{Rin}

At night, another letter soon arrived.

This one, however, didn't come from June but from someone Rin had reached out to earlier. Rin grabbed it off her bed as the bird that delivered it turned into wood. She opened the letter and sat down, as Elisa slept in her own bed, snoring lightly. With her back to the wall, Rin held the letter up so the moonlight pouring in through the windows would illuminate the words in front of her.

And, the letter read:

[Dear Rin, first of all, I'm happy to hear from you. Hopefully, your studies and your training have managed to progress at a satisfactory rate. Now, as for this badge you described. I did a minor amount of research, as I am rather busy with my own affairs, but I did find that there once existed a version of the Mages Guild emblem that fit the description you gave me. It was discontinued, however, and I don't believe anyone still uses it. Whatever you found must be quite the relic. Anyway, do feel free to speak with me more often. It is certainly a welcome reprieve from my usual routine.]

[With warm regards, your friend, Sye.]

As Rin finished reading Sye's letter, she nodded to herself and folded the paper up. Once she put it away, she closed her eyes and laid down properly, preparing herself mentally for the next day.

She would need to get back to work, after all.

---

On Saturday morning, just after her shower, Rin walked up to the Meditation Center. Her mind was stuck between a few different places at the moment. From the fact that she'd skipped a Triss day, to the unfortunate reality that she didn't feel she was ready to head back to the arena, and of course, the fact that June was set to arrive today, and Xhez would absolutely want to go see her.

As distracted as she felt by all of these matters, Rin decided that her best move right now would be to get some training done. Once she was done with that, she could figure out what she wanted to do next week.

[Maria did say that if I wanted to keep going to the Arena, I should head back soon so that I don't get rusty,] she thought. [May as well try again. If I take another loss, then at least I can say I gave it my best shot.]

She was about to walk into the Meditation Center when she stopped just outside the room as she heard people speaking within.

"Yes," Maria said to someone, "I believe that would be the best course of action for you."

"Hm," Rin hummed to herself with a bit of curiosity as she then knocked on the door.

"Come in," Maria said and Rin walked inside. As she entered the room, she found Maria sitting down opposite Varyn, who had his back turned to the door. The wolf-eared boy was carrying a sword on his lap, looking down at it analytically. "Ah, Rin, good morning."

At the mention of her, Varyn turned around and cast an uncaring look her way.

"Hi," Rin greeted them before she went and sat down next to Maria.

"We can begin your training in a moment," Maria told her. "Your classmate over here was just expressing his dissatisfaction with the sword he uses in combat. Naturally, I tried to persuade him to join our particular walk of life, but alas, he does not share our vision."

"I don't really feel like getting myself killed trying to fight monsters with my bare fists," he muttered. "No offense."

"None taken," Rin replied. She couldn't really blame anyone for thinking what she was trying to do was a little bit foolish.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Maria turned toward him, "I believe that for your style, having a close-range option would be nice but ultimately, your goal should be to keep your distance from enemies at all times. That is why I recommend you simply get yourself a shield," Maria explained. "Use it to keep enemies at bay, push them away from you, and cast spells with your dominant hand."

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"I guess it makes sense," Varyn nodded before quickly standing up and bowing. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Maria said and Varyn soon exited the room. "Polite young man, that one. As for you, though," she turned toward her, "how are you doing today?"

"Just woke up. Wanted to get a bit of work done," she said with a smile.

"An attitude I can certainly appreciate. Though, all good things done in excess can turn sour. Feel free to take breaks every now and then. This is my subtle way of telling you that if you ever want to head to those springs again, you need only let me know," she said with a wink, and Rin nearly blushed.

Just thinking back to that time they'd spent earlier was enough to make Rin feel a little warmer. Her teacher was almost painfully hot under all the cloth she normally wore. A discovery Rin made that she almost wished she hadn't.

"Anyway, let's get started!"

---

{Xhez}

"Hey, psst, Xhez."

Rin woke Xhez late in the day, as was highlighted by the orange tinge in the sunlight that draped itself over her room.

As soon as the sprite's eyes opened, a little smile bloomed on her face. The first thing she asked was:

"Is it Saturday already?"

"Mhm," Rin nodded, and Xhez could see her returning a similar smile from above. "Wanna come out?"

She didn't even need to ask. As Rin took a step back, Xhez flipped out of her bag and landed outside with a little thud. She beamed at the raven-haired girl and said:

"Has she arrived yet?"

"Probably," Rin shrugged. "It's pretty late out. I asked someone for directions earlier. Figured I'd take you there now and, well, yeah, leave you to it after that."

"I am ready to go!"

"Heh," chuckled, "I know you wanna get to the part where your clothes are on her floor and everything, but you can't just walk over there naked."

"O-Oh, right," Xhez replied.

Soon, she was in her illusory disguise, wearing a casual outfit that Rin picked out for her. A sleeveless white shirt, some brown shorts, a little hat, and some sandals. The hat felt strange on her sensitive hair, but as she scanned herself in the mirror, Xhez decided she liked the look of it.

As they left the room, Rin told her:

"Uh, look, after I take you there, she might want to spend a little more time with you, and I'm not about to interrupt," Rin stated. "So, I'm just gonna come back here. Meaning, you're gonna have to walk back on your own. Think you can handle that?"

"Of course," Xhez replied confidently as they passed by a couple of older students. "I know I am inexperienced, but I am still quite capable on my own. I will make it back unscathed!"

"Good," Rin nodded with a smile that was only slightly nervous.

They cut through the streets outside, making their way to the northern section of Libera, where Rin said the hotel was located. As she listened to her, Xhez made sure to memorize the path they were on, so she could come back safely.

"Remember the rules," Rin said, speaking at a slightly lower volume. "Avoid guards, they're trained to see through illusions. If anyone looks at you strangely or whatever, walk a little faster. If things get bad, then, use those spellsigns I taught you way back when, and run to the Academy. We'll figure things out from there. Okay?"

"Understood," Xhez nodded. "Thank you, Rin. I appreciate the trust you are placing in me."

They arrived a little later at a building labeled Second Sun Hotel, and Xhez felt elation spread all throughout her as a few humans walked out wearing what Rin had described to her once as "business suits".

[Ahhh, I am so excited!]

She could feel her heart beating quickly against her chest. Just thinking about the time she'd spent with June in Dren was enough to make her feel just as warm as she had been that day. What she'd gotten a taste of then was a sensation she, unfortunately, hadn't gotten to experience since. Which was especially sad given that it ranked pretty highly on her list of favorite things she'd discovered about human society.

"Well... we're here," Rin said with a smile as they walked in. Xhez returned the look and grinned.

They walked up to someone and Rin asked about June, but Xhez was so excited she barely listened.

"Yes, let me ask about you," the man Rin spoke to replied.

"Tell her it's Xhez," Rin said.

The man pressed some buttons and spoke into a strange object before nodding twice and saying:

"She will be down shortly."

"... Well," Rin turned to Xhez. "I guess that's my cue to go."

"Thank you, Rin," Xhez said, maintaining that grin. "You do not know how much this means to me."

"I just hope you have fun," Rin said with a giggle. "Good luck."

And, with that, she turned away and Xhez was left here, on her own. She balled up her hands into fists and nodded to herself, trying to bolster her confidence.

[I can do this! I have read enough books and been around the city enough. I understand human society! Well, a little anyway.]

"Xhez!" A woman called out and the sprite was taken out of her thoughts.

And, as she turned toward the voice, she saw her friend, and Xhez grinned as she ran up and the two shared a tight hug.