"To our dormitory," Ren responded. "I have something for you."
"Oh," Larissa arched an eyebrow, a mischievous smile forming on her lips. "And you needed all this theater to deliver it to me?"
"Considering what it is, yes," Ren replied, his mushrooms pulsing with what appeared to be amusement. "Unless what you said about 'tradition' no longer matters."
"I see, then..."
They reached the dormitory, apparently without being detected, despite some tense moments when they nearly collided with a group of students and professors.
Once inside, with the door firmly closed, Min canceled the invisibility while Liu maintained his sonic bubble active. The shimmering distortion around them faded, revealing four students catching their breath from the clandestine journey.
"That was incredibly fun," declared Larissa, her eyes shining with childish excitement. "Can we do it again?"
"Perhaps after you see what I've brought you here for," Ren responded, heading toward the cabinet where he kept his creations.
Larissa observed with curiosity as Ren carefully extracted a crystalline egg. It had a silvery tone with white veins that seemed to move like air currents.
"Is that really...?" Larissa began, her voice fading with disbelief.
"Your Wind Lynx," Ren confirmed. "It's ready."
Larissa remained momentarily speechless, a rarity for her. Her eyes widened as she stared at the egg, hands trembling slightly as she reached toward it before stopping herself.
"But... when I asked you what would be my best option, I didn't expect you to actually get it for me..."
"Well, I felt bad about what you said," Ren responded. "You were right when you said I didn't think through what I was doing, so I wanted to make up for it a bit. Of course, if you don't want to get caught, it's better not to take it and just..."
"NO! Ahem... I want it, thank you... I thought about asking Julius," Larissa admitted, approaching to examine the egg with fascination, "but that would have meant revealing my... situation. I'm not sure how badly they would react, so this is perfect."
"Perfect, but it should be clear that it will be your decision from here on... And having it will be a problem," Ren warned, his tone becoming more serious. "With two common cores, perception tools like those at the cave entrance could detect you. Especially now that security has intensified."
Larissa shook her head, unconcerned. "Don't worry about that. I have my methods for hiding my interior nature."
"Because of your mineral fairy?" Ren asked, his mushrooms pulsing with curiosity.
"Exactly," Larissa nodded. "These earrings aren't just decorative. They're artifacts that make the energy signature inside me appear like that of a simple firefly. With luck, they'll work just as well to hide a second core."
"Convenient," Ren acknowledged. "So, should we proceed with the bonding? We don't have much time before half the school is looking for you."
Larissa laughed at the image. "Wait a moment. First, I want to thank you properly."
To everyone's surprise, especially Min's, who pretended to cover his eyes but peeked between his fingers, Larissa briefly hugged Ren.
"I'll be repaying this favor for a long time, Ren Patinder," she declared in Ren's ear with a princely seriousness that comically contrasted with her slightly blushed cheeks and ears.
"Um, thanks, I guess," Ren responded, a bit uncomfortable with the display of affection. His mushrooms pulsed rapidly, emitting a more intense glow than usual.
"Look, he got more nervous than with Luna!" Min whispered to Liu, who was unsuccessfully trying to maintain a serious expression.
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