***
Dream training went well, I think? I don't know. Sophia is really weird at the moment, which is to be expected considering her whole… everything.
In the span of sixish weeks she went from 'I'm a cursed nun of the Lord of Light' to 'I'm a lesbian, a rift walker, a soldier, a killer, my girlfriend might be a psycho, my curse might have been a game, and my god might have been fucking me over this whole time.'
So yeah, kinda understandable that my girl is a little frayed at the edges.
I can tell because she is taking this dream training very, very seriously. Not in a worrying way like me, but in a 'I'm going to throw myself into this new role that I have decided for myself to cover up all the gaps and problems I have going on right now' way.
The problem is, I'm struggling to really understand what she's going through. She says she's fine with the whole execution thing and I'm finding it hard not to believe her because I would be fine with it. But there is a part of me - an old part I'm barely holding onto - that is telling me 'People aren't normally just cool with this sort of thing.'
For me, it was like a light switch flipped when I was with the train assassin. At first, I had a problem with killing him. I hesitated, then he stabbed me and I never had that problem again.
But I'm also mapping my experience onto her; violence has been part of my life for a long time. Even back on Earth, as much as I liked it, I was bullied in a fairly extreme way. But death was never a part of my life. I don't think I knew anyone who died growing up. That's not the same for Sophia - Arthurian is not the same as Earth. Death seems to be more common there, especially amongst the poor orphans that Sophia looked after. So maybe it wasn't as big a step as compared to a normal person back on Earth.
Fuck, I'm so confused about the whole thing.
Nothing I can really do other than support her choices, I guess. And right now she wants to explore her new path in life. But I'm also feeling a little guilty about that because I can't lie and say I hate this changed Sophia. It feels like before, she had one foot in and one foot out of my lifestyle, now it seems like she's fully committed. So am I only encouraging her because this is what I want?
Would I be this cool if she went the other way? If she decided to step out of my world, to stay in the Academy and be a permanent student then maybe even become a teacher? To remain safely locked away behind the Academy's defenses? Hmmm, yeah, I would probably love that too. Knowing she was always as safe as she could possibly be.
Is that kinda fucked up? It feels fucked up. It feels like I'm winning no matter what she chooses?
Although, I imagine I would have gotten a lot of judgement from Academy Sophia, with her frowning on what I chose to do. Like with the whole mugging situation. That wouldn't have been fun.
I guess going to Arthurian would have sucked for me. Super boring and without the support of the Academy I would probably be a sitting duck for whoever is after me. I would have still followed her of course; I will stick with her for the rest of my life. It's just, my life might have been pretty short in that scenario.
Unlike Sophia, I don't really have a choice in my future. Too many people are trying to kill me for that. Well… I guess I could hide away in the Academy as well. Sure, I can argue that people would probably try to get me here but if it's safe for Sophia, it would be safe for me. Only that would feel like a death all on its own.
So, okay, maybe I did have a choice but I love this life. I want to plan and execute daring raids. I want to make fracs hand over fist and spend that cold hard cash on cool toys for the next daring raid. I want to root out the people trying to kill me. Not just to stop them but because it's exciting.
Who am I to say that Sophia isn't being honest with me, and she just wants the same thing? That maybe this life calls to her as much as it does to me. She has more baggage to get over, but man, it didn't take that much convincing for her to ice that dude. She does keep asking me not to view her as a delicate angel…
Fuck, seriously, this is all too confusing.
Maybe she's telling me the truth?
Maybe she's telling me what she thinks will make me happy? Although I doubt that one.
Or maybe she's lying to herself?
…
But what I do know is that she needs some time out, away from all this bullshit, where we can have some fun!
So I'm planning a date.
A double date!
With Lillian and Vincent. Of course, they don't know it's a double date yet. I'm going to be their Daisy. I did try to rope Daisy into the plan, but she just rolled her eyes at me and told me it was boring. That all they needed was to spend a bit of time together.
So that's the plan. I don't want to leave the Academy just yet. Feels a little bit soon after the whole attack thing. Plus I'm not sure how Sophia will handle that right now. But, not all of the Academy exists within the Fractured realm. If you are in the know, there are plenty of special places hidden around.
I asked one of the fourth years for cool date spots inside the Academy and he showed me one of the less known locations. If you follow a service corridor down near the Academy kitchens, there's a vase with some dead flowers in it. Turn it counterclockwise and then walk down the next corridor on the left. It will lead you to an observation room, built into a coral reef, on one of the water realms. Might even be the one that Ria is from, I should probably tell her about this place sometime.
I mean, I would... If she wasn't such a bitch for making eyes at what's mine.
***
We had mana class first thing today. It's one of the classes I need to take seriously, so I went. Sophia, true to her word yesterday, helps me out with my focus and cycling. Slow progress is made. Like, seriously, it's glacial but I can feel the itty bitty gains.
