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The sky was dark and overcast; thunder rumbled in the distance, and the trainees were on edge. They all wanted to finish up their training before the storm broke and soaked them all with rain.

"LINE UP!" a drill sergeant roared.

The trainees all lined up and stood at attention. Zinnia was standing next to Lenore. She stared straight ahead, disciplined enough to hold herself completely still with her back ramrod straight. The sergeant walked down the line, pausing from time to time to yell at trainees whose lapels were crooked. When the sergeant passed Zinnia, she expected him to keep walking, but to her surprise he stopped between her and Lenore.

"Hayes! Abendritter!" he barked, "Ten laps!"

Zinnia was so surprised that she objected before she could stop herself, "What!"

"Twenty laps!" the sergeant roared.

The man's face turned beet red and he advanced on the black haired girl, easily towering over her. "YOU AND HAYES ARE SLOWER THAN A PAIR OF TURTLES!" Enraged spit flew out of his mouth. "You've been lagging behind everyone else, so maybe the threat of rain will encourage you to run faster! Now, both of you, get out of my sight before I make it thirty!!"

"Yes, sir," Zinnia said coldly while the other trainees tittered. That caught the sergeant's attention, and he backed off to re-establish order.

"C'mon," Zinnia muttered to Lenore. "We'll never finish before the rain comes, but the sooner we start, the better."

The two were still running when the rest of the trainees were dismissed. Shortly after, it began to rain. It didn't take long before the sprinkles turned into a downpour, and the two girls were soaked to the bone. The rain was very cold, but Zin refused to stop running, even though her socks were drenched and her feet made a squelching noise with every step.

She shivered even as she ran. It was absolutely miserable; they weren't even halfway done, and she longed to stop and take shelter. She felt rage boiling in her stomach, but even the heat of her anger was being leeched by the freezing storm. Even worse than her own discomfort, however, was the knowledge that Lenore was suffering right by her side. She panted and tried to keep up a fast pace; she only wanted it to be over. Still, her pride prevented her from giving up early.

At long last, they completed the final lap. At that point, Zinnia had stopped feeling the rain. Her entire body felt numb; her legs were nothing more than dead weights. She trudged back toward the dorm buildings with Lenore, stopping at the fork that lead to their separate dorms.

"I'm g-g-going to t-take a sh-shower," Zinnia said, teeth chattering. She crossed her arms over her chest in a vain attempt to conserve what little body heat she had left. "I-I'll see you t-tomorrow." She turned away from her friend. Ordinarily she would have loathed to leave so suddenly, but at that moment she had three things on her mind: a hot shower, a warm bed, and a good night's sleep.

Zinnia blinked herself awake and leaped out of bed, as energetic as ever. She stretched her arms high over her head, then ruffled her bedhead with a yawn. She felt good; the horrible memory of the previous night had all but faded. She hurried through her morning rituals, then took off for Falke. She'd decided to check up on Lenore before breakfast, just to make sure that she'd gotten back safely in the rain. She felt a little bad now for not walking her to her room, or offering to let her spend the night in her room in Tragen.

The door to Lenore's room was ajar when she got there, perhaps left accidentally open by one of her roommates. Zinnia poked her head inside and said, "Knock knock!"

She gave a small gasp when she saw the state that Lenore was in. The girl was obviously sick; her pale skin was flushed, and Zinnia entered just in time to see her sneeze. The pigtailed trainee hurried to her friend's bedside. "Oh, Lenore, I'm so sorry!" she cried. "This is all my fault! Are you okay?"

The pun was not lost on Zinnia, however. A snort of laughter escaped her, though she felt bad for laughing at her friend in her indisposed state.

She put her hand on Lenore's forehead; it was very hot and dry. "You have a fever!" Zinnia exclaimed in alarm. "That's not good! You have to stay in bed! I'll take care of you." She put a finger to her lips pensively as she tried to remember what her parents had always done when she was sick. It was hard to recall, as Zinnia was rarely ever ill.

"I'll get you some water," she concluded at last. "You have to drink lots. And you have to try and sleep. If you need anything, you can ask me." She glanced around the room until she spotted a pitcher of water and a cup. She poured Lenore a glass and offered it to her.

Zinnia squinted. "Welllllllll............." She drew the word out far longer than necessary. She paused; the silence spoke volumes. "Don't worry about it," she finally concluded, pushing Lenore by the shoulders back down into a horizontal position. She pulled up a chair next to Lenore's bed and plunked herself into it. She'd get laps as punishment for skipping practice, but she wasn't concerned about that. She'd promised to take care of Lenore, and nothing would make her go back on that.

"Hey! Want me to read to you?" she asked. "You should try an' sleep but there's no need to be bored in the meantime, right?"

Zinnia was simply glad that she was able to help Lenore. "No need to apologize," she admonished gently. "It's not your fault! If it's anyone's fault that you got sick, it's that jerkity jerk," she said, referencing their drill sergeant.

She picked up a book that was laying on Lenore's bedside table and opened it up. She cleared her throat, smiled at her friend, then began to read aloud. She quickly became engrossed in the story, doing different voices for each character as they spoke, and even attempting sound effects. Eventually, she glanced at Lenore and noticed that she was asleep. She smiled gently. Lenore looked so small and peaceful when she was asleep.

Zinnia set the book back on the nightstand, but she did not yet leave the room. She spent several minutes sitting in the chair, simply watching Lenore breathe slowly in and out. Then she got up and let herself out-- she would be punished for going to training late, but the sight of Lenore's sleeping face made anything worth it.