Soleil was reading rather intently into a hefty book. Shanna could practically see her veins popping out of her forehead. The disgruntled girl began rotating the book around in her hands as though looking at it from different angles would help her understand it better.

Shanna skipped over to her, the soft grass under her feet lightening her quaint footsteps. "Hey, hey, hey! What'cha lookin' at?"

Soleil flinched at the girl's voice. She was so taken by the book she was holding that she hadn't noticed the sprightly mercenary approaching her. She couldn't help but blush because someone had found her reading this.

"Oh, this thing? It's just nothing, haha! Garbage, really. I'm just gonna throw-" Soleil tossed the book away, but cut herself off when Shanna sidestepped and intercepted it with one hand.

The pegasus knight rubbed her chin as she read the front cover. It read 'Ballroom Dancing for Troglodytes'.

"Wow," Shanna whistled. "I never thought you were the type of girl who considered herself a troglodyte, Soleil." She flipped the book open.

Soleil scrambled over to her. "H-hey! Stop it!" Even though Shanna was smaller than her, the young pegasus knight still found it easy to play keep-away with the book.

While the embarrassed mercenary girl panically jumped around her, Shanna couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"Sorry, sorry! Here." Shanna handed the book back to the other girl.

Soleil grabbed it forcefully and shoved it down her shirt. "Let's just forget about this, shall we?"

The book slid down her shirt and fell back onto the grass.

Shanna couldn't help but giggle again. "You're funny, Soleil."

Soleil scratched her head. "Argh. Cute girls are supposed to think I'm cool, not funny! I didn't think anyone was going to find me here!"

The Ilian trainee tilted her head. "I don't see the issue. I think trying out new things is cool! You're interested in ballroom dance, Soleil?"

"Um. Yeah. My parents are both talented dancers. In fact, they devote most of their lives to dancing. Even my brother can sing and dance a little bit," Soleil spread her arms out wide. "I can't do either at all! Not even a little bit! So I wanted to try and learn, but I'm too embarrassed to ask my parents for help, so I'm trying to teach myself."

Shanna picked the book up off the ground. "Want me to help you?"

Soleil raised an eyebrow. "You can dance, Shanna?"

The girl shrugged. Beaming, she answered. "I don't know! But you have this manual here, and my sisters tell me all the time that I'm a quick learner. So maybe if we learn together, you can pick it up easier!"

Soleil looked Shanna down from head to toe. Shanna couldn't tell, but the other girl was checking her out. At first glance Shanna could almost be mistaken for a boy, but Soleil found the other girl's face to be rather adorable.

Grinning, Soleil grabbed Shanna's hands and nodded with fervor. "Great idea, Shanna! Let's get right to it!"

"Awesome!"

Soleil was spinning. Sloppy, ungraceful, clumsy. She didn't get it. Whenever she tried to do what the book was telling her to do, she felt like her legs were merely vestigial extensions of her hips and her feet were given minds of their own.

When she stopped to check what the other girl was doing, she felt like she was watching a dance prodigy.

Shanna's movements were unbelievably precise. Her arms and legs were coordinated like an orchestra and water-like in fluidity. Soleil couldn't believe that she was a novice! Her mother had been studying song and dance for years to get to where she was now!

The smaller girl stopped and smiled at Soleil. "What's wrong? Want to take a break?"

Soleil let go of Shanna, panting. She gave the other girl an accusing point. "Who are you!?"

Shanna tilted her head. "I'm Shanna!" She replied cheerfully.

"Argh! I can't win with you! Are you an idiot or a genius!?"

Shanna tapped her temple with a finger and looked around thoughtfully. "I don't know. I get that question a lot."

"What else can you do?"

The girl gave Soleil another shrug. "Not much. If I don't practice something regularly I just forget how to do it."

"So you can just learn how to do anything? And be good at it?" Soleil was genuinely intrigued.

"Dunno. I guess so. Every time it gets brought up my sister Thea gets mad."

Soleil took a moment to think. This girl was an anomaly. She was too air headed to realize how much of a genius she was.

Soleil gave her a look again. Though she dressed cute and her face was rather girlish, Shanna's petite frame and short hair had a lot of potential to make her look really suave. Maybe, just maybe, Soleil had something to work with.

She grabs the trainee's shoulder. "You know what, Shanna? Are you busy later?"

She energetically shakes her head. "Nope! I've done all my chores for the day."

"Awesome!" Soleil begins dragging her back towards the castle. "You know, I know this great cafe in town that a lot of cute girls like to go to. I think if we dressed you up in something stylish, you could make a lot of friends!"

"That sounds like an awesome idea!"

That night, the Summoner decided to retire a bit earlier than usual for the night. On his way back to his study, he found a stranger reading a book sitting on one of the benches outside the baths. He had swept blue hair and a small frame. The dark red jacket and slacks he wore exuded a strange aura of effeminate yet masculine elegance. A pre-teen boy, perhaps?

Though the Summoner wasn't exactly trained or equipped to defend himself, he nevertheless approached the intruder. The strange boy didn't exude any malicious intent.

He cleared his voice. "Um, excuse me, did you need anything?"

The boy perked up at the Summoner's voice and his eyes lit up.

"Oh, Summoner! I just got back from town. Soleil brought me! I made a lot of new friends!"

That voice-?

"Shanna!? Huh?"

The girl tilted her head. "Hmm? Is something wrong?"

The Summoner regained himself and cleared his throat again. Upon closer inspection, this was undoubtedly his pupil. "Erm, no. Nothing is wrong. You said Soleil brought you?"

"Yep!"

"I see," The Summoner pulled his hood up and gave her a nod. "Anyhow, you should get to bed, kid. Do you know where Soleil is now?"

Shanna knitted her brow in worry. "Actually you should go check up on her. For some reason when we arrived back here she started crying and went straight to her room..."

This only served to confuse the Summoner further.

I basically revealed Soleil's mother to be Azura in this without mentioning anyone in her family by name. Shanna deserves more praise.