A few minutes later, Rain has managed to compose himself, and he's sitting back across from Tess on her bed. The whole time, she's been staring at him with the same polite smile that he swears is almost a smirk.
He clears his throat, trying to make his expression serious as he focuses his gaze on her again.
"Ehem...alright, first order of business – meeting outside class. How frequently would you like to do it?"
Tess props her face up on her hand, a strangely amused and confident smile playing on her lips.
"You've said that you meet with Nik every evening for sword training, so can we meet daily as well?"
'Wow, what happened to her being nervous? She looks almost...smug...now. I'm glad she's at least expressing herself, though. That will make this go much faster.'
Not the least bit opposed to meeting with Tess daily, he just smiles and nods, his tone nonchalant.
"You bet. How does an hour after sunset sound for a meeting time? I'm free for the rest of the night after that, but busy pretty much nonstop until then."
Tess's smile widens considerably, her eyes gleaming excitedly, and she perks up on the bed a bit.
"That sounds perfect..."
Pleased that she seems pleased, Rain smiles and nods.
"Great! Okay, next order of business – what do you want to do during that time? If you just want to hang out, that's totally fine, but you mentioned wanting to prepare for the Crucible more together."
Tess purses her lips thoughtfully, seeming to think it over carefully. Then, her expression becomes serious.
"For the first hour, I want us to spar. After that, we can just do whatever sounds enjoyable. You know, spend time together."
Rain's eyes widen in surprise. He's never seen her in the combat class, and she said that her childhood training was so limited as to be nearly inconsequential. He hopes she doesn't expect him to train her...he's unqualified. His response carries a shocked tone.
"Spar? Wait...have you had combat training?"
Tess gives him an incredulous look, her eyebrows raised.
"Well...yeah, of course? Every day, after our survival class. I've been training with a bow and with a spear in the combat class. There's no way I'm going to enter the Crucible without that skillset. My Talent, Siren, lets me slow down or temporarily immobilize Fallen, but it's really best suited for short-term mind control of other humans. In Asphodel, I'll be living or dying by my weapon...I don't take that lightly, Rain."
Rain mulls over her words...they obviously make sense, in retrospect. Someone with as much determination to survive as Tess wouldn't neglect her combat training, and all classes are available all day. So, naturally, she might be in combat training while he is in Asphodel geography. It makes sense.
'Huh...I wonder how good she is. If I had to guess, moderately skilled, but scarily determined and persistent...like she always is. Actually, this is a really good idea. I've only fought against a sword...'
He smiles at Tess, a touch of excitement invading his voice.
"Yeah, I should have realized that you'd be training like that...it's more like you. Okay, sparring sounds great, then. I'm excited to see what you've got, Tess."
Tess smirks at him, a gleam of mischief in her eyes.
"I confess...I'm also pretty curious about how good you are with that sword of yours."
Rain smiles sheepishly.
"Well, only decent. I just started learning from Nik a couple of weeks ago, and I'd never held a sword before then, but I'm putting in the effort. Anyway, next order of business. Do you have any ally-like things you want? Help building your network of other students, information, or the like?"
Tess smiles at him gratefully, a touch of embarrassment returning to her demeanor.
"Yes, actually...that'd be wonderful. Can you maybe...introduce me to as many non-Legacies as possible? Put in a good word for me? I've been trying to myself, but...I really messed up in my first couple of weeks here. Before you...well, you know."
Knowing that she's been regretful about how she behaved towards him, and already aware that she's been foregoing her abilities and trying to make amends, he has no interest in chastising her further. So, he just smiles supportively.
"Of course, I have nothing but nice things to say about you now. I'll see what I can do. Are you sure you want to exclude all the Legacies, though? They are powerful, and they can't all be bad...just look at Nik."
Tess's expression becomes conflicted for a few moments, before she glances at Rain, concern evident in her eyes.
"Rain...listen...don't assume that you can trust the Legacies. That's not just my prejudice against them, it's an observation. I can sense people's desires and deceits thanks to my Nature. So, I know it when I tell you that the Legacies here are all murderously ambitious with complicated, abnormal motivations. On a fundamental level, they seem to be less trustworthy. I'll pass on having any of them as allies, and I hope you'll take my warning to heart and be careful, too. I admit that Nik is different, but his desires are still closer to a Legacy's than to ours."
Rain watches Tess's serious expression for a moment, seriously considering her words. At the end of the day, he more or less agrees with her. He trusts Nik, but none of his interactions with the other Legacies have left him with the impression that he can trust them. He gives Tess and appreciative smile and nods.
"I understand, thanks Tess. I'll keep that in mind. Okay then, that only leaves us with the final part – what do you want to know from me? Ask any question you want about my abilities or whatever else, and I'll answer it if I can."
Tess leans forward on the bed expectantly, her expression growing curious. An appreciative smile finds its way to her face as her eyes study his expression.
