[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Moq89NM.png[/img][h2][color=gold]Tesni[/color][/h2][/center]

It was done, the flying menace was destroyed and the team exercise was over and now she could go back to… no… nononononono! More teamwork?! Anyone looking at Tesni would almost be able to see the gears turning in her head, trying to find a way out of having to team up again. As capable as Tesni was in combat, thinking of way to dodge responsibilities outside of literally running away from them weren’t her strong suit.

[color=gold]“But, but… I did it, it’s done…”[/color] the disappointment was palpable in her voice. Tesni just sounded exhausted as she wandered towards Valeria, dismissing her transformation. Sure there was something going on about ‘Tuning Grimoires’ or whatever, but that was of secondary importance to Tesni. She felt that her Grimoire was already plenty powerful, what needed to improve was herself. To become more aware of the similarities between the story and herself. Maybe she was wrong about that, but Tesni wasn’t likely to arrive at that conclusion on her own. Good thing she was at a school that correct her if needed.

[color=gold]“Miss Valeria… do I have to? Suzuya could have hit me, but she didn’t. Would I throw myself into the firing range if I thought for a second, I would get hurt? It’s a training exercise. And if it was a real battle, taking the hit to land a finishing blow is always acceptable. Let them cut my flesh so I can shatter their bones, let them shatter my bones to take their life!”[/color] even as she was spewing out excuses and justifications, she could tell she was going to have to do this. So, her mind raced, trying to think of the most efficient way to solve the issue of ‘teamwork’. Logically she should team up with someone who was already familiar with her. The conclusion she came to was either double down with Bonbon or go for Suzuya who Valeria already brought up as someone who risked damaging her from a distance. Surely the best way to deal with this whole ‘teamwork’ thing was to take the critique at face value and directly address it? Tesni felt her brain was going to burst before giving up.

[color=gold]“Group assignments suuuuuck…”[/color] were her final words before just slumping to the ground and lying down on the cool floor. Looking over at the students swarming the Tuner she suddenly felt envious of them. They were more concerned with getting stronger than the assignment. Closing her eyes, Tesni thought about that some more. Why wasn't she eager to get stronger? Did she subconsciously think she was already as strong as she could be? That she was finished? Completed? No… that couldn't be right. If this was the limit of her strength, then woudln't she [i]have[/i] to team up at some point? Was she already a finished painting, no more canvas to fill in? No, that couldn't be right either. If she was already perfectly strong how could she improve?

[color=gold]"How can I get stronger if I'm already the strongest? I have to be weak… I must be weak, because I have to get stronger."[/color] The strange recursive logic of her wanting to get stronger somehow made Tesni more accepting of the teamwork idea, even if she still hated the idea of relying on anyone else with a strange passion.