"I'm El."

"Nice to meet you! I'm creative writing track, how about you?"

"Languages." SO MANY PEOPLE ARE TALKING TO HER TODAY. "Uh, I have Welsh and Marathi and Hindi so far."

"Nice! I have French and Latin."

And Mandarin, but he's not very good at that and doesn't want to emphasize his weaknesses.

What's the polite way to ask "so, what's up with the aura of doom?"...probably there isn't one. He tries the indirect approach.

"Do you know your affinity? Mine is...if I had to give a one word description I would say 'charm'. I can make people prettier, or make their voices more compelling, or just alter, like, their vibes."

"Alter their vibes?"

"Well, I've only experimented with it in one direction so far—making people seem more trustworthy, or more harmless. But lately I've been thinking I could do it the other way, too; come up with something to make people seem tougher or more intimidating."

Not that you'd need any help with that, he doesn't say.

"It's not mind control, exactly. It's more like...changing the subtle details of people's presentation, the ones that aren't in their conscious control, so they give off a different overall impression."

"Is this a spell, or, like, enchanted eyeliner?"

"I've been focusing on spells. I have some in Latin and English."

"What do you want for an English one?"

"What do you have?"

"Most of my spells so far are, uh, healing and grounding stuff from Mum that I'm not good at but can recite for you, and mal-toasting."

Mal-toasting is very tempting to Adam, but objectively speaking he has enough of those already. Healing he is shorter on.

"Healing sounds good. I'll trade you one that makes you seem less threatening for a healing spell and one that makes you seem more trustworthy and reliable for a healing spell...plus a mal-toasting one."

Okay, so he can't resist. He tells himself he's giving himself something low-value to give up so she can feel like she's winning if she decides to haggle.

"The overall effect of the two together should be to put people at ease around you, without making you look weak. I sent my big sister off to the Scholomance with those two last year; she's found them very useful."

"I'll take the first deal. Do you want it written or recited? You cast it on a bandage - it works best if you cast it on the plants while they grow and the fiber while it's worked, too, but it helps at all on a bandage already made."

"I would prefer written."

"Do you have paper?"

Adam pulls out a pad of paper he has in his pack, and a tiny pen.

"I do! Thought it would be worth it to be able to trade information without any eavesdropping freeloaders overhearing."

"Yup. I'll write it and tear it off, you write yours and tear it off, we trade papers?"

"Sounds good." He writes in the very corner of the paper, wasting no space. He uses small print, but not so small as to be difficult to read.

She writes hers down, also small, in spiky handwriting.

Adam hands his paper over to El, and extends his other hand to receive hers.

Ker-swap. She looks at his.

It's a spell! In English. For making people feel safer and more at ease around you.

Adam examines his own paper.

It's a spell. Six lines, English, "for ideal results pronounce in a Welsh accent".

"What's the mana draw on this?"

"Moderate, but it lasts a good long time. About five days, unless you cancel it," Adam tears off another tiny piece of paper and scribbles down the cancellation incantation, "or use another spell that directly conflicts, like one to intimidate people."

"Cool. Pleasure swapping with you. If I ever need to intimidate people I will pinch myself to see if I'm dreaming. Ta."

Adam chuckles. "Pleasure swapping with you as well! I'm in 629B, if you want to trade again when I've developed more spells."

"I think a lot of people swap things they get out of the void, too."

"Mm, we'll see what I can get there."

"Mm-hm. Ta." She does not know how to end a conversation politely so she turns and walks away into the crowd at random.

"See you around."