"Sure." He stifles a yawn, glances to his right immediately, and then takes a longer and more thorough look at the various goings-on to his left.

There's enough people in the dinner line it's safe to be distracted, as long as you aren't stupid about it. "I'm Daria Chernova, from Kiev."

"'m Val." He just gives the name of his tiny town in Iowa, this time, it's small enough that in hindsight that's probably safer than naming the state. "Alchemy, you?"

"I'm going for artificing, I've got a ward affinity."

"Oh, cool." He yawns, still looking around. He hasn't yet figured out whether he should know his affinity already, and he certainly hasn't figured out what it is. Better not leave himself open to her asking. "I'd've thought that'd go better with languages but I guess not, huh?"

Oof, maybe she should have chosen a line companion who was slightly more awake. "I mostly do anchored wards, mine work better when there's something concrete to hang them off of."

"That makes sense." He checks the ceiling, and the floor, and then takes a moment to watch what the people getting food ahead of them are doing so he'll know what to copy.

"What's your affinity, something alchemy-related?"

Oh, dear. "Don't actually know yet."

"Huh. Why'd you pick alchemy, then?"

"Because it's fucking awesome, and personal interest is a resource, too. Gotta pick something you like enough you don't start thinking 'oh, I wish I'd never come, I could be dead by now instead of this'. Otherwise, you will be dead, and whoever could've had your spot will also still be dead."

"Wow, you must really hate languages."

"I hate most things, it's not personal. Do you ever spend thirty seconds thinking about how you're probably a waste of a spot because you might be so gloomy it's not worth trying to stay alive, case in point, spending thirty entire seconds thinking about being a waste of a Scholomance spot instead of literally anything else?"

...this is not in her small talk repertoire. "Uh. I think there are spells for depression?"

"Huh. Neat. Maybe I'll learn one."

...did his parents not at least look into it? She was half prepared for him to have said 'tried that, they were too expensive to use at school'. She looks baffled for a second before her face smooths back to blank neutrality. "They might be like medications, where you need to try a couple before something sticks. But that's more me guessing, I haven't looked into mood spells much."

"I wouldn't really know. About either thing. Never really seemed - connected to reality, to be happier, anyway. But I guess once you're worried about turning down academic tracks for being too depressing maybe you need to take another look at your tradeoffs. Just. You know. ...Maybe this is too complicated a conversation to be having past my bedtime while watching for mals."

"Well. Reality won't suck much once we graduate, there's that." And if she doesn't it won't be a going concern unless she gets eaten by a Patience or Fortitude on the way out, which she is NOT THINKING ABOUT.

"It won't suck for us, that's true."

That sounds like it has Implications. She hates Implications. She falls silent, fiddling with the sleeves of her shirt.

Either he got through that without giving himself away, or he did not do that but she didn't see fit to kindly inform him of it like Leander and Jian. No way to tell right now.

He doesn't have anything else to say.