And then a neat, tight ball of flame bursts through its chest and spreads to precisely outline the creature that was about to attack her, flares once, and then ashes start drifting down.

"That was a close one," Daniella says, coming over to inspect her handiwork. "All right there, Luthien?" She reaches out to brush some ash off Luthien's sleeve.

Oh great now she also needs to swallow the - far less messy - dramatic murder spell that'd been on the tip of her tongue. "I had it. You just got ash on my notes," is the first offended thing out of her mouth. 

"Whoops! Sorry. But I mean, better ash than acid, right?" Actually what she can see of the notes looks interesting- wait no this girl's not from New York she's gonna get upset if Daniella peeks.

Yeah she covers her notes with a smooth motion. (Also, Daniella only knows some of those languages - looking at them too long might get the Scholomance to start thinking maybe she's learning... Whatever the fuck that was.)

"I was in the middle of casting a spell that'd cause neither," she grumbles. "I didn't need your 'rescue.'" She makes actual air quotes with her fingers on 'rescue.' And pretends she isn't the slightest bit charmed.

"Welllll. You got it anyway. So we'll call it even, I guess."

"I'm Daniella, by the way, I don't think we've talked before."

"Probably not."

"This seems like a golden opportunity, then."

"I'm not going to be one of your groupies," she says, warningly.

Gasp! "Oh, how you wound me!"

"That wasn't a wound. If I wound you, you'll notice."

"Good thing I know people with healing spells."

"What? You want to find out what it feels like?" she asks, with a predatory smile, a hungry grin - one which might explain why there's a persistent quiet rumor that she's a cannibal.

"I like to feel things."

Hummm...

"Too bad. Still not interested."

Daniella's about to respond when one of her enclavemates from New York tugs on her sleeve, asking for her help reviewing their worksheet.

She tosses a last glance over her shoulder as she's dragged away. (The dragger is determinedly Not Looking at the maybe-cannibal weirdo.)

Saves her needing to get up to sell her 'not interested.' She resolutely ignores the New Yorkers, turning back to her papers - and to humming. 

She may be ignoring the New Yorkers, but most of the rest of the school doesn't. By lunchtime, there are all kinds of rumors floating around the junior class about what exactly went down, from a misaimed assassination attempt to a duel to a marriage proposal.

Anyone mentioning those where she can hear them (especially the marriage proposal, or anything about Luthien needing rescuing like some kind of damsel) is liable to get something else to worry about - Luthien has a special talent for making people piss themselves just by looking at them funny. 

That definitely gets people to stop talking around her. (Doesn't do a whole lot in terms of actually quenching the fires of rumor, of course. Denial's as good as confirmation to some people.)

It'll burn out - rumors always do, especially any that aren't 'Luthien is (or will be) a dark sorceress of DOOM and you should run.' Ones on that theme tend to stick around. 

...Does Daniella making like she's going to come over to Luthien's table at dinner change her mind on that front?

She's going to have to push her way in - Luthien picks fights with mals when she gets bored, sometimes, and will generally turn and attack any in the same room as her rather than fleeing like a normal person, and there's a small gaggle of assorted losers (especially in the lower years) that have decided the creepy overly-friendly maybe-cannibal is less scary than mals, and so therefore often take shelter in her general vicinity.

(Some of the ones in her year are also on neutral trading terms with El, table and bathroom company even if not friends or potential allies; Luthien will absolutely murderize any mal in the general vicinity of El, which makes hiding behind El an even better bet. And El always sits with Luthien.)

-Usually a seat opens up for her. This is new and different.

Daniella hesitates just long enough that once again one of her enclavemates will drag her away to their usual table and away from a mistake she is clearly intent on making.

El whaps Luthien on the back of the head. "Now what have you done?" she says exasperatedly.