Just as Kira was regretting telling her friends she wanted to spend the rest of the night alone, a sharp, loud knock startled her into rolling off the couch. She hesitated before going to the terminal sitting beside the dorm door.

To her surprise, the entire class was waiting in the visitor's hallway outside. Kira frowned, feeling her heart leap into her throat for a good few moments until she realized they couldn't see her through the door. They only had an audio intercom, and she had to open the connection before they could speak.

The one who knocked was apparently Dani. Kira watched her knock again via the terminal, and the same sharp knock sounded through the room.

Brigit was waiting in the back by the elevator, and judging by her glare, was ensuring the twins didn't flee. They both looked a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable, as did Chen. Simon and Asim looked the same as always, and as for Ribbon...

Everyone was too tall, she couldn't see the Kobold through them blocking the view.

Kira sighed. She braced herself before opening the intercom connection. "...Yeah?"

"Hey Kira," Dani said, sounding a little less sleepier than before. Her expression turned sheepish, and she rubbed the back of her neck. "Look, uh... Can we come in? We'd like to talk with you. Not at you, for once. It's kinda important."

Kira groaned, hitting her head against the nearby wall. 'If I said no, everyone would be mad, right? But if I say yes... Ugh, what if they're gonna yell at me again?'

It took a full five minutes before she responded. To their credit, her classmates didn't leave. They waited patiently in the hall, though Simon busted out some handheld console and was being harassed by Asim for a turn. Kira watched, biting her lip, before opening the connection again.

"...Okay."

She unlocked the door, creaking it open before hurrying back to her couch. She didn't want anyone to take her favorite corner, where the consolation slime was standing sentinel awaiting her return.

Ribbon rushed through the door before anyone else, hurriedly scooting onto the couch and leaning against Kira for support. Her small, fluffy tail wagged back and forth, and she gave an encouraging smile to the curious - and slightly fearful - Human girl.

"Can we move the chairs?" Simon asked, grabbing the furniture for impromptu rearrangement once Kira gave a curt nod. They arranged seats in a loose semi-circle, with Brigit taking the other end of the couch once everyone was in the room.

Dani, however, sat on the floor. She faced Kira, looking up at her with a serious expression. "I gotta apologize."

"Oh." That wasn't anything close to what she expected! Kira blinked in surprised, clutching her slime plush close as though it would protect her from some hidden danger or trap in the Pooka's words. Dani visibly winced, covering her face with one hand.

"Yeah, I... Look. I won't make excuses. Whatever reasons I had, I was mean. To a kid. Which was something I wanted to point out to everyone here, by the way." Dani leaned back, glaring at the twins who were seated as far away from everyone else as they could manage. "Just so you all know, Kira's 14 and we're all massive bags of dicks for not checking sooner."

"What!?" Asim coughed, spluttering on a drink he'd just pulled out of his inventory.

Kira turned red, sinking back into the couch cushions as several people turned their incredulous gazes on her. Then they turned to look at the twins, who'd both gone unnaturally pale.

Apparently, when people with spearmint green skin paled, they turned yellowish.

"The Atmont Academia allows enrollment of all Beings so long as they're Attuned," Chen said softly, clearing his throat. "But uh... I never expected someone so..."

"You're a baby!" Simon shrieked with far more delight than someone should have been able to muster in such a situation. His eyes sparkled as he pressed his palms to his cheeks, squishing his face.

Kira lifted the slime plush to hide her face, drawing her knees to her chest. Being the center of attention was the worst! It was like those birthday parties with the Hawthornes, every time they sang the birthday song she'd burst into tears! She struggled against the familiar heavy, suffocating feeling in her chest, clenching the slime plush tight.

'If the Dungeon God has a shrine or something, I have to leave a present as thanks later.' Kira promised herself as the cool, gentle squishiness of the slime plush offered its soothing comfort.

Kira paused, hesitated, then slowly lowered the slime plush. Dani's gaze was earnest, straightforward. Honest. She had strong, confident eyes. And most importantly, she seemed genuinely sorry.

