Terra took a moment to look at Dante and give him a pat on the shoulder, trying her best to comfort him in his time of need. Smiling brightly, she offered some advice to him.
"When it comes to someone like Iris, it seems slow and steady is key. Give her the chance to trust you before hoping the same for her. It may seem difficult and unfair that you won't be given the same treatment, but…"
She took her hand off of his shoulder and balled it into a fist before placing it on his heart. Pressing it against his chest firmly, he let out a sigh, followed by a small grin. He knew what she meant before she could even finish her sentence. Taking his time to give her a chance to open up would be the best solution. Trying to force things would only complicate everything as is, especially after their previous encounter. The Dungeon Walk was fast approaching and he could barely hold a conversation with his assigned partner. He knew he needed to figure things out, and following this advice above all else would be the key.
He took his own fist and placed it in front of Terra, who happily moved hers to his. Knocking the two together with a small chuckle on both sides. He felt relieved to have a sense of what to do now, thanks to Terra's help. He stood and began to walk to the door. She smiled as she began to wave him off, hoping her words could help him.
"I'll do my best, I hope we can be partnered up during the walk!"
"That would be wonderful, Dante."
"Yep! Then you could really see what I can do! Talk to you soon, rest up!"
"I will, you do the same you hear?"
He waved her off as he slowly exited the room, closing the door quietly. He let out a deep sigh as he motivated himself with a fist pump. He felt confident in his chances of getting closer to Iris, but he knew it'd take some time. Hoping that things would lighten up by the end of the week, he headed off to his usual spot to get some training in while the motivation is there.
Dante quickly ran off to his usual location, he hadn't seen the knight from before in some time. He began to assume he'd probably been off on a mission like before. As he walked towards his destination, he noticed something in the distance passing by the buildings quickly. It was a familiar figure wearing a cloak, they held a book closely to their chest as they moved quickly. Interested, Dante couldn't help but follow after.
He traced their steps until arriving at what seemed to be a desolate grove, he followed slightly after so as to not draw any attention to himself. The cloaked figure then let down their hood and let out a deep breath. Dante quickly hid behind a tree and watched from a distance, realizing who he was following.
"Is that…Iris…?"
Her hair fell down as she seemed to have let it down fully. He'd never seen her without her usual hair tie, but she seemed a lot more calm and collected since she was alone. Or so she believed. Dante watched closely as she pulled out her wooden wand and placed her book on the ground before moving back to the center of the grove. Her stance changed as she loosened her shoulders, and closed her eyes before chanting a spell. She pointed her wand forward and began to cast.
"I am but a mere seed, but I will flow down the river to the soil that will blossom forth my truest form. Fly amongst the soil and reach the fleeting winds."
"Polleniere!"
A flash of yellow sparks suddenly appeared and filled the field, the sound of buzzing surrounded the area around her as she guided her wand. The sparks followed the motion of her swipes before she flicked her wand downward, causing each spark to expand and crackle before fizzling out.
Dante stared in astonishment at her cast. It was impressive to see her casting such a spell with ease, after seeing her struggle during the test. He quickly noticed her running over to her book and flipping through it rapidly and penning down some notes.
"No, it should have been a little more like this…let me try again."
She then stood quickly and repeated the steps from before, casting the same spell once more. Dante mouthed the words he heard and suddenly remembered what it was.
"This was the spell she failed with…she's been practicing it after all of this time…?" He began to think of situations where she'd pull her book away and become so defensive, was this the reason why…?
He continued to watch as he saw her work on some other spells through the night, her face filled with determination and grit with each attempt. Dante couldn't help but walk off with a smile on his face. Knowing she was taking so much time to train on her own, motivated him more than ever. He knew she seemed as if she was a hard worker, but this confirmed it better than ever. He quickly took off to train himself and prepare for the Dungeon walk as she did.