Rhajat awoke on her own. Corrin had left the night before, with guilt in her heart. Rhajat felt she needed to address what Corrin was going to ask, but at the same time wasn't sure. There was only so much she could say about Azura after all. She wasn't sure what she could say.

"Your old dead friend showed up in my head Corrin!" She thought to herself. And that was ignoring the fact that Azura said to keep this as secret as possible. On the other hand, this was clearly important to Corrin. She didn't feel the most comfortable keeping this to herself.

"Why does keeping this from Corrin matter anyway?" Rhajat asked. "Or really anyone?"

Azura didn't immediately respond, causing Rhajat to wonder if she was still there. Before she could repeat herself, she spoke up. "Honestly? It's less a 'command' and more a 'request.' I just feel... a bit awkward about it. I don't know if she'd be able to handle the fact that I'm back, I just feel nervous."

Rhajat folded her arms. "I guess I can get that. Well, you helped me save everyone, I can do you this in return."

"Thank you! I really do appreciate it. Maybe one day we'll tell her." Azura explained.

"Speaking of your past... What is your connection to Corrin anyway? You haven't told me much about that."

"Hm? I'm not sure I can tell you much you don't already know." Azura mused. "Corrin was... someone I was really close to. We always watched over each other, we suffered together, we laughed together, we cried together. Why do you ask?"

"I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything." Rhajat said. "I guess it was a dumb question. Like you said, I'm not sure how much more you could tell me that you haven't already." Rhajat did find herself fascinated by what was going on, if a bit anxious.

Rhajat was once quite bitter towards her Father for not being around, but they have since reconciled. She still enjoys teasing him, but the two were a lot closer now than they were once upon a time.

She decided to start getting ready. She had another day of class ahead of her. She had to admit, while she still didn't trust her professor, she was capable. She was a strong fighter, as expected of a mercenary, but she knew her stuff as well. She hadn't steered them wrong before in class. She even knew a bit of magic, which helped out Rhajat. It made her feel like Byleth wasn't wasting her time, which was always a plus in her book. With her clothes on and her study material collected, she left her dorm to head to the classroom.

Rhajat got up and stretched once class was over. It had been another productive day. She felt as if she was slowly getting better and better. She was gaining the ability to cast more and more magic without the use of a tome. She was also getting closer to her certification exam, which would allow her to get even more powerful. The thought of it made her start giggling.

"Rhajat." Byleth said seemingly unfazed.

Rhajat jumped a bit, not realizing her professor was right behind her. "Don't do that."

Byleth tilted her head. "Do... what?"

Rhajat sighed. "Surprise me! I hate that."

Byleth nodded in understanding. "Sorry, I'll keep that in mind."

She wasn't entirely sure why, but she found that reaction odd. "Did you need something?"

"Yes. I need you and Corrin to handle the stables today." Byleth explained.

Rhajat groaned. "Why is that?"

"It might help you down the line." Byleth said. "You don't have to do it right now, but try and get it done before the week is over."

"Alright..." Rhajat begrudgingly accepted. Byleth nodded again and walked away. She was hoping she could get some rest, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen. She rolled her eyes in frustration. She took solace in the idea that it didn't have to be done today. She felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Rhajat? Did the Professor tell you about the stables?" Corrin asked.

Rhajat turned around with an annoyed expression. "Yeah..."

"Well, why don't we get it out of the way? So we don't have to worry about it later or rush at the end of the week?" Corrin suggested.

"I'd prefer not to. Why do today what you could put off until tomorrow?" Rhajat mused.

Corrin looked a bit saddened. "Well, sure. I can see what you mean. It's fine, we'll do it another day."

Rhajat suddenly felt a bit guilty. It seemed Corrin was ready to do this now. "Fine... let's go now. You do have a point..."

"Oh, okay!" Corrin suddenly perked up. "Then why don't we head out?"

"Right..." Rhajat was dreading this, but she also supposed this was to be expected. She doubted anyone graduating from the Officer's Academy did so easily. As much as she wished they did. There just would be times where she'd have to do things she didn't want to do, and she had to accept that. At the very least she wouldn't be doing it alone. She had Corrin at the very least. Rhajat felt she was very sweet, even if she wasn't sure how much of that was an act. She had similar vibes to their professor. However, that wasn't something she needed to concern herself with yet. They had a job to do.

As Corrin groomed the horses, Rhajat brought some water to them. She placed the water down in front of them, and they began to drink.

Corrin rubbed the horses with a smile. "Not much left to go. We're almost done."

"Yeah, thank the gods." Rhajat replied with a yawn.

"Have you ever been on a horse?" Corrin asked.

Rhajat shook her head in response. "Never really had a need to." Rhajat wasn't that close to animals. She didn't hate them by any means, but she also wasn't as head over heels for them as a lot of her peers seemed to be. She didn't even completely understand the appeal. "I find myself gravitating more towards faceless if anything."

"...Faceless?" Corrin felt herself sweating.

"They just seem so interesting to me." Rhajat began. "You could cause so much chaos with them...!"