A quick glance over to her friends helped Kira bolster her courage. Ribbon patted her leg with a comforting smile on her fuzzy little face, while Brigit gave an encouraging nod.

"You... Weren't wrong," Kira muttered, casting her gaze down at the comforting little slime toy. Dani's words hurt, sure, but that was because they were accurate. In her grief and sorrow, she completely neglected to consider other people's point of view. She also knew her inability to explain herself was an unfortunate weakness she had yet to overcome.

Talking was hard! Emotions were even harder!

Dani cleared her throat, having the grace to look nearly as embarrassed as Kira felt. "I'm still sorry. I could have been nicer about if I really tried. Afterward, I realized I harped on Kira for not knowing anything and being self-absorbed but, uh. We all did the same thing? We just kinda assumed and never bothered asking... No matter what our various reasons, that totally wasn't cool. Especially you, back there! But none of us stepped in to help either so we're just as bad, really... If not worse. Since we just let it all happen.

"Then I thought, we should all reintroduce ourselves to each other. Not just our name, rank, what have you. But like... Ourselves. Who we are. If we're gonna work together in the Trials, and do well as a class? We shouldn't be treating each other like random strangers. We're gonna be relying on each other for the sake of our futures, right? That's why I dragged everyone here."

"I think that's a great plan!" Chen said, slapping his knee with his open palm. "Since it's your idea, Dani, how about you start?"

"Alright. I'm Dani Blackrose, a Pooka Druid. 20 years old, for the record. Pooka are known as shapeshifters, but that's cuz most of us are Druids or some other Class that has strong ties to the animal side of nature. A lot of us develop animal features as we get older, which uh. Not many people know about. They think we're born with them, but it's from forging a stronger connection with our... I guess you could call it an animal side?" Dani frowned, scratching her cheek before continuing. "I'm specifically a Bear Pooka. Normally I'd be finishing up my annual hibernation about now, but the school year started and I got a scholarship... I didn't wanna miss my chance to enroll. I end up sleeping a lot, and even when I'm awake I'm often sleep deprived and irritable. Can't help it, but I'm still sorry. It'll be over in time for the first Trial. It's why I'm even coherent right now, my hibernation period is ending.

"And, uh. I want to be a Wildwalker, the people who map wilderness zones. I don't like talking much or spending a lot of time around other people in general. Not that I hate them or anything, I just enjoy lots of quiet time. So don't get used to me ranting, it's for Kira's sake."

"Ehh, a Bear Pooka!" Simon exclaimed, leaning forward to prop his elbows on his knees. "Don't see many of you folks outside the big mountain forests. There's a couple living in the Marion March, near where I'm from! Are you related?"

Dani gave him a withering look. "Why in the world would you think I'm related to any random Bear Pooka you've met?"

"Their last names are Blackrose too!"

"Oh... My family is from the Ohlonean Forest, other side of the continent. They might be distant cousins?"

"I wanna go next!" Simon said, sticking his hand in the air. "I'm Simon Elderwood, a Forest Elf from the Aplachian Reaches! I'm uhh... I think 212 years old? Which sounds like a lot, but for elves I'm still a baby too! I like music and swimming and scary stories about ghosts or creepy Maju, they're a lot of fun to read. I wanted to be a Mage but I'm a Rogue now so I was aiming for something called Arcane Trickster, which I might actually be able to do now that I have a bunch of cantrips thank you Kira and Brigit. Honestly, it was more of a dream than a goal before now? I really love magic. Which is no surprise, since my mom is Robin Elderwood."

"Your mother?!" Meri shouted, before covering her mouth with her hands. She seemed shocked by her own outburst, lowering her gaze to avoid those of the others.

"Yeah! For those who don't know, Robin Elderwood is a really famous Archmage and kind of nobility I guess? She was always just Mom to me though. And to my twin sister, who's still at home with Mom. I uh, wanted to study magic because my sister has Mana Consumption, a disease which consumes any mana it comes in contact with and uh, harshly affects one's life force if they're a Maju or other strongly magical Being. Which elves are..."

