded.
"It's too embarrassing. But..." She glanced lisa's way. "Sothing, just now... Kinda made want to open up a bit. I guess you just have a kind aura or sothing."
"Thanks, I guess."
"You're welco."
Again, they fell into silence.
lisa, however, took this mont to gaze upon Armia. Her story had tugged at lisa's heart, and, now, she felt the need to say:
"You wanna go back to my place?"
"Hm?" Armia raised a brow at her. "I guess we could work on our spell crafting."
"I ant to hang out," lisa replied with a smile. "You know... Like friends."
At that, Armia looked back at her.
She debated it for a mont. Then, she nodded.
"Sure."
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