Caspian's arms crossed on the balcony's railing. He leaned on it, an empty downcast glare avoiding the lights of the city in favor of the street and trees below. The city was beautiful, sure. But it served as a reminder of where he was. He had looked forward to Sentinel Academy since it had opened in his childhood. But now, it felt like nothing more than a prison.

The rain had begun several minutes before, and had only picked up since. It had soaked Caspian's clothes through, and gods, they were uncomfortable. He continued staring down through his glasses spotty with rain, deep in thought. A sound from behind finally shook him, and he turned to examine its source.

Lilly.

She looked up from the door latch and started, as if she didn't expect to see Caspian beyond it. He could have sworn she began to turn around before opening the door. What shook him- what he was certain he noticed, was her pale face splotchy with red and devoid of her usual greeting smile. Regardless of what was wrong, he was happy to finally see her safe. He only wished she hadn't found him now, dueling with unpleasant thoughts in the rain.

Lilly cleared her throat faintly as she closed the door behind her, and stepped to the railing with Caspian. He could tell her smile was forced. "Caspian, what are you doing out here?" she inquired. "It's pouring. Your clothes are drenched!"

"I'm fine, I was just... looking at the city, is all," Caspian claimed. He let out a nervous laugh. "And you wanted to come out here too, didn't you?"

Lilly lifted Elysian Bloom from her side. "I have this," she said. "And you don't have to hide anything from me, you know. Are you okay?"

"I don't have to hide anything?" Caspian reflected. "I can think of one thing I should keep hidden from you, that's for sure."

"Like I said, I'm fine." He sighed. "I'm just... trying to figure out a way to leave Sentinel, while leaving the rest of the team intact."

"Caspian..."

"...And running through all the things Lazula will say to me when she finds out."

Lilly looked up to him, and held Elysian Bloom over the two. The sound of raindrops pounding on its cover was oddly calming. Either it was the sound, or Lilly subtly letting off her soothing semblance. "Why, Caspian? We've only just started here. You've been looking forward to this for years," she replied.

"Noxis is right. I got into this school by mistake. There's no place for me here, especially not as a leader."

"Don't listen to him, please. You are a big reason why there were no casualties during the attack on the entrance exam," Lilly reminded. She shook her head. "You aren't here by mistake. I assure you, you belong."

"I- All I ever do is... be polite, and stay out of everyone's way. I can't lead!"

The slightest beginnings of a sly smile traced across Lilly's lips. "Well then, how about we frame that as a strength?"

"What?"

"You're polite, which is a strength in itself. But you're always looking out for other people, and hold their best interests in mind, even above your own." Her smile widened. "If those aren't qualities of a leader, I don't know what are."

Caspian breathed out, watching a fog rise into the rain. "Whatever qualities of a leader are, Lazula sure has them. She's done nothing but win since coming here. She beat Midas within the first week, won every training exercise so far, sent Noxis to the infirmary and I..." he lowered his head toward his arms. "I have nothing to show for myself. We're twins. We were raised together, but still. I'm nothing compared to her."

"Caspian..." Lilly bit her lip, as if pondering what words would break through to him. "I know this is much easier said than done, but... I think it would be best to learn not to compare yourself to her. Compare yourself only to yourself, and measure how much you grow. Sentinel would be a good place for that."

"Right, don't compare myself to her," Caspian reflected. He felt his teeth grind. The go-to response whenever he opened up about his complicated relationship with his sister. "Don't compare yourself to her." As in, "don't even bother."

"Anyway, forget about me," Caspian dismissed. He looked down to Lilly, whose face was still pale, makeup at her eyes dark and smudged. He managed to hold eye contact. "Is everything alright with you?"

Lilly stared at him, then finally blinked and cast her gaze past the railing. "Ah. So you noticed."

Caspian nodded gingerly. "You don't have to tell me everything."

"I..." Lilly let the lone word hang in the air for several seconds, then sighed. "Aspen and I just had a bit of a falling out. I don't think I'll be spending time with her anymore."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Caspian responded. He wished he had more to offer.

"I'll be fine, in time. But as of now, I'd... rather not talk about it."

Caspian nodded. He realized he didn't have much experience losing a friend like that. It must have been hard, if this was how Lilly had been taking it, he thought.

Lilly offered a slight smile. "Caspian, you're shivering. You should go inside and change into something dry."

The weekend came. Lazula sat with Lilly in her room, across from her at the mahogany tea table she remembered helping lug up the stairs on move-in day. The light of a rare sunny October morning poured in through the sheer curtains. She had taken her hair out of its usual bun after early morning training, letting it fall behind her shoulders.

She sat back to admire Lilly's work. Each of her movements, from steeping the tea in the pot, to pouring it first for Lazula then herself, to swirling the dainty silver spoon in her cup, were all so poised, delicate, and deliberate. Lazula had been looking forward to this for some time. She never was much for conversation with most. She could hold one with her friends, and brother, whenever he didn't have an excuse to leave. But everytime she sat to speak with Lilly, they would get immersed in one topic, only to find themselves on something else entirely hours later, with no idea how so much time had passed.

Lilly raised her cup a bit to inhale its aroma, and a content smile came to her face. "Usually, black tea is a bit strong for me. But this one has a certain sweetness I quite like," she commented. She placed her cup back on its saucer. "Would you care for milk or sugar?"

"Oh, no thanks. I'll try it plain first, at least," Lazula replied. She raised the cup to her lips, but the steam rising off it told her it was too hot. Her mind went to the most obvious event since their last tea together, but she pondered whether she should bring up such unpleasantries. She made up her mind.

"...So, how have you been since what happened with Aspen?" she inquired.

Lilly pinched her teacup's handle. "I'm better now, after some time. I would still rather not go into much detail, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Lazula responded.

"But, it's not all bad," Lilly added, her voice unexpectedly bright.

"Hm?"

"This way, I get to spend more time with you!"

Lazula couldn't suppress her smile. "Honestly, I was starting to get a little jealous."

Lilly raised cup to her lips and drank deeply, eyes abandoning Lazula in favor of the floral-patterned teapot between the two. She swallowed. "Mm, it's the perfect temperature right now."

Lazula followed her lead. The tea was brewed to peak strength, a strong bitter profile subsiding into smooth sweetness. She looked up. "Am I getting notes of honey, or am I wrong?"

"You're right. You're getting better at this!"

There was a pause after Lazula's slight laugh. She looked to the sky through the curtains, and she found her mind wandering to other events of the past week. "By the way, has Cas been training at all?"

Lilly pursed her lips. "A bit, yes." She looked to Lazula after another sip. "We're at a new school, and the Grimm have returned. It's quite a bit to adjust to in a short time, so maybe it's best we're patient with him."

"It's because the Grimm are back that he needs to train," Lazula insisted. "Besides, we've been here over a month now, almost two. We're lucky there haven't been any attacks since."

"Well, he seems to be doing well in his classes, at least," Lilly offered.

"Of course he is. But classes are only half of Sentinel's purpose," Lazula reminded. "I'm looking out for him. Right now, training as hard as you can is a matter of personal safety."

Lilly sighed, as she was well aware of how stubborn Lazula could be. "I'll speak with him. But missions are soon, that should be training enough for now, will it not?"

"It depends. Seems like nobody but the administration knows what first-year missions will be," Lazula replied. "I doubt they'll give us much hands-on experience as first-years."

"That's true..."

"Which means it's not enough training for Caspian."

Lilly nodded and sipped her tea. "Allow me to propose something. Missions begin in only a handful of days. I will wait for them to come first, as they may motivate him to train harder."

"Good enough," Lazula concluded. "I just hope by the time missions begin, it won't be too late."