Simon sighed, wheezing out the tail end of his rant until he looked like a deflated balloon. Asim put a comforting arm around the elf's shoulders, forgoing their usual antics in consideration of the heavy subject matter.

"Mana Consumption..." Ribbon whispered. "Simon, I'm... I'm so sorry... That's..."

"Mm... There's no definitive cure for it, yeah. If I knew more magic, maybe I could help her? Was the plan, but then I was a Rogue, and... But not even Mom could do anything about it, so what could I do, really... But I didn't wanna just give up, you know? Mom's specialty is in enchantments and stuff, so she's been able to completely halt the progression of the disease with various magic tools for now, which is kinda using up all our family's funding and if we run out then... I worked really hard to earn a scholarship all on my own though! And I'm gonna find a way to save my sister! Gotta graduate first, and make a bunch of money in Dungeons and stuff."

"Well that's simultaneously uplifting and depressing," Dani muttered, which earned a laugh from Simon.

"Sorry! I don't talk about it much because I hate the idea of failure and everything it implies in my specific situation. But I figured if I tell all of you, maybe that'll help me... I dunno, solidify my goal? I guess? Like, I told you all, it's out there in the universe! I've made the commitment! Ah, speaking of which..."

Simon glanced over at Asim, whose ebony black face immediately turned ash gray. "Don't make this about that! This is not the time!"

"Tch. Yeah, yeah... Just share your stuff, then."

"Right, right..." Asim cleared his throat, doing his best to ignore the sulky expression on Simon's face. "I'm Asim Kattan. Demi-Djinn, Flame Djinn obviously. I'm from the Mazonicas Desert, but I moved here to study because my aunt's an alumni of Atmont Academia."

"Nice alliteration." Simon grinned and nudged Asim in the ribs, who for his part barely deigned to give the other boy a withering glare.

"Thanks. I'm 200 years old? Around there? But like with elves that's... Not very old for a Djinn, much less a Demi-Djinn. The Human blood in Demis tends to magnify the traits present in the other species? For me, I uh. I have what's called an Inversion? My magic doesn't like to happen outside my body, it focuses itself inward which isn't really helped by my, uh... A-average... INT score."

"Words and books are hard," Simon nodded sagely, while Chen and Asim both nodded along.

"My magic just likes to strengthen my flesh, muscle, and bone. Stuff like targeting enemies happens mostly in the eyes and head, and stuff which enhances my physical ability like 【 Jump 】 will still work. Which is fine, until I try to do something like cast 【 Fireball 】, which is something my entire family can do from like... Day one. Luckily fire magic doesn't actually hurt me unless it's much stronger than me, so I wouldn't be able to do lasting damage to myself or anything? But because I can't really use external fire magic I'm the only non-magic Class in my family, and they didn't know what to do with me until my aunt recommended the Academia."

"I've seen you use fireballs," Chen pointed out, furrowing his brow.

"Nah, that's just basic fire manipulation stuff using loose mana from the surroundings. It wasn't a proper spell using my internal mana, or else it would have blown up in my gut or something. Which is fine, since I actually like fighting more! Muscles are justice!"

While they were chatting about Asim's fire magic dysfunction, Kira sent a quick message to Brigit.

Kira Demis have Human blood? Brigit Yes, all Demi-Beings are part Human. Humans are uh... Surprisingly versatile, and their bloodlines are resilient when compared to other species. Kira Oh... We went full Captain Kirk, huh... Brigit Who? Kira Nothing nevermind!

Kira blushed and closed the Chat window in a hurry, not wanting to explain the intricacies of a now ancient science fiction show and its promiscuous starship captain.

"I'll go next," Chen said, glancing around the room. "I'm Chen Tuskhorn, 24 year old Demi-Orc. I'm called Chief on account of my Father, who really is the chief of our tribe, having died in a Dungeon Break that happened near our ancestral lands. No one noticed the Dungeon open up there, and, well..."

