A world of magic and mystery...

The tall, red-haired teenager started paying a little more attention to the proceedings when the prospect of combat class came up, and suddenly became rather more animated when addressed by Maeve.

"Can't wait for the combat." she stated with a grin that made it quite clear she'd inherited everything about the Norrevinter attitude to fighting that was stereotyped.

" Are we gonna use any swords? Uncle Erik got me a zweihander and I can take the head off a reindeer in one swing. " she beamed with pride, before getting a look from her uncle, pausing for a moment, then revising her statement.
"The reindeer was already dead and hung from a yew tree. By its feet. For the Vanir."

This was apparently enough to make decapitating ungulates with swords see acceptable to the rest of the family.

Hilda interjected.
"It's going to be her first extended stay away from Vollr so...it's going to be quite the learning experience."

It certainly was in that sense. The Norrevinter's island of Vollr, somewhere between the coast of Norway and Svalbard had been practically stuck in pre-christian Europe. A place where animal sacrifice, aesir worship and mead brewing were commonplace. (Though the last one might have been something to do with the Sterlings' trade embargo with Vollr for the past few centuries.)

Moving to another country was always likely to be a culture shop. Moving from an island of pagan norsemen wherin you were raised as practically a princess of your own tiny kingdom it was, perhaps, likely to be a little bit more of a stark contrast. As the two elders started handing over her things and saying their goodbyes it was increasingly clear that not a lot had changed between generations.




----

"My hand?" Helena asked, glancing over at it.
"Oh...was putting on nail varnish and got sorta distracted. Heh. It happens."

The young woman was quite blase about the bandage. Then again, she was hardly the first when blood magic was a fairly common practice among secondary crafts.

"Oh, it's fine...Professor Kove..Kova...Professor K just told me off for sleeping in the cafeteria so...probably something to do with that." she explained, in regards to the reaction to Jason. It was, at least better than being stared down by the Aquamancy head. The hungarian woman's glare could probably turn small animals to stone.

Helena smiled and rose to her feet, deciding she should probably make some effort to replace her cereal before it was completely depleted, and before she inadvertently attracted the ire of anyone else.

Jason's eyes narrowed and turned disapproving as he watched Larke walk past straight him to the nearest girl. "Vulture" he muttered under his breath. Even so it was his responsibility to protect Larke from himself and the girl from Larke.

With a sigh he got up, walking over to the two with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Hello Larke it has been awhile, how have you been?"

Then his icy blue eyes turned towards Jasper as he studied the drawing girl. "Oh forgive me for not introducing myself, my name is Jason Avalon. I caught that your name was Jasper Monroe, you are from a Trickster bloodline right?" He gave his best charming smile towards the girl, one that still didn't reach his eyes. "I'm hoping you are, because it would be wonderful to share a class with a talented artist such as yourself."

He turned to look at Larke and in doing so he saw a tall red headed figure out of the corner of his eye. Jason's smile turned into a smug grin as he took a step back and started the mental countdown. As he readied himself to evacuation himself and Jasper out of the way of the upcoming train crash. Normally he would have warned Larke and yelled at Kora for her childish actions but the bastard known as Sterling had ignored him, so it served him right. Also he could voice his disapproval after they were booth sprawled out on the floor.

The scent of perfume was stifling.

It filled the truck like water, clinging to every surface, every student. It burrowed itself into Esperanza’s skin, nestled in her hair, and made her eyes sting. Some kids up front had made a game of spraying each other with the stuff about two hours into the trip, and at this point, Espie could no longer pinpoint exactly what it was supposed to smell like. Something with flowers, no doubt, possibly roses- but it didn’t matter. It was strong, and she had long rolled down her window to let some of the stuff out. The air outside was better, anyway. It was rain and dirt and dead things, and, accompanied by the blur of orange passing by, made the ride much more magical.

Esp had been awake for about thirty two hours flat, according to the phone Mama had given her before she left home. She had been so strung up with nervous energy and excitement, she hardly felt the urge to sleep anyway. Her hands were constantly occupied with the new gadget under her possession (she had changed the background at least five times before settling on a funny picture of a dog she found online), or with the sheets of paper cheerfully stating her admission to Marchand, or even with little things like a piece of string she found hanging off the sleeve of her blouse. When not keeping herself busy, her eyes had been glued to the windows of whatever transportation she had been on- the truck being no exception.

After travelling for so many hours at this point, one would think she would have grown bored of the journey, but Esperanza relished it. She devoured the scenery with her eyes.

The truck eventually rolled to a halt, far more smoother in its stoppage than its predecessor had ever been. Jumping to her feet (and stumbling for a moment or two from the lack of blood in her legs), Esp slipped out of the vehicle and went to gather her things.

Marchand was far more grand than anything that she had seen- with the exception of the family church, of course- but Esp found herself vaguely disappointed that there was none of the peppy music playing within the school, like the movies always had. Rolling her shoulders under the weight of her backpack, Esperanza followed the line of other students to the office, and checked herself in. She hardly noticed the secretary’s idle look, more preoccupied with the sheets pushed into her hands that anything.

The school was very large.

After being ushered out by the secretary (she hadn’t realized she had been standing there for long until she felt the hands on her shoulders), Esp found herself wandering to the cafeteria, unsure of where else to go. She saw no point in wandering- especially when none of the other students were- and, besides, now that some of the nervousness had worn off, she had realized just how hungry she was.

The first thing she noticed upon entering was just how many people were there. Gathered around tables, picking at their food, chatting. Esp stood in the doorway for a moment, hesitating, then braced herself and went to get breakfast- pancakes, since a lot of the other kids seemed to be getting them as well.

The amount of people meant that most of the tables were filled to the brim, she found. Which meant sitting with someone. Or some group. Her eyes roved across the tables, eventually settling on one with only two seated. Two was good. A good start. Esp nodded to herself, then went over, swerving past some of the other kids clustered around the cafeteria.

“Hello.” Esp gave a crooked, awkward smile at the two girls- one of them with bandages like her, although hers were a clean white and the girl's were blue- and balanced the tray more carefully on her fingertips. “Can I sit down?”

Her voice was quiet, and thick with her accent- words coming out somewhat clipped and clumsy. Nevertheless, she was intelligible, which was a start.
Things were going good so far, Esp decided.

