Lana decided to break down and buy a dominatrix outfit to see if it would fit with whatever image she was trying to create for herself. In looking around in the market place, she found four she couldn't decide between. They had all offered the things her uniform did not such as comfort and freedom of movement. She couldn't do what would be a complete kick given how flexible she was. She bought all 4 even though that meant 500 credits spent. Given what she had spent on the others, she decided it wasn't a big deal. While in there she found 4 more blankets she simply could not do without. Another 50 credits. Working in the market over the weekend more than made up for it. In a few more months, they may be able to buy Alto that level 5 book. Once the boys were all level 5, she thought she would allow adventuring and the game to boost their abilities. She needed her own studies as well. The school also didn't say how long students needed to work in the market, just that they had to.
Sunday night, not even a week back from Caladi, Lana sent another message.
Do you think you will have time tomorrow for training?
Yes, things seem to have calmed down now.
Smileyface emoji, See you then.
The next day, school proceeded as normal. She noticed since coming back, Peter and Quinn didn't always come down to breakfast but this day they did. In Agriculture Club, she documented the growth of Seymour. She noticed it was still growing even though she was no longer supplying her own energy. She began to wonder if proximity to her tree was the cause or if the insects out here were just that nutrient dense for the plant.
Then she began to wonder if she was having some sort of impact on the ecosystem. That was something she would seriously need to investigate. Before she knew it, club time was over and she was preparing a meal for her friends. Vorden showed up early and she invited him to join them for dinner.
The boys were doing their own thing. Right now, Quinn often used the game while everyone was at dinner. It was almost a guarantee he could get in and it was quiet.
Vorden was quite pleased with the meal and realized her friends were not bad people either. They didn't even complain when she invited him to their table. She had plenty of packaging and plates and such in her storeroom. In fact, a third of the room was taken up by such materials.
After her friends left to go do their own thing, Raten switched with Vorden. Lana excused herself to put on something more comfortable as she put it then returned in one of her new outfits. She was now wearing her hair in a single ponytail each day as requested by Vorden but what was covering her body made Raten's eyes grow bigger. Inside his head, he called Sil over and the three admired what they were looking at.
Lana was covered head to toe in black fabric and black boots that went halfway up her thigh. She was wearing a short long-sleeved dress that left a 2-inch gap between the bottom of her dress and the top of her boots. She was showing a bit of cleavage and there was skin showing from her breasts in a triangle shape up to her neck.
"Since the uniform won't allow me to kick as high as I want to and the reaction I got when I wore my workout outfit that day to heal you, I decided not to wear that around guys. This allows me free range once more so do you mind if I wear this for today's training? I bought four different outfits. I was hoping to choose which one was more "me" if any," she said with a smile.
Raten wiped the drool from his chin, "I have no problem with you wearing that!"
Sil was a bit more critical, "I hate those boots and I wish I could see her arms."
Vorden was not into this look at all.
"Under the tree or out there?" She pointed to the other side of the branches.
He gestured outside with his head and she led the way as he watched his second favorite female body part the whole way.
"You said you had been limited on your kicks due to the uniform. Let's practice some of those."
He took a stance, legs shoulder-width apart, hands out to the sides, above the knees, palms open. "Try to kick my head."
She tried several times and he dodged with his head or blocked with his hands. She decided to flip and kick his head mid-flip. He tried to dodge but she switched legs and got him in the back of his head. He smiled at her ingenuity.
"How high can you kick?"
She tipped her body back so her torso was horizonal to the ground and her leg was straight up in the sky. She held her balance there for a few seconds as a demonstration then stood back up.
"Okay. Have you been taught sweeps yet?"
She shook her head. She would have responded verbally but her tree had spoken to her just at that time. Leo was approaching.
Raten demonstrated sweeping the leg "Karate Kid style" then swept her leg and toppled down with her. Later he claimed he didn't want to hurt her as he had his hand behind her head so it wouldn't hit the ground. Leo stood just off to the edge, watching.
"Okay, that's painful but effective. I need to learn that. It felt so basic. Why am I just learning that now?'
"I don't know what you don't know until I try it. I'm not an instructor, remember?"
She chuckled, "yes, I remember." She fidgeted under Leo's gaze though she had not acknowledged him yet.
She decided she should and turned toward him. He took a step back remembering last time.
"Leo, I… I'm glad you're here…" She looked at her feet and took a deep breath. She then looked back up at him, "I feel I owe you an … explanation."
"You owe me no such thing. Understand that sometimes originals fall through the cracks because we don't offer the training they need to progress. That is why I said we take the training of originals seriously. It's why we allow students to bounce around between clubs. You know more than we do what you need. At the same time, sometimes people with really rare abilities such as yours come through. We just want to make sure you are learning to protect yourself. That being said, I still want to assess your fighting capabilities and see if I can help you. As your friend said, he is not a teacher. I am."
Lana nodded with tears in her eyes. "I understand. First, would the two of you please join me inside?"
The branches of her tree parted on their own as she made a sweeping gesture with her hands, inviting them both to come sit at her table.