Ch 1.39: Rain


    <span style="font-weight:400">“We should probably get going,” Carline said, shaking in the cold. The rain had picked up as ina had walked over to the equipment rack, as she had stood there staring at the training swords. The rest of the ss, Professor Ranlit included, had left.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You go ahead. I’m gonna stay out here for a while.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Are you sure?” Carline said, dancing on both feet, trying to stay warm.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Okay, well, I’m gonna shower and then probably hang out in themon room until lunch. Juste find meter, okay?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Sure.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Carline wavered, looking like she was going to say more, but then ran off. ina picked up her jacket off the rack and shrugged it on, shaking her head. She couldn’t get the image out of her mind, Prisma’s look during the duel with Carline. <i><span style="font-weight:400">Maybe Waine was right. Maybe she really does hate me.</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">She started walking, not towards the school, but the smallke in the back of the school grounds, right next to the forest. She knew she should be rushing inside to get her clothes dry, especially clothes of this quality, but inside was dry, warm, full of people, things she didn’t want right now. Carline had slowly been trying to introduce her to other students, which she appreciated, but themon room wasn’t where she wanted to be right now. Even the dorm, with just Carline and the System, sounded like two too many people.


    <span style="font-weight:400">She found arge rock by theke and sat down on it, looking out over the downpour as it fell across the water. Rain had always been calming to ina, and the sounds and sights of this storm filled her mind with distraction, thunder above, lightning shes in the distance, the torrent crashing into the body of water in front of her.


    <span style="font-weight:400">It still wasn’t enough. Had she done something wrong? She screamed out over theke, pounding her fists against the stone below her. She was supposed to be happy, right? She had an aspect, a ss. Sure, the looming threat of invasion was terrifying, but what kid hadn’t dreamed of being who she was right now? She had friends, good ones, she’d had such a wonderful time only the night before, but she was still miserable, all because of one girl, a girl that had shown a moment of kindness and nothing but cruelty and indifference since.


    <span style="font-weight:400">It should have all been enough, but ina was selfish. Prisma had offered her something. Not a spoken promise, but a promise nheless. That was taken from her, and she didn’t even know why. “I’m not a dud. I just had a weird birthday…”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Heya, stranger!” ina jumped up and whipped around. Before her was a tall girl, taller than Tira even, standing in the rain with a smile on her face. “Oh, you’re that new girl everyone’s talking about, ina, themoner, right?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Huh? I mean, yeah,” ina said, creeping back. She’d had enough bad experiences with meeting student she didn’t really know alone out on the grounds to not be cautious. Could this be one of Waine’s crowd? “Who are you?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Flora! Florence Stouth, second-year, to be proper.” The girl skipped onto ina’s rock and started circling it with her arms behind her back, looking ina over from every angle as she spun around the slick stone. “Wow, you really are as pretty as I’ve heard!”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, uhm, thanks?” Florence herself was pretty too,rge green eyes, yful smile, and brown hair falling all the way down to her hips, clinging to her skirt in the rain, what had to be the shortest skirt ina had ever seen on an Endrin uniform. No, the shortest skirt she’d seen in her entire life. Those long legs were entrancing, no socks or tights at all,pletely bare except for the slim skirt atop them.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I gotta say, I approve of your bra choice too,” Florence said, pointing at ina’s chest.


    <span style="font-weight:400">ina looked down and gasped, realizing she’d never actually buttoned her uniform, that her tits were essentiallypletely on disy in the wet shirt. She grabbed her jacket and threw it closed with her hands, looking back up in panic an embarrassment. “Sorry, I, uhm—”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Florenceughed, waving ina off. “Don’t worry, I said I liked it, remember! After all…” Florence grabbed each of her two jacket buttons and popped them open at once, pulling the two sides apart. “I happen to own the same one.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Florence wasn’t lying. She wasn’t nearly as welly endowed as ina, a little smaller than average even, but ina’s eyes were glued to the woman’s chest anyway. Tiny, light pink nipples visible through the soaked, thin white Endrin uniform shirt would be enough tomand ina’s attention for days if she was left unchecked, with the soft curve of the perky boobs underneath gestured at by the wet material as it clung to her chest. It was all on disy as she thrust them out while holding the jacket wide open.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Florence winked as she let go of her coat, not bothering to rebutton it. On her small frame, the breasts of the jacket fell back almost entirely over her chest, a feat ina’s chest simply wouldn’t allow, but the color of her modest cleavage was still easily visible through her transparent shirt. “So, what brings you out to my secret rainy day spot?” Florence asked, kneeling down next to ina and looking out over the water.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Uhm, I just finished fencing ss.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Florence puffed out her cheeks with air and then let out a howlingugh. “And you did that in the rain, with no bra on? That’s hrious!”