Not too long after Dawn had replied, another student had appeared at the table, sitting down to join the gathering- a boy, this time around. Oddly enough, while both Tessa and the other girl (she hadn’t quite gotten her name yet, Dawn realized) had both been complete strangers before this point, this boy was oddly familiar. She blinked, trying to place his face somewhere, only for the stranger to greet himself and ask the question that properly cleared things up.

A meeting in Italy.

It wasn’t much, but things quickly snapped into place. While Dawn was still left out of a few meetings here and there- sent over to her grandparents until the official affairs were properly taken care of- but there were many cases where she was made to tag along as well. Better to have both children have a grasp of the family business, or so her parents had decided. The boy’s next comment about grey eyes made it even easier to make the connection, and Dawn gave a small smile to show her recognition.

“Dawn Memoli. It’s, um. It’s nice to see you again, Tover.” It was a tad...awkward to see the kid of one of her family’s business partners again, but not entirely unpleasant. From what she could remember, the Book son had been fairly good company through the duration of the meeting. Before she could say any more, however, two more people joined the table- one seemingly a student like her, and the other introducing himself as a professor. She had just given her “It’s nice to meet you”s when her bottle of milk suddenly tipped over, spilling its contents across the table.

Well. There went her chance of making a good impression.

Her face flushing with warmth, Dawn muttered an apology and moved to clean up her mess- only to find that as her hands came in contact with the spill, they were left...dry. Momentarily confused, she took a double take at the “puddle”, and pressed a finger into it. Still dry.

Which meant that there had never been a spill to begin with.

Confused, she looked back up, and found that one of the girls- Desdemona, she had given her name now- had been in the midst of defending her, much to Dawn’s pleasant surprise. Before the blond could finish, however, she quickly reached the same conclusion the Trickster had. Another twinge of warmth went through Dawn as Tessa also lent her support, although she also raised a good question- who had set up the illusion in the first place? She had seen one of the Avalons walk in, but he seemed distracted with a Sterling (Larke, her mind offered) and another girl she couldn’t name.

Like Tessa, Dawn’s thoughts never reached the conclusion of the professor being the culprit.

In the short span of time where he’d braved being social, and sat down attempting to say hi, a whole ménage of others had seemingly arrived at the roughly same idea. The discomfort crept across Tover like clothing that stuck unpleasantly to his skin after being in palpable muggy weather. It was actually pleasantly cool inside, but he could feel the overcrowding squeeze in.

 Tover had barely uttered his greeting, before doing a soft apologetic nod to the blonde girl whose hair fell in loose curls. He’d likely interrupted something when suddenly what must have been a staff member appeared like he owned the building, shoving his ego so blatantly harsh through conversation that the Books' attention had difficulty not shifting towards it. This was a teacher, right? He looked and sounded French in demeanor, complete with that sense of overbearing superiority that he’d known a vast majority of Parisians to keep close to heart.

The callous introduction wasn’t the interesting part as movement that shouldn’t have been there manifested on the table. The milk just spilled over without cause. Like it was going to all along. Tover frowned half-unenthused. He’d been looking at Dawn just moments earlier trying to start a conversation. Not only was Dawn blameless, Oliver had accused her of something she clearly didn’t do, but did so in that condescending french fashion that just made the back of the neck bristle. It showed that his own Ego was worth more than the common decency of everyone else.

His grandmother would have floored the man with glee.



With agitated nonchalance, Tover lifted his cup to take a sip of the steamy okay-enough tea he’d fetched. He wanted to stay out of it for now, as he didn’t know if this was normal or a clever chess move. Everyone else seemed extremely pressed on the nose about the act, saying their piece about it as he assumed it was a case of the former for the teacher.


“With all due respect… It was an accident, and accidents have nothing to do with manners. You didn’t even let her say sorry before being mean about it."
When the blonde with curls made a decently satisfying quip back at the instructor, Tover decided to just partially sit this out and get to know people he was going to be in school with.
 He watched as Desdemona dabbed at the spill, only to make clear there wasn’t actually a spill. It didn’t take Tessa’s surprising knowledge of bloodline lineages to figure out Illusions fall under the trickster specialty. It had been on purpose, and it had been to slight what might have been one of the few people he actually knew before classes began. Not even the first day of school, and he had a professor he didn’t like. Which means he’d found the first class that was actually naptime.

Tover felt a tinge of surprise as the blonde girl with icy blue eyes suddenly chimed up about his lineage. Attention breaking from the crowd and general direction of the minor agitation. He hadn’t expected it to be known like that, but before he could even utter a word in response others drowned out the attempt. Still, while he didn’t know her name yet, Tessa’s bloodline knowledge received a very approving gaze as his mouth began the first vestiges of a smile. Watching her come to the defense of her friend.


"Can you figure out who did this? Because someone is being a big jerk and picking on Dawn to make her look bad in-front of you! This is so uncool." 

The edges of his smile widened as Tessa made her own quip. If she’d feigned ignorance on purpose, it currently didn’t matter. People trying to be friends and standing up for one another was good stuff. Perhaps this had been a slightly more calculated move by Oliver after all. Providing students an opportunity to bond at the cost of their opinion of him. Either way.
Score Two - Nil for the students. Good~



People passed through the cafeteria benches with some frequency, and an unsurprising "Hello, My name is Adelaide Monroe" snuck in from the side. Tover had nothing against people saying hi, but this was already far messier of a conversation and larger of a group than he was comfortable with. His fingertips slid under the edge of the platter that he hadn’t even had a chance to take things off from, and if Dawn had not made mention of Italy, Tover would have left the table. Instead, a tiny, ever so slight sense of belonging crept in. He wasn’t completely alone in this massive school. That was enough. Enough to grit jaw and carry on.



He too remembered that sharp and loud meeting (yelling match) in Italy. Between the mothers of the family breaking into argument over contracts and the Memoli’s hand movements reminiscent of someone trying to explain to you just how good their pizza is, he recalled seeing Dawn excluded and sitting on a couch outside the ‘meeting room.’ He also recalled he’d taken a recent detour through the kitchens, pockets loaded with goodies. 

He would have passed her by had her eyes not made him think he was hallucinating. But no, those were certainly grey as well! Tover had felt such joy to find someone else with his eye color. Procuring puddings, and chunks of kielbasa. Even individual well-wrapped Italian cream cake pieces were all conjured up from his pockets.
It didn’t take long to discover he’d absconded with the entire sugary monster cake this way, and while somewhere a chef was going to be furious, he’d being sharing it with Evelyn quickly enough that there would be little evidence left. That’s odd. He recalled her name being Evelyn. Was it Dawn? It was all so long ago and so fuzzy, and that evening was one big sugar rush. It had been fantastic, for anyone not an adult.

