Libraries, as the centers of many research papers, fact checking, and study sessions, tend to be located centrally in most campuses. Such is the case as Rhino and Angel approach the building that has an almost constant slow flow of students in and out of it for one reason or another.
Rhino looks down to the mare next to him, the reason he looks downward being that she is about a full head shorter than him. "Here we are."
Angel reluctantly pulls away from him, breaking her hug on his arm. She looks at the building, eyes bugging out in shock. "Wow. That's a big building." She gazes up at her classmate, her expression rife with concern. "How are we gonna find the right books?"
He smiles at her. "Well, that's what catalogs and librarians are for. Plus, before we leave, we can maybe check into renting the textbooks we need." They walk into the doors, to one side being the library itself and the other a coffee shop, obviously a key part of the college experience for most. "Why don't we see if we can find a table to have for ourselves?" He nods his head toward the book-laden area.
She nods and rushes forward to find the perfect spot, completely forgetting the grip she currently had on his hand.
"Woah!" The stallion unexpectedly finds himself yanked forward and his hooves quickly scrambling for a purchase . They find it and he rears back, trying not to get dragged on the floor behind the mare.
As a result of his pulling, Angel finds her own hooves slipping out from under her. She falls onto her butt with a yelp, biting her lip to keep herself from making any other embarrassing noises. "Owie..."
Rhino's eyes widen as he quickly crouches next to her and offer her his other hand to help her up. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you fall, I was just so surprised and trying not to fall myself... Are you okay?"
"I think so..." She takes his hand and slowly stands up, looking over her shoulder. "I can't get a good look, though..." She pauses, hand on her chin for a second before she suddenly brightens up. "Maybe you could look for me!"
He blushes again, something he is noticing she causes with startling ease. "Umm... sorry, no. That would be inappropriate.... especially in public." He coughs awkwardly.
She stares at him blankly. "...why? You'd be making sure my clothes aren't damaged..." She glances behind him, pointing down the row of shelves. "If it's really that big a deal, maybe we can go in there?"
He self-consciously looks around, noting they are still standing in the middle of the room before he sighs nodding and motioning her towards the room. "Alright, alright, I'll help. As long as it's just making sure your clothes aren't ripped or something..."
She quirks an eyebrow at him, completely confused. "Of course it's just that." She takes his hand and walks down the aisle, grabbing a book as they pass. "What else could I possibly-"
She cuts herself off as they arrive in front of the door, her cheeks turning bright pink. "Oh. I didn't know you were wanting that." She squirms in place as she opens the door, quietly stepping inside.
Rhino steps inside after her, if only so this conversation remained private. "I didn't say I wanted any of this! I'm not trying to take advantage or anything like that!" He calms himself after a moment. "I'm just... you asked me to help, so... here I am."
She turns to him, a small smile on her lips. "...thank you." She places the book on the table and bends forward, bracing her hands on the wooden surface. She glances over her shoulder, eyes nervously flitting from his face to her flanks. "So... how bad is it?"
Blushing a little more at her positioning, he takes a deep breath and looks from where he stands. His glance is quick, and his tone is neutral as he responds, like just listing off a set of facts. "Shorts don't appear to be ripped from what I see, small amount of dust and a few fibers on them. Tail seems a little messy, if you landed on that it could be quite sore." His report given, he looks back at her face, trying to keep his mind from what he's doing.
"It's not really sore. Then again," she taps her chin thoughtfully, "it was off to the side..." Without a moment's hesitation, she flags her tail over her back, revealing a small rip on her left cheek and a bit of white showing through. "How about now?"
Rhino's whole body twitches ass he only partially manages to fight down another blush. He only sees the sight for a moment before averting his eyes skyward and responding again after clearing his throat. "You've got a.... you've got a small rip on the left..."
She stands bolt straight, eyes wide in shock. "W-what?" She turns around in circles, trying to see for herself. "It can't be! These are my only yoga pants - I can't go to class with a rip!" She eventually stops, falling into a chair next to her with a hand on her forehead. "Heehee... the room is spinning... silly room..."
He quickly looks back down and steps over to her, putting a hand of her shoulder to steady her. "Careful now... don't hurt yourself over a rip."
She blinks, staring blankly at him for a second as she sways slightly. "Rip?" Her eyes light up and she bites her lip, averting her gaze. "Could you... see my panties? Were they also torn?" She picks up the book she grabbed earlier, looking at the cover to keep herself from thinking too much about her own question.
