She's drawing a rough sketch for herself of the map. She won't be able to navigate very well even with her own map, but writing things down helps you remember them.

" - oh!" she says, when she notices the person stopped beside her. "Do you need me to move?"

"Ah, no, it's fine— hi, I'm Leander, what's your name?"

"I'm Karen. Still a little unclear what's going on, but I'm gonna figure it out. I think."

"Yeah that's completely fair," he says half on autopilot, and then the thing she actually says catches up with his brain. "Wait, you're one of the mundane-borns from the States? Where'd you learn a Latin warding spell?" 

"Another student taught it to me, about three minutes ago. Still trying to memorize it."

...oh god. 

".........did the other student explain basically what's up with magic and how it works, mana and malia and languages and things—" 

"I think the basics? They said, uh, we're at the school because we have enough mana for mals to want to eat us, but we don't know how to use it very well yet, so we need to learn how to protect ourselves before we leave. And they said to cast a spell you have to know the words and what the words mean, and also do a motion, and that probably we would learn how to kill mals in... maleficaria studies? I think? And that until then I should run from anything that moves and isn't human, and should avoid being alone anywhere, and should put up the warding spell on my room at night, and should make sure not to be out past curfew, which is at eleven PM. - probably an extra explanation wouldn't hurt, though?"

"All of that is correct but-- so the thing with languages is that if you just know a little of a language, especially if you know enough to cast a spell in it, then the school thinks you know that language and it'll give you assignments in that language, which means if you don't actually speak Latin you need to learn as fast as possible. Latin I can teach you-- do you have any other languages besides English, do you know how building up mana works--"

"I know Mandarin and some Spanish, though I'm not very good. Can you not, uh, tell the school what languages you know well enough to take classes in?"

"Not really, no, and it's not always a problem but the school gets moody and it's a risk. I have both of those as well as Latin, do you want language tutoring in exchange for... I don't know, access to spells you get in languages I'm teaching you?" 

"Umm, sure! As long as that's just - if I learn a spell in Latin and you don't have it, I teach you the words and we're even?"

"Yep, that's what that means— sorry, I'm trying to be transparent but it's been a long time since I spent much time with someone who hadn't grown up with this stuff and I'm also trying to not be condescending— do you know what sorts of things you're good at, I do water." 

"...I, uh, have no idea how I would know know that, do you mean, like, in general?"

"If you've ever done magic to your knowledge, people have a sort of... theme that they run on? It's fine if you don't know it, I'm not actually expecting you to, just thought I'd check if you did."

"Nope, I did not know I was a wizard until half an hour ago. I don't think I've ever done any magic."

"Sense."

There are probably at least a dozen things he should be explaining and isn't remembering to, and at least a dozen more that he's not even thinking of as needing explanation, and unfortunately knowing this does not tell him what they are.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Well that's kind of abrupt but he's probably busy. "Sure! Um - remind me your name one more time, Lee..."

No he's not busy he just needs to actually sit down and write a list of things that need saying before he tries to say them. "Leander Marsh. I'm in room 55B-- I can write that down if you want--" 

"Yes please! Oh, or I can, I guess already have the notebook out." She writes 55B in the corner of her blueprint copy. ...and remembers to write 'Leander Marsh' next to it, otherwise it's just some random number. "Okay, got it. I appreciate the help."

"No problem." Best attempt at a smile, which winds up being not very good, but it's the thought that counts, except for how no it isn't. "I will-- get out of your hair so you can do blueprint memorizing in peace."

"No, no, thanks for talking to me!" 

....but she is going to go back to memorizing the blueprints, if he looks like he's done.