{Cara}

"Ah..." Cara rubbed her back as she walked through the academy's halls. "I can still kinda feel it."

The wound Brine had inflicted on her still burned softly on her spine, even though it had been healed away. Physical trauma, some people called it. Maybe it was her body's way of scolding her for allowing it to happen in the first place. Not that there was a lot she could have done about it, given the circumstances.

It was late in the day, with the sky turning a deep orange as the sun began to retreat past the horizon. The nighttime chill felt like it had clocked in earlier than usual.

"Hey, Ms. Cara!" Cara didn't even have to turn around to know who was talking to her.

"Eve, what's the point in saying 'miss' if you're just going to use my first name anyway? Just call me Cara."

"R-Right," the fairy replied shyly, her cheeks a little red, as she flew up to her. "I was wondering if I could ask you about some of the monsters I fought recently!"

A little smile found its way onto Cara's face as she turned to look at her. Unlike Maria, Cara couldn't really say she had an apprentice. Eve would certainly be the closest thing, however, among the first-year students.

"Sure, but..." As she walked back to her office, with the fairy flying next to her, Cara found someone standing at her door. "Maybe later."

"Thank you," Eve replied, doing a bow in the air. "See ya in class!"

The fairy flew away then, leaving Cara with... this.

Maria had her back to the wall and her head low, her arms crossed over her chest. Even as Cara got so close she could open the door herself, the other teacher didn't seem to notice her arrival.

A knot built up in Cara's throat but she pushed it down to allow herself to say:

"Maria?"

The cinnamon-haired woman did a double-take in her direction. She opened her mouth to speak but didn't say anything. A guilty expression came over Maria as she turned away and Cara sighed, gesturing at the door.

"Wanna come in?"

Maria wordlessly took her up on that offer and the two of them walked inside, their footsteps echoing in Cara's small office space and Cara felt like they sounded just a little bit louder than they should. Or, maybe the silence between her and Maria right now was just that awkward.

As she sat behind her desk, on the same chair, old and worn-out now, where Maria had kissed her a few years ago, Cara crossed her legs and waited for the other woman to speak.

"... I've been thinking," Maria finally stated.

"Wonderful," Cara muttered quietly.

"I..." Maria's hands balled up into fists on her lap. "I need to be stronger."

Cara's mind, of course, had been sitting in a similar place thanks to the somewhat recent events. Over the course of the last month, she'd started training again. She wasn't about to stop being a teacher, though, so there was only so much she had the time to do. That said, she still tried.

Maria paced around the office, her eyes refusing to meet Cara's.

"The fight at Alera made that very clear. It is also clear that some form of a threat is taking shape in the shadows and we need to be ready for it. For Rin's sake, especially," Maria stated. "I doubt this group is just going to leave her alone. Or Xhez, as well."

The mention of the sprite produced complicated feelings within Cara.

She hadn't gotten to talk to, or about, the sprite much at all since she learned of her. According to Rin, whenever the sprite used a lot of Essence like she had before, she would need some time to rest to get it back. Agreeing to be patient, Cara had allowed her to take her time but had not seen her at all since then.

"So... I need your help," Maria finally said, her voice so low that Cara nearly didn't hear her. "I could train by myself, but I'm sure you would agree that having a competent fighter by my side would speed up the process."

Admittedly, a small part of Cara wanted to tease Maria a little for this. She figured she'd earned the right to, after putting up with four years of the proverbial cold shoulder. And yet, she didn't. Cara lacked the energy for it.

"I don't mind," she replied just as quietly. "But, I don't think that alone would be enough to get you back to where you were."

[I don't know if anything would be enough for that,] she added internally. [The old Maria was a living legend. A force of nature that took years of not just training, but also the two of us consistently putting ourselves through life-or-death situations and coming out on top in order to be created. Is that really something you can just achieve again?]

"I know," Maria replied. "But, I want to try. Training, first. Then... Maybe..."

Maria looked away, gripping her shirt with both hands and squeezing it hard.

Sighing, Cara stood up and walked over to Maria.

"I'll help," Cara stated. "If it means we can help keep our students safe, then I'll help."

Maria's eyes fell on her again. Looking back up at Cara, the ashen-haired woman could almost see herself in their reflection.

"Right, we... we should do it for them. Thank you."

Cara looked down.

[... When the hell did we get so close?]

Despite that thought, she didn't move to put any space between them.

There was a knock on the door and Cara jumped.

That space she'd declined to create was made by Maria then, as the woman moved away from her.

"Come in," Cara called out.

Hearing that, Rin suddenly entered the room, followed by someone neither Cara nor Maria had seen in a while. Elisa.

Both parties looked at each other with some surprise.

Rin and Elisa must have sensed an odd tension coming from the two women standing in the middle of the office as the look on Rin's face said, "should we come back later?" While Cara and Maria both noticed that the two of them were a little too well-dressed for whatever they'd been doing before to have been casual.

Cara cleared her throat, walking back to her desk.

"What do you need?" She asked the two girls who'd just come in while Maria stood off to the side.

"It's the Scorned," Rin finally stated. Cara sighed.

[Of course, it's the fucking Scorned again.]