El converses snappishly in French. Nobody, like, shoves her or calls her names or anything, but there is a subtle freezing out that could just be that they are not already her friends. They will pass her the basket of free pens, and stuff.

A freshman who didn't pick this section for language practice stares at El a lot. 

"If my imparfait is imparfait you can say so instead of boring a hole through the side of my skull, con."

Heh. "No, you speak quite elegantly. But our hostess seems to like you especially well, and," she raises her chin slightly, "I want to know why, and if it replicates." 

"I handed over the first mana crystal she's been using to shower everybody with infinities of it, I reckon it's that."

"--That was you?"

"Well, it was empty when I gave it to her, she worked out how to get it full herself."

"Those are Radiant Mind Crystals! Who has a Radiant Mind Crystal and gives it away? I thought the answer was going to be some enclaver who didn't even need it because they had a power sharer."

"Perhaps I was simply very well brought up. Why the hell would someone with a power sharer bring a crystal?"

"As something that isn't an enclave slot to pay a valuable potential ally with? Because enclavers can afford ridiculous things and if you carry in enough mana you can also carry in another candy bar?"

"Well, it wasn't an enclaver, it was me."

"Well, you're insane, but as someone who's directly benefiting from your insanity, thank you."

"I'm not stupid, it wasn't my only one."

She makes a skeptical scrunched up face. "How is it you're not in an enclave and you can afford multiple Radiant Mind Crystals and I've never even heard of you before?"

"Oh, I bet you've heard the surname, since you've such an interest in Radiant Mind crystals."

Confused blinking. 

fucking casual Radiant Mind fan "Con," El says again.

She sits back in her seat and half-scowls, half-pouts. "I suppose I am being one," she grumbles. "It's none of my business, anyway. Papa always said my tongue would get me killed if the mals don't rip it out first." 

"Tongues don't kill people, people kill people," mutters El.

"Mostly mals kill people, or recalcitrant homework, at our age. Except by omission." Shrug. 

"Entirely right."

"I have a cousin who came in with mana storage in the shape of a little enamel teddy bear. Imagine if we were all getting handed out mana in that."

...pffft.

"...So, I am, in fact, here, and...if you want me to like you you can...ask me? Instead of asking people I like? Also I feel like I can be excused for missing a lot of context in that conversation because I have only been in this universe for a few days." 

"Radiant Mind Crystals are some of the best mana storage there is, outside of the massive sinks that enclave power sharers connect to," Aurélie says, rather than engaging with the fact that Kareen had been less out of earshot than she thought. "They're made by Gwen Higgins, a wizard who isn't even primarily an artificer--she's a healer. A very famous one."