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">Who does this girl think she is? </i><span style="font-weight:400">“I didn’t— It wasn’t on purpose!” ina turned back towards the water and sat back down, buttoning her jacket properly this time. “I had aundry issue, and I didn’t know I’d be taking the jacket off… And it wasn’t raining earlier!”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Florence looked over, yful glint in her eye. “But it was funny, right?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">ina went to protest, but she let out a chuckle instead. “No, it wasn’t!” She meant it. It hadn’t been funny, after all. A little exciting maybe, but the only reason she’dughed was just because Florence’s stupid smiling face made her…


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Okay, I believe you. After all, your little tomato face does look pretty embarrassed about it. Still, I’d be more careful with those things if I were you. I can get away going braless, but you’re kinda a different story.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">ina looked down, still blushing, still with a slight smile. “It was an ident. I won’t do it again.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Eh, never say never is what I always say.” The girl popped back up to standing, giving a nice, long view up her legs as she stood. <i><span style="font-weight:400">Gods those are nice. </i><span style="font-weight:400">“Still though, you just had fencing ss, but, if I’m remembering correctly, the dorms are the opposite direction from theke. So why’d youe here after?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">ina sighed, shaking her head. “I’ve had a bad day. I just wanted to be alone.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Florence looked away, making an obviously fake grimace. “Oops, guess even that went wrong, huh? Really must not be your day then.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">inaughed again. “Guess so.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I can leave if you want?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No, it’s fine… It’s your secret spot, after all.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Florence beamed at ina, nodding and sitting down right next to her, shoulder and hips touching ina. “I like being out here alone too. I love the water, but there’s so many people here during break times during the day. I’ll sometimes try to sneak out at night, but I have to keep an eye out for good ole Iron Whip.”


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">Iron Whip? </i><span style="font-weight:400">“Do you mean Tira?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Oh? You know Watch Captain Strask on a first name basis, huh?” Florence scooted back, looking ina over once more. “Yeah, you seem her type alright.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">ina blushed again, clutching her chest with her arms. <i><span style="font-weight:400">Probably best not to mention Tira when I’m only goingmando thanks to her.</i><span style="font-weight:400"> “I— I don’t know what you mean.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Of course you don’t,” Florence said, winking again. She pulled her knees together, resting her head on them and looking into ina’s eyes. “Want to talk about whatever’s bothering you? I’m a good listener.”


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">Gods, am I that easy to read?</i><span style="font-weight:400"> “No, not really.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Okay,” Florence said, cocking her head. “So what’s the problem?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">ina blinked. “I just said—”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Florence sat there, big eyes staring. She was eager to listen, a friendly face, even if they’d never met before.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Well, there’s this girl…”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, other than Tira?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">ina blushed, pushing her face into her hands. “I told you it’s not like that with her.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Right. Well, go on; I certainly don’t judge for that sort of thing.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Anyway, so, this girl… I thought we were friends, but then some shit happened, and now she kind of might hate me? And I don’t know how I feel about her. She did some fucked up stuff, but, like, I don’t think she meant to, at least that she didn’t mean to hurt me.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“It’s hard reconciling it, huh?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah. Like, she’s really nice, was nice, but she hangs around with shitty people, and then when it came time to choose them or me…”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“She chose them.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Uh-huh. And I just—” ina gripped her skirt, wanting to rip the fabric, just so she could break something. “She chose <i><span style="font-weight:400">them</i><span style="font-weight:400">. I know she’s known them longer, but they’re such <i><span style="font-weight:400">assholes.</i><span style="font-weight:400">”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Florence nodded, eyes sinking a bit. “I know. It’s like that among nobility, sometimes.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">ina hung her head, feeling the water pour down her hair as itnded on her, tears dropping from her eyes, hopefully still covered by the rain. “Why though? Why was she nice to me at first if she was just gonna throw me awayter?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">A hand fell on her shoulder, patting her. “She didn’t n to do that, I’m sure. The Fireguards and Ferris’s are powerful, important families, after all. It might seem like she made a choice to you, when to her it didn’t seem like she had a choice at all.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">ina looked up, squinting at Florence. “How do you know…”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Florence shrugged, pursing her lips. “Like I said, everyone’s talking about you.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Right.” ina took in a deep breath, then exhaled before standing up and stepping onto the grass. “I should probably get going. My roommate’s going to be worried if I stay out here too long.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, yeah, wouldn’t want her getting worried,” Florence said, standing up and nodding. “I’m gonna enjoy my secret rainy spot a little longer. Feel free toe back sometime, though I have a feeling we’ll meet again sooner orter regardless.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">ina sniffed. “Sure. And, uh, thanks, Florence.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Nope!” Florence said, hopping down off the rock and squeezing ina tightly. “We’re friends now, so Flora it is, got it?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">ina smiled as she wiped her eyes. “Alright, thanks Flora.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Flora let go of the embrace and turned back, jumping onto the rock once more and looking out over theke as ina walked back towards the school.


    <span style="font-weight:400">ina’s mind raced as she made her way back to the dorms. Prisma, the System, the fact that she kept running into cute girls everywhere she went. <i><span style="font-weight:400">And what the hell was with that girl shing me like that?</i><span style="font-weight:400"> She entered themon room, still dripping from the rain, looking for her roommate.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Uhm, has anyone seen Carline?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">A girl from ina’s and Carline’s alchemy ss, Lily her name might have been, spoke up. “She left a few minutes ago. Prisma was looking for her.”