SO MANY PEOPLE have walked up to El today. But this naked giant has correctly identified El as a person who is going to shoot up like her dad probably, since nothing about her looks like her mum. "I don't see how I could collect on the deal if you did not in fact get me through Christmas."

"My affinity's combat and once when I was a little kid and out of mana I bit a Kvenlik's head off. Suppose I can't guarantee that you won't leave your door open at night and get yourself eaten, but that's on you."

"Can anybody vouch? Not that you can bite off a Kvenlik's head, that you'll bother for a set of clothes paid in advance."

"New Zealand only had one spot this year. Will Porter knew my folks, that we're as solid as they come, he'll vouch for me if he's still alive. He'd be a junior now, so he can only say I kept my promises when I was twelve when stakes were a bit lower. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather take the clothes now then go looking for Will, before someone decides to try something and loses a finger."

"I don't believe it's all the same to me. I haven't got them on me, anyway, they're in my room."

"Alright. We look for Will then go to your room if he says I'm good? If you want me to wait all day I'm gonna go looking for someone else."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

She grabs a nearby senior's attention. It's not hard - she's pretty sure she already had his attention. Creep.

"Hey, where's New Zealand?"

"Uhh... It's by Indonesia I think?"

"How the fuck are you still alive? Where are the kids from New Zealand?"

"Oh. Over by the food counter on the left?"

"Thanks. Ma'am? This way." And she takes off like she's expecting the crowd to magically part for her, which, to be fair, it does.

El follows her. "I think the pants'll fit you. Shirt might need altering in the shoulders since you're the bloody She-Hulk. You can have an underwear but I haven't a spare bra."

"Thanks. It'll do 'till I can put something together in the workshop. I look good in steel. Oh good, he's still alive. Hey Porter."

"...Bobbie? Bobbie Draper? You've, uh. grown."

"No shit. She's got some questions for you."

Will, who has been trying to figure out the least rude place for his gaze, is happy to fix it directly on El's face. Even though something seems off about her. (If she's already maleficing enough to have vibes on induction day that's bad news and he should maybe warn Bobbie off once she has enough clothes that they can have a conversation without it being incredibly awkward.)

"Yeah?"

"She wants my senior outfit. Says she'll get me alive to Christmas for it. Is she good for it?"

"Her folks take that stuff pretty seriously, I don't think a Draper's gone back on their word in the last century. Bobbie seemed solid when I last saw her, that was when she was, uh, yay high" he gestures somewhere around his shoulder.

"This place is pretty rough but if you die before Christmas it's not going to be from anything she could've prevented. And last I heard she's pretty good at the preventing."

"Yeah, all right, let's go get you in clothes," says El to Bobbie, indicating the correct direction with her head.

"Thanks." Bobbie takes the lead again, even though she has to pause for directions every intersection. This early in the year there's no mals willing to show their faces.

How kind of her. El lets her into her room and unpacks. She's got a lot of Radiant Mind crystals and some carefully packed clothes; she hands the bundle of senior clothes over. "I'm El," she mentions.

"Bobbie, though you probably picked that up." The pants do in fact fit. She thinks over the shirt for a minute, then tears the sleeves off and wraps them around her feet. "You must be from... London?" New York is richer but the accent doesn't fit.

"Wales."

Does Wales even have an enclave? If they do it's not one that Bobbie's heard of, which means they are not rich enough to send their kids with Radiant Mind crystals, let alone a whole bag full of them which was honestly a stretch even for New York. But if El doesn't want to tell her, it's not her place to press. Ours is not to reason why.

"Alright." Bobbie is as fully dressed as she's going to be by this point. "Where to next, ma'am? Back to the mess?"

"Yeah, I'm trying to... meet... people." She neatens up her stuff and heads back.

Bobbie leads the way back. "Alright, here we are. Give me a holler if anything comes after you or if you need to go anywhere else."

She does not, immediately, leave.

"Sure, you missed the run to the loo but maybe we'll hit the supply room or - something."

That seems like a sufficient dismissal. Bobbie heads back into the crowd to try to do some more normal socializing.