Too didn’t wait for a convenient pause between all the hello greetings and cordiality of conversation. He turned his head and spoke kindly. “It’s nice to see you again too Dawn, Let’s chat proper when we’re not meeting a thousand people.” He took a light breath, but it didn’t pause him as he half slumped into the seat towards the table. Leaning on his open palm chin and jaw first, finger raised to touch his cheek~ He'd changed his mind on the silence and just waiting it out, upset and defensive enough to temporarily not be concerned with the pressure of being social in a brand new environment. Dawn was a friend. Dawn was going to get support. Tover leered at the professor with that trademark nonchalance and half-disinterest before putting some firm push behind his words.

“You on the other hand. If you’re looking for people who appreciate your stunt of tricking, demeaning, and putting someone down just so you can try and make an impression. You’re at the wrong table.”

“Good-Bye. Professor. You’re taking up Adelaide’s seat." was added additional dismissive and unwelcoming tone.
His hand rose to flag down the person that had just now put their best foot forwards into introducing themselves. Pointing at the space Oliver was occupying as he looked at Adelaide, with a calmer and neutral manner of speech saying: “That spot’s free.” As if it was matter of fact.

Adelaide Monroe

“You on the other hand. If you’re looking for people who appreciate your stunt of tricking, demeaning, and putting someone down just so you can try and make an impression. You’re at the wrong table.”

Adelaide was taken aback by the way the students talked to their teachers. She thought she had obviously picked the wrong table. She felt a sudden rush of displeasure and irritation at herself. She had been too absorbed in the idea of making a friend that she had stupidly missed the obvious 'spilled milk' situation. She frowned as she watched the boy who spoke. He obviously did not want her to join the table, if only because they where already too full. She realized with an internal sigh that he must be an introvert like herself. She was about to turn away when the boy spoke again.

“Good-Bye. Professor. You’re taking up Adelaide’s seat." was added additional dismissive and unwelcoming tone. Adelaide raised her eyebrows in shock. Again she did not know the whole situation but the amount of disrespect displeased her.

The boy signaled her and said:
“That spot’s free.” as he pointed at the professor. Blood drained from her face and she froze in shock before taking a fearful step back. There was no way she was going to get involved with this mutiny without more information. With her step back she bumped into someone and let out a squeak of surprise.

---

Ezra Eleanor Josephs

Ezra took one look at the table at the far end where her fellow co worker Professor Oliver sat with a large group of students, and felt trouble brewing. She approached the table with a smile, and in less than a minute someone back into her. It caught her off guard and she lost her balance. She twisted in an attempt to keep the student on her feet, and to not hurt herself, however she fell with a less than graceful thump. She felt her ankle burn and she realized she must have twisted it on the way down.

"Oh dear" She said with a small frown as she blushed. How was she supposed to make an imposing impression as a professor from her rear end on the floor.

---

Adelaide Monroe

Adelaide turned quickly to face the woman she had bumped into and floundered to apologize.

"OOH My goodness I am so sorry. Please accept my apologies i am such a klutz." She said waiving her hands as if to ward off any aggressive advances despite the lack of a reaction so far.

---

Ezra Eleanor Josephs

Ezra took a moment to attempt to get to her feet. Her ankle burned and throbbed as she straightened her dress.

"No worries...Professor Oliver would you mind assisting me to my office, I'm in desperate need of some peace to heal what appears to be a sprained ankle." Ezra said with a small smile, but suddenly he was up and gone. She frowned and hobbled after him.

"Professor? Is everything alright?" She asked with a frown.

---

Adelaide Monroe

"Oh..." Adelaide said as she watched the woman get to her feet. She pulled herself together and slunk towards her sister. She wasn't used to being in any sort situation where she was the center of attention. Her sister was the extrovert, and she...well she was someone who stayed in the shadows.

---

Jasper Monroe

"Hello Larke it has been awhile, how have you been? Oh forgive me for not introducing myself, my name is Jason Avalon. I caught that your name was Jasper Monroe, you are from a Trickster bloodline right? I'm hoping you are, because it would be wonderful to share a class with a talented artist such as yourself." said a newcomer to her table. She smiled in his direction as she studied him. Tall, dark hair, and attractive enough. What was it with this school, was every guy a supermodel to be? And since when did they talk to her? Was it her perfume? She was half tempted to sniff herself to check. She gave herself an internal shake and nodded to the newcomer Jason.

"Hello Jason, my specialty is indeed trickery, its a pleasure to meet you" She said as she grinned. This was the second time someone had complemented her work. It made her a little uncomfortable, if only she didn't like to share her work. She glanced up just in time to see her sister cause a commotion then practically run towards her. She grinned and waived at her.

"Oh dear lord Adelaide what have you started now?" Jasper asked with a wicked grin.

"I didn't...i mean...i just..." Adelaide started then realized there where two different boys standing at the table.

"Oh...hello my name is Adelaide Monroe....pleasure to meet you" She said with a sheepish smile.

Larke raised an eyebrow in surprise upon hearing Jasper’s deal, and he broke into a light laugh at the unexpected boldness. His gaze fell down to the table, and he ran a hand over the nape of his neck as he turned the deal over in his mind. ”You drive a hard bargain, Miss Monroe,” he said, and sighed, “But you haven’t really left me much of a ch—

And he was interrupted by Derrick Goddamn Avalon’s kid.

“Jason!” he greeted with a warm grin, not missing a beat. “Been quite a while! Not since… What was it, the Yule Council dinner?” He leaned back a bit, but with his body still turned in toward Jasper, before continuing. “I’d make an introduction, but you’ve already seen to it, Jason. Our families do work together on the Council, you see," he explained to Jasper, "so we’ve seen quite a bit of one another. And I heard his father is going to be teaching, if I’m not mistaken..?”

Before there was time to continue that train of thought, yet another lovely (though notably more flustered) young lady showed up at the table.

Another Monroe, apparently.

He shook his head and smiled at her stammering response to her sister, craning his neck to see the harried situation left in her wake. ”Oh, I wouldn’t worry about starting trouble, now. Nothing wrong with a bit of good natured mischief amongst mages, is there?"” he replied, standing out of courtesy for their new guest, and extending a hand to shake. “I'm Larke Sterling. And it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Adelaide. Would be safe to assume a family tie between you two?” he asked in a joking tone, casting his glance back toward Jasper.