He responds simply, if a little unsure. "All I saw was white though it. Didn't look long enough to tell whether it was fur or fabric."
"I hope it wasn't my fur..." She sighs and opens the book, muttering to herself while flipping through the pages. "...I think I grabbed a book from later in our course. This first chapter is... well, a lot more detailed than I expected..." She looks up at him, sheepishly smiling. "I guess I should've looked at the book list, first?"
He smiles back, looking a little more comfortable now. "Probably, honestly I thought you grabbed a random book just to give yourself something to look at while we made sure you weren't hurt."
"Actually, I saw the aisle we were going down." She rubs the back of her neck, glancing toward the door. "I was worried we would be asked to leave if we didn't have a textbook in here..."
"Oh... smart thinking." He nods approvingly. "So... what do you want to do now then?"
"I don't know... maybe you could find our real textbooks while I hold this room for us?" She smiles hopefully, placing a hand on one of his. "Does that sound alright?"
His eyes dart to their hands as he hesitates a moment before answering. "Yeah... sure, I could do that." He stands up, the book list floating out of his bag and into his hand with a quick bit of magic. "I'll try not to take too long." He heads towards the door.
She waves as he leaves, warmly smiling. "I'll be waiting." As he leaves the room her grin slowly fades away, her gaze falling on the book once more. "Let's see what you have to share with me..." She grabs a small pair of glasses and flips back to the table of contents, looking at each chapter listed.
Her neutral expression shifts into a frown, growing deeper with each chapter she sees. Finally, at the very end of the list, she finds what she's looking for. Eyes full of excitement, she turns to the page, passing a large number of pages with colorful pictures and detailed diagrams.
When she reaches the chapter, her heart leaps to her throat. "Wh... what is this?" Before her eyes are two simple pages, all text on a gray background. She turns the page and finds herself staring at the glossary for a second before turning back. "Just... two pages? That's it?" She scowls, reaching into her bag. "This should be interesting..."
The doorknob turns as Rhino comes back in, laden with two books, one about half the size of the other. "Sorry about the wait. I can usually find what I need in places like this, but it never seems to be quick."
Angel, however, hadn't noticed his words, as deep as she is in her book, reading out to an invisible audience. "Changelings - grotesque shape-shifting beings can morph their bodies into anything. These frightening creatures have fangs as well as insect features and translucent wings designed to scare even the bravest pony into submission." She audibly gulps, her voice quivering as she continues. "They commonly take the place of those close to you in an attempt to steal love, which is their main food source. If you see one, do not attempt to talk to it. Run, but, if it pursues you... d-do not hesitate to dispose of the abomination." She sets the book on the table, shaking. "T-they won't hesitate to do the same."
Rhino stops, a frown coming to his face as he decides on how to respond to that. Finally, after what feels like a long time to him, he speaks. "A very... biased figure they got that quote from..." He sets their books down on the table and has a seat next to the mare.
She jumps, staring at him in shock. "W-when did you get here?" She sheepishly smiles, slamming the book shut and sliding it away. "H-how much did you hear?"
He responds simply. "Just got back in time to hear that little excerpt from the text."
"O-oh." She sighs softly, letting her head bow. She slowly reaches up to her snout, trying to discretely grab her spectacles, talking a bit to distract him. "Why do they have such... harsh words towards a race they don't know much about?"
"Fear, likely, the usual fear of the unknown." He sighs and pulls one of their books towards them, casting a withering glance at the one she had slid to the other side of the table. "Lack of information breeds gossip, paranoia, and filling in the blanks themselves. That particular quote sounded like it came from a pony I would rather not know."
She blinks, tilting her head to the side as her eyes narrow slightly while her hand sneaks her glasses back in her bag. "I see..." She nods, grabbing the other book he brought and turning to the table of contents. "...strange. This one doesn't even mention changelings, yet has a whole chapter on dragons."
"Well, that's the physical biology text book, and we've had plenty of time to learn the general constants of dragon biology." He sighs. "Changelings though, are virtually impossible to get facts on. Each time they have been discovered, they escape before anything can be learned of them beyond first impressions. At least, that's what the easily accessible sources say."
"Really?" Angel quirks an eyebrow, the gears visibly turning in her head. "So... say you have one that couldn't - or wouldn't - leave." She turns to the first chapter, squinting at the words inside. "What would you do?"
