Raelle raced through the light blue-tinged forest with Scylla, reaching back for her hand as they tore over the muddy Fort Salem grounds. Playful laughter was slowly drowned out by an ever-increasing rainfall that cascaded over the trees and rushed down the street. They kept a keen eye for the night watch's lights and any movement that might have signaled a restless lieutenant. Raelle hid behind a tree, snatching her girlfriend's hand and tugging her out of sight as some of the upperclassmen sergeants rushed under umbrellas to a meeting. Scylla peaked around the tree as the quadrant disappeared behind the misty rain. She backed up into an opening beneath the trees, gazing up at the pouring sky.

"What are you doing?" Raelle asked, still hiding under the safety of the tree's branches.

"I want to feel the rain," she simply stated. Scylla closed her eyes with her head still tilted to the heavens before a bright light tore through the clouds to illuminate the storm.

"We're in the middle of a storm and you wanna stop and feel the rain?" the young cadet asked, still hiding under the branches. "Do you think that's natural or ours?"

"Natural," she wistfully put it.

"Okay, it's pouring, we should get back inside."

"Just a little while longer. Why, does it bother you?" she coyly tested.

"No, I think it's cute," the other cadet reflected.

Raelle continued to watch her, baffled at her calm demeanor as thunder progressively broke out above them. She remembered rainy days back in the Cession, but that was never their biggest issue there. Tornado season was the annual nuisance but something she grew quite accustomed to. They tended to tear a random but localized path, but thunderstorms were chaotic, and standing below one under old trees was not where she wanted to be at the moment. Through the mist of the rain and the light from their street lamps, Raelle reveled at the amount of peace that echoed from Scylla. The disgraced soldier never flinched at the explosive rumbling or flashes that echoed through Salem nor the freezing drops that soaked their uniforms.

"Aren't you cold?" she called after another flash.

"No," Scylla casually shrugged. She dropped her gaze from the rain to her girlfriend, "Are you?"

"Yeah, I'm freezing my ass off," Raelle shivered, catching herself, "Don't say it."

Ramshorn chuckled as she approached her, gently placing her pale hands on her cheeks to perform heat generation. She felt Raelle's eyes on her, darting around her features as she murmured the incantation. Scylla took another breath as she tried to keep the heat low enough to produce a small amount of heat. She felt Raelle's hands cover her own, distracting her long enough to realize that the temperature was increasing. To avoid suspicion, she put her hands back in her pockets, a small smile appearing over her lips.

"How's that?" she asked.

Raelle shrugged and pushed her hands around her girlfriend's waist. "I mean, not exactly where I'd like them, but that was really sweet."

Scylla leaned over and asked, "You're ready to go?" As Raelle leaned in closer, she placed her hand against her chest. "Wait," she whispered, staying silent enough to hear a guard's whistle carrying through the air.

Once the guard passed, Raelle pecked her cheek, "Nice catch."

Scylla chuckled and dragged her through the rain, their laughter now hushed by the drops that pounded against the buildings and pavement. She kept her eyes alert for anyone who might give them another demerit because as much as she loved to bend the rules with Raelle, she really did not want to anger Quartermaine anymore. Caught by surprise, the necro protege lost her breath when she was pushed up against a wall, Raelle's eyes bright and alert.

"Can't wait-"

Her girlfriend put her finger to her lips as she tracked the steps of another guard who silently walked down the road. They inched to the awning, ducking into the barracks with their rain-sodden footsteps tracking their route to Scylla's room. Once they scuttled into the quiet dorm, Scylla opened her wardrobe and pulled out a clean set of clothes. While her partner stripped to nothing, Raelle gazed out of the window, watching the dense rain lighten to a less threatening constant pattering against the buildings and ground. Still stuck in her clothes, she glanced at Scylla's reflection in the glass, smirking at the slight invasion of privacy. Getting caught, she broke eye contact with Scylla and began to strip to her bra and underwear, draping her soaked uniform over a chair and desk to dry.

"Bashful, still?" Ramshorn teased, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's bare torso.

She pressed a few pecks against her shoulder and neck before pulling away. Scylla returned a few moments later, draping a towel around her slightly shivering form and embraced her though the terrycloth barrier.

Raelle looked back out of the window and leaned into the other cadet's affectionate hold. "You know, thunderstorms are beautiful. Well, from a warm spot."

"Meh, I like to be out in the middle of it all. It's just so peaceful, especially since everyone else hides inside," she tenderly argued. "There's just something about how everything gets washed away that really just makes it so serene."

Raelle cocked her head to the side to consider her opinion, slightly shocked by the cold towel when Scylla pulled away to turn off the lights. She returned soon after, letting the street lamps below that dimly lit her room guide her back.

Moments like this almost seemed too good to be true. Scylla felt that in just the snap of her fingers, or a harsh pinch, she would lose this hallowed soldier. She closed her eyes to focus on Raelle's heartbeat and breath to link, earning a shocked scoff from her girlfriend which Scylla chuckled in response then tightened her embrace.