The young Norrevinter had managed to lop the head cleanly off of a non-threatening, non-moving, already dead target that in no way resembled a human being.

Maeve nodded as if she were impressed.

”We’re going to be using several different techniques in combat class,” she replied with the same plastered on parent-meeting smile she had forced for the entire exchange, ”but a lot of focus will be placed into strengthening fields you have less experience in. Swords will be on the list, though; I did my fair share of sabre fencing back in the day.”

She waved a hasty goodbye to Hilda and Erik, and let the forced pleasantness drop the moment the pair had turned out the door. Her chipper tone dropped away when she spoke next, flaking off like dead skin from a snake.

”Breakfast is in the dining hall,” she said, rolling her shoulders as if shaking off some particularly unpleasant sensation, ”And you’ll be eating with the rest of the peasants, if that was a question.”

Kora waved a final goodbye to her relatives, and picked up her bad once again. The painted antler of a reindeer skull protruded from the top, apparently there a testament to her dubious victory over the dead ungulate.

Professor Byrne had quite quickly dropped her customer service face, and fallen into her more usual demeanour and tone when addressing her... however that was not what was concerning the student at that moment in time. As she cast a brief look into the cafeteria, one of the people in a small conversing group had moved aside, and her eyes had set upon a rather familiar face. Or, at least very familiar features.

Like a wolf that had just spotted a deer, Kora dropped her bag and padded forwards, watching closely to make sure she was correct in her first assumption.

She was.

It was one of them.

A Sterling.

What caustic remark Maeve had been making was drowned out entirely by the blood pounding in her ears.

There was only one way to react to this situation.

Only one way.

With a battle-scream of "TYYYYYR!" the whole six and a half foot of Kora cleared the length of the cafeteria in moments, shoving aside students and furniture alike until she collided full-force with the standing form of Larke Sterling. She threw him down onto the table before them, dug her knee between his shoulderblades, and grabbed the nearest weaponry to hand.
This happened to be a bowl of yoghurt and granola, which she unceremoniously emptied over the young man's head.

"You've gt a lot of nerve even showing your face here you trash piece of Sterling scum!" the girl exclaimed, reaching for another breakfast item to douse her opponent in.
"Nobody dishonours my family and gets away with it! That goes for you AND your whole brood of lecherous bastards!"

The warrior dynasty of Norrevinter had started early.

"Oh yes it was at the Yule Council Dinner so long ago." His plastered on smile continued as small talk, nodding when appropriate. "Yes my father will be teaching History and Magical Weapon infusement, one of our families many specialties after all."

As Adelaide approached the table his icy blue eyes zeroed in on the newcomer. Glancing at the table she indicating was causing trouble before turning back to Adelaide. "You do not seem like the type to cause trouble. So I'm sure it was a misunderstanding after all who would cause an issue on the first day of school." Speaking of who would do such a thing, he watched the doorway out of the corner of his eyes.

As Kora finally notice Larke, Jason was prepared as he grabbed Jasper and Adelaide pulling them out of the way before the crazed girl could push them over. Trying to hide the smug smile that graced his lips as yogurt was unceremoniously dumped on Larke's head he instead went into a disapproving look.

"Hello Kora, so nice to finally meet you, I'm Jason Avalon." He paused making sure the name sunk into her mind before continuing." I suggest you may want to get off of Larke unless you want rumors to fly. " He paused shaking his head. "That is also no way to talk to a follow student who does indeed have as much right to be here as you do."

Jason did the best to hide a smile at the next part however a hint managed to shine through his disapproving look. "Also we tend not to like wasting food in this country. Or is it custom to dump yogurt on heads where you come from?" With a sigh he moved towards Larke and Kora offering a hand to either party that wanted it.

Larke was not aware he was going to be body slammed by a small ginger bear until he heard her scream, and by then had approximately zero seconds to react to the incoming threat. He was slammed forward onto the table with an unceremonious ”Hrng! as the air was knocked from his lungs.

It was a miracle he managed to land with his hands down first, saving his nose from being smashed against the surface in front of him. He felt Kora’s knee land squarely between his shoulder blades, precisely in the right (or, rather, the wrong place) to elicit an uncomfortable crack from his spine. He cringed, managing not to yell out—

And then something was dumped on his head.

He could feel something cold, moist and drippy trickling down from the pile atop his hair, running in a little stream down to the back of his neck in one direction, and to the front of his hairline in the other. A small dollop of yogurt dripped down to settle precisely on the tip of his nose.

His mouth folded into a tight line, choosing to accept this fate rather than to explore the alternative of struggling against the inbred ursine fire-Amazon. There were worst things to have running down one's nose than yogurt.

”Good morning to you too, Miss Norrevinter,” he said, grimacing up from where he was being held, ”It’s good to see that you’re upholding the family reputation."

And then, breaking into the good-natured smile of a man who was very much not squashed against a table of breakfast foods by a woman four inches taller than him, he added, ”Though, I have to say it’s a bit early for all of this, no? And ah… No need to worry, Avalon, Sisters Monroe. This is the customary greeting of her clan. Very tactful people. She doesn’t actually mean me any harm... No need to start a commotion, or trade sanctions, or anything like that, right?”

Tessa eye's widened at Tover's words. The fact that he had the gall to say something so harsh and demeaning to a professor he just met was unheard of. Also she highly doubted that was the professor's point if he was indeed behind the act.

Tessa bit her lip chewing on it as professor Oliver spoke to her, face flushing red as she realized she had called her own teacher 'uncool'. A quiet apology in french was spoken to the man before he continued. After all being recognized by the professor teaching her illumination was not a good way to start off the school year.

While Professor Oliver continued speaking her mind trailed off, full of confusing thoughts. What if he tried to asset her power strength in illumination? So it was okay to use illusions as an assessment to embarrass someone but not okay to just embarrass someone? A frown graced her normally smiling features as all the questions ran through her head.
Tessa eyed Adelaide as the girl was scared off by Tover's words taking them the wrong way. Before Tessa could even offer an apologetic smile or explain what her new friend meant, Adelaide was gone.

With a smile sigh she turned to the remaining table and studied those present, her smile returning. "Well Professor Oliver is right I think we will all be good friends!" Tessa eyed Dawn and decided the best way to put the nervous girl at ease was to make her feel better about the situation. "Besides the fake milk spill made me realized that I'd like some strawberry milk too."

