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The rest of the introduction session was expectedly tedious, despite appearances from the future monarchs of the Empire and the skinny boy who decided to challenge a Knight of Seiros to a duel. As far as Lienna was concerned, it was all noble pageantry; the thought crossed her mind that she should pay attention if she was going to fit in with the highborn students, but as it turned out, they didn’t seem all that different from what she’d imagined in her head. Stand up straight, eyes forward, think a little too highly of yourself—she could get that down in a day, no further study required. 

What interested her more was how Professor Michail was making eyes at the red-haired boy who introduced himself as Derec. She vaguely recalled seeing a shock of red in the classroom earlier, so he was probably in their House, but that couldn’t be what interested Michail; if her hunch was correct, he looked like he knew something the rest of them didn’t. Had Derec omitted something from his introduction? Was Ballard a noble family she’d just never heard of? Or was Michail just prone to inappropriate student interaction? Hmph, given his antics so far, Lienna wouldn’t find that hard to believe. 

Of course, no sooner did she notice it than Michail was occupied with the Adrestian student who challenged him, whistling to him like a dog as the class was dismissed. Ridiculous and belittling as it was, Lienna couldn’t quite condemn it; play stupid games, win stupid prizes, as they said. She couldn’t claim to be interested in seeing the kid get flattened—although a part of her did enjoy the fact that his comical ego would probably be flattened in kind—but after the Archbishop’s welcome, she definitely didn’t want to go back to the church. The utter [i]strangeness[/i] of the place still haunted her, even if she couldn’t fathom why. It had been a long time since she’d been to church, fine, but even when she’d gone after a long time away or after doing something bad, the church at home had never made her feel so… out of place. Maybe it was the lavish construction or the presence of the highest members of the clergy that intimidated her, but whatever it was, she couldn’t quite bring herself to go back just yet. 

Still, the way Auberon carried on about the Goddess, Lienna half-expected him to drag her and the other Lions to the cathedral along with him, and if she wasn’t going to do anything but flee to her dormitory, she wouldn’t have much excuse to get out of it. She supposed she could always say no, but the thought of souring her relationship with the head of her House on the first day didn’t sit well with her. If she had someone to occupy her, that might do it, but who… 

Her answer came as some of the other professors took their leave, leaving only one of their number behind: the one who introduced himself as Professor Tomai, if she recalled correctly. He was sitting with a book and looking very much like he didn’t want to be bothered, but Lienna didn’t mind; maybe that intimidating air he had about him would keep other students from bothering her if she struck up a conversation with him. 

Decision made, Lienna stood, giving her fellow lions an obligatory smile and a [color=baa7c7]“I’ll see you all at dinner,”[/color] before approaching the Professor as the crowd began to thin. 

[color=baa7c7]“Pardon me Professor, if I could…”[/color] she began, though it occurred to her quickly that she was not nearly as practiced in the art of small talk as she should have been for plots like this. [i]That[/i] was a skill that she could stand to work on, as tedious and time-wasting as it sounded, though she supposed now was as good a time as ever. 

Clearing her throat, she tried again. [color=baa7c7]“Sorry, my mind seems to be everywhere today,”[/color] she recovered, resisting the urge to cross her arms and instead clasping her hands behind her back. [color=baa7c7]“You said you were interested in… Crest research? Is that what you teach here?”[/color]

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