“So you've actually fought Grimm before!?” Mary seemed incredulous.
Abel's eyebrows furrowed. This must be one of those sheltered ones. What was this girl doing here if she hadn't faced Grimm? He was fairly sure that was a prerequisite or something, not that he remembered a single thing on the forms he had signed. “Yeah, yeah. It's what I do. My family too. We're a long line of Guardians.” He allowed the faunus girl to marvel over that for a moment before posing the question. “Why are you here if you've never fought the monsters?”
For a moment, Mary seemed taken aback. Gone was her cheer, replaced by indignant silence. Her hyperactive tongue was quick to resume working, though. “What's the matter with that? Not everyone has to tough it out on the edge of the world. At Flare, we sparred each other. People are much smarter than the Grimm, but in a classroom setting, they're not so deadly. Learn more, die less. I bet I could beat you in a fight. All those hours standing on some wall must have dulled your reflexes.”

She didn't receive a response right away. Abel exhaled deeply, searching for the right words. Were all faunus this sensitive? “We have chairs,” he finally proclaimed. “And security cameras. Standing around doing nothing is just...medieval.” Mary's aggressiveness died down when she failed to get a rise out of him, and her curt frown transformed into an encouraging smile. “Yeah, I guess,” she admitted. “Still, I'd like to fight you some time. A real east-meets-west. Hey, you know what, we ought to be on a team!”

Abel considered this. Until now he hadn't thought of what Mrs. Goodwitch had said about partners. He had assumed when he had heard it that they'd be picked beforehand, unchangeable and definitive and not worth worrying about. “Is it that simple? I mean, if it is, sure, you're alright...” Abel trailed off for a moment as he realized that he had just boiled down all of his interaction with this girl into a simple appraisal.

Mary didn't seem to mind, however. “Hah, you too, Abe. Guess we have to just wait and see.” The two passed beneath an archway. They had absent-mindedly wandered about a quarter of the way around the school. Abel decided he would circumnavigate it to get a good look at his home for the next six months; Mary's stomach reminded her that she wanted something to eat. As the two parted ways, Abel smiled. Now alone -or so he thought-, he let go of the Ampere, holding it aloft with his semblance. Azure electricity sparked between his fingers and the weapon's shaft, spinning it in a quick flourish.