He sighed, scratching one of his floppy-tipped ears. "To die in battle is a warrior's greatest honor. He was the pride of our tribe, and saved us all! But our warriors died in that Break alongside him, and now our tribe is Untested youths, like myself, the few who stayed to defend the rear, and the Caretakers who don't participate in battles to ensure our legacy continues. We had to flee our ancestral lands, and are currently refugees living at the behest of another tribe. I came here to get strong, learn more about the world and how to run a tribe properly. I want to get our lands back, and make us even stronger than before!"

"That's hella rough," Dani muttered, shaking her head. "Aren't Orc tribes like, mostly warriors?"

"Yup, it was a Rank B Dungeon Break. Father was Rank B himself, and his Party managed to hold off the Boss until reinforcements arrived three days after the initial burst."

"Wait wait wait!" Simon exclaimed, waving his hands in the air. "Was that the Queven Break incident like... A year ago!?"

"Yup."

"Oh man, I heard about that one from my mom. I didn't know your tribe was the one involved! You guys are heroes!"

Chen smiled wryly and shook his head. "The warriors were the heroes. The rest of us were forced to retreat from the rabble that escaped the defensive line."

"But you helped evacuate like, four different villages on the way! Tons of people were saved thanks to your tribe!"

"Ah, I suppose... It's hard to see it that way when I know how much we've lost. I'm glad we helped others avoid that fate, but..."

"Nah, I get it. Still, thank you, man!"

"Yeah... I uh. Before the Break, I was planning on traveling the world for a bit to earn my scars? I wanted to check out some ruins, form my own Party. That kind of thing. But plans change, huh? I gotta take care of my people first and foremost."

"The Academia has Quests off-campus," Brigit said softly, leaning forward to comfortingly pat Chen's thick arm. "You can travel during your studies. Two birds with one stone."

Chen smiled. "Yeah? That sounds nice."

"Do you have any hobbies? Or are you like musclebrain here," Simon asked, elbowing Asim again.

"Hobbies? I guess I like studying history and stuff," Chen said, stroking his chin. "It's why I like old ruins. Ancestors are important in my faith, so history is almost sacred, I suppose? But it's also just pretty neat stuff."

"And how about you, Dani? Your hobby is just sleeping or what?"

"I like animals," Dani said, suppressing a yawn. "Fellow Maju and lesser beasts both. Taking care of them, learning about them. I do like napping too, though. And exploration. Wandering the wilds is great fun for me. When I'm not hibernating..."

"I! Um," Ribbon started to speak, only to squeak a little when everyone glanced her way. She covered her muzzle with her paws, then glanced at the equally withdrawn Kira before mustering her courage to speak again. "I'm Ribbon. A, uh, Small Kobold. I'm 10, but that's... That's different for me. Uh. I'm an adult by Kobold s-standards! My hobby is also my p-passion and my d-dream, um...

"Um, I... I want to heal p-people. So I study healing magic and medicine. Herbal plants are fascinating! My m-momma's a healer, and m-my grandmomma, and my papa a-and grandpappy too! I've seen them work since I was... Was a pup, and um... It's... When someone's hurt, and then they're all better, it's a really nice feeling! They're so happy! But t-talking to people is... Is... It's t-tough. Um... Kobolds have big families, when we're all together, it's easy for... For a couple of the pups to just not... Have to talk? If one pup is hungry, you can guess most of them are, so... So you only need a couple vocal ones? We all take care of, of each other, and share everything, so... Coming to the Academia to learn has been, um, exciting? But hard, too. It's... You'realljustsobig!"

Ribbon squeaked and hid her face behind her paws, eliciting a few good-natured laughs from her fellow classmates. Dani leaned forward, propping her chin in her hand. "You're an Acolyte?"

"Y-yes!"

"Kobold Acolyte's pretty unusual, isn't it? Now that I think about it, I don't see many Acolytes at all..."

"Ah, yes... Most Kobolds um. The healers start as, as Mages? And, and then spec into, um. Healing magic. For their specialties. But uh, Acolytes... We get our power from our faith? It, it lets us... Um... Combine our faith with our mana, kind of, to supercharge our spells! As long as it uh, follows the tenets of our faith. Like, um... An Acolyte of a peaceful deity wouldn't be able to empower offensive spells! And it requires a lot of personal faith to even, um, qualify as an Acolyte."