Getting up and walking back towards the line she was so distracted be her thoughts that she did not notice the tall firey redhead on the war path. Who easily pushed the smaller petite Tessa out of her path. As she stumbled onto the floor Tessa started to wonder if Strawberry milk was cursed.

Nimura hummed softly to herself as she stared straight up at the ceiling of the truck she and a handful of other students were riding in. She had raised her legs slightly to swish her feet back and forth in the air, hands planted firmly on either side of her on the seat. She sat alone, though it didn’t bother her very much- it had meant more room to move around. A bright smile was fixated to her lips while she tilted her head away from the ceiling to the open window beside her. The sun was warm, heating the inside of the vehicle, but not unpleasantly so, especially with so many windows open providing a cooling effect.

This was finally it, she was at last on her way to Marchand. Sliding her hand onto the window before sticking it out of the open space, Nim relished in the air that parted around her limb as it rushed past. She tilted her hand down, before up, and then repeated, enjoying the shifting of the air currents that pushed at her hand, aiding in its upward or downward movement. She was a far, far way from home, but at least air was somewhat familiar. Not like she had had much practice in her aeromancy at all to begin with- none, actually. Ah, the perks of being a Hedlund. She was excited to learn it. And Familiar Conjuring. And illumination, and being so far away from Sweden, and starting her own journey, and and. The list was endless, and with her boundless measures of excitement, there was absolutely no time for nervousness. She didn’t miss her home, or at least not much, and she wasn’t feeling any anxiety from being separated from her parents for the first time. A perk from being raised separate from them for a lot of the time.

Nimura could not help but enjoy the pleasant dips and bumps of the truck moving about on the roads. She certainly was a long way from Smögen, but Murra relished in the fact of a new adventure. There would be much exploring to do, and hopefully a lot of faces to meet and hold dear. She ran her fingers along the brim of her black, red, and white cap, and settled in a bit more to enjoy the rest of the ride.

By the time they finally arrived and the school came into view, she could hardly sit still. This was her school, and she’d finally learn how to be a mage. As the truck pulled to a stop, she was among the first of the students there to get up. She moved with confident strides to the front, quick to disembark and gather together her luggage. She had been on one of the later buses, but it did nothing to dampen her spirits. Plenty of time still to meet and greet and hopefully have some breakfast, as she had been much too focused on getting to the school to really remember the first meal of the day at the beginning of her day.

Making her way to the front desk, Nim greeted the woman there warmly, smiling kindly and reining in some of her excitement so as not to overbear others’ presences or get on anyone’s nerves. The woman, after checking Nimura’s name and realizing she was a Hedlund, mentioning taking her luggage down the hall to have it moved for her- something her family had arranged for her- before handing the girl some papers and then directing her to head towards the cafeteria once she was done. Murra nodded, doing as she was bid with a genial ‘thank you’ as she headed down that first hall. After having her things taken care of, she headed towards the cafeteria, which was not very hard to find, given the pleasant aromas that wafted down the halls.

Upon arrival, Nim discovered many, many students bustling about, a lot of them already seated and chatting. She honestly didn’t know where she would be going; well, that wasn’t entirely true. Food first of course. She would worry about seats and greetings after. Making her way down along the line, the Swede had picked up sausages, pancakes, and a glass of milk, and was just heading out of the line to decide on a seat when a loud, distinctly Scandinavian voice rang out loudly through the room. Her attention immediately focused on the individual, finding a tall, red-headed girl barreling through the crowds to one nearby table in particular.

Nim blinked, watching her in curiosity as she sailed across the room. Definitely Norwegian- she could tell from accent alone- and from the looks of her, Nimura knew her immediately to be a Norrevinter, though only knew that since she was really only familiar with the Scandinavian bloodlines as well as some of the most famous families as well, since, well, they were famous. However, the girl suddenly tackled some poor guy or other- she couldn’t really see well from this angle- cursing at him and throwing what looked to be yogurt at his head.

Nim was taken aback by this display, completely caught off guard. So distracted was she by this, that she ended up simply standing in the middle of the room, staring.

During the continuation of the exchange with the teacher, Desi had tuned half out, dropped the crumpled napkin, and pulled out her cellphone to text her dad. She looked back up to see Adelaide backpedaling away rapidly as Skylar left and wrinkled her nose.

“What was up with that?” she gestured towards the teacher, who was now assisting an adult female that Desi assumed to be another professor. “And that too.” She waved over to the girl who’d decide to run away from them, and was now joining a twin as well as the Avalon and Sterling heirs at a table.

“Anyway…” she waited as Tessa reassured Dawn and went off for strawberry milk, then bounced back to the introductions, “as I was saying, I’m Desdemona Moore.” She waited for the pause, wondered if anyone knew Damien Moore was teaching, and allowed for the connection to Beswick to be hopefully noted (it would grant her at least part of the “old line” immunity). She amused herself with wondering if anyone would think of Cremonet. Her peers were probably too young to care at the time that it was news…

“I’m really excited to be here, actually. Like, this isn’t what mages normally do at all. I mean, normally it’s all family and private tutors, and the only time you get to hang out is at the fancy occasions and like, nothing wrong with those but I wouldn’t really call it hanging out either, you know? So when I heard about this school I was like - OH MY GOD, TESSA!”

That had not been what Desi had said about Marchand upon first learning of it, not at all, However, the third girl at their table had been bowled over by what Desi was guessing to be a Norrevinter charging towards the Sterling she’d noted earlier. The blond quickly got out of her seat to check on Tessa, while keeping her eyes on the commotion and snickering at the use of yoghurt as a weapon.

Then the twin of the girl who might have sat with them was standing and shouting insults and Desi gaped. “Is she stupid or just suicidal?” she murmured to her companions, eyes widening. Not even speaking of status… there was a good foot or more of difference between the two girls.

An assessment.

It hadn’t been a prank by another Trickster hoping to ruin her image in front of the professor- someone with a grudge against her family, or just hoping to pull a sudden trick on a whim- but, rather, by the professor himself. Surprise lit up Dawn’s eyes as she turned back to look at Skylar, followed by indignation and something cold that didn’t quite fit in the girl’s face. Just as quick as it had appeared, however, it vanished- concealed by the magic dripping down her features like syrup.