"I... see..." Corrin was a bit unnerved, but Rhajat had given her no reason to think she was a bad person. Perhaps a bit eccentric, but not bad by any means in her eyes.

Rhajat walked closer to Corrin and started grooming a horse herself. The horse thankfully was rather friendly. While Rhajat wasn't going to get anything out of this, she hoped it'd help someone else. She noticed a soft smile on Corrin's face, which made her smile in return. "Corrin, do you like animals?"

"Hm? Oh, yes." Corrin said with a nod. "I just find them very sweet and cute. Perhaps it's because of Velouria."

"Ah, right." Rhajat mused. "I could see that if you two are good friends."

"Have you talked to her?" Corrin asked.

"A bit. Why?" Rhajat asked.

"Oh, I Just think you two would get along well." Corrin explained. "She's a bit introverted too. She's also got interests that others don't really understand. No offense."

"None taken, I know that my interests aren't... common." Rhajat looked a bit sad for a second, before her expression became neutral again.

Corrin looked apologetic. "Oh, sorry, did I offend you?"

Rhajat shook her head. "No, trust me if you offended me, you'd know. It's more like... no one really gets my interests. Which is fine, it means no one gets in my way. I don't need people holding me back."

Corrin could tell that wasn't the full story, but figured that she shouldn't push it. She didn't want to put Rhajat on the defensive. "You know, I think your hexes are pretty cool. I know a bit of magic, but nothing like that. I'd love to learn a bit more about it."

Rhajat's eyes widened, then she started giggling. "Oh... oh it's a wide world Corrin. But..." Rhajat blushed. "If you insist, I can tell you more about it once we're done here."

Corrin grinned. "I'm looking forward to it. It's not like I'm doing anything else today."

Once the two were done with their work, they reported to Byleth.

"It went well!" Corrin exclaimed. "Rhajat was a great partner."

"It... could've been worse..." Rhajat said with a blush.

Byleth nodded. "Okay, good job you two. I'm impressed that you did it so quickly."

"Well... I couldn't have done it without Corrin." Rhajat said while pointing at her partner. "If it was up to me, I'd have probably waited a bit longer."

"Sounds like she's a good influence on you then." Byleth said.

Before Rhajat could retort, Byleth walked away. Rhajat sighed in frustration. She didn't want to be treated like a child. But she did have to admit that being around Corrin made her feel nicer. Like she needed to be less "devious." She supposed Corrin's good nature was rubbing off on her.

"Anyway, you wanted to talk to me about your hexes, right Rhajat?" Corrin reminded.

"Ah yes." Rhajat started giggling again. "Okay... to my quarters then."

Rhajat turned around and walked away a bit quickly. Corrin had a bit of trouble keeping up, but she was happy to see Rhajat so happy. She figured that she must not get the opportunity to talk about this much. It was clearly something important to her. Corrin was just glad that she could help Rhajat out. She supposed it was in her nature to help people. She was always like that. Her kindness was seen as a weakness and a strength by her family.

Once they reached Rhajat's room, Rhajat gestured for Corrin to sit on the bed. "I've been spending a lot of time here recently huh?"

Rhajat looked towards Corrin. "Hm, I guess so." She then brushed it aside. "Now, you wish to learn more about my hexing?"

"I do." Corrin said, nodding.

"Well then..." Rhajat began. "My hexes are very dangerous. They're mainly used, at least by me, for my own amusement or out of necessity. I guess they could also be used for good, but it's not something I do particularly often. I tend to need various ingredients to make them work properly. Sometimes they need to be handled in a very specific way, or it won't come out right. That can be frustrating, but it's also all the more exciting when I get it down."

Corrin nodded. "Interesting. What do you need exactly?"

"It depends on the hex really. Sometimes I can just use easy to find materials like flowers. Other times they need ingredients much harder to find. They could take me to dangerous places, or might just need something that is nigh impossible to casually find."

Corrin continued to nod. "How would you go about casting a hex?"

"Oh it takes practice." Rhajat explained. "I've been working at it since I was young, and I still struggle with it sometimes, loathe as I am to admit it. It doesn't help that they're a bit difficult to test."

"How so?" Corrin asked.

"Well I'd need a test subject, and as you might be able to guess, not many people are interested in being a guinea pig." Rhajat mused. People being afraid that she'd use them as test subjects unprovoked probably played a part in why people steered clear of her. Not that she particularly minded.

Corrin sweated. "Yeah." Despite how... odd Rhajat came off, she felt she was starting to understand her more and more.

"...Thanks."

Corrin tilted her head. "Hm? What for Rhajat?"

"For listening to me. It's not every day that I get to just go on and on about my interests. So... thank you."

Corrin smiled. "It's no problem at all Rhajat. I'm always here if you need to talk about anything."

Rhajat smiled, but more genuinely as opposed to her usual smirks. The two continued to talk for a bit about various things. Rhajat didn't expect to enjoy Corrin's company as much as she did. But she was glad that she had an ally like Corrin in her life.