The morning comes. Theyni wakes up before Anima, and slips away. She brushes her hair as she shakes off her sleepiness. It’s still early, and it’s unlikely for there to be anybody else roaming the halls. She slips out of her room and makes her way to Scima’s. She walks inside calmly.

  However, instead of an empty room, she is met with the sight of Sion’s morning training. The blue light of his soul magic pulses wildly as it flows around his body. The glow is strongest as the power converges into specific points along his body. The glow dulls when he notices the door opening. He greets Theyni.

  “Good morning, Theyni. What are you doing here?” Theyni still hasn’t fully processed his presence, but she gets the gist of it.

  “I… came to wake you up…” Sion tilts his head in confusion.

  “But the sun is already up? Actually, how would you have even known I was here? Did somebody tell you last night?” Theyni, still dressed only in an oversized shirt, looks away as she plans her escape.

  “Yeah… something like that.” Theyni starts to leave. “Ok, don’t say anything about this!” Although still confused, Sion starts to make his way downstairs.

  Theyni, meanwhile, returns to her room. When she walks back inside, she sees Anima stretching as she wakes up. Theyni grabs a simple outfit from her closet and pulls out the partition so she can change. She walks out wearing a simple blue dress.

  “Good morning, Anima. Sleep well?”

  “Good morning. I did.”

  “Can I dress you up?”

  “Huh? S-sure? But why?”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  Theyni looks through her closet thoroughly. She pulls out a white dress and various matching accessories and hands it all to Anima, practically pushing her behind the partition all the while. Anima changes, then comes out slightly bashful. The dress is sleeveless and comes down to her knees, with black frills at the end. Theyni smiles at a job well done.

  “Yeah, you look good. You should just keep this.”

  “No, that’s too much.”

  “It’s fine. I’m not wearing it anyway.”

  “Really?”

  “Just take it. We’re in an alliance. An alliance.”

  “Theyni, I still don’t know what that means.”

  “You’ll figure it out, don’t worry. Let’s just go downstairs for now.”

  The two girls walk to the staircase. On the way, they run into a well dressed woman with silver hair. The woman freezes up when she sees Anima, but Theyni carries on regardless.

  “Good morning, Mom.” Anima is quick to introduce herself.

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  “Good morning, ma’am. I’m Anima.” The woman collects herself quickly.

  “Good morning, you two.” She looks at Anima. “My name is Dove Shard. I assume you’re a friend of Theyni’s.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “When did you arrive?”

  “Last night.”

  “Ah, then are you friends with that boy that my father and Adalwolf have recently taken a liking to?”

  “Sion?”

  “Yes, that’s the name. Well, you seem sensible enough, so that’s a good sign.”

  “What?”

  “I haven’t met that boy Sion, you see. And the last time both of them took an interest in somebody was… difficult. So I was beside myself with worry when I woke up and saw that scalefox outside.” Theyni protests.

  “Scima isn’t that bad!”

  “He wouldn’t learn anything unless your grandfather beat it into him.” Anima begins to talk as Theyni shrinks back in resignation.

  “Sion isn’t anything like that, so there’s no need to worry.” Theyni joins in.

  “Yeah, even if he’s a little insensitive, he’s a good guy!” Dove looks Anima up and down.

  “Now that I’ve taken a better look at you, Anima, isn’t that one of Theyni’s dresses?” Theyni answers.

  “I gave it to her since I wasn’t wearing it.”

  “Ah, it’s one of the ones that you barely wore before you outgrew them.”

  “It is. And I’ve found a good way to use it, don’t you think?”

  “You did. You look quite beautiful, Anima.” Anima wasn’t expecting to be complimented so early, and wasn’t prepared to accept it.

  “T-thank you.”

  “Well then, we should go downstairs, shouldn’t we?”

  The three of them make their way to the staircase. As they’re walking down, the front door opens and Adalwolf and Sion walk inside. Adalwolf seems very happy, Sion proud.

  “It’s incredible that Regn is already ready for another day of travel.” Sion beams.

  “He really is incredible. I really never would have been able to get this far without him.”

  “And you’re going home soon?”

  “Yeah, me and Regn both.”

  “You’ve been working hard, but don’t worry, me and the general can take care of it from here. So you can relax at home.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Adalwolf.”

  “Of course. This is the responsibility of adults, after all.” Adalwolf rushes over to the bottom of the stairs when he sees Dove. He holds her gently. “Good morning, dear.”

  “Adalwolf, why didn’t you tell me that we had guests?” Adalwolf stiffens up.

  “Are you mad? Sorry. They arrived well into the night. When I came to bed, you seemed tired, so I thought it might be better to tell you in the morning, but I woke up early and thought I should check on the animals.” Dove softens at his words.

  “But this is really the sort of thing I should know about.”

  “Let’s eat breakfast.”

  Adalwolf herds all of the teenagers into the dining room. They arrive and find the general and an old woman, his wife, already at the table. Before they sit down, Theyni calls out to Sion as she holds the shoulders of Anima.

  “Sion, do you think Anima looks cute in this dress?” Anima quickly becomes flustered.

  “Th-Theyni!?” Sion answers, unfazed.

  “She does.” Theyni lets go of Anima and starts walking to the table.

  “Well, she’s always cute, so that’s to be expected, right?”

  “Yeah, you’re right.”

  The three of them go to join the adults at the table. Theyni moves quickly so as to force Sion and Anima to sit next to each other. Anima, still affected by Sion’s plain answers, remains flustered next to him. Sion is perfectly normal, meanwhile. They enjoy a meal with Theyni’s family before setting off once more.