“I see.” A wide, PR smile stretched Dawn’s lips. “Well, Mr. Oliver. It was a bit difficult for me to tell at first, unfortunately. Since you used a bit more stronger illusionary magic than I’m used to, and I hadn’t been expecting a professor to use it on me during breakfast. Without consent.” She placed the cap back on her bottle, gave it a twist, and brought it closer to her body. “But thank you for the offer, Professor.”

As Skylar rounded out of sight, she gave a soft “Jesus”, shaking her head then looking up back at her company with a far more genuine smile. “At least there weren’t any real spills. I would’ve hated it if I had to do the marks all over again.” As if to emphasize her point, she ran her hand over the paper again, cleaning away some of the graphite that had settled there. “I do hope we’ll get along, though. It was...really nice of you guys to defend me like that when the professor showed up. Really appreciate it.” She glanced over at Tover directly, now, and gave a grin and a “And, yes. I need to make sure my memory’s right, and if you actually stole that entire cake or not.”

Desi’s introduction earned her a small delay from Dawn before she blinked and gave a sudden clap of her hands. “‘Moore’ like the teacher, right? And the offshoot?” Followed by a, “Is he your dad? The, um. Professor, I mean.”

The Cremonet line did not cross her mind. While she had overheard the name spoken a few times by her parents, they had never talked much about them. The affairs of a family that they did not deal with tended to hold briefer discussions than not. As Tessa stood to get her own strawberry milk, Dawn smiled and nodded, watching her for a moment before turning back to the table sitters.

Of course, her attention was quickly drawn back by a sudden loud commotion, a cry of “TYRRRR”, and the sound of stumbling. Startled, Dawn looked to find a redheaded girl tackling another student- the latter she recognized vaguely as a Sterling, which meant that the girl was probably a Norrevinter- and Tessa falling to the ground. Her attention quickly shifted mostly to her new friend getting pushed aside, and, alarmed, Dawn left her seat and rushed over to the blond. “Are you okay?” The Trickster lowered herself to the ground, offering up a hand to help Tessa up.
While she did so, Dawn got a better view of the situation that had caused the tumble, as well as the escalation that was accompanying it.

Like she had thought, that was indeed a Sterling, and that was indeed a Norrevinter. Shockingly enough, however, one of the girls she couldn’t name had begun to yell at the redhead, spouting a wide variety of taunts.

A part of Dawn was taken aback by the fact that the yelling was aimed at a Norrevinter, even with the rudeness of the earlier charge.

Another part of Dawn was attempting to wrap her head around the insults chosen. In particular, the “little girl” portion of the rant.

A Norrevinter was many things, but none of them were ever little.

Mitch’s gut clenched into a tight knot, and the color drained from her cheeks at the sudden change of subject. Her palms were washed in a cold, clammy sweat, and she set her fork back down onto her tray so that she would not drop it.

Drake was uncomfortable.

He had mentioned something that he thought would make her uncomfortable, and then made the choice to skirt the elephant in the room; ignore all subjects that could force the awkward topic out into the open.

She was different; nobody wanted to mention it.

“It’s okay,” she said, offering a small smile, “I know he’s not red. He’s purple.” She reached forward to where Apple sounded like he was, and the little creature reciprocated by pressing his head into her palm with a hissing purr. The furry ridge of his back rose up to rub against her arm for a scratch, and he flopped down onto his side as the expected reward was granted.

“I’m not that kind of blind,” she explained, her best ‘casual conversation’ face pointing just a few centimeters too far to the right to make eye contact with Drake, “And it’s not bad to ask about, or whatever. For future reference. Just so… So you aren’t uncomfortable. It's not like it's a secret.”

Awkward pause.

Should have just kept that to herself.

“But yeah. I uh. I’m mostly at Marchand because my mom decided I’d been homeschooling for long enough. She wanted me to try out the whole mage thing a bit more before I decide for sure what I want to do for work. I’m pretty set on studying computers, but I guess the magic thing is worth checking out. Seems less employable, though. And you?”

She stabbed a pancake and shoved a bite into her mouth, then, eager to make sure she couldn’t proceed to let out any more stupid babbling.

And then there were very loud noises.

At the sound of a scream, Mitch tensed and Apple was quickly on his feet. With a fluttering hop, he slithered defensively onto her shoulders, two forelegs perched on her hair, two eyes trained on the sound, and the other two roving in search of any more trouble. He let out a screeching caw in the direction of the commotion, and his tail curled up to block Mitch's face from any potential incoming. Above him, his wings snapped together, rubbing to produce a low rattle not unlike the warning of a snake.

"Drake? What's happening?"

Why was he here? Why was he here? Why had his parents and grandparents decided it would be good for him to go here!

Sitting at the front of the bus, Lucien stared forward with such a pale and sickened face that the bus driver was both extremely concerned for him, and worried he’d have to clean up puke at some point. The boy didn’t notice this, as his eyes were locked on the area right before the bus and his mind occupied with reciting alphabets backwards and multiplication tables haphazardly.

Everything was going wrong and it had barely started.

The white of his robes fell around him gracefully and he shifted on the seat. He’d thought that since it was a school for mages, he should dress like a mage. He’d had his hair put up in the engraved silver clip and had dressed in the white robes, trimmed with the lightest of blues, that had been Magnaventus ceremonial garb for millennia. To his humiliation though, he had boarded a bus of students in jeans and t-shirts, and the whispers had started immediately.

Also everyone thought he was a girl, but he was used to that.

“So weird-“

Luce stopped listening and decided to use his aeromancy to breath before he hyperventilated. This kept him occupied the rest of the trip, and he stayed still, hoping to be as unnoticed as air as the rest of the students left. And trailed into the school. And just a bit longer, in case.

“Hey kid, you planning on getting out?” the bus driver asked, as he hadn’t moved for the last portion of the ride and had seemingly stopped breathing at some point.

“Um. Yeah sorry thanks bye!” the aeromancer yelled, too loud for the situation, then ran away from the bus before running back, flushed, to get his luggage. He got to the school alright, got his papers and then set off quickly in the opposite as soon as he heard someone start talking about his white hair.
Fifteen minutes later, he dropped the suitcases and wiped his eyes on his large sleeves because he was lost and the map was useless. Lyra would know what to do. Lyra would have walked up and told the staring people to shut the hell up because they were just jealous.

Lucien was not Lyra, and he was about to cry. That was, until he saw movement, and squeaked. Another person was at the end of the hall! He took off running, then froze abruptly, realizing he would have to talk to get help.

