"...Sable, right? Why do you look. Animated."

"I'm so glad you asked! I am a hybrid of Inkborn and Mimi: Mimi being where I get the foxiness, Inkborn making me a character trope incarnate. Inkborn universally look like something out of cartoons or comics or art, painted or drawn. Thus," she gestures indicatively at herself, "cartoon fox."

The line moves up.

"And a mimi, like you two, get mana just from... Headpats. Hrm. Awkward, but easy."

"I guess. But awkward, yes. I was told you can also use Witch Kisses as mana, in emergencies for example. That's why they're so valuable, even if they take a long time to make."

"You can, definitely. And look at it this way: I can already think of an option or two for making destruction a viable, safe option for generating mana. At least you're not a Lilin. Lilin generate mana by violating their own and others' morals at the same time."

"Some kinds of witches are pretty inconvenient, huh. And where did all this come from anyway, that's what I want to know. There'd better be a history class here."

She bounces and wags. "Ooh, I definitely wanna learn about how all this madness happened. I bet they have one, for sure!"

"Oh, but Abyssia, you were saying something about how you need roommates if you want more than a bitty little dorm room?"

"Call me Bys. That's too long. Yeah, they told me I could get a dorm room by myself, or I could get assigned a house that has a real kitchen and some extra rooms. I don't want a dorm room, if I'm going to be living here for a good long while. But - only if I had at least a couple of roommates, they don't have enough houses to give them out for anybody."

"I'm going to have to ask what the transfer and reassignment policies are like though. What if we end up not getting along with each other, right?"

"Worthwhile question. I'm certainly gonna try my damnedest to help us all get along, 'cause I'm just that kinda madgirl, but I have no magical guarantees of making people like each other, and anything that could do that would be worrisome levels of mindfuckery. Sometimes people just are better as distant friends than living together, and y'can't fix that for love or money."

"I'm tired and grumpy and it's not really the best mental state for talking about this. We can mostly stay out of each others' way if we don't get along that great, right?"

"Well, I like playing death metal at maximum volume, microwaving fish curry, and leaving trash all over the house."

"Kidding."

Sable giggles. "Yeah, I can work with that."

"What are you two going to try to study? Aside from history. I'm thinking - my elementalism, there's probably classes on that, and it'd be nice to basically be the Avatar. Have you seen that show?"

"I've seen memes of it. Tea Grandpa?" (Lenora nods and grins.) "History. Potions. I think they recommend taking three things at a time? I don't know what else, have to think about it. Divination? I can do Identify."

Sable grins and nods at the Avatar reference. "Sound like good plans, both of you. I'm probably going to take four things, if I count history, since I'm an academic and a day without studying is a day without gains. Magic-wise, probably Runes, Portals, and Witchery. I wanna round those three out before picking up anything else."

"You talk like a native. I have no idea what to expect. That's why - Arcadia, I guess. Though I also dare not leave for a while."

"We're all three new to this stuff, I think. Sable's just irrepressible. Warlocks have to like - do quests to get more powerful, right? That sucks, I'm sorry. Even if quests sound cool."

"It is what it is. I'm trying not to dwell, just makes you sad for no reason."

"On the bright side? Quests sometimes also result in loot. I spent a bit of time window-shopping online for shinies I couldn't afford, before my ill-fated trip to the store for some ink, and they have things like a set of belts and garters and whatnot that allow you to instantly call potions to hand, and boost their effectiveness. Or a set of ritual tattoo needles and ink recipes for giving people runic tattoos."

She could just say it. 'I have a shield brooch... Thing. And a giant hammer.' It'd be friendly, move the conversation.

...Maybe she'll tell them later. When she actually knows who was hunting her until a friendly witch pointed her to Arcadia, and why.

"If you do anything describable as a 'quest' instead of a 'job'... Better be prepared as you can. Do your research, pack what you need. Then pack more. And be vigilant. To do otherwise is to invite defeat."

"I don't disagree, but yikes. What a serious take. Also, practice, practice, practice. In stories the best heroes aren't just strong, they're clever. They know their abilities well and use them creatively."