[center][h1]Collaborative Post Three: Zeno Hamir Zemana's Group[/h1][/center][hr]
[color=2E8B57][i]There are many things here not to like,[/i][/color] Manfred had decided. He had sworn to Dami and Shune both not to let his preconceptions blind him, and yet… there were many things here not to like. Something had happened during the speeches. It had been subtle and jarring and important and… he had been uninterested in what it was. Normally, his retention was excellent. For a magusjaeger, the ability to notice and recall every minor detail was centrally important. Yet, here he was: unable to remember. He scowled. Then… the way that… actor had acted so familiar with Eun-Ji. It was no business of his - they were both mages and therefore a part of the problem - but something about it had still rubbed him wrongly. 

She was speaking now, her Avincian surprisingly good for someone so foreign. The words had been paired with a bow in the style of most Rettadish cultures. The sincerity of it was enough to excuse the improper form of address. [color=2E8B57][i]Graf,[/i][/color] Manfred thought. [color=2E8B57][i]Graf Manfred Hohenfelter of Meckelin-Thandau.[/i][/color] It had been drummed into him many times during his youth, when he would’ve rather been out hunting, exploring, or building lean-tos in the forest. It was a bit of a mouthful, he decided. [color=#87ceeb][b]"I am Seung Eun-Ji of Tan Keoul. It is an honor to be picked as your apprentice, esteemed Zeno Hamir Zemana; and to be your peers, Ms. Mayu of House Iovina, Mr. Karim Nazeri, and Mr. Manfred of House Hohenfelter. I am looking forward to a fruitful cooperation among us."[/b][/color] 

The Zeno nodded and smiled, inclining his head. [b]“Fruitful!”[/b] he practically shouted. [b]“I like that! Let us hope, hmm? Pleasure! Pleasure to meet you.”[/b]

The Virangishman or perhaps Paggonian with the striking scar was next to speak. Manfred’s parents had engaged in dealings with Paggonian trade guilds. They were a vicious lot, Hexaists too, though this one seemed decent enough upon introduction. [color=4682B4][b]"It is an honor to meet you all and an honor to be your apprentice Zeno Hamir Zemana."[/b][/color] Karim - Manfred thought it was - crossed his right arm over his chest and bowed briefly to the group. [color=4682B4][b]"It is a pleasure to be learning with you all and towards a good partnership with each other."[/b][/color]

[b]“Thanks, my boy,”[/b] the Zeno responded. [b]“It’s good to finally meet you. I’d heard your old man’d had an heir. Now I see the orange didn’t fall far from the tree.”[/b] 

The other, smaller, Rettanese girl - Manfred recognized her as the one who’d been hiding a cat - still seemed hesitant to speak, so he went next. [color=2E8B57][b]“Manfred Hohenfelter,”[/b][/color] he said simply. [color=2E8B57][b]“It is an honour, master Zeno.”[/b][/color] He removed his hat and bowed deeply. [color=2E8B57][b]“And my fellow learners.”[/b][/color] He straightened and addressed the others with a polite nod. He settled the hat back on his head and was done with introductions. Should these people wish to speak with him, Manfred would of course make himself available. Should they not, so much the better. His mind was far more concerned with what was being hidden from him and possibly the entire student body.

Mayu, who had been quiet the entire time, finally decided to speak out. [color=FCFE8F][b]"It's a pleasure to meet you all, my name is Mayu Iovina. I may be young and inexperienced but I'll make up for it with hard work,"[/b][/color] she said, finishing off with a small bow to show respect.

It didn’t take long for Eun-Ji to get out of her melancholic mood that was inadvertently caused by the fireworks. In any case, she had politely responded to each of her peers’ introductions by repeating her formal, polite bow at them. Afterwards, she had mostly averted her gaze away so as to not make any direct eye contact with the others; again because staring without any reason was a very rude thing in the culture of her people. In her mind, however, she had once again been taken over by her curiosity towards the other soldier in the group. So far in her life, whenever she met other soldiers that were not of loyalty to The Cruel, they had always been enemies to her.

