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[h1]𝔏𝔢𝔬 𝔍𝔬𝔥𝔫 𝔡𝔢 ℭ𝔬𝔢𝔲𝔯[/h1][/center][hr][indent]
Gripping her hand firmly, Leo shook it, reciprocating her friendly greeting in his own way. Of course, his face was still entirely impassive, but he was sure he got the message across.

With that out of the way, the bonding ritual began in earnest. From what he'd seen earlier, it wouldn't take that long, which was sensible - with so many students to attend to, making a show of it would keep them here all day. Better keep it short and simple.

They were asked to hold out their hands, with his over hers, and placed them on top of a pedestal. The druid spoke words of power that he could scarcely comprehend; an ancient rhyme meant for the ritual. He felt slight tingling sensation on the back of his right hand, and in moment the seal of the [i]sacramentum[/i] embedded itself onto his skin.

He took a moment to admire it. It was such a small thing to look at, but at the same time, the magnitude of what it represented was beyond words. 

"And with this, we are Mage and Familiar," he announced innocuously, "I look forward to our time together."

Afterwards, they were led off the stage by a pair of volunteers. [color=gray]"This way please. We'll be leading ya to yer dorm rooms nah. If ye need any help wi' yer luggage, feel right free ta ask,"[/color] said one volunteer, a short brunette with unusual eyes - one blue and one green.

Her partner nodded, not adding anything more.

"Thank you. I could use some assistance with this," he said, dragging a large trolley towards them. It was the one that contained his books, and easily his heaviest bag.

[color=gray]"Right then, off we go!"[/color] said the female volunteer, a bit over-enthusiastically.

As they walked, Leo decided to get to know his new partner a little better. Starting early didn't hurt after all. "So Talia, tell me a little bit about yourself," started Leo. "Hobbies? Habits? Easily exploitable fears that I can take advantage of to establish dominance? Personally I like to read in my spare time." All said with the same impassive gaze.

What? He could tell a joke - just really, really, rarely and under the right circumstances. He considered this moment to be the right one. He felt - or maybe imagined - that his new partner was a little tense around him.[/indent][hr][@Redmarshmellow]