He looks at her carefully, his mind working out to try and predict how she would react to whatever answer he chooses to say and tailoring it in response to that. Eventually though, he turns to the book and answers. "To be honest... I'd talk to them."
She freezes, halfway through turning the page. "You'd... talk to them?" She puts the textbook down, turning her full attention to him. "That's an interesting reaction... any specific reason you'd do that?"
He's quiet for a time, his gaze, though still on the book, becomes unfocused as he retreats into his own mind for a time. His expression unreadable, he eventually speaks. "It's the right thing to do..."
"There's no arguing that, silly." She giggles, faltering at the lack of reaction from him. Concerned, she places a hand on his cheek, gently turning his head so he's looking at her. "Rhino, I know something's on your mind. You've been looking at the same chart for the past few minutes." She smiles kindly, moving her hand up to idly stroke his hair. "It's just us two here, and I promise I won't tell anyone, if you don't want me to."
He blinks, his eyes still appearing as though they are looking through her rather than at her. After a few more blinks, he seems to have returned, shaking his head and turning back to the pages. "Sorry, just lost in thought... I'll focus from now on."
Angel pouts, crossing her arms in just the right way to make her chest more pronounced. "You're no fun, you know that?" She sticks her tongue out at him and leans back in her chair. She suddenly shivers as the air conditioning kicks into gear, hitting her with a blast of chilling air.
He actually chuckles as she sticks out her tongue at him, though when she shivers, he switches to concern again. "You alright? I would offer you a blanket or jacket, but unfortunately I don't have either with me since it's such a nice day." He looks up at the vent, noticing it's one of those large ones that unfortunately doesn't really offer a place in the room to get away from the air.
"I-it's my fault. I guess I should've changed." She glances down at her clothes, pinching the upper hem of her sport top and pulling, rubbing her fingers against the thin, elastic fabric. "These aren't exactly meant to insa... insol... hold warmth, after all."
"Yeah... designers don't really think about overcompensating school temperature systems when making clothes these days." He watches as her mane is blown forward by the air again, causing another shiver. "Did you want to go somewhere else? Or... well, I guess that may not work given what happened with your shorts..." He puts a hand to his chin in thought.
"Well..." She squirms in her seat, nervous. "Maybe you... we... could share heat?" She quickly holds her hands up, blushing brightly. "N-not in that way! I mean, I could sit on your lap and - wait... I didn't..." She covers her rose-red face, embarrassed beyond words and trying hard not to continue speaking. Of course, she can't seem to help herself. "I'm not that kind of mare..."
He puts a concerned hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's fine, I don't think you're that kind of mare. Plus, somehow I think this is going to be awkward for both of us no matter what we do, especially when you consider that we still have to leave at some point and wills till have the same problem then. Still," he squeezes her shoulder reassuringly, "why don't we make sure you don't freeze and get sick while we're in here for now, alright?"
Angel sniffles, smiling softly at him. "T-thank you..." She leans against his shoulder, scooting her chair closer so she won't have to lean too far. "S-so... what are you reading about?"
"What, this?" He motions to the book in front of him. "This is just the first few pages of the actual magical biology of the various species. I'm just browsing over the first bit since we'll need an idea of what we're going to be covering in the next few classes."
She stares at it blankly, squinting and her lips forming silent words as she tries to read it. Eventually she groans, bringing a hand up to rub her eyes. "Which species is it about?"
"Zebras." He answers simply as he looks over to her. "You okay? Is it a headache?"
"Not exactly..." She bites her lip, placing her hand on his and softly rubbing it. "...read it for me, please?"
"Umm..." he looks at her hand again, but is slowly getting used to how touchy she is, "sure, I can do that." He clears his throat and begins. "Zebras are one of the species whose magic can be very subtle or even undetectable if one does not realize they are looking at it. Like many earth ponies, zebras excel at seamlessly weaving together skill and magic so that after a time, one can become virtually indistinguishable from the other."
"Weaving together?" She looks up at him, confused. "So their magic's used for... clothing?"
He looks to her with a raised eyebrow. "Not really... I mean, some perhaps, but it means they sort of interlace their talent and their magic."
"Oh." She giggles, shaking her head. "That makes a lot more sense." She closes her eyes, snuggling up against him a bit more. "What else does it say?"