Manfred, on the other hand, was no such thing. He was not an adversary for Eun-Ji. Quite the opposite in a way, as he shared the same master as Eun-Ji herself. Thus this became the very first opportunity she'd had to possibly get to know a non Tan Keoulian soldier. Yet she was feeling a bit confused about it all… And as she was contemplating this, she found herself staring at Manfred for a brief few seconds again. [color=#87ceeb][b]"Ah.”[/b][/color] And again, she failed to muffle her surprise. Furthermore, she assumed that Manfred must have noticed her staring considering the close proximity they all currently shared; thus she immediately apologized, bowing at him again a bit deeper this time at an inclination of about 30 degrees. [color=#87ceeb][b]"My deepest apologies, I didn’t mean to stare. Please forgive my rudeness.”[/b][/color]

Manfred had noticed the girl’s eyes on him. He knew little of faraway places like Tan Keoul - only where they were on a map and that the people there both looked different from him and had profoundly different ways of doing things. He’d assumed that might be the reason for her uncomfortable staring and he had tried not to be rude himself by making clear he’d noticed.

[color=2E8B57][b]“You are a foreigner in a foreign land,”[/b][/color] he replied briefly. [color=2E8B57][b]“It is natural.”[/b][/color] He inclined his head slightly, not sure what to make of her ritual of apology. He remembered hearing somewhere that many Rettandish cultures did such things. He blinked. There was both an earnestness and almost… a fear to her. But then, a particularly loud boom echoed from the sky - more fireworks - and Manfred flinched visibly, his mind snapping back to a place where he’d been three years ago. He closed his eyes momentarily and took a bit of a breath. Why was he here? Already, something had happened during the ceremony, and they had hidden it. He wasn’t sure what, but it had happened all the same. Now, he was playing the good scion of a noble house and he had some foreign girl who he did not know bowing to him over an imagined slight. The sky reverberated with fireworks in a celebration that, truly, he did not feel. He was tired. He imagined he would be tired as long as he remained at Ersand’Enise.

The girl was still there. Manfred reminded himself that he was not here to make friends. She was pretty too, in an exotic way, but he dismissed the thought from his head. Best to sink his teeth into the mystery. He half-turned away, the brief eye contact and her earnestness making him mildly uncomfortable. [color=2E8B57][b]“It may be strange to say this, and you may tell me if I’m daft - crazy,”[/b][/color] he corrected, using a simpler term, [color=2E8B57][b]“but I got the impression you were martially trained.”[/b][/color] His better judgement told him that he shouldn’t be speaking of this matter, and not to a virtual stranger, but he pressed on. [color=2E8B57][b]“Earlier… during the ceremony, did you see or sense anything unusual? I cannot remember details, but I’m left with an impression that something… unplanned happened, and that does not feel right.”[/b][/color] 

In response to Manfred's words, Eun-Ji bowed yet again, this time back to the one with fifteen degrees of inclination. [color=#87ceeb][b]"My humble gratitude for your understanding, Mr. Manfred of House Hohenfelter. Thank you."[/b][/color] Yet again even her words were formal. She had always been rather formal even for Tan Keoulian standards; sometimes to the chagrin of others. She then wondered if there was anything she could or should say further to Manfred, but then the loud boom that made Manfred flinch had evoked a reaction out of her as well. She stared at the fireworks again for a few seconds before taking a single deep breath in and out to remind herself not to return to her own contemplations. That done, she turned her gaze back to Manfred, noticing his eyes closed.

In truth, a certain sentiment was shared between the two. Eun-Ji did not fully realize it consciously, numbed as she also was to such a thing, but she had subconsciously found Manfred to be handsome in his own way despite how foreign he was to her. It truly took some effort for Eun-Ji not to lapse to another bout of staring, and this was something she found somewhat confusing as she could not fully grasp the reasons. Fortunately, it was then Manfred who decided to speak again, allowing her to look at him directly without feeling awkward. She found it unexpected that he took notice of her martial bearing. Quickly however, she reasoned. [color=#87ceeb][i]Then again, I myself noticed that side of him. So perhaps it was only logical that he too would notice the same about me.[/i][/color] She continued listening intently to his words, finding herself even more surprised of Manfred mentioning the unusual happening. She spoke no words in immediate response, but her eyes lightened up in recognition. It wasn't until a few seconds later that she nodded in response. [color=#87ceeb][b]"Yes, I am indeed martially trained."[/b][/color] Of this, her words were spoken without pride or reverence. Quite the opposite, despite her attempt to show no emotion, it would be noticeable to those of perceptive eyes that her honest nature had given way to small gestures upon her expression and body language that implied her resignation to her role. [color=#87ceeb][b]"And I would not dare to think you daft or mad... I myself felt something similar... Like... Like an emptiness in my mind. Something had happened, but I cannot recall what. As if my recollection of it had been stolen from me."[/b][/color]

