[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/w9BxBGP.png[/img]
[h2][color=FCFE8F]M[/color]ayu [color=FCFE8F]I[/color]ovina[/h2][/center]  

As her family was of relatively high rank, Mayu Iovina was positioned near the front of the procession. This essentially gave her front row seats to Leon Solaire's dazzling light show. Mayu couldn't help but gawk at the remarkable display of arcane magic. Rainbow colored animals pranced about in the air, some of which she had never seen before. It was only due to a flutter of movement under her mantle that she broke out of her trance. Mayu glanced nervously around, wondering if anyone had noticed.

Hidden under her mantle was a snow white kitten. A fluffy little critter she had encountered a week ago, on the day she arrived the free city. Mayu had just spent the day touring the docks and was in the midst of preparing seafood pottage with freshly procured ingredients when she had heard mewling from outside her lodging. She had investigated out of curiosity and came face to face with a pair of pleading green eyes. Much like herself, the kitten was tiny and alone and Mayu found herself sharing her pottage with him. Enamored with her—or more likely her cooking—Mayu now had an unexpected but welcome companion. She decided to name him Cumin, since the white ball of fur reminded her of cumulus clouds and coincidentally, cumin had been one of the spices in the pottage.

"Stop it!" she whispered sternly. "You're going to get me into trouble."

Cumin mewed back in response and Mayu detected a hint of annoyance from him. Being balled up in her stuffy mantle whilst she rode a horse was probably anything but comfortable. She softened her tone, "Please keep quiet, you're the one who wanted to come along after all." In an attempt to placate Cumin, she drew heat away from the air around him, hoping the cool air would alleviate some of his discomfort. It seemed to work as he stopped fidgeting shortly after. Satisfied, she turned her attention back to the crowd.

It was not that long ago that Mayu had been overcome with anxiety at the prospect of attending a prestigious school in a foreign land. Hence, she was pleasantly surprise when she found out that the attitude the citizens had towards her was nothing short of welcoming. The cheering crowd reassured her; it did not matter where she came from and what the other nobles whispered. What mattered was that Mayu was here, parading towards Ersand’Enise, with a heart full of hope, a mantle full of fur and a reticule full of cookies she made the night before.