Pausing briefly as he coat rubs against his, he continues nonetheless. "Again, much like earth ponies, much zebra innate magic can be related to that of the natural magics found in plants. However, some zebras have shown remarkable ability to go further with their magic, studying it and learning the ins and outs just as well as any unicorn. Some have even been known to cast small spells, though in their own way and usually not repeatable unless specifically taught to another zebra down to even the thoughts going through one's head when it is done."
"That shouldn't be that hard." Angel smiles, peeking an eye open. "Right?"
Again, he looks at her quizzically. "Umm, no, that sounds like it would be very hard. They have to essentially teach another to think exactly like them, definitely difficult, especially just to do a single spell."
She stares at him in confusion. "I... don't see how that could be def... duf... hard."
He blinks, starting to have his doubts about the mare, but reserving his judgment for now, after all, they met not too long ago. "Ok umm... think of it like this: it would be like trying to teach a fashion designer to think like a farm pony."
"But... wouldn't it the same as teaching a pony to be compu... consu... thoughtful of others?" She rolls a hand as if it would help her thought process. "Think of how they see the world, and all that?"
"In a way I suppose..." he concedes, "but this seems to be something far more in depth than that. Back to my previous example, it's like if the fashion designer tried to impart her natural gift of knowing which colors look best together and on what, while the farmpony tried to tell her how to feel the exact spot on a tree that will grant the most fruit when hit in an exact way. Not impossible... but still difficult."
Angel blinks blankly, unsure what to say. "...oh. That... that would be really hard..." She bites her lip, her cheeks turning a light pink hue once more. "Thank you for explaining that..."
He smiles warmly at her. "No problem." He flips the page. "Ah, now here we start having plenty of examples diagrams showing magical flow and concentration." A green finger points to the first one. "This one, for example, shows the basic magical distribution in the average zebra, notice how it's concentrated most on the hooves."
"So... what does that mean?" She wraps an arm around his, hugging it to her chest. "Is it due to how their magic manu... mano... is used?"
"Umm... yes..." His answer is not quite a crisp as his earlier ones, now that he has the added distraction of certain soft parts of her being pressed into him.He shakes his head a moment to get his thoughts back as he speaks to her. "Are you... keeping warm?"
"Very, thank you." She giggles, nuzzling his shoulder for a second before pausing. She looks up at him, brow furrowed in confusion. "Is it me, or... did you just get warmer?"
He flushes awkwardly as he turns back to the book. "Let's just... continue reading..."
They finish the required bits of reading in both the magical and physical textbooks in a short time. Of course, the whole time they do this, Rhino alternates from normal and flushed states depending on Angel's actions as she stays warm. The end of their little session is made official as Rhino shuts the physical biology textbook, nodding and turning to her. "That should do for now."
She looks up at him, slightly disappointed. "Five more minutes? Please?" She runs her fingers along his forearm, smiling playfully. "I just can't get enough of how fluffy you are... like a warm blanket..." She closes her eyes and moves a little closer, the action causing his hand to lay on her thigh. She doesn't seem to notice, however.
This does not reflect the same upon the stallion though, as he freezes the moment he realizes where his hand is. Though he has tolerated, and even enjoyed, this time with the mare and her uncommonly forward physical actions, he has made no moves of his own, thinking that the whole situation was just her being friendly. Despite enjoying it as she strokes his arm, he swallows lightly as his eyes dart to the limb in question, hoping she doesn't see it's placement as something intended to be inappropriate on his part. Quietly, he forces out the response to her question. "If you want to... that's fine..."
"Soft spoken, hmm?" Angel giggles, looking up at him. "I..." Her voice trails off as she notices his expression. "...Rhino? You, um, seem a little sweaty..." She lets go of his arm and reaches up, putting the back of her hand against his forehead. "You're not coming down with something, are you?"
He relaxes as he pulls his hand from where it had been intruding. He lets out a breath as he looks up to her pure white hand on his head. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Thank you for caring though." Once again, that smile of his graces her with its presence.
She blushes softly, seeing that smile of his. The shorter mare nervously returns it, leaning up and gently pecking his cheek. "Thank you for helping me study. I hope we can do this again, sometime... at my place, though." She playfully winks at him. "I prefer not being cold, after all."
His face goes full red at the kiss, his words taking a moment to come out. "Fair point... When, umm... When should we do this again? Study, I mean."
