Nero studied Vanessa's expression and body language to get a peek into her thoughts, or at least intentions, but she had learned to mask them well. By keeping a completely neutral face, and her body in its natural stance, she prevented him from gaining any insight. But just as with the previous team of Neophytes, purposefully maintaining neutrality was all but admitting that they were trying to hide something from him.
When she asked him how he found her, Nero was tempted to not tell her. It was genuinely getting harder and harder to spot her, and he was not blindly arrogant enough to think he'd always be ahead of her if she kept making progress at this rate. But he told her anyway.
While she could grow from his guidance, only a real challenge would help him grow. Hesitation and fear would slow down his path, so he just mentally prepared himself to be even more aware of his surroundings than before. In fact, he might invest in a card that augmented his perception.
Their reunion was going well in Nero's opinion - he even used a protective card he'd gotten from his mother so that they could have a conversation without being overheard. Contrary to what one might expect, having a private conversation was not illegal, even in an army base - at least not unless they're discussing military secrets, and both of them had oaths against that so it wouldn't be a concern.
Yet Vanessa wasn't comfortable talking there, and instead told him they'd talk in Perilith. Now, so far, Nero had no problem with anything. He didn't even really mind that Vanessa had influenced his arrival here, and in fact was happy about it since it gave them a chance to talk.
That did not, however, mean that Nero appreciated being led by the nose, or was comfortable being ordered around. He understood the need for safety and privacy as well, but it had to be made clear that they were cooperating with one another, not one side being ordered by the other.
While they talked about other things, Nero activated Luminalink since his father had given him a new one, and brought Vanessa into his illusionscape.
Vanessa, who was in the middle of explaining to Nero about the dangers of Perilith suddenly paused when she found her surroundings changed. They were now standing in the very first hall they had their first proper encounter - the one where Nero had thrown a spear past her when she was sneakily watching him train. Or, well, perhaps not as sneakily as she originally thought.
"This does bring back some memories, doesn't it?" Nero asked with a smile. "By the way, do not be alarmed. We're just chatting inside an illusion. No one can peek inside."
Nero had asked his father how safe the Luminalink illusionscape was, and his father gave him a reassuring answer. While Luminalink, when it was being used actively, was not foolproof, as Nero had hoped, it
was
impossible to spy on the illusion without disrupting it or causing Nero to notice.
Messages left using Luminalink were almost impossible to detect, but even if they were, trying to spy on them would result in the destruction of the message. So, long story short, it was safe.
Nero had to practise a little but eventually was able to craft his illusionscape as he wished, something his father told him was incredible as it usually took others days if not weeks to hone their concentration sufficiently for it to work.
That was why, when Nero underwent the motion to sit down, a chair suddenly appeared behind him.
"Have a seat, Vanessa. We have a few things to discuss, and I believe that there will be a curfew soon, so we should be quick."
"I see you have gained some new tricks since I last met you," she said eventually, as she sat down in a chair similar to his that just appeared behind her.
Nero smiled, and said nothing. Technically, he'd had Luminalink all along. He just had not been utilising it to its full potential. Instead of criticising himself for not noticing such an obvious thing, he reminded himself that this probably meant there were countless other areas he could also improve in that he had not yet realised.
"I have gained many things since we last met, some new perspectives not being the least of them. We have many things to discuss, the fair weather these days being one of them," Nero said, hinting to the Fair Weather he had slipped her. "But first, I realise, I don't really know much about you, outside of the fact that you're a
very
well connected foreign exchange student."
"Oh that's easy. My favourite colour is pink, my favourite food is anything with rice, and my favourite Eldrim card is Violet Genesis."
Violet Genesis was a very well known card. Or calling it a legend would be more accurate. In the stories, the Emperor had used the card to change the landscape of what is now called Nova.
"How lame. Ultimate Smash is the best," Nero said dismissively, referring to another legend of a card that could supposedly increase the effects of gravity in an area. Or rather than a legend… it was a card from a popular comic about Card Masters.
"But that's not what I was referring to, though I have some doubts about that being your favourite colour," Nero said. "Rather than specifics, I'd like to go a little more generic, or perhaps central to your character. What motivates you? What are your goals? Where do you see yourself in ten years? In twenty? In fifty? Are you here because your position back home demands it, or because your position back home can enable it?"
There was a subtle difference in the last question. Doing something because it was demanded basically insinuated external motivations, while taking advantage of your situation to do something difficult spoke of internal motivations. In this specific scenario, it made no difference, but in the general trend of life, internal or external motivations would slowly begin to show their differences. A person motivated internally will not stop working when they achieve a minor success, whereas a person with external motivation will stop as soon as that external factor is gone or changes.
Nero maintained the slightly sarcastic, joking tone as he spoke, though he was very much serious about each and every one of them. Gabriel was one of Nero's closest friends, and it wasn't his red hair or his mysterious background that Nero found noteworthy. No, it was his internal drive and motivation to grow and succeed. It was his will to do what others could or would not. It was the potential for a true, genuine partner that Nero saw in him, which resulted in their current dynamic.
He was beginning to trust Vanessa, but much more importantly, he had already taken a massive gamble by giving her the card. He had effectively provided her with a national treasure and given her the proof to effectively destroy his whole life if she so wished. It was a
huge
gamble.
Of course, Nero had his own considerations even before he'd learnt just how influential his father, or maybe Whisper Guard were. He could see within Vanessa a certain drive, a certain desire to grow even if she had to throw herself behind enemy lines all alone, and he could certainly respect that. He was betting that until she understood his actions, she would not do anything on her own.
There were many ways Nero could go about handling their relationship, the simplest of them being working out a deal to get the card back from her and just ending things there. But Nero saw potential in her, and so his purpose in interviewing her was to see if he could bring her into his inner circle. It was just an attempt, and did not necessarily need to result in something.
But Vanessa, keen as ever, instantly picked up that out of all the times they had bantered, this one was different. This time, he was not casually dismissive of her like he usually was. He was not adopting the live and let live stance he had taken with her so far, instead he was really looking at her - trying to understand her.
But even though that thought lit a fire in her heart, she was not one who would so easily distract herself from her goals.
"Why Mr. Grant, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were interested in me," she said with a faux flattered expression.
Yet before she could continue what she was about to, Nero leaned forward and said, "oh but I am interested in you, Vanessa. You have proven yourself quite capable, and I think you'll agree that I have merits of my own. I am quite interested in cooperating with you, as I'm sure you can benefit from cooperating with me. But the thing I wish to ascertain is exactly
how much
I want to cooperate with you."
Getting their hands on the black keys would not be easy, even after they became Mystics or Ascendants. Having strong, well-positioned allies would work well towards making that goal a reality. Even besides that, there were many things they could cooperate on.
But for that, first they would have to see if they were even compatible.