Simone stared into the mirror, patting her face down. She’d been pleasantly surprised when she discovered the functional shower in the adjoining room to her cramped little dorm. It had two handles that she could turn to adjust the temperature to her comfort level and for the most part worked as she remembered. What made the whole thing strange was that the faucet extended from the ceiling and hung over her head while the handles were embedded in the usual part of the wall. Something told her that plumbing from earth was in no way involved in how it worked but it had been made in a way that those summoned from earth didn’t have to spend time figuring it out.

She looked herself over for the first time. Sure, she’d seen an image of herself during her ‘orientation’ but that wasn’t the same as seeing herself in the flesh. Her skin was a dark gray with a reddish hue to it that made her think of bricks covered in ash. Her frame was tall and stocky with dense muscles that showed easily beneath her skin. Her jaw had a hard edge to it and her upturned, red-brown eyes had a flinty quality to them that made it feel like she was staring into her own soul. She reached up and tugged on her cheek with a finger, revealing two rows of teeth that looked almost human save for the shallow points. She ran her hand up the side of her head and touched the pointed ears that jutted out perpendicular from her head several inches.

“Haven’t seen yourself yet?” Roe asked from behind her.

Simone jumped and spun, pulling the heavy cloth around her body a bit closer. “Hey now!” Simone barked, “Occupied!”

Roe rolled her eyes, walking to the shower and staring at it, she held her hand out and brushed the condensation off the wall before glancing at Simone out of the corner of her eye. “Rough work, but adequate,” She murmured, looking down her nose at the handles before crossing her arms and leaning against the wall.

Simone wondered if it had been the lighting down below, but Roe was far paler than she remembered. Her hair still had that odd turquoise quality to it and it clashed dramatically with her narrow yellow eyes. Her face was narrow with an angular quality to it that made it look stretched. The same could be say about her hands, her palms and fingers just a little too long and ending in glossy black fingernails. It was her teeth that caught Simone a little off guard. Unlike the shallow points of her own pearly whites, Roe’s were angular and the parts a bit deeper, making her look naturally carnivorous.

Roe narrowed her eyes and tilted her head forward, catching Simone’s gaze, “Sizing me up while you aren’t wearing any clothing is a bit strange, wouldn’t you say?”

Simone’s eye twitched, this cocky girl needed to learn that she wasn’t some royal princess anymore. She appreciated that she was going to be sticking around and they would be helping one another out until they got a chance to meet with the Demon Lord, but that didn’t mean she had to put up with the sass. Simone stormed forward and slammed her hand into the wall over Roe’s shoulder, looking down at her from her greater height, “Maybe if you had waited until I was done you wouldn’t be in this situation,” She growled, “You can’t just do whatever you want, princess.”

Roe’s expression went stony and her eyes searched Simone’s face. “Don’t call me that.”

“Stop acting like one,” Simone shot back.

“I’ll behave however I please, Simone,” Roe replied, warning in her tone. “My homeland or not, I won’t compromise who I am just because times have changed.”

“So being self-absorbed is just part of your identity, got it,” Simone ground out, she reached up and adjusted the cloth around her chest, pulling away from the wall with a huff. “I was done anyway. Do what you want. I suggest staying in the room though once you’re done,” She started marching toward the door.

“And why is that?”

“You seem to be nicer at night, this shit gives me whiplash and I don’t care to deal with it, later ‘ally’,” She grunted and pushed through the door, stepping out into the room and snatching her clothes off the bed. Kik looked up at her in surprise at the sudden motion. Its big eyes blinked a few times before slowly turning around and politely facing the wall. She chuckled and tilted her head back a bit toward the door, “At least Kik gets how to be considerate! You could learn a thing or two from them!” She shouted.

The door slammed in her face and she let out a sigh, shooting a look over at Steward who was standing in the corner of the room as always. Utterly motionless. “Your princess needs to do a little growing up,” She grunted, throwing on her shirt and grumbling when it got caught on her ears.

The machine’s eyes ‘opened’ lighting up from the inside out. It turned its head jerkily towards the door and hesitated, “Lady Roe has spent her life surrounded by servants and subjects, she has not known someone besides her mother and father who have challenged her so.”