"Maybe... tomorrow night?" She bites her lip, nervous. "I know we don't have anything new to study, but... maybe we could read ahead? Know what to expect the rest of the semester?"
He frowns as he thinks a moment. "I guess that would work... I'm usually home by about 3, but I guess I could go, hang around a little, eat something, then come back to campus. What time were you thinking?"
She squirms slightly in her seat, picking up the anatomy book in an attempt to look nonchalant. "How does... seven o'clock sound?"
"Sounds perfect to me." He smiles again as he replies. "Where did you want to meet?"
She giggles, taking his hand and standing up. "Why tell you... when I can show you?" She quickly packs her glasses back in her bag and slings it over her shoulder. She pauses, a coy smile on her lips. "You'll have to stay behind me, though. Can't have people seeing my shorts are ripped, can we?"
He blinks as he stands, shouldering his own bag with a bit of magic. "Umm... how close were you expecting me to stand?"
"Enough to make sure no one can see it." She winks at him, a hand on the doorknob. "What that entails is up to you."
Nodding silently, he shifts his shoulders a moment before straightening up to his full height. Walking behind her, he positions himself directly behind and a little to the left of her, so that the hole is only visible to him, but he can still see where he is going and doesn't look like a stalker. "This work?"
"Perfect." Angel smiles and opens the door, stepping out into the library. She briskly walks along the wall, wanting to get back to her dorm as soon as possible.
Rhino follows, looking down at first to make sure he gets his stride fast enough to keep up with her but making sure to not step on the back of her hooves. Unfortunately for him, this means he also has an unintentional view of her quickly swaying hips and tail as well as the easily seeable white through the hole in her shorts. Needless to say, he quickly figures out how exactly to walk behind her at this distance and looks up, his face a bit redder than it was when he looked down.
The whole way there, the white unicorn finds herself growing more and more dizzy. Looking around, she notices a number of stallions, as well as a few mares, eyeing her as she passed. She slowly shakes her head, staggering slightly before stopping and leaning against a wall, trying to regain her balance.
Rhino covers the ground between them in a single stride, putting a concerned hand on her shoulder. "I know I keep asking this, but I'm still sincere when I ask: Are you okay? Because to be honest, I'm starting to wonder..."
She nods, putting her hand on his. "Y-yes. I'm just a bit... light-headed..." She looks to the building she's up against, blinking in surprise. "Oh, hey... this is my dorm..." She pushes herself away from the brick, stumbling a second before falling back against his chest. She gulps, sheepishly smiling at him. "Could you please... h-help me to my room?" She titters nervously and covers her mouth, eyes wide in surprise. "I didn't know I could make that noise..."
He chuckles quietly. "Sure, I'll help you. You look like you need to sit or lay down anyway. Do you think you can walk if I support you, or do I need to carry you?"
"Um... I can walk, but..." She blushes, twiddling her fingers shyly. "Could you carry me, anyways, Rhino?"
He blushes lightly in response, but smiles regardless. "Yeah... I think I can do that. Did you want me to carry you on my back or..." He holds out his arms in front of him as if carrying something horizontally on them.
She blinks at this, tilting her head to one side. "Wouldn't that first one allow others see... y-you know what?"
"Oh... right..." He coughs awkwardly as he crouches down, holding his arms out in front of him as he looks at her.
Angel gulps softly, carefully moving herself onto his arms. She starts to reach a hand up but stops, biting her lip. "S-should I... just lay here? Or..." She trails off, her gaze becoming distant for a moment before she bows her head, avoiding his gaze. "N-never mind..."
He stands back up, one arm supporting her in the back of her knees as the other is midway up her back as she simply lays there, arm on her stomach. Tilting his head at her, he asks. "What did you want to ask?"
"It's nothing..." She shakes her head, wrapping an arm around the back of his neck to help take some of the weight off his arms. "Though, I will say this... you remind me of someone I knew a long time ago..."
"Is that a good thing?" He asks as he starts walking, keeping her steady as they go.
"I'd say so." She giggles, leaning against his chest. "He was... no, is the best pony I've ever met..." She sighs, snuggling closer to him. "I miss him so much..."
They enter the building, a few of the resident mares there giving the two of them some knowing looks and a few waggling eyebrows as they pass.
Rhino continues the conversation, ignoring them. "Oh? Was this a first crush? Or just a really good friend?"