"You're pretty religious, then?" Simon asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "What deity do you follow?"

"Ah, um... I... I follow Eir..."

"The Valkyrie Goddess from the Skaldic Pantheon?!"

"Y-yes!" Ribbon blushed, the cream parts of her fur turning a faint pink. "She... She presides over healing and mercy, and... Protection. Um... I feel, p-part of being a healer is... Is preventing harm, not just treating it. So... So I wanna join a Party and, and help my allies. Not just to heal them, but, but to... To p-protect them, as well..."

Ribbon trailed off, partially hiding her face behind Kira's arm. Kira gently pat the Kobold's head, resisting the urge to scritch her ears in case it was accidentally offensive.

Brigit glanced over at the twins, who were still hesitating. Seeing how tight-lipped they were being, she sighed and laid her palms on her knees, leaning back against the couch cushions. "I'm Brigit Cinderscale. 19 years old, Azure Drakke. I enjoy... I enjoy cooking, and... F... Fashion..." She blushed, averting her gaze. "And I... Am technically an exile."

"Exile...?" Meri muttered, eyebrows raised. "An exiled Drakke, that's..."

"Technically exiled!" Brigit snapped, gripping her knees tight. Then she sighed and closed her eyes. "Sorry. I... I made a mistake in my youth. A Gate opened near my village, and I... Went inside, instead of reporting it to the king. Our village had fallen on difficult times, a nearby town was overfishing the river that led to our territory and... Things were tight. On top of the high taxes for our village being Unclaimed, it was just... People were getting ill from lack of food. I just wanted to find a way to help everyone. A single treasure could have paid for many months worth of supplies! And even without a treasure, I could obtain food, or medicine..."

"That's hella illegal," Simon muttered, shaking his head. "Entering a new Gate without permission on claimed land?"

"Drakkes are picky about their liege lords, right? They're so big on honor and dignity and whatnot." Dani said. "You won't follow people you don't agree with. Was the king or whatever a lousy dude?"

"Yes. The liege of our kingdom recently changed, and had not bothered to make the customary visit to our village for acknowledgment. When we are Unclaimed, our taxes are raised. A method of... Encouraging us to declare our fealty."

"Oh that's shady as heck."

"Indeed. I entered the new Gate, hoping to save my village. I didn't know that our elders were already negotiating with the liege... Since the Gate opened within our territory, close to our village, while we were Unclaimed, we actually had the legal advantage. They sold the Gate at a generous price, and our village was saved. But I... I entered the Gate first. It was sold while I was inside, and thus belonged to the liege by the time I left." Brigit grit her teeth, her eyes snapping open. "They used that to brand me a criminal, and demanded I turn over all of my possessions, to go with a royal guard into a Dungeon and sacrifice myself to clear my inventory. If I did so, they would forgive my village and not pursue legal action. My theft, they claimed, would cost my village more than what we were paid for the Gate. We wouldn't be able to afford that, obviously, so they'd forgive us if I complied with their wishes."

"But only if you died?!" Asim snarled, jumping to his feet. "That's bullshit! Even if it's in a Dungeon and you have a Soul Gem, you still-!"

"I know," Brigit sighed. "But I had to, for my village. My family. So I did. I... I let that guard kill me, in a Dungeon. I was 13 years old at the time. Just barely old enough to be Attuned. Which they paid for, adding it to the village's debt, in order to get me into the Dungeon."

"And things didn't end there, did it? Or else you wouldn't be technically exiled," Dani said, and Brigit nodded.

"The guard claimed he found vast treasures in my inventory. Things I'd never even heard of. I didn't have Scan at the time, I didn't know anything about what I was picking up, so I don't even know if he was telling the truth back then. In the Gate, I killed several monsters and looted dozens of material items from their bodies. I also picked bushels of herbs I recognized as either edible or medicinal, I didn't touch anything else. I did get a Class medallion drop, and I became a Squire. But I was looking for food, and supplies, and something that matched my childish ideas of treasure. Crowns, jewels, golden armor. Things like that."