Manfred nodded tightly, solemnly. [color=2E8B57][b]“It is as I thought, then.”[/b][/color] He spared an uneasy glance at Eun-Ji. [color=2E8B57][b]“Something is being hidden from us,"[/b][/color] he continued. [color=2E8B57][b]"There is a girl in another group - Marlijn Vaanse - who I know in passing. She’s an illusionist and one of us should speak with her later to see if she has any insight. As for the others in our group, I think it best not to -”[/b][/color]

[b]“Alright, apprentices!”[/b] shouted Zeno Zemana’s booming voice. [b]“I see lots of sleepy faces, and I thought the young had more energy than I did!”[/b] Appropriately, he paused right then to stifle a yawn and Manfred couldn’t help but shoot an amused look Eun-Ji’s way. [b]“Hhhwaah, phew. Sorry about that. It didn’t happen!”[/b] The Zeno winked, taking in all four of his students. [b]“Anyhow, you’re tired, I’m tired, and even if you’re not, you’re going to humour me and pretend that you are because I’m the boss, right?”[/b] He grinned and crossed his arms, regarding his apprentices. By instinct, Manfred stood at near-attention. [b]“My boy,”[/b] laughed Zeno Zemana, [b]“I appreciate the spirit and discipline. Dare I say I’ll ask a lot of you, but you’re not in the army anymore.”[/b] He pivoted halfway on a heel and jerked a thumb in one direction. [b]“Come on, I’ll show you to your sleeping quarters. Ladies in one room, gentlemen in the other.”[/b] Zeno Zemana did not wait. Whether his students were ready or not, he started walking. 

When Zeno Zemana started walking off, Mayu realized how uncharacteristically quiet she had been. She had come to Ersand'Enise to change herself. She wanted to become a confident and respectable mage but instead found herself behaving like the exact opposite. She was doing nothing while being swept along by the current. [color=FCFE8F][i]Who am I? Who do I want to become?[/i][/color] With those thoughts, she steeled her resolve. As she followed the Zeno who was now marching ahead to lead them to their new quarters, she glanced at the Paggonese male who had introduced himself as Karim Nazeri. Like her, he had remained silent for the most part after introducing himself. Despite the intimidating scar covering his left eye, he had looked friendly enough with his big smile when he was gazing at the fireworks.

Seizing the opportunity, she started walking up towards him in hopes of striking up a conversation. Unfortunately for her, Cumin jumped out from under her mantle onto his shoulder just as she approached him. The white kitten who had been patiently waiting under her cloak was no longer content with her simply chilling the air and wanted out. [color=FCFE8F][i]Cumin!! What do you think you're doing?![/i][/color] she screamed internally. She hurriedly grabbed him by the scruff and stuffed him back under her mantle. [color=FCFE8F][b]"I'm so sorry that happened. He didn’t mean anything bad by it,"[/b][/color] she whispered quickly, her gaze darting back between Karim and Zeno Zemana who was still ahead, hoping the latter hadn't seen the cat. [color=FCFE8F][b]“Please keep him a secret-,”[/b][/color] she continued and handed him a small pouch filled with cookies she made the night before. [color=FCFE8F][b]“-in exchange for this!”[/b][/color]
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[hider=TL;DR]1) The members introduce themselves.
2) Karim is friendly but reserved. He knows of his master in passing.
3) Mayu is quiet at first, but sweet and spunky.
4) Manfred and Eun-Ji make a tenuous connection and both are suspicious of what happened earlier.
5) The Zeno is a big character. As he leads them away, Mayu's kitten jumps onto Karim and she attempts to bribe him with cookies[/hider]