"Okay, well...let's start with the information you have about me. What's your Lineage and your Talent?"
He's already decided how he wants to answer this...he figured it'd come up. He can't risk telling her too much, but...it's important to him that he doesn't outright lie. He nods and gives her an apologetic expression.
"So, the truth is that my Lineage isn't something I want to share right now, Tess. But just so you're aware, no other student knows it, and no other student is going to. If I decide to share it later, I promise that you'll be the first person I tell. As for my Talent, I have the ability to physically enhance, but it's a bit...strange. So, I haven't told any student, not even Nik. You're the first one I've shared that with, and I'd really appreciate it if you kept it secret."
Tess's eyes sparkle with curiosity, but also confusion. She stares at Rain for several moments, trying to make a decision about something. Eventually, she smiles at him appreciatively and her tone becomes hesitant.
"Okay, thanks for telling me, and of course I'm going to keep whatever you want confidential. However, can I ask why all the paraonia around your Lineage? Telling me your Talent seems far more revealing...I just can't think of any reason for the secrecy. Not with me, at least. If you don't want to elaborate, though, I'll respect your boundaries. I just...can't help but be curious."
He purses his lips thoughtfully as he considers whether to give her any more information.
'I mean...obviously not the details, but...it can't hurt to give her the tiniest hint...right?'
He sighs deeply and meets her piercing gaze.
"Even telling you this much is probably a bad idea, but...the truth is that my Lineage is rare. I'd really appreciate it if you don't repeat that to anyone either, and please don't ask me any more about it right now. I don't want to draw too much attention to myself by publicizing it. Call it orphan mentality, but I've never found standing out to be good for me."
She stares at him for a long time, her eyes burning with curiosity, but she seems to stifle it and smiles politely.
"Okay...thanks for the hint, at least. In that case, I don't have any more questions about your abilities for now...I think you were fair. Can I ask personal questions?"
Rain breathes an internal sigh of relief that she's being so understanding about his abilities. Not thinking much of any other questions, he just shrugs and gives her a nonchalant smile.
"Sure, go for it."
Tess leans over on her hand, an amused smile forming on her face, and her voice comes out coy.
"Well...earlier that Demigod friend of yours got me wondering...when is your birthday?"
*****
Tess shuts the door to her room, then leans her back against it as she collapses into a sitting position on the floor. Rain has just left for the evening.
'Oh my gods...that was so gratifying...'
Now she has almost everything she wanted before inviting him in to talk. He solved her problem student networking for allies, he's become as much of an ally to her as anyone else, they have sparring matches planned...it's wonderful. She also gets to see him every single day now...at night, with no deadline.
Most importantly, however, she's realized something incredibly important. Rain is definitely into her...not objectively, not abstractly. Earlier, when she fell on top of him and they were so close, with so much of her chest exposed through her blouse...
Tess smiles fiendishly to herself, pleased at the memory of the encounter.
'He was so having some very naughty thoughts about me...he practically said it! Oh gods...when he just outright admitted it like that...I almost kissed him right then.'
That's not the first time, either. That hug that started the whole, lovely fiasco was almost much more intimate. She couldn't help it...hearing him just meticulously list fixes to every single concern and insecurity she'd shared with him, plus telling her in no uncertain terms how important her friendship was to him. She damned near told him how she feels right then.
His sweet antics aside, she is a little disappointed with how little she learned about his abilities. Not because she thinks he was unfair or doesn't trust her enough, but just because she's so damn curious about it.
'I mean...a rare Lineage, really? Is that even a thing? There are seven gods, six with Lineages, and while some of those are rarer and more powerful than others, none are rare enough that just having it would cause problems for him. Does he have a really powerful Fate Lineage, and he just doesn't want to get compared to that girl, Ronin?'
She's not sure...she can't think of any explanation that makes sense, but she also doesn't get the impression that he was lying to her. He went through far too much trouble to earn her trust to outright lie. He could have just refused to even give her that hint in the first place. Tess lets out a frustrated sigh.
What she learned about Rain aside, she also learned something else about herself. She's wondered if part of the reason she's been crushing on Rain so desperately is because he seemed so not into her. More than basically any guy in the Academy, he seemed unfazed by her looks. So, it's occurred to her that, if she ever knew he was into her, maybe her distracting feelings for him would wane or disappear.
She can say for certain, that did not happen.
Ever since she ended up on top of him, making his inclinations clearer, her desire for him has only gotten more insistent. In fact, she desperately needs some closure on the matter, before it interferes with her life any more. After everything tonight, there's only one thing left she needs to know...
'He really likes my company, and he's clearly interested in my body, so...is he willing to act on it? If not, what's holding that dumbass back? This is more frustrating than ever now...'
She purses her lips thoughtfully, trying to decide how to solve her final roadblock. After a few minutes, she gets an idea, a devilish smile finding its way to her face.
"That will probably answer things, one way or another. Now, let's just see if Chosen Sarge will help a girl out..."