Breathe. You can do this. Just say you’re lost and can they please help you find the cafeteria?

What came out was closer to a trembling, “Um, C-could you, um, I’m so-sorry but, um, I, um…Cafeteria…? I’m l-lost and I-I n-need help pl-please. Sorry for, um, bothering you. Please?” and if the other student understood one in three words, it would be a miracle in itself.

Having emptied some yoghurt, orange juice, and some of a bowl of cereal onto her current captive, only to find his flow of conversation more or less unbroken, Kora had gotten bored of the breakfast food onslaught.

She could almost respect his ability to handle himself under pressure.
If he were not a Sterling and therefore automatically awful.

"It isn't a waste Mr Avalon." she remarked, having noted the disapproval of the other council heir closeby. The one she didn't have a centuries old vendetta toward.
"I'm using it! And rumors would have to stretch the truth so much to try and make this suggestive they might as well have made it up to start with. Hm...is this any better?"

She dragged Larke forwards and threw back into a sitting position on his back, legs hung idly over the edge.
The fire manipulator extended one large hand, grabbed some kind of sugary pastry from an undisturbed tray and bit into it.
"Is there anything left to sanction?" she asked between bites, looking down at the guy she was currently using as a seat.
"I'd love to watch your whoremonger relatives trying to work out something you haven't put an embargo on. You know how long it takes to use honey for everything you'd use sugar for? Do you have any god damn idea how pissed off wild bees get?! And then if you set the swarm on fire then you've lost th-"

Kora was cut off mid flow as another student stepped forward and started shouting at her. She was called all sorts of things.

Neanderthal.
Childish.
Ape.
Idiot.

And perhaps most notably in her mind 'little girl'.

Kora sat in silence, her newly acquired breakfast in one hand, listened, and for a moment there was a tense, tangible silence. Several students appeared to be watching, nervous.

Then the young woman threw back her head and laughed, mane of unruly hair shaking from the vibration.
"What. Are you planning to fight me?"

Relinquishing her hold on Larke she rose to her full, 6'6 feet of height.

"If you're planning to hit this 'little girl' in the face, munchkin, you might want to fetch yourself a chair to stand on. Or maybe a step ladder. Take your time, I will wait.."

The nordic student lackadaisically finished off the pastry and glanced back.


"While you do though, I feel like I should help you be less ignorant to who you're calling these names. I think the 'poor village' you might be thinking of would be the sacred Isle of Vollr . Home to the Norrevinter family, The Hammer of the Gods, The Great Bear, some of the godfathers and godmothers of pyromancy and some of the most terrifying warriors in the magical world. The 'idiot' you're thinking of would be Jarlinna Kora Mari Norrevinter, the formal family head since childhood, trained berserkir, and future council member in one and a half years' time. It's what compensates for my lack of manners. "

She wiped the yoghurt off her cheek, licked it off her hand, and grinned triumphantly.

"Pleased to meet you. Are you still feeling like a fight?"

Tover’s brain was on fire.

Everything was dimmed from his perspective. Sounds dulled and blurred as cascades of blood pounded the insides of his ears. His sped up heartbeat drummed slow and with pounding vigor. Adrenaline had kicked up when the thinking cog had realized what it had just made the body do.

Forget that he spent the first major conversation of the day back snapping at a teacher, or that the attempt to make friends was lackluster because of it. A tremor coursed in his digits, breath heavy, shaky in his seat. He was half in and half out of reality as events became tumultuous.

Why did it feel so good?

He expected fear, a sense of diminishment, the need to creep back into her corner of safety. His ghostly eyes remained wide and glued on the instructor as the man spoke, but Tover didn’t actually hear a word. Just muddled noises as if you’re hearing someone through a wall in the other room, overlaid only by his own unyielding heartbeats.

Imagination spoke for him as a chessboard was mentally conjured. Massive and wide where standing on a single square would make one feel miniscule. From above, a colossal disembodied hand materialized and took hold of something as it descended. Only when the fingers squeezed together did a white pawn shatter into existence with a reverberating glassy clang, heavy dusty thud leaving the foot of the piece as the pawn was lifted and moved two paces forwards on the board. His board.

He felt nervous realizing what kind of forward push he’d done, yet relished it at the same time. Yes. Good. This was good. He liked this. Being forward and direct gave a sense of freedom that he’d been craving. Sure he was used to lurking in the backdrop and sullying his time away. But this, this was better. This felt like confidence. This felt like who he wanted to be.

Standing up to family was a task and a half, an impossible feat for someone who could only look up to those who sneered down. But this, this teacher, this had no such sway over him. Neither personality pressure nor authority rebuffed him from speaking his mind properly for one of the rare times he managed to. This is what kept Tover slow and sluggish as he sunk back into the seat to restore telltale nonchalance, absent-mindedly adding some food to his mouth. He wasn’t there. Not mentally.

Adelaide hadn’t joined the table. Tover didn’t even see her walk off, attention having barely been on her after using her introduction to plug in for added effect when he’d expressed discontent. One less person at the table was not remotely a problem, it was even comforting to remain with a small group of people that had all shared similar interest to defend Dawn.

Skylar had sodded off, but he’d spoken a lot. Likely some lecture.

Tessa must have said something; he did notice her mouth moving before she got up. The mouth movement of ‘milk’ was enough to backburner it as warbled sound came from Desdemona. Though he must have clearly heard Dawn’s little quip, a smile of pleasantry etching onto his face with a nod. That had been a fantastic weekend.

The barbarian grizzly that roared and barreled past with all the subtlety of a derailed freight train however, was easier to notice. Followed by a sudden "TESSA!” as the noise cleared enough for reality to sink back into the land of importance. He turned his head to watch the ensuing wrestle and scream match a few tables away. His mind half-wandered inconveniently. Another chessboard as Norrevinter viking-hugged the Sterling with the kindness of a cannonball.

Tower takes Bishop.

Tover had to give his head a shake. Other important things just happened. Tessa. Help Tessa. By the time his hand was ready to push away from the table however Dawn and Desi were already with her.

Nagging words were thrown from the eventful table. Oh. Found the Monroe. Or two? Perhaps his vision was still equalizing, but those girls had some similarities between them. Never having gotten a great look at her, he actually couldn’t tell which of the two it was that had tried to say hi.

This place was chaos.

