The Final Test, Part Nineteen

At this point, Rin knew she didn't have to hide anything from Elisa. She knew all of her most well-kept secrets. So, she felt no pressure as she picked up what she would usually wear as Triss and put it on in preparation for the celebration tonight.

It was nearly nighttime. Eve had told everyone about the bar they'd be visiting. It was not the same one they'd gone to before, but, rather, one that was a little more to the north of the city. She figured that maybe Eve picked out a higher-class establishment because of the people who'd be coming with them tonight. Regardless, that meant that Elisa could simply go out and be with her family until it was time for the drinks to get poured when she'd then show up at the bar.

Meaning that Rin was currently alone in her room, sitting at the edge of her bed, grasping it harshly. Xhez was still resting in her bag as well, and Rin wasn't about to interrupt her sleep just because she was feeling nervous.

Glancing down at herself, as she sat there in that black dress, some of the changes Rin's body had undergone became more obvious. A minor flex of Rin's wrists was enough for her forearms to pop out, and her biceps had gotten bigger than a lot of her male friends back at the Silver Rose.

[Do I even look good right now?] Rin wondered. [If I tried to work at the Silver Rose with a body like this, I feel like my clients would be scared of me.]

She stood up and began pacing back and forth as she waited for the clock on the wall to strike 9:00pm, the time they'd agreed on. It was 8:37 right now.

A self-deprecating laugh escaped Rin's lips then.

"Too muscular to be a whore, too bad at fighting to be an adventurer. Is that where I'm going to end up?" She wondered aloud.

Then, she heard a knock on her door.

Quickly, she shook her head, stood up, and went to answer it.

Eve was outside, hovering in the hall, wearing what looked like a dress made of leaves.

"Hi~ You ready to party?" Eve asked, striking a pose.

"Heh, uh, yeah," Rin replied. "I'm just... Taking a second to chill."

"Ah, gotcha. In that case, can I come in?" Eve asked.

"Sure."

The fairy flew in as Rin stepped to the side. She quickly turned around mid-air, however, and said:

"Hard to believe everyone just agreed to go out like that. Kinda makes it feel like we're actually in a school, right? Like, a normal one."

"Heh, I wouldn't know," Rin said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I dropped out before I could finish high school."

It was when Rin was 17, after all, that her brother went missing and she ended up having to provide for her family. She never got the chance to graduate.

"Still, you never went drinking or anything?"

[Alone? Plenty of times. With other people? Not so much.]

"Nah. And you?"

"All the time," Eve replied with a wink. "We can't go as hard as we'd like because, you know, we're small, so we can't tolerate as much alcohol as other races can, but fairies love that kind of stuff."

"Alright, now I know that if I ever need you to do something for me, I guess I'll just buy some wine, right?" Rin asked, crossing her legs as she sat down on her bed.

"I just did future-me a hell of a favor, huh?" Eve asked and the two of them shared a laugh.

At that moment, Eve's eyes drifted toward something. She spotted Xhez's bag and floated up, getting close to it.

"... So, this is where Xhez, ehm, sleeps?"

"Yeah," Rin answered. "She's resting."

"Wow," Eve said, looking down at it. "Hard to believe she's just... there."

"You get used to it," Rin replied with a shrug.

"How long is she supposed to be in there for?"

"She told me that sprites can sleep for months at a time. If I never woke her up, she could probably go for that long."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," Rin nodded. "But, since I know she wants to see the city and all, I just get her out whenever I feel like she'd want to stretch her legs or something. Sometimes I get it right, other times I feel like a piece of crap for waking her too early."

[And, then there are the times I wake her up to do my Triss stuff or my Arena stuff, but, yeah.]

"Hm... Oh, by the way," Eve said, turning toward her, "you look hot in that dress! I mean, you always look hot, but, you know, hotter than normal!"

"Eh, t-thank you," Rin replied, awkwardly chuckling. She'd been caught off-guard.

"Anyone you're trying to impress?" Eve asked, flying up close and wiggling her brows at Rin.

"Yep. You!" Rin replied light-heartedly.

"Oh wow! Screw the party, come on, let's make out!"

As Eve puckered her lips at Rin, her laugh only intensified. Eve giggled as well before she sat down next to Rin.

"... Is it Elisa?" Eve then asked.

As Rin's laughter died down, she exhaled slowly and looked back at the fairy. At first, she hesitated, but, upon thinking about it, she decided to simply give a firm nod and say:

"Yeah."

"Ah, it was kinda easy to guess, to be honest," Eve told her. "You act different around her."

"Really? What do you mean?"

"Eh, nothing too bad or whatever, just that you get, like, weirdly shy and awkward and stuff. I mean, you're always kinda like that, which is weird given how gorgeous you are, but, even more so around her, you know?"

"Ah... Crap, I should probably try not to be so obvious, then."

"For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure she likes you too," Eve stated. "Are you gonna try to make something happen tonight?"

"I don't know," Rin replied. "I... I don't want to get my hopes up."

"... Yeah," Eve suddenly said, her tone taking a small hit. "I can understand that. But, I would say that you should at least be honest with her tonight. I mean, drinks are gonna be flowin', music is gonna be playin', the mood's just good for it, you know?"

"I get what you mean. And... yeah, I agree."

[She's right,] Rin thought. [I should just tell her what I think, what I want, and... Whatever happens, at least I'll have it out of my mind, right?]

"... Well, come on then!" Eve said, floating in front of Rin and taking her hands. "Let's head on over!"