"There's a good chance you picked up something rare on accident," Chen said. "By claiming you were stealing it, they wouldn't have to pay reparations, or include it in the cost of purchasing the Gate. Since you entered before the Gate was sold, your loot should have been yours. They were skirting the law by confiscating your inventory. Arguments could have been made for some of the items, depending on when the Gate was sold and how long you were inside, but..."

"We didn't have knowledge of those laws at the time," Brigit said softly. "We lived quietly in the wetlands. Isolated. Self-sustaining. I didn't even know what a lawyer was until they brought one to the village."

Simon grumbled, shaking his head in disbelief. "That's nasty. They were taking advantage of you guys!"

"Yes. They pushed to make me the villain, spread rumors in the village and surrounding towns. Announced my misdeeds, displayed so-called evidence. The guard even started claiming I fought back in the Dungeon and tried to escape before he defeated me. And then... And then the liege demanded something that my elders couldn't forgive. He... He decreed I had to... To cut my hair as recompense."

The twins and Simon all gasped in horror, while everyone else just looked confused. Meri glanced around at everyone's faces before clearing her throat to get their attention. "Drakkes... For them, their hair is... Proof that they lived. It's their existence made manifest. Their memories. Everything. No Drakke willingly cuts their hair."

"My mom had a Drakke friend who lost his hair fighting a wyvern... He had to be sedated and treated with magic to regrow it, cuz he kept trying to..." Simon grimaced, drawing a finger across his neck, which made Ribbon gasp in shock.

"No! He... To himself?"

"Yeah, that's how important their hair is to them. Even the thought of cutting it could make a Drakke ill!"

Brigit gave Meri a wan smile. "Indeed. The liege proclaimed he would forgive our village only when he wore my braid as a trophy. Made it a legal contract with those lawyers he bought. The elders... They made a fuss, hyped everything up until the ruckus got out of control, and publicly exiled me from our lands as a disgrace. It was the only way to escape the young king and his decrees. I can't set foot in my village again until I make reparations and properly apologize to the elders... But doing so would reopen the gate for the liege and his demands as the previously offended party."

Chen let out a long, low whistle. "That's messed up."

"Sometimes, I wonder if I shouldn't just cut my hair after all." Brigit's face went gray thinking about it, her golden eyes glazing over as she gazed at something unseen. "I don't know if that king left my village alone once I was exiled. I can't go check on them, and none of the villagers were Attuned when I left. I couldn't add them to my Friends List. I can't message them, or send back food and supplies... Any contact with an exile is considered taboo, even receiving aid. I've been watching for news of my home region all these years, making sure nothing bad was mentioned about a Drakke village in the area. No news is good news, as they say, but I've never been certain as my homeland is so remote. If the liege refused to assist them after I left, it's on my shoulders."

"Now see here, that's not true at all!" Chen slapped his knee, startling Brigit out of whatever reverie she briefly sank into. "That bastard of a king was abusing his position and authority!"

"You made a mistake, but you were also an Unattuned child!" Simon agreed. "Your crime wasn't that severe, especially not one warranting a full death or exile! He had no right to demand your braid, either!"

"My actions may have caused the liege to abandon my already starved village. Cutting my hair... Honestly, if they hadn't sent me away I likely would have agreed. I think that's why the elders intervened. One Drakke willingly cutting her hair would be a dishonor upon not only our village, but our entire species. To prevent that, I've been publicly and legally disgraced," Brigit said with a sigh. "I even have the title confirming it. I'm 《 Tarnished 》. I was lucky to get accepted to a small company of Delvers with it... They trained me and provided room and board on a discount, which was good up until about two weeks ago."

"What happened two weeks ago?" Simon asked, scooting his chair closer.

"I... I got information from someone else in the company about treasure in a den of wolves, someone who was previously rather reliable with treasure tips. But it was unexpectedly guarded by a Dire Timber Dweller, 15-E. My Party was all 5-F. We barely escaped with our lives, and... Several pieces of enchanted armor and weaponry all broke in the retreat."