Ugh, honestly, I even prefer gym time. At least Bronson's new workout routine has me making gains at a noticeable clip. It's kinda nice; my gamer body from before was somewhat fragile. It's only been a few weeks so nothing really shows yet, but I feel stronger. I can run for more than thirty seconds without wanting to die. I stand up a little straighter now, although a lot of that is the corsets.
I skip history class because it's for nerds, and I'm cool and sexy now. Instead, I hit up the kitchens.
I pull aside one of the workers, an older lady with rosy cheeks and a warm smile. I chose her because she didn't look too busy. "Hey, I'm one of the first-year Rift Walkers. Can I, like, steal some food?"
"What does a young slip of a girl like you need food for? Are we not feeding you enough in the food hall?"
"No, no. The food hall has been wonderful, real top-of-the-line stuff. This is for a date."
That caught her interest; her eyes practically sparkled. "Ohhh, who's the lucky fella?"
Ah, yes, the whole gay thing. I kinda forgot that wasn't totally normal around here. Everyone that I interact with has been totally cool with it. I look at her to try and gauge how she would act if I was truthful. I decide to play it vague instead.
"It's actually a double date with my friend Lillian and our partners. Well, I have my partner, but Lillian is trying to lock down hers, if you know what I mean. He's a shy boy, oh, but he's also a vampire. Could I grab some blood for him as well?"
The info dump totally washes over the fact that I'm not dating a boy. She considers for a moment, "A vampire, you say… For young love, I'm certain I can rustle up something yummy. You just wait here for a moment." She says before she scurries off into the kitchen.
"Thank you," I call out to her. She is gone for a while. Without a phone to kill time on, I work on my mana control, sucking in and pushing out the ambient mana in as small amounts as I can manage. I still drain the corridor, but the mana is thick around the Academy, so, like, it's not my fault!
The woman returns with an actual hamper, and it looks amazing – easily enough food for four and then some. She even hands me a 'wine' bottle for the vampire. "Freshly drawn this morning," she says.
"Thank you! How much will this all cost?" I ask.
"Oh, I only need your name; we'll put it on your Academy tab."
Awesome, I love not having to hand over my hard stolen fracs. "I'm Tangerine Stone."
"Oh, the Dean's new ward?"
I guess the news has started to spread. "Yes, Dean Maria has been looking after me."
"Well, I'm certainly glad I could help you out with your special fella," she says while grinning. "You can always come back to old Betty to help you out with future dates."
Ohh, huh. This news is going to spread, isn't it? Half the staff is going to think that Dean Maria's ward has found a man. Fuck, I don't really know what to do here.
Fuck it. Future Tangerine's problem.
"Thank you so much for the food," I say, skipping off with a wave. "I'm going to go get everything set up."
***
I grab Sophia, Lillian, and a very confused Vincent before they all head off to the food hall for dinner.
"What's this all about, Tans?" Lillian asks, sweating a little. I think she can sense shenanigans.
"I just thought it would be nice for us all to spend a little time together," I say, "We've all been so busy lately."
"Why am I coming?" Asks Vincent, "Not to be rude, but I had the distinct impression that you didn't like me."
"Yeah, I could understand why you might feel that way," I say as I drag the three of them through the service corridors. "Let me just say that's not a you thing. You didn't do anything wrong, I just have some jealousy issues that I'm working out."
"Why would you be jealous of me?" he asks, confused.
"Let's not worry about that! Oh, look, here we are!" I turn the vase counterclockwise and pull them into the coral reef observation area. Perfect timing, as a shoal of fish is currently swimming around the room.
The water is kept out via some sort of barrier enchantment. So, we have a clear three sixty view around us, everywhere but the door that we came in through.
"Ohhhh, this is amazing, Tangerine," exclaims Sophia, a bright smile plastered across her face.
I bounce my way into her arms, happy that for a moment I have made her smile.
On the stone floor, I have spread out a blanket and some cushions and some of the dry snack foods are already laid out.
"Where did you get all this?" Lillian asks.
"I met a nice lady called Betty in the kitchens. She helped me out with all of this. She even gave me a hamper!"
Lillian just gave a nod at that, which disappointed me a little. I guess hampers are a little more common for this lot. I only ever saw hampers in books for children written before the nineteen fifties. Our hamper is wicker and everything!
I pull out the bottle and pass it to Vincent. "I'm sorry, I don't really know anything about blood. Is this good?" I ask.
"If it's not good, I'm always willing to donate a bite or two," Lillian jumps in, waggling her eyebrows.
Vincent blushes. "No, I'm certain that this will be quite excellent," he says shyly.
I give Sophia some side eye. I might not like boys but I can tell when a cute vampire is being cute. It's mostly worn off, but his vampire glamour still has a small effect on me. Not like I want to fuck him, thank god. But yeah, cute boy be cute.
Sophia is pointedly looking everywhere but at the vampire.
Good.
