[center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/WbB6nZmm/373e0ca06a44ee67c49939abb2f77c34.png[/img][hr][h2][color=#EDC700]First Impressions[/color][/h2][/center][hr]

The change that came over Julian's features at the towering young man's response to her rather halfhearted introduction was nothing short of extraordinary. Mere moments before, she'd been wearing a downcast expression of trepidation and uncertainty, yet that had been completely usurped by a positively glowing grin as she nodded eagerly, mentally cheering that her first assessment of her first friend among the squad seemed to have been correct. Or, well... maybe it was too early to call him a friend. As someone to whom the mere concept of friends was about as fantastical as dragons and ogres, it was really hard for her to say for sure. Even so, between the way he'd taken the time to console her even when he'd been chosen for such a prestigious role, and how he hadn't even hesitated to welcome her a moment later, she was definitely sure.

[color=#EDC700][i]Even if he's huge, he's not scary at all! He's definitely a good person![/i][/color]

So, trotting hastily alongside him to keep pace, she forgot to even be upset or jealous at how a single one of his steps was worth about three of hers, or at the fact that he still faintly smelled of a delicious sandwich.

[color=#EDC700]"Mmhm! I'll do my best!"[/color] She replied so emphatically that one would be hard-pressed to find even a sliver of the despondency she'd shown before. While it seemed that she grew uncertain rather easily, apparently she'd snapped back from that slump just as quickly. And, well... why wouldn't she? With the immediate obstacle to her dreams removed, she felt invincible -- never mind the challenges to come. She was riding along on such a wave of positive emotions that she'd almost forgotten her manners, actually. Come to think of it, he'd given his name, so...

[color=#EDC700]"Ah, right, I'm Ju[i]n[/i]-- Ehem! Julian! Julian Baker! It's nice to meetcha, Sig!"[/color]

Crap! That had been close... Maybe some degree of paranoia was healthy after all. That wouldn't do, getting overly comfortable just because she'd found someone who was nice to her, and letting her real name slip to the very first person she'd met! It wasn't like she'd even been called by her real name much to begin with, so she couldn't even pin her slip-up on force of habit. But, well, even if nobody used it, it was still her name, so even if it did kind of sound similar, it was still difficult for her to get used to using an alias...

At any rate, she'd managed to cover up her mistake decently well. There was an N in there anyway, so it'd just sound like she accidentally stumbled over her words, right? Well, even if he had noticed something off, thankfully, the perfect distraction happened a moment later to take his mind off of it, since a new person entered the conversation and --

[color=#EDC700][i]HOLY CRAP IS THAT THE FREAKING PRINCE?![/i][/color]

...Well, at least [i]one[/i] of them was distracted. It was only just beginning to set in that yes, not only was she going to be training to be a knight, but the leader of her squad was a literal member of royalty. She tried thinking back, wondering if maybe, this group was kind of a big deal... Unfortunately, her knowledge of who was or wasn't important beyond the patently obvious was basically a complete blank. Though, one of the names sounded pretty familiar, somehow. Where had she heard of "Nathaniel Lothwren" before? Hmm... No good. Nothing really came to mind, so she quickly returned to thinking about the much more important fact of reality in front of her -- namely, that [i]Prince Rossweine himself[/i] was going to be the head of her squad. Didn't that mean... she was actually pretty amazing? So she hadn't been saved for last because she'd done poorly, but actually because she'd caught the attention of the [i]royals?![/i]

...Well, the fact of the matter was probably just that Tervellan had thought she'd be a good way to motivate Nathaniel to improve and he could get rid of her later, but unfortunately, Julian's view of the world existed only in extremes, and now that she had just finished fearing that nobody cared about her, her unbridled optimism had swelled back to the fore, unchallenged and unstoppable. And, far from quenching this rapidly growing fire, Rossweine's words only stoked it further. "Your ingenuity and ferocity no doubt caught the eye of our esteemed Knight-Commander, who is rumored to possess that same vigor for ascension," he had said -- and she knew what at least some of those words meant! And even if some of them sounded a little bit insulting if she thought about them for a few seconds... nah, never mind that, what he really meant to say was that her plan had been super smart, right?!

[color=#EDC700]"Ehehe~ Er, crap -- I mean, um... Thank you very much for your kind words, Your Highness! I may be new to this, but I'll dedicate everything I have so I won't disappoint you!"[/color]

...It was a little rough, but overall, her introduction was a surprisingly competent attempt at polite speech for a supposedly-uneducated child. It would have been altogether too suspicious entirely if she'd bowed properly to go along with it, but thankfully, she'd been too busy nervously clenching at the hem of her tunic to do anything of the sort -- which definitely wasn't because she'd almost instinctively tried to do a bloody [i]curtsy[/i] and nearly ruined her whole plan, by the way! Through some stroke of good fortune, though, her lack of practice combined with an honest mistake to create a spectacle more resembling an idiot trying to throw together the most polite phrases he'd heard during a week doing odd jobs at the royal palace than a noble disguising herself poorly.

...Well, to be fair, that was also a pretty accurate description of what she was doing, too... But anyway, the prince seemed satisfied, and quickly moved on to the next group. Not knowing what else to do, she sort of halfheartedly waved while mentally urging her heart to crawl back down her throat and start beating again. Seriously, if she kept almost slipping like this, it was gonna take years off her life. Looking back up to Signar, she gave an uneasy laugh, wondering if he felt the same way as she did.

[color=#EDC700]"So, he's gonna be our boss from now on, huh? He seems nice, but... somehow, working for a prince seems bad for my heart... Ehehehe..."[/color]

Glancing back, she noticed that the others all seemed to be gathering up into various little groups of their own... and it looked like some of the squad's chosen officers were trying to assemble them all and get them moving towards the barracks. Their team definitely seemed like the most visually striking, at the very least -- with everything from posh aristocrats to a boy whose wild mane of bluish hair made him look half-feral.

[color=#EDC700][i]First a giant, then a prince... I wonder who else I'll meet here? It's a little exciting... almost like a fairy tale![/i][/color]

The people with whom she'd be spending her years as a student, striving together to achieve their dreams... She could hardly wait to meet them!