She smiled at Kaylee, trying to communicate that she didn’t hold a grudge without bringing it up specifically. “Thanks. I know you’re busy, and I’m grateful for your help. Is there a library I can go to?”
“You can read?” Jessica stared wide-eyed at her.
Jade winced. Apparently, the demarcation between the rich and the poor was more stringent than she had hoped. She shrugged helplessly. “I could before. Here, I’m not so sure. I guess I won’t know unless I try?”
Kaylee nodded thoughtfully as she replied, “I guess that makes sense. There’s a library, but it’s not easy to get access. It’s close to The Red Wyrm, one of the other dormitories, about five blocks north of here.”
“Thanks. I think I’ll try and start there, maybe look around a little before I go for the test. You guys have been so helpful…so I guess I should probably go with you to meet your boss? You know, to see if I can stay here for a few days until I get on my feet and join the academy?”
They both looked a little skeptical at her unconscious tone of certainty that she would make it into the academy, but well…she was a traveler, so they didn’t call her on it. What if she really made it into the academy? They would much rather be on her good side. Finally, seeming to conclude their unspoken argument, Jessica nodded. “Yes, I think that would be for the best, but uhm… Do you have anything else to wear? For instance...shoes?”
Jade stared blankly at them before saying honestly, “I have no idea. Let me check.” I really hope whatever god sent me here at least gave me some normal clothes… She awkwardly stumbled her way to the dresser, silently reveling in the fact that she could WALK! It didn’t matter how awkward she was, the fact that she could do it on her own was amazing! Therefore, she ignored the concerned gawks Jessica and Kaylee were sending her way as she started opening the drawers and rifling through them.
To her relief, there were several pairs of pants and undergarments in the various drawers. Though she had no idea what they were made of—her previous practical experience had mostly taught her about jeans, scrubs, and hospital gowns—they looked comfortable enough. However, not seeing any shirts, she remembered the other door in the room. Stumbling her way over while Jessica and Kaylee looked to be visibly restraining themselves from jumping up to try and catch her when she wobbled, she opened the door victoriously.
Jackpot! In the closet were several shirts or tunicy things hung up, as well as a freaking awesome cape, a simple flowy dress, and something else which was drapey and she didn’t know the name for. There were also some wicked-looking boots on the floor. Triumphantly, she turned back to them and announced, “I do have other stuff!”
Smiling politely, Jessica suggested, “Perhaps you’d like to change then.” Jade nodded, and she continued a little more hesitantly, “Do you...need help?”
The smile fell from Jade’s face. She had been doing so well...and people were still trying to dress her. She recovered almost instantly, but Jessica and Kaylee could tell they’d hit a sore point as she put on a wooden smile. “I’ll be okay, but thank you. It’ll just take a moment.”
Jessica nodded, but not wanting to offend her more, ushered Kaylee out of the room while saying over her shoulder, “We’ll just wait outside.”
Nodding stiffly, Jade quickly selected a shirt, the cape, some boots, and then tottered back to the dresser to grab the other necessities. She flopped unceremoniously on the bed in order to shove things on and off as quickly as she could, despite her jerky movements. It took around a minute, but she was fully dressed and yanking on her sweet new boots. She stood up, feeling way more confident than before. Really, she hadn’t realized how much being in pajamas in front of the two immaculate girls had made her feel...incompetent? Or maybe it was just finally being able to don something other than the attire of an invalid that gave her courage. Either way, it was time to go.
She rummaged through the desk for a moment, finding a key in the top drawer. Assuming it was to the room and not wanting to lose the sweet swag she’d just figured out she had, she grabbed it and opened the door, giving a now much brighter smile to the two girls. “I’m ready!”
They both looked relieved that she was okay and smiling normally again. Kaylee noticed the key in her hand and nodded approvingly as she shut the door behind her and locked it. Since they realized ‘her stuff’ was in there, it was better to keep it locked until they figured out what to do. Jade smiled and reached out, touching their arms briefly as she uttered quietly, “Thank you for all you’ve told me. It really helped.” Even if they had only barely touched the surface.
Jessica smiled sweetly. “It’s no problem. So, let’s go meet Raphael, and then you can begin your adventure!” Wasn’t that what the box had said too? That this would be an adventure?
Grinning back at her, Jade nodded. “That sounds amazing!” As they turned, her grin grew a little wider as she mentally clicked on the two glowing notification dots that had appeared at the side of her vision after she touched the girls, eagerly reading the notifications as she wobbled after them.
You have touched Jessica Dorney, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Appraisal, Cleaning, Cooking, Herbology, or Perception.
You have touched Kaylee Ivers, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Cleaning, Diplomacy, Dodging, Perception, or Tailoring.
Chapter Three – Assimilation
If I don’t click anything, it’ll go away…probably. Do I have to make a choice? Does that mean it won’t do anything to them until I make a choice? I could really use the extra help though…and it did say it would come back stronger for them, right? So there’s no harm… Okay, I’m going to do this, so what’re the best choices?
First, figure out the stats. My worst stats are constitution, strength, and dexterity… I have no idea if these girls have good con, but Jessica looks stronger, and Kaylee looks like she might be fast… Yeah, let’s just go with that.
Only five skills each? Alright… They both have cleaning and perception, so maybe those are more common… Cleaning and cooking make sense, given the whole maid thing, and if these two have it, perception is probably normal too. So that leaves appraisal or herbology for Jessica… I’m in the middle of the city, so not many herbs to find here. Appraisal it is! For Kaylee…diplomacy, dodging, or tailoring. I don’t need to fix my clothes. Diplomacy or dodging both sound pretty good… Then again, I need to talk my way into keeping my room and into the academy place, so diplomacy would probably be better.
Jessica and Kaylee kept shooting nervous looks at her as she seemed to wobble her way behind them. Of course, the fact that she was doing mental calculations about which of their stats to ‘temporarily borrow’ wasn’t helping. Blue screens in front of your face just didn’t seem to help with the whole see where you’re going thing. Glad that she had figured out that she didn’t have to wave her hands at the blue screens, she mentally ‘clicked’ on her first choices for Kaylee as she started trying to surreptitiously watch her like a hawk. A new message replaced the old window she’d been debating over.
Siphoning complete. Assimilation of Dexterity and Diplomacy from Kaylee Ivers underway.
Seriously, that was all she got? No ETA, no amount, nothing? Her eye twitched as she felt her cheeks flushing a tiny bit. Kaylee didn’t even seem to skip a beat as she walked ahead, though she was now looking a little more nervous that Jade was staring at her so intently whenever she glanced back. Whatever, go big or go home. She mentally clicked on the stats she’d chosen from Jessica as well.