I touch the chain around my neck. Maybe I should get a chain for Sophia as well…
Nope, these are jealousy thoughts, and you are being a bad host!
I park my backside down on one of the cushions and start setting out the food from the hamper. There are pies, sandwiches, fruit and even some cake for dessert. Betty set us up good!
Sophia sat down next to me, half in my lap. Lillian sat across from us, Vincent a respectful distance away from her.
I open up the group chat… wait?
'Gestalt, did you name our group chat "gremlin group"?'
[Yes. We found it to be an accurate description.]
I mean, they ain't wrong.
I open up the gremlin chat.
I… I don't even know what to say. That's wrong and stupid on so many different levels. Honestly, it's good to know that the straights are as big a disaster as us lesbians.
Oh yeah, I forgot that Sophia is part of the Gremlin group now.
Also, RUDE. I could have totally asked her out.
[Cope.]
'Shhh you.'
Vincent is staring at us awkwardly, as we all have a silent mental conversation around him. Which is kinda rude now that I think about it.
"So Vincent, how are you finding the Academy?" I ask. Holy shit this is awkward. I barely talk to this person. I should probably know more about him than I do.
"Yes, I feel like I'm settling in quite well. It is interesting spending time with day walkers. Morgoth can be very set in its ways."
"Day walkers? Wait, that's a point… do Vampires have to avoid the sun?"
"Ordinarily, yes." He waves a ring at me. "But there is a fairly simple barrier enchantment you can put on an artifact to filter out the harmful parts of the light. Although, I don't need to wear it in the Fractured realm as there's not really a sun here."
"Huh, yeah. I guess that makes sense." It doesn't, but also I don't really care. I wanna see Lillian make some moves.
"Isn't that interesting, Lils?"
Maybe I can slip and spill his blood all over him, then Lils would have to grab a cloth to pat him down, all over, to clean him up.
"Yes, it is very interesting, Tans."
Lillian has mentally twigged to my game, and positioned herself between Vincent and myself, to stop my shenanigans.
I flash a grin at her.
She looks at me confused.
She has been outplayed.
In order for her to stop me messing with Vincent, she is now much closer to him. Knees almost touching. I glance down at their knees, her eyes follow mine. Then she blushes.
Got her.
I lean back into my angel's arms, with the smuggest shit eating grin plastered across my face.
Lillian and Vincent are frozen now, not even able to look at each other.
I pop a grape in my girlfriend's mouth. Which earns me a look.
A look that I like very much.
"So, Vincent," I ask, going for the kill shot, "I'm not really sure how everything works in the different realms. But are you like, courting anybody?"
He almost chokes on his blood… and pie… huh? I guess vampires eat normal food too. "No, no. N-not at the moment."
"Are you open to the idea?"
Lillian looks at me like she wants to set me on fire.
"I guess, you know, if somebody was interested," he says.
That broke my brain a little, honestly. I'm not sure Lillian could lay it on thicker if she tried.
Lillian sends me eyes like 'don't you fucking dare.'
I look back like, 'Ohhhh, I'm gonna dare.'
But Sophia comes in like a wild horse. "I always feel like clear communication wins the day, Vincent. It can be hard to know what you want, but when you do, you should seize it with both hands." She says, while stuffing my face with some cake.
Really good cake, by the way and even better when fed to you.
Vincent's face goes through a range of emotions before giving a curt nod to Sophia. He then turns to Lillian, looking like he's trying to gather some courage.
Oh shit?! Is he going to do it?
"Lillian," he starts, "w-would it be okay if…"
He looks like he might have a panic attack.
"WoulditbeokayifIcourtedyou?"
My sparkly boy did it!
Two out of ten on the delivery, but it's better than zero!
"Yes, I would like that," Lillian says. She bravely places her hand over his. They are still struggling to look at each other. But progress has been made.
Honestly, Lils normally seems so cock sure, I wonder what it is about the Vampire that gets her so flustered.
***
The picnic was a massive success. We have bathtime after, during which Lillian goes over every detail of the date with a fine tooth comb.
When Sophia and I return to our room I am still pretty pumped. I sit at my desk while Sophia gets ready for bed. I want to have a quick look at some of my rune text books as I had an idea about maybe rune carving a barrier breaking spell onto shotgun shells. There might be enough surface area if I can get the runes tight enough.
There is a flickering blue light in the corner of my eye.
How long have I been studying?
I spin around in my chair to see a spirit raise out of Sophia's chest. Fuck! She must have fallen asleep waiting for me.
I launch myself across the room, grabbing the spirit in both hands, shoving mana down its throat as hard and as fast as I can.
It holds on for a moment, silently snarling at me.
I shred the fucker to pieces.
Sophia grabs me around the waist, eyes wide and panicking.
"I'm sorry," I say, over and over again. I hold her tight as she sobs into my stomach.
My angel cannot catch a break at the moment.
***
***