"Started off as a strong friendship, but I had to leave him behind, and..." She blushes brightly, seeing the mares' teasing expressions. "Well, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all..."
"I understand..." He offers no further comment as he heads towards the stairs, starting up them before questioningly looking at her.
She rolls her eyes, smirking playfully. "It's on the paper I gave you, remember?" She pulls out her schedule with her magic, pointing to a number in the corner of it. "It's number 219."
"Right... sorry, forgot." He smiles sheepishly as he steps up to the second floor, opening to door to the hall with his magic. He starts looking at each door, checking the numbers to see which he needs to stop at.
She clears her throat, pointing the other direction with a coy smile on her lips. "It's that way, stud."
He clears his throat and turns around. "Thank you..." They find the door quickly, and he starts crouching to set her back down in front of it.
Angel giggles, her key floating into the lock and releasing the deadbolt. "I was hoping you would bring me inside... maybe stay a bit?" She places a hand on his chest, rubbing small circles in the fabric of his shirt. "I don't have another class for a while, yet, and I'd appra... appro... like the company..."
He shivers a bit at her touch. "Well... I..." He shakes his head. "I guess I don't have any other classes today, Monday's are light for me, so I could, if you want."
She squeals in excitement, hugging him. "Yay! Thank you, Rhino!" She pushes the door open with her magic, looking up at him with her bright blue eyes and just a hint of expectation.
He has a slight flush, but its minor as he walks into the room, the door shutting behind him. Looking around he notes how bare the walls are, but that's to be expected in a student room on the first day. "Cozy place. Is there a particular spot you wanted me to..." he lifts her up and down slightly.
"In front of the closet, if you'd please." She smiles but taps her fingers together, averting her gaze. "I kinda... need to do something, real quick..."
He raises an eyebrow but nods, walking over. Crouching down low, he waits for her to get off.
She carefully gets to her hooves, sighing as she opens the closet. "Thank you." She grabs the hem of her top, quickly pulling it off and tossing it to the side. "I should wash that before Wednesday... and get my shorts sewn up, as well." She starts to take off her yoga pants, leaning down to get it over her hooves without the rip catching on it. "Do you know any good tailors nearby? Someone who could fix... well, this?" She turns to him and holds up the article of clothing, wiggling a finger through the tear with a curious expression on her face.
Unfortunately, what she turns to is the stallion's back. At the first sign of her hand going towards her shirt, he had done an abrupt 180 and faced the wall, his ears plastered against his head as he tried to ignore the sounds of the fabric coming off her. Hints of red can be seen just at the base of his ears where it reaches all the way from his flushed face.
She blinks, staring in confusion before sighing, striding over and placing a calm hand on his shoulder. "Rhino, I don't care if you look." Angel gives him a tender hug, her hands reaching around and resting on his chest. "The fact that you're being consi... conse... thoughtful enough to turn away like this... it's reason enough for me to trust you."
He stiffens as he feels two certain bare mounds pressing against his back. Swallowing, he shakily responds as he continues to face the wall. "I'm... just trying to avoid awkward situations... or some unintentional staring from me... I definitely did not see your actions coming..."
"It's only awkward if you make it that way." The mare giggles, pulling away and heading back to her closet, grabbing an overly-large shirt off its hanger and putting it on. "You can look, now." She laughs brightly at her own comment and his previous responses, sitting on the edge of the bed and waiting for him to turn around.
He does so, his eyes widening slightly at he takes in her form, even attempting to gaze a little downward before he yanks them back up. His flush is still present as he awkwardly shifts on his hooves. "You umm... you look nice..."
She smiles, her cheeks turning rosy from the compliment. "Thank you. Care to join me?" She pats the bed next to her, crossing her legs and putting one hand on her knee. "Standing probably isn't as comfortable as this, hmm?"
He nods, walking over and sitting next to her on the bed, his hands folded in his lap.
She sits in silence, waiting a few moments before realizing he was too nervous to do anything. Taking the initiative, she gently takes his hand, smiling softly. "Honestly, I would love to know you better... much better..." She winks at him before becoming somber, reluctantly turning her gaze from his face to her lap. "I made a promise, though... I said I'd wait for him..."
He smiles softly, knowingly as he squeezes her hand. "I understand... I won't ask you to break a promise, especially one like that. If I may be so bold as to ask though... was this that same friend you told me about?"
