She distributes letters, and exchanges supplies with Jeremy, and -- wow that kid definitely feels evil. He doesn't look like a maleficer, though, despite the aura, so -- probably he's not so far gone that he can't go clean if he wants to? She can't make him go clean, at least not yet, but maybe she can talk to him, or something. This is probably a bad idea, but it's not like he's going to murder her in the cafeteria in front of thousands of witnesses, right?

She taps on his shoulder and tries to look sympathetic, even though she really isn't. "Hi. You know, it's not too late to go clean. Now's the best time. There aren't so many mals around. You'll probably be able to survive long enough for it to work."

What is she doing. Well, if she gets herself killed threatening the creepy probable-maleficer on the first day of school that's not his problem. He tries to stay back and look like he's definitely not with her. 

Masozi turns around. He even manages not to jump or reflexively do anything at her, since he felt her coming. 

"....Um. I -" he lowers his voice, "I - don't understand any of what you just said, but s'probably related to why one of the New York people just yelled at me downstairs. Are you talking about..." he pauses, making sure to enunciate the new English word very carefully, "- maleficing?" 

How do you even get here without knowing what maleficing is? Well, if he genuinely doesn't know, and isn't just playing dumb, this'll probably be easier, right?

"Yes. It's super evil! You should definitely stop!" She pauses, and adds as an afterthought, "Also, it's bad for you."

"....Why is taking mana from bugs super evil? I'm pretty sure they don't have feelings. Obviously I won't steal mana from any people here, that'd be evil because it'd hurt them!" 

Masozi is thinking ahead just enough to elide the part where he has in the past, though he...is pretty sure the thing that happens when he nudges people's minds and doesn't need his own mana for it doesn't hurt him, not like when he's been in a bad spot and reflexively yanked mana from someone already trying to kill him or steal all his family's food which is basically just killing them too. Or even like the first time he tried on a rat, without calming it down first, and he felt it hurt. 

"Lots of things are evil even if they don't actually hurt someone! Obviously it's worse to steal mana from actual people. Because then you're maleficing, which is bad, and hurting people, which is also bad." She says all of this like it's self-evidently obvious. "Also, it still hurts you, at least if you're doing it on purpose."

(Also, she's pretty sure that taking mana from mammals works better than taking it from bugs, but it's not like she's about to tell the maleficer how to get better at it.)

"- I don't actually think that makes sense." Maybe the word 'evil' means something in America? "And getting eaten by a mal is also bad for you." He needs to SURVIVE this place. So he can learn magic, and go back, and get his sister and teach her too. 

"Lots of people aren't maleficers and don't get eaten!"

She's probably from an enclave and she probably has parents who helped. 

Neither of those things is helpful to say, so Masozi doesn't. 

"Thank you for warning me," he says instead, very politely. "Do - you know how it's bad for you? What does it do?" 

"It makes you rot from inside. Sometimes it changes your appearance too. I don't think that part actually hurts you, though. If you steal mana from people it usually kills you in less than five years. Other things take longer, but it's still not good for you."

"Weird! Why does it do that?" Masozi is thinking that if he can get, say, fifteen years by only using animals and doing it the way where it doesn't hurt his head, then that's - maybe worth it - long enough to get out of here, and go back for his sister, and make sure she makes it to eighteen... 

She's not actually sure.

"Probably because it's evil? Like, it corrupts your mind, and that affects you. But I don't know for positive."

That is not an explanation or a clarification! It’s the opposite of both of those! The look Masozi gives her is visibly puzzled and dubious. 

“Are there - books that say more about how it’s bad for you?” he asks, squinting at her. 

"Probably? I don't know their titles offhand." She thinks about it for a moment. "You could try asking your room. I think it mostly does spellbooks though. Or you could look in the library."

"That's a good idea. I'll look in the library." He smiles at her. "...Thank you for telling me all this. I should owe you a favour. Is there anything you need?" Not specifying the size of the favour is a little risky but he's not sure how to pin it down, 'advice' is so nebulous, and it seems more important to seem properly appreciative and earn goodwill for it. 

She's not totally sure what to ask for, "maleficing is evil" is obvious advice and "the library has books" -- might be less obvious, if your parents didn't go here? And it's not like she wants to spend a bunch of time hanging out with the creepy maleficer while he does her a favor.

"Let me know if you notice any other maleficers in our year?" she says, eventually.

"...Okay, I'll - try to do that." He's never explicitly actually tried to check by looking at someone if they were a maleficer or not, but - on reflection, thinking about it harder, he does think there might be something there that he could pick up on? 

"Awesome. Thanks." She stands there sort of expectantly, like she thinks the conversation is over but doesn't want to be rude by just walking off.

This is awkward but Masozi isn't sure how one is supposed to gracefully end conversations like this one either. He sort of bobs and ducks his head at her, and walks away.