Everyone winced. "Ouch..."

"I would have got some penalties, and maybe been demoted and put on probation. But my Party members, they had mouths to feed, and were desperate. They wanted to kill me and sell the Scroll of Recall from my inventory, a treasure I picked up on a previous Gate excursion. Company policy had us maintain a Soul Gem at HQ so I would have revived there, but... Then Kira showed up. That was when we met."

The entire class raised their eyebrows. Simon was the first to speak, glancing between Brigit and Kira. "So... You met like two weeks ago, when she, what... Shotgun rocked your assailants?"

"I tripped," Kira muttered from behind the protective cover of her slime plush. "Into the middle of their fight..."

"You tripped!" Asim bellowed a laugh, slapping his leg with mirth. "A Geomancer tripped!"

"I was excited to see people," Kira sighed, her cheeks turning red. "But then they were fighting and I didn't know what to do..."

"Not gonna lie, totally thought Brigit was your vassal up until like, just now?" Simon said, shaking his head. "But you only met recently, what the heck?!"

Kira glanced up at the twins, then over at Brigit and Ribbon, finally locking gazes with Dani before opening her mouth. "I... Until I met Brigit, I... Was in a time Gate. But... Not by choice."

"What?" Simon sat up straight, the usually mirthful expression on his face completely wiped away.

"I... Wandered into one. By accident. I wasn't Attuned, and didn't know... I spent a... Long time. Inside. Trapped. Um... There were Porins? Little Maju who taught me magic. They were my only friends for... The whole time. I uh... Ate fruits and veggies they helped me forage? Fish sometimes. Which was gross to learn how to do. And... Sometimes snacks from the... The System. Um... By the time I left the Gate, a lot of time had passed outside. Like... A lot. My house was... It was rubble. Everyone I knew was... I'll never know for sure what happened, or when, but... Too much time had passed for them to even be.... There's no... No chance of reuniting."

Kira's voice trailed off into silence. She couldn't bear to look up and meet their gazes, to see what kind of emotions lingered in their eyes.

When Ribbon patted her knee with a little velveteen paw, Kira flinched and her arms clutched the slime plush close once more.

"What k-kind of... Of hobbies do you have, Kira?" Ribbon asked gently. "What kinds of things do you like?"

"I... I like to read. Um, like... It doesn't really matter what. Books are... Are fun. Music, music is good. I like rocks. All kinds. And plants, and animals. They're neat. Video games, comics... Learning about magic has been really cool, too... And food, I guess? Not making it, but... Eating it."

Her awkward smile brought a few soft chuckles to the otherwise quiet group.

"Kira had... A treasure, of sorts, that was valuable to someone important. She traded it for a Gold Scholarship and some funding for her time here. Since I'm the one who brought her to that person, I also got the same reward." Brigit sighed, reaching over Ribbon to pat Kira's head with gentle affection. "Like Dani said, she's 14. And she lost not only her family and friends, but the familiarity of the world around her. She's having to relearn everything, she went missing the first week of class to do some training in the combat pavilion with an assigned mentor."

"I'm not..." Kira started, then flinched when everyone's eyes turned her way. After a moment she gathered her thoughts, and stared at the slime plush while speaking again. "I'm not... Very good at uh. Explaining myself. Especially with um... Emotions? And stuff like that. The more people there are... The harder it is to, uh, talk. Unless it's something I really... Really like talking about? I'm used to, um... Just doing my own thing? And people just... Not..." She struggled for a moment to find the words, furrowing her brows. "My family... Knew talking was hard for me, except when I... When I wanted to talk about something. Something specific. So they never pushed me, and even taught me a little sign language? To, uh, accommodate me, I guess... But other than them, no one else ever really... Cared? Whether I talked or not. So I... I'm sorry if I hurt anyone, I really didn't mean to. I'll... I'll try to work on it."

"Why did you fall asleep in the very first class?" Simon asked, a teasing smile on his face.

Kira looked embarrassed and scratched her cheek. "Ah... I um. Snuck out to the training zone? I couldn't sleep, everything was new and weird and I... I missed my family. But I stayed too late, so... I just barely got back when Brigit dragged me back out for class."

