"Hey, kids!" The warm voice of our instructor pulls me back to the ground
"Morning, Travis," I respond without thinking.
"It looks like you've been training with Jezabel."
"What makes you say that?"
"Ha!" Travis puts his hands on his waist and puffs out his chest. "My team used to train with her before we set out on our own."
An odd twinkle shines in his eye as he speaks.
"How'd that go?"
"About as well as it did for you, I guess. Eventually, we got tired of it and stopped showing up. It must have meant a lot to her because she didn't speak to me for a couple of years after that."
[If she derives some kind of vicarious fulfillment through us like I think she does, then losing that must have hurt. Presumably, this all happened shortly after she arrived here, which would have been salt on the wound, I'm sure.]
"Are you all talking about me behind my back?" Jezabel appears as if summoned from the shadows.
"No."
"Yes," I answer honestly while Travis refutes. She's already kicked my ass once today, and I don't want it to happen again.
"Well, I hope it's something good." The malicious smile makes a return as she moves closer to our group.
"We were just talking about how you used to train Travis's team."
"Yes, well, I tried, at least. In the end, they just gave up."
"I was also thinking about how that likely occurred shortly after you arrived at the guild and how much of a betrayal it must have felt like when they quit. You pick up a team with some promise, and they just give up. What's the point of being a guild master if you can't even help one party? As much as it must have hurt to find out you were tricked into this position, I'm sure you still came here with some hope to make things better." I pause for a moment to collect myself. "I hope you're getting as much out of our little training sessions as we are. I just want you to know how much all this means to me."
Jezabel stands shocked. I don't know where all that came from, but it's what was in my heart.
"Thank you," Josh adds while bowing.
"Thanks," Shinobu says cheerfully. All eyes are on the battered girl currently affixed to Josh's arm. I'm sure the thought of thanking Jezabel is killing her inside. She glares daggers at our instructor for a few tense moments before sighing.
"I still want to kill you for hurting Josh, but thank you for helping us get stronger."
[I think that went well, all things considered.]
"Whatever." Jezabel composes herself and shrugs off the odd tension in the air. "Don't be late for class."
She silently walks away, and I don't try to ruin the moment.
"I wonder how that will change things?" I say, mostly to myself.
"How do you talk to her like that?" Travis looks stunned. I didn't really think it was too big of a deal, but maybe I'm wrong.
"Like a person?" I ask.
"That's not how people talk to people!"
"That may not be how you talk to people, but it is the way I do." I focus on Travis to gauge his reaction. The way his expression shifts, the twitching of his fingers. I zero in on how he's feeling. "You've felt uncomfortable around her ever since she decided to stop talking to you but have you ever asked her why?"
"No, I never really thought about it," Travis says as he scratches the back of his head.
"If you don't try and put yourself in other people's shoes, maybe you need to re-evaluate the way you talk to people." I can tell my words cut deep based on his reaction.
[If Travis is an Extroverted Feeler like I think he is, saying he lacks empathy must be digging at his identity. I should tread carefully moving forward.]
Travis looks defeated after my comment. He blinks a couple of times before straightening up.
"You might be right, kid." A somber mood surrounds our table as he leaves for the classroom.
[Hopefully, I scored some points with Jezabel with that little remark.]
I quickly lose myself in my own thoughts. The drum of conversation around the hall is like static in my ears. Where are these relationships headed? How will things change come spring? What are my goals going forward? I allow these thoughts to buzz around at the top of my mind until it's time for class.
"We need to go soon." Shinobu breaks my train of thought. I look over my injured team and stand up to speak.
"Are we all ready to head into the forest?"
"No," Sakura responds. I can hear a bit of spite in her voice.
"Perfect, neither am I. We have some extra potions at the den so let's each take one to recover when we get back there. That should leave us each with one healing potion during the expedition." The kids nod, and we make for the classroom.
"Good morning, everybody." Travis smiles as if he's completely forgotten about our previous conversation.
[Maybe what I said wasn't that big of a deal. I'm so used to dealing with children I often forget how thick-skinned some people can be.]
I feel a bit relieved that he isn't upset by what I said. We all sit at our table, and Shinobu pulls up a chair to sit next to Sakura. Students stream in through the door, looking like they just woke up.
"Shinobu?"
"Good morning, Tyrion," she replies flatly.
"It's so good to see you. I hope that you're doing okay." It's an odd thing to say, given her condition. I can still see several bruises on her arms. She puts a finger to her chin as she thinks.
"I'm fine, I suppose," she says with a shrug. Tyrion is unsure how to respond to her tone. I can see his mind racing as he tries to put the pieces together. Eventually, he gives up and sits down next to her.
"Alright, it looks like everyone is here." Travis starts. "Today, we're going to do something a bit different."
I can hear Tyrion groan from across the table.
[I felt the same way when Jezabel said that this morning.]
"I know it didn't go very well last time, but we're going on another expedition."
"You say that like we all didn't almost die." There's some snark in Tyrion's voice that he doesn't bother to hide. It's unusual to hear him speak so much, but presumably, he's flustered from seeing Shinobu. Travis ignores him and goes on speaking.
"We have reports of a dungeon appearing in the forest, and we'd like to confirm its location. We won't be diving into it today, but if it's soft enough, we can leave that as an expedition for another time. This is also a good chance to familiarize yourselves with the forest. The Adventurer's Guild is planning to expand their presence in the area moving forward."
"Does this have anything to do with the Duke coming to town?" Kyle asks from the back of the room. Hushed whispers fill the air. A stiff tension rains down on everyone. It's an open secret at this point, but no one has talked about it like that. Travis flashes a grin. I get the feeling he was expecting this question.