Simone let out a low whistle as she pulled up her britches and buckled them, “Poor thing,” She said sarcastically, “She’s in for a rude awakening, this Haggart guy is nice but she didn’t notice how everyone was looking at her while we were walking through the city.”

Steward’s eyes flashed and it raised its mechanical hand to approximately where its mouth would be, “Unconscionable.”

“Keep her here, would ya? I’ve got to meet with Haggart and I really don’t need shit getting tense right now, she could get herself into some serious trouble with that attitude,” Simone grumbled, throwing on her coat, checking her warcaster, and bouncing a few times on her boots. She was set. Now it was time to brave the storm.

As she made her way to the door, the automaton’s eyes dimmed a little and it turned its head in her direction, its voice dropping a bit, “I will do what is in my lady’s best interest.”

“Appreciate it,” She said and pushed out into the hallway, “C’mon Kik, wanna come with?”

Kik was across the room, up her leg and on her shoulder before she could even finish speaking. The tiny creature clinging to her head with surprisingly gentle fingers. She glanced up at him and laughed, stepping out and closing the door behind her only to flatten herself against the closed door as a pair of young men ran past with all haste and fear in their eyes. She blinked and turned to look in the direction where they were coming from. Haggart came jogging around the corner, a ferocious look in his eyes. She raised her hand to greet him but he stormed past her, “Get back here you ingrates!” He bellowed, charging down the hall before hitting the stairs and descending at high speed.

“Huh, okay, weird.”

“Newbies who skipped morning training,” Someone said behind her.

Kik shrieked in surprise and she whipped her head around, how were all these people sneaking up on her? She’d only been caught off-guard once when she’d gone pro back in her past life. That had been the literal death of her. Now here she was being snuck up on at every turn. Difference in stats maybe? She paused as the willowy-looking man walking down the hall stopped and smiled at her. His face was angular and his hair long, hanging down to his chest. His ears were pointed but jutted up at an angle parallel to his narrow jawline. An elf. She glanced at his lapel and spotted the pin. A Elf Adventurer, someone from home. She cleared her throat and pointed over her shoulder, “That’s how he deals with people who skip?”

The man shrugged, his loose-fitting robes rustling around him. “Haggart is excitable when it comes to his little boot camp,” He extended a hand, “Melrose, I’m an administrator like Haggart.”

“Simone,” She said, taking his hand and shaking it.

“I know,” Melrose said, “Word has already spread about the newbie who picked Azar. You’ve already got something of a fan club among some of us.”

“I just got here,” Simone blurted.

“Yeah, she just got here!” Kik chimed in, obviously trying to be helpful. “And don’t scare Kik like that!”

Melrose laughed, “Sorry, I’ve spent a great deal of time raising my skill attribute and in particular, my balance. It makes it hard to approach someone without startling them,” He shrugged, “And why are you so surprised? After snubbing Talis and the big reveal in the common room, it’s no wonder that people have been talking all night and morning.”

Snubbing Talis, she frowned, “That’s going to bite me in the ass some day, isn’t it?” She groaned inwardly, she’d been so tired yesterday she hadn’t been thinking clearly. The guy was so obviously trying to butter her up and get what he wanted from her. Basic tactic. She used it herself in her past life! Stupid.

“Probably,” Melrose said honestly, “Now, Haggart mentioned to me that you hadn’t been registered yet. Would you like me to help you with that since Haggart is…” He trailed off and glanced to the stairs, “...otherwise occupied?”

“Depends,” Simone said a bit evenly, turning to face him completely, “Not going to pull any stunts like Talis are you?” Not that he would answer honestly if that was his plan.

“I’m going to try to recruit you into the non-human’s association,” Melrose said, “Then press you on what weapon you got from your starter pack. You’re not carrying anything obvious and I’m pretty sure you don’t know yet that you can mentally equip and unequip gear so whatever you’re using is small but it got you out of whatever danger you were in to level you up to level two in less than two days. So color me curious.”

Simone blinked, “Wait, what? That was a little blunt.”

“I have the Aspect of Truth,” Melrose said, crossing his arms into his sleeves, “It has drawbacks.”

“I’m not joining any groups right now,” Simone said after a moment’s pause.

“Let’s get you registered, then we can talk,” He said with a coy smile.

She sighed, “Lead the way.”