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[center][@Lonewolf685][/center]

Olivia listened to Lupin’s reply with an eager smile. [color=LightSkyBlue]“Oh goodness! I hadn’t thought of that! And if he could unhinge his jaw, perhaps he was actually a wolf-snake hybrid?”[/color] she mused. [color=LightSkyBlue]“And, you know, some reptiles have the ability to camouflage themselves, so maybe that’s why his disguise was so believable, at least initially,”[/color] she added, her lovely countenance taking on a thoughtful expression. [color=LightSkyBlue]“Oh, but does that mean you have experience with wolves, or wolf Pageless, perhaps?”[/color] the blonde beauty inquired her eyes seeming to glitter with fascination. [color=LightSkyBlue]“I haven’t been a Magical Girl for very long, but none of the Pageless my darling Xolys and I have encountered have really looked like animals. Although they certainly do have a lot of variety, don’t you think?”[/color]

However, before the wolf girl could respond, she was grabbed by another student and literally carried off. Something about night training? [color=LightSkyBlue]“Oh! Um, see you later!”[/color] a slightly startled Olivia called out. [color=LightSkyBlue]“It was very nice meeting you! Night training…”[/color] the azure-clad beauty marveled as she watched the pair depart. [color=LightSkyBlue]“They must be very dedicated,”[/color] she observed, before turning to Suzuya. [color=LightSkyBlue]“Maybe [i]we[/i] should try to get some extra training in, too. But not tonight,”[/color] she added with a small yawn. [color=LightSkyBlue]“We had a rather eventful day today, and I’m quite ready for a good night’s sleep.”[/color]

Once they returned to their room, Olivia was somewhat surprised when Suzuya elected to sleep untransformed. At first, the ethereal beauty couldn’t figure out why her roommate had chosen to deprive herself of the comfy cushion her fluffy tails provided, but then she realized that Suzuya was probably doing this as a form of endurance training, like sleeping on a bed of nails. [color=LightSkyBlue][i]Wow… She’s just so amazingly strong…[/i][/color] Olivia reflected. [color=LightSkyBlue][i]Having the ability to be so very comfy and yet choosing not to make use of it... Darling and I will have to train [b]extra[/b] hard to be worthy teammates for her,[/i][/color] she resolved, smiling at the thought of how much fun such training would be…

[hr]

Over the next week, Olivia’s time was mostly spent in one class or another, and while she regrettably hadn’t been able to have more than a handful of brief interactions with Wilhelmina and Chinami, she had grown much closer to Suzuya. Indeed, between their chats during lunch and various after-school training sessions, Olivia had learned quite a lot about her roommate. Thus, she felt confident in saying that the somewhat timid girl was her first real “best friend”. Apart from Xolys, of course. It was just a shame that they hadn’t had much time to do anything outside of school-related activities, but Olivia hoped that would soon change, and, as they gathered for another city patrol, she was happily telling Suzuya about one of her most eagerly anticipated potential extracurricular activities…

[color=LightSkyBlue]“…and, so, I was thinking it would be a lot of fun if we spent the night there to see if the rumors are true,”[/color] the azure-clad maiden was saying as she smiled up at where Suzuya had perched herself atop Xolys. [color=LightSkyBlue]“You know, like a sleepover! We could even invite some of the other girls, like Helmi, and Chinami, and maybe that wolf girl…”[/color]

Her voice trailed off as she noticed that their patrol leader would be none other than Charlotte, or rather, [i]Ozma[/i], a very interesting turn of events for someone who she’d first encountered literally fleeing the responsibilities of being a teacher. Still, if there was any sense of unease at what such a state of affairs might suggest, it was all-too-quickly swept away by the excitement of seeing the renowned “Crimson Comet” in action. Their two new teachers, Maria and Valeria were present as well, probably to serve as evaluators. After Ozma had given a (very) short speech and zoomed off on her broomstick, Maria gave a little speech of her own. Neither was particularly noteworthy, just basic “watch out for each other and remember your training” stuff, and with that out of the way, it was time to begin.

As they moved through the school’s gates, Olivia heard Suzuya call out to one of the nearby girls, the same girl, incidentally, that had carried away the wolf girl after Valeria’s first combat trial. [color=LightSkyBlue]“Pizza?”[/color] the Ethereal Rose echoed. [color=LightSkyBlue]“Oh, I think an after patrol pizza party would be a lot of fun!”[/color] she declared with a brilliant smile. However, the other girl didn’t seem to agree, saying that they should focus on the task at hand. Olivia had to admit, she was kinda impressed by the girl’s professionalism, but she didn’t quite understand their next statement. [color=LightSkyBlue]“Alone? Um, I always thought eating a meal at a restaurant was more enjoyable with friends…”[/color] she added, frowning slightly. After all, the azure-clad maiden had plenty of first-hand experience with the pain of silently dining alone, and she didn’t want Suzuya to go through the same thing, at least, not if she could help it. [color=LightSkyBlue]“We can still go together,”[/color] she hastened to tell her teammate with a reassuring smile. [color=LightSkyBlue]“I think it will make for a wonderful reward for a successful patrol, don’t you?”[/color]