It sounds promising. On the one hand, the real challenge with incorporeal mals is noticing them in the first place – but on the other hand, it's not like he has a great way of dealing with them if he does.

"What do you – " No, wait, this is Strategic Julian, Strategic Julian doesn't offer open-ended bargains – "I'll take it in exchange for instructions for creating a basic tripwire." 

"Like, a ward? Is it an especially good ward?"

"It's a common kind of ward which you probably don't have, and it's always better to layer multiple wards if you possibly can. And they're artifice, so you can front-load the mana in the weeks when things are quieter."

Oh, an example of working artifice? Worth. "...Good point, sure. Is it also in German?"

"Cantonese, actually, but the verbal component isn't important and I can tell you how to do it in English. The materials do matter and I won't be providing them, but it calls for actual metal wire which should play well with your affinity." 

Naima taps her fingers on the table irritably a few times.

"I think I should talk to Cairo," she says, to no one in particular, and then gets up and heads for the table that Cairo seems to be sharing with some other middle eastern enclave, before anyone can tell her that this is a terrible idea because everyone from Cairo is now a bear, or something.

...probably Naima knows the rules for interacting with her local enclave??? Actually she wouldn't bet on that. Well, Annisa wasn't aiming to get Cairo anyway.

Some day she is probably going to have to teach Naima how to be socially careful, but that sounds like a lot of work and Naima's probably not willing to pay her enough for it yet.

Annisa feels like the group having a social reputation at all is probably solid for the second day of classes, though it's unfortunate if it's 'the stunningly rude girl and her three friends.'

She's over at the table for several minutes; the people whose faces are visible don't look incredibly upset or anything, though they're a bit far away to tell if they're more subtly upset.

Eventually she comes back. "Their upperclassmen have left already, but the rest of them don't think there's a good way to check it for safety, not without spells none of them have. They think I should pass. Which I guess I knew already. Does anyone... want to come along with me to James's table and leave us in a situation where someone around here has some idea how that interaction went."

"Sounds fun but I actually wanted to spend all of work period in the shop, since apparently New York cleared it out."

"... I will go. Also, when you are ready to pay me for social coaching I can do my best to provide that."

"I will seriously consider this when I have more stuff." For now they can go to James's table.

"Hey! Ready to go? It's down on the senior levels, you could wait for us at the top of the stairs if you want? Or tell us where you want it and we'll meet you there."

It would be so easy to accept it. And it might be real, might just be that someone wants to skim off the top.

"I - I think I shouldn't take it. Actually. Because I don't know where you got it or whether it's safe. I'm sorry about the hassle."

" - Yeah I suppose that makes sense, in these troubled times. Let me know if you change your mind, it's yours until I find somewhere else for it."

" - thank you," she says, because she's pretty sure that's about the best response you can expect. "I'll let you know."

And she can head back to the Group's table.

"I'm going to make a run on the shop and get stuff for my mold during work period, anyone want to come? We can go up to the library afterwards, if New York's cleared it out it's probably safe to look around for stuff but I'd still sooner not linger in there for hours getting my mold just right."

"Yeah, all right. I guess it'll only get more dangerous and more picked over."

"That's what I figure."