Breakfast

Jasmine Smith, the hostage of the pair, wakes up easily… and startles slightly, “What? How'd I…”

“I took care of it, Jasmine,” the Ring speaks up in the back of her head, “I'm living here too until such time as you throw me out, and so I may as well help with maintenance. We're washed, teeth brushed, and breakfast ready. It's not quite breakfast in bed, but you don't have the tray, and those sheets are… not the best for it.”

“Ah,” the woman stares at her breakfast for a moment, “Why do I feel…” she trails off.

“In the same vein, we went out and had some aerobic exercise last night…” the ancient entity smiles inside, “dancing, specifically. I find it fun, and if one keeps to higher energy dancing styles, it can be a good workout. We managed four sets: Twenty minutes, then fifteen, then two sets of ten, with five minute breaks between. As a timebending speedster, you'll need more endurance.”

“That explains the dreams…” the woman chuckles, and says prayers.

As she begins eating, the symbiotic soul explains, “I'm sure they were pretty vivid. As mentioned, you NEED sleep, so I made sure you got it; but I'm also not hiding anything, and left you with access to your senses. You'll have ended up with a mix of real and imagined sensations in your dream.”

Jasmine swallows a bite, “Some of it was…” she takes a breath.

“You're still a virgin,” the guest reassures his host, “although I will it to taking my time and enjoying cleaning off the sweat.”

Jasmine considers that between bites, “You're staying at my house, I'm letting you take liberties with my body, and you cooked my breakfast. Are we dating?”

The ring chuckles, “I'm not going to ask for exclusivity. Although that does lead into something else: I have a couple of recommendations based on how I've seen prior deals like this go.”

Jasmine swallows some breakfast, and the ring enjoys the flavor, “I'm listening.”

“A couple of things:” the symbiote begins, “First, wear a small wireless phone headset. You don't even need to keep it charged if you don't want to actually use it, but if someone looks at you funny while we're having a conversation, you can just point at it and they'll assume you're on the phone.”

“Makes sense, I think I have one rolling around somewhere that I never use,” the host confirms.

“Second:” The ring pauses, “Tell the people you care about, at least in broad strokes.”

“Umm, what?” Jasmine frowns, “Isn't the advice normally to keep it quiet so that they don't accidentally let the wrong people know?”

“That is the common wisdom,” the mage agrees, “but it causes more problems than it solves among the people you can actually trust. You'll constantly be hiding something from them, and thus be on your guard all the time. If they never catch you in the secret, they'll pick up on the fact that you're guarded around them. If they do catch you in the secret, then they usually end up hurt that you kept it from them… that can get very ugly. Telling them what's going on, even if it's just broad strokes, means you can control the reaction much better and let your guard down when they're the only ones present. It's much better for everyone long-term… including your own mental health.”

“But if she gets kidnapped or something, then she can be **** to reveal my civilian identity,” the heroine objects.

“If someone kidnaps your mother, spouse, lover, child, best friend, or whatever to ask about you, then they already know who you are,” the Ring would roll his eyes, but he's not currently controlling them, “so that aspect won't matter. Same applies if the adversary simply targets them for spying. You certainly need to be able to trust ‘em not to talk about it, but keeping it from the people you can trust, who spend a lot of time in your life… that's a recipe for disaster. Given that you're thinking of someone specific….”

“What makes you think that?” Jasmine interrupts briefly.

“You said ‘she’,” the old symbiote chuckles, “I'm guessing your mother, but I don't know how well you two get along, or who else is in your life,” ‘although looking at your closet,’ the mage thinks to himself, ‘it's a short list.’ “But whoever you're thinking of…” the man pauses, “Tell her. Seriously. There will likely be some rough patches in the short term, but it's much better than the long term fallout.”

The woman nods as she chews a bite, “This is really good you know.” Then pauses, “I suppose. It just…” she pauses again, “...it goes against what people say, you know?”

“‘What is right is not always popular, what is popular is not always right’,” the ring quotes, “...but I do hear you there. It never feels quite right to go against the grain.”

“Right…” Jasmine nods as she finishes her breakfast, "First moment alone with her…. “