"Sleep deprivation's a bitch and it makes us one too," Dani said, nodding sagely while the rest of the class laughed at her serious expression.

In the back, Mint and Meri exchanged glances before both sighing. They grabbed their chairs and dragged them closer, tightening the arc of the semi-circle of chairs. Mint did her best to stare a hole through her own hands.

"I am Meriandra Arvex. 53 years old. I do not have any hobbies."

"I'm Minthe Arvex. Also 53 years old. I don't have hobbies either."

"My first Class was an Aquamancer," Meri said softly, clenching her hands in her lap. "We're from a branch family of a once-prestigious Demona House. I was in training to be a handmaiden, a place of honor beside the heiress. My results in training were remarkable. But... The heiress declared she did not wish to waste funding raising an Aquamancer, no matter how fantastic my initial results. There was no guarantee, she claimed, that I would be able to maintain my performance. I was... Convinced... To change my Class. My parents... Had to sell our last remaining heirlooms to afford it, under assurances that I would be a handmaiden. With the salary of a handmaiden, we could one day recover our heirlooms... And our pride."

Meri's voice broke, her composure shattered. Mint wrapped her arms around her sister's shoulders, taking over the explanation. "My sister was a talented Aquamancer. Amazing, even! But after becoming a Mage... Her results weren't as good as before. They were still fantastic, but... Those jerks only saw the sharp decline in ability compared to before and used it to prove the point that Meri couldn't maintain her results. They... Decided Meri wasn't fit to be a handmaiden... Even though she was better than everyone else training for the position! Meri was the best, and they...! And they..."

"Mother fell into despair," Meri continued. "It was the last chance for our family. Our line was declining. The House was... Pruning branches, they liked to say. Getting rid of unfit bloodlines to once again strengthen the House and return to glory. Our family was on the verge of being pruned, and Mother... She... Refused to eat. Retreated from reality. One day, she was just... Gone. Sitting at the window as always, but her eyes..."

"Father blamed us," Mint said, choking back a sob as hot tears threatened to spill forth from her neon blue eyes.

"No, dearest. Father blamed me. For my failure. He disowned me, demanded I leave and never show my face in the family home again. Then poor darling Mint... She crossed her own name off the family register and stomped out at my side."

"We... We called in a favor. With a relative of Mother's, to get into the Academia... She paid our tuition for the first year, but if we don't show good results, she... She won't cover the rest."

"That's why we were so resentful of you, Kira." Meri said, finally raising her head to lock gazes with the girl. "We... Assumed you were in a position of privilege, and we... We resented that. We... I. I am sorry for my mistake."

"Me... Me too." Mint sniffled, wiping away tears with the heel of her palm. "I... Was really awful. But I was just so mad! Everything was so easy for you! But... I suppose it wasn't, after all. I'm... I'm sorry."

Kira gave a brief nod of acknowledgment, exchanging half-smiles with the twins.

"I had no idea we were all so messed up," Simon said, shaking his head. "Except Ribbon, who is apparently the most well-adjusted person in our little group here!"

"A, a healer must! Have f-fortitude!" Ribbon said while hiding her face behind Kira's arm, eliciting another round of laughter.

"Now that sharing time is over, and I think we all have a better understanding of each other, why don't we have a late dinner together?" Chen said, beaming a smile at the class.

"Sounds good!"

"I'm in."

"Emotions make me hungry..."

Everyone scrambled for the door, chattering about their favorite dishes and the pile of desserts they'd order. Kira, meanwhile, halted Dani in her steps by tugging on the other girl's sleeve.

"What's up?" Dani said, raising her heavy eyebrows.

Kira turned red, avoiding her gaze and shuffling her feet for a moment. "I... Thank you."

Dani grinned, throwing an arm around Kira's shoulders. "It's the least I could do, and it turned out way better than I hoped. Now c'mon, let's eat! Your treat."

Kira smiled, hugging her plush toy as the Pooka girl practically dragged her toward the elevator. "Okay."