An odd noise rustled the air. A screeching caw? What could possibly make that sound? The Norrevinter table was wild and easy to keep eyes glued on, sure, but to ignore the noise you didn’t recognize. Now that was dangerous. Already half up from being in progress of going to Tessa, his half-open eyes did a scan around the ro..

The fluff-creature. It was perched defensively on the shoulders of a girl, wings snapping and protectively positioned to defend her from harm. Where was it looking? A quick glance to the Sterling table answered that entirely.

Norrevinter was giving one hell of a speech. For all that brutish veneer and sizable mass that was likely dwarfed by the sheer density of her pride, there was a good mind in there. His eyes flicked momentarily to Tessa. A good mind, but blind to consequences of what happens when recklessly charging to a goal.

He was standing now. Tessa had been helped, and he’d been too distracted to contribute. Tessa hadn’t been the source of the issue though. Just a victim. Tover didn’t know much about the big feud between the Sterlings and the Norrevinters, but it didn’t need his kind of mind to easily put the pieces together.

Jarlinna Kora Mari was a hefty name. Kora would do. That would likely intimidate the pants off those Monroe girls if what he said was enough to make her pass up their table, and given that the suave looking one.. well. Slightly tarnished. Had been used as a seat, her chances of being taken seriously were pretty good, and the challenge of a fight was very likely to make everyone keep their head down. It didn’t hold a candle to the imposing pressure some of the women in his family let off. Or perhaps, it’s because he didn’t know much better, but.. did that sound like bluster? Angry and emotional, primal and direct. Had she even realized the effects of her warpath? How everyone was looking?

She was never, ever going to make a single friend that way.

Why did that thought hurt, so incredibly much. His heart clenched at the realization that if this is how she leaves off, it will only get worse from here with more cause for anger.

A beautiful thought bloomed in Tover’s mind, the tactical cog saying it’s due.
“I’m going to do something stupid.”
His words were soft, the adrenaline from earlier present albeit slowly diminishing. Directed at the general table before putting one foot infront of the other, straight towards the Prime Spotlight of the morning.

One. Just one.

Just one redeeming moment was all he’d had to chance in order to not only to make another friend, but also to not let that prideful mountain of a woman suffer in the long term. He’d seen before where that kind of bluster got you. Alone. Angry. Pained. Unwanted. Hating the world.

He stopped within talking distance, but was a little louder as only the adrenaline from before was actually keeping him on his feet. Sure he was frightened. Who wouldn’t be scared when you’re approaching the current prime possibility for biggest school bully.

It didn’t need to be like that. It didn’t need to turn out that way.

“Hey Norrevinter!” Tover exclaimed loudly while not exactly hiding. God this was uncomfterable, but he coulden’t pass it up. Not again. He’d regretted the first time years ago, having said nothing and watched it play out. Not this time, this time he’d take the pain. Standing there seemingly without fear, hands half in his pockets with a nudged-loose tie. While his approach was lightly slumped, he straightened up to speak as if to try and be taller. Not that such an attempt had merit.

“That was a nice speech. Councilmember is nice and all, but you won’t make it if you don’t realize what happens the people in your path. I know councilmembers are strong, and smart, but most of all I heard they care. They care about people and want to do what’s right.”
He shoved his thumb harsh over his shoulder.
“You hurt someone back there, while on your rampage. So if you too, care. Walk with me and come apologize, and talk to her. Because that’s what someone worthy of honor would do.” A light breath was his only interruption, the idea of ‘the right thing to do’ stuck in his mind as he swallowed hard to push that know back down his throat.
“But if you don’t care, and all you are interested in is your personal vengeance, or whatever this is.” He said the last part motioning at the interaction that occurred between Monroe at her. “Then a fight is the only thing you’re ever going to have here. You speak well. You can think well, and you’ve got the strength to accomplish what you want. That’s great. But if you don’t have the heart to use those where it matters. Then I’ll take that fight Norrevinter. I’ll take that fight every day, because never will I ever want to see you in a position of power.”

Another breath, another nervous swallow he tried to stifle. Teeth doing a temporary grit. Although he said the next part with an effort to hide the painful emotion, his facial expression betraying him to show the care and concern.

“Don’t let everyone here believe that a loud brute is all you are.”

If she apologized to the Sterling or the Monroe. That was her prerogative, however they were direct targets after she’d rampaged her way over here. He took a step back and to the side, raising his left hand to offer it as direct invitation. Having done his best damn attempt to diffuse tension like he did at home all the damn time, and at the same time trying to provide Kora a social escape route. This could be patched.
If she refused.
He’d tried.
If she didn’t, he planned to walk back to Tessa with her regardless if she accepted the hand or not.

Her current targets could clean up their own mess. The suave one looked like he’d try and talk his way out regardless, the girls were going to be upset just because they could. The other one.. He didn’t quite know. Looked somewhat familiar. Perhaps he’d met him before and just couldn’t recall, but the name Jason just stuck in his head. Tover didn’t say more however, having moved out of the walkway enough to give way and offer Kora the space to start the walk back down to Tessa.

Would it work out like he wanted? Maybe not. Tover already having decided to bite the bullet, and deal with this event as a new step forwards for who he wanted to be. Because at least of this, he could be proud. The mousy, corner-kept, silent Tover, was gone.

Jesse didn't really see the problem with sleeping in the cafeteria. It was breakfast after all. While Helena got up to get some more cereal, she ate her pancakes and looked around the cafeteria. That boy, apparently named Jason, had turned his attention to someone else. He really seemed stuck up. Not that she was one to judge, but wow. He reminded her of Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books. That's how arrogant he was. She turned her attention back to her pancakes.

All of the sudden there was gasping around the cafeteria. She looked up to see a boy getting up, painfully, with yogurt on his head. Next to him was a very smug-looking girl who had obviously done the deed. She saw people left and right jump to the boy's defense. Good, at least not everyone here was stuck-up. Through all the commotion, she learned the girl's name was Norrevinter. Strange name. But the girl didn't seem to care that no one thought well of what she was doing. She sat on his head. If Jason was Draco Malfoy, this chick was Pansy.

Maybe I should say something... Jesse thought. She wasn't one to get into fights. In fact, she avoided them as much as possible. But this girl was just being a bully at this point. Jesse got up from her seat to go find a teacher, or at the very least, a responsible adult. But as she did so, a boy stood up and did her job for her. The cafeteria was silent after his speech, looking at the Norrevinter girl, wondering how she would reply. Jesse, however, felt that the boy had hit the nail on the head, and started clapping.