David blinks, looking utterly bewildered. "Lily? - of course. Of fucking course, I completely forgot. That is exactly how today has been going."

She frowns. "- has something happened?"

"Yes. Something has happened. - Chicago's gone. Dead. Doesn't exist anymore. I tried to get in and the doors were just doors. So - we're kind of fucked, unless we get very, very lucky. And you are ever so slightly more fucked than me, because I knew in advance so I was able to ditch their deadweight and pick up some vodka instead."

"Oh. Shit."

She knits her hands together in front of her, looks down for a moment, looks back up. "Okay. We both need somebody to watch our backs still, and I trust you over a random any day. We're-fucked alliance?" She offers a hand. 

"...I'll take it, but I should probably warn you that I do also have feelers out on another maybe-ally. And if you're going based on trust, you're not going to like her. But if you can live with that... sure."

"I'll take what I can get. One second here -" 

She swings off her pack, digs in the top, and pulls out three woven wire bracelets, all of them with cheap stone beads in them. 

"Endurance, shielding and blasting bracelets, made with my affinity and now yours as a demonstration of good faith. The stones are only semiprecious but they're better than glass for holding mana. And if you find anyone interested in trading for sweets, coffee or spices you send them to me, alright?"

"That's... very generous. I don't have much loot of my own, but I can definitely send custom your way, and... I'll see if I can work something into the shield bracelet and if I can I'll help with yours. My affinity's shields. Ones that hurt, but it's not much of an efficiency loss and usually if you're shielding it's not from something you desperately want to keep alive."

"I don't do things by halves, and my spares aren't worth anything to me except in trade. I'll let you touch my personal shielding bracelet once we know each other a little better."

David cracks half a smile. "Oh, don't you trust me? Not blood siblings yet?"

She smiles and shakes her head. "Not yet. But I have hope."

"I'll do my best to live up to it. We're probably not going to manage to negotiate our way to maintenance track without undercutting others pretty hard, which means surviving mostly on our merits but also means we might get to actually go to class."

"Scut-work's definitely better than dying, but I'm going to see what I can get together from barter before I throw myself on an enclave's tender mercies. My room's 668A, come find me whenever."

"228B. If you find anybody who's interested in the vodka, for alchemy or for abuse - well, just let them know."

"Will do. And - good luck."

"You too. If you wanted to talk to my potential benefactor, she's the one in leather with the long braid - really can't miss her. And if you wanted an introduction I'll see what I can do."

She hesitates for a moment, then -

"You know what, I'll take that introduction."

"Come on, then."

He casts around for Ghyslaine. Hair, leather, moderate tallness attribute?

Speak of the devil and she shall appear!

She follows gamely.

"- Lily, you've got French, right?"

"Oui." It comes out with a Quebecois accent, like the quack of a duck.

"Mademoiselle Royer. I know we did not part on terms of full alliance, because it's the first day and we're not insane, but I thought I would keep you apprised of the latest development in my life: my fellow Chicago mule has arrived and is interested in meeting you. Here she is. Lily, Ghyslaine, Ghyslaine, Lily."

"A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," she says, smiling. "I look forward to an interesting acquaintance, if you come with David's recommendation."

"Did I say recommendation? - I did not but I will in fact go so far as to recommend her, provisional on the number of words we have exchanged which is not very many, plus a few businesslike emails before we met in person."