"Yes." She laughs quietly, rubbing her eyes with a hand. "I understand it was silly... I mean, we were kids at the time..." She turns to him, frowning slightly in determination. "But I never break my word. Trust... it's something that's so important to me, I..." She trails off, realizing how she must sound. The mare bows her head, her ears flat against her head. "Sorry, you probably don't want to hear that."
Rhino lifts a hand and sets it on her back, rubbing lightly to relax his new friend. "I've been told I'm a good listener. Try me."
She stiffens slightly, glancing at him in concern. "Um... c-careful with your hands, please?" She audibly gulps, turning to look at the desk across the room from the bed. "I try to give everyone the benefit of doubt, but someone broke my trust, once..." She scowls, the very air around her growing heavy. "...I don't talk with him, any more... and he goes out of his way to avoid me."
"Oh..." he quickly withdraws his hand as his ears fold down, "sorry... I'll keep them to myself." He twiddles his thumbs as he stares at the ground.
She snaps out of her ire, turning to him in concern. "Oh, no, you don't have to worry!' She takes his hand in hers, smiling warmly and gently cupping his cheek with her free hand. "You would have to do something big to lose my trust... and, frankly, I don't think you'd be capable of that."
"Heh... thanks..." Smiling at her, he looks down at their hands again, but knows now that he shouldn't look too deep into the action. Looking back up at her, he speaks again. "I'm happy you think I'm worthy of that trust... did you still need a listener?"
She nods, squeezing his hand softly. "I do. I'd love it if you would fill that niche..."
He nods as well. "In that case, I'd be happy to."
She sighs happily, leaning forward and kissing his cheek. "Thank you, Rhino..." She glances down at herself, a playful smile briefly flashing on her lips. "Though I want to ask for one more favor."
"Oh?" He raises an eyebrow at her, a small blush on his face from the kiss, but they seem to be lessening in intensity with the recent greater frequency.
"Now don't freak out, but... I need to know if there's a rip in my panties." She blushes softly, glancing at the window and drawing the blinds with her magic, not wanting more rumors to spread. "Could you... look for me?" She bites her lip, covering her mouth with a hand as she waits for his response.
His eyes shoot open as his mouth falls the same way. Stuttering, he tries to speak but only comes up with half words and gibberish utterances. With a deep breath he manages to steady himself enough to speak quietly. "Why me? Don't you have a bathroom right there where you could check yourself?"
As soon as he finishes, Angel bursts out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer. She braces herself against his side, her whole body still shaking from the aftershocks of her jubilation. "I-I was just k-kidding, stud!" She takes a deep breath, smirking playfully and patting his cheek. "I just wanted to see you turn into a tomato, again. As for the real favor..." She picks her schedule up from where it fell on the floor, bringing it over and pointing at it. "I'd like your help practicing for my next class. That's all."
"Ah, Elemental Magic class. I took this one too." He shifts up onto the bed a little more and leans against the wall, much more comfortable with this subject than the last one. "Let me tell you a little about what you should expect..."
***
Later that evening, Angel enters her room. She groans quietly, slamming and locking the door behind her before falling into her bed. "...what a day..."
"Didn't you have fun?"
"Are you kidding, Flick?" She rolls onto her side, glaring down at her necklace. "I found out that I have to get tested for an elemental specialty in my next class in front of the other students. What if something goes wrong? What if..." She bites her lip, trying to keep her thoughts in check.
"Why worry?" The voice seems less cynical than before. "You know how similar our magic is to ponies. It shouldn't be that hard to avoid detection... unless you're saying you're an idiot."
The mare groans, rubbing the bridge of her snout. "That's so funny I forgot to laugh." She sighs dejectedly, sitting up to remove her shirt. "I'm sorry, I keep thinking of earlier..."
"I know, that stallion friend of yours. I heard everything, remember?" His words cause her blush to flare up full-force. "If you're hinting at what I'm thinking you are, don't even consider it. You know how big a taboo that is."
"But..." She puts her hand to her chest, softly frowning. "I gave my word... you know I can't break it..."
"Tough love, baby." Angel has to clench her fist to resist the urge to fling the necklace away. There's a small sigh, and the voice continues, filled with sympathy. "I know how much he means to you, but you can't forget your mission. You'll find loverboy again. You just have to have patience."
"Patience..." She scoffs, pressing the locket between her fingers. "I don't even know if my hypothesis is correct, yet... of course I'll have to be patient..."