Making Friends [Social/Jumanah]

For how long has it been since the last time she stood in front of the academy like this… the black haired girl remembered when she won her 1st Kodor title here before she departed to the neighboring country. But time passed and she wondered if her room was still there… she was also kind of worried about her books...although she did finish all of them but still… A sigh escaped her lips as the negative thought appeared inside her head, but it was no use to think about it actually, especially when she should just have to check it with her own eyes. As she walked through the corridor, it was surprising that some professors still remembered her. Some were a little bit upset about Noir's attendance though which was understandable considering the girl went out a lot and once she went out, she wouldn't be back for months… But some could only sigh because Noir still maintained good grades every time she took the written test and the fact that she reached 1st Kodor in a young age made some professors put a blind eye to it.

Well the inside of the academy didn't change too much and Noir still remembered the way to her dorm room too, so she didn't get any problem of being lost inside the academy. However, like a child who just took their first step to the outside world, Noir would still be amazed with the spells practiced by the students at the practice field, color of the rukh spread into the scenery and a lot of things only magic nerds would understand. Well, Shousui might be interested in exploring the academy but she preferred to do some sightseeing with Haku around the country, which might be a good thing… they were pretty close lately and somehow the older magician could act like a mother figure. That matters aside, Noir decided that she would just take a stroll inside the academy before going back to her dorm room.

Finally after some time to rest and recuperate after a recent massive battle Jumanah finally made her way out of an inn she had been staying at with her saved up money now freshly running low and needing to plan on more ways to make more money again before she ran out and were stuck on the streets. This was a much safer place for her to be stuck on the streets but still not the best or ideal idea to be while she worked on getting stronger further before returning to her old tribes grounds. It felt like things were getting so close to completion even though she still had the goal to hunt down all of the bandits in that area… She wanted to think of what to do after but, after what happened last time she didn’t want to over plan just for this next step never to pan out.

Before she went job hunting though she wanted to see the academy here. She may not join them but she was curious as to what it was like. And how they taught their students further magic. So she made her intentions clear a bit back and made a plan to go stop by and check out the grounds as a guest with the prior permission. She walked up to the grounds slowly crossing the metaphorical borders looking on wards at the area in aw for a long while taking it in. She soon though made her way in further looking at the rukh that filled the area slowly following one down with her eyes to see a woman roaming around as well, she looked familiar had she seen her before? She wondered lifting her hand that wasn't on her staff to give a bit of a wave trying to be friendly.

As Noir walked around the academy, the black haired girl thought about some of her friends she made inside the academy. Well she couldn't spot any familiar faces among the student... then again...they disappeared without saying goodbye to her so she shouldn't have high expectation to bump into one of them here. Heck, even Rufus was nowhere to be seen... it has been a long time and she remembered bumping into him at Reim...although that was the last time she saw him. But at least she remembered all the good times they shared together and people did come and go, aren't they? The black haired girl looked up into the sky and the tree leaves helped to block the sun ray from piercing her eyes too much with her hand added another layer of protection on her eyes.

When she decided to just continue exploring the academy, Noir saw a familiar figure waving towards her. She was not that sure that the wave was directed to her, so she looked around for a bit and noticed that no one was responding to the girl so it must be directed to her after all. The magician remembered that girl from the battle at the plain though and in less than a second she decided to wave back before walking towards the girl. "Good day." She said with a stoic expression, secretly hoping she didn't look like a rude person just because she couldn't really express herself. "I remember you from the battle at the plains, how are you?"

She noticed her looking about to see if anyone else responded to her, making Jumanah feel a bit bad for not trying to clarify that she was trying to wave to the girl specifically. Maybe she didn’t remember her? It was possible, Jumanah didn’t feel like she did that much to help in the battle. Though the girl did wave back and walk over, making Jumanahs worries pass just a bit as she nodded back to the girl’s good day. “Hello.” She said softly, looking at the girl's expression uncertain if that just meant the girl really didn’t know her and was trying to just be nice or- Oh she did recognize her!

She smiled a bit and nodded “I remembered you from the battle as well.” She said rather happily. “I’m still working through some sore muscles but other than that I am doing well. And how about yourself?” She asked softly with a slight tilt of the head. “Are you doing well?” She asked looking about for a moment before looking back to her, she supposed she shouldn't be all too surprised about the fact this girl was a student here given her skills in battle. It was rather amazing to think she may have learned so much from this place.

Noir was kind of worried about the girl's reaction actually, especially when she couldn't see the expression she was making under her mask. But the magician could tell from her voice that the girl seemed happy, so Noir felt relief. "I am doing well too, and I am glad you are doing well either." She paused for a second, wondering how to make things less awkward, she wasn't good in doing conversation like this. "I also experienced the sore muscle, but apparently taking a hot bath helped me to remove the soreness faster. You should try... ummm..." Noir was hesitant when she wanted to mention the girl's name... she forgot to ask for her name in the first place and she was afraid she would as considered a rude person. "I apologize though... I forgot to ask for your name before. My name is Noir, it is a pleasure to see you again though. May I know your name?"

Jumanah smiled a bit when the other girl said she was doing well as well she frowned just a little when she said she was sore too though before blushing a bit under the part of her face that was still hidden under her mask when she brought up baths remembering her last time in a public bath. “R right well i will try to look into baths then but more of a private bath if possible.” She said with a nod not wanting to enter a public bath and possibly make things weird for the others. She couldn’t really remember how that last trip went for some reason. But she hoped she didn’t weird the others out.

At least with her mask no one could tell at the time how heavily she was staring… she definitely wouldn't take her mask off at least if put into a public bath again. “Oh! Right, I also apologize for not doing the same.” She said in realization offering a hand to her to shake. “It’s a pleasure to see you as well miss Noir, you can call me Jumanah Necowl.” Noir seemed thus far at least remotely not shady so she’d give her her own last name as well as first.

"It will be hard to find a private bath, but perhaps if you stay at this inn nearby called 'Moonshine', they have a private hot bath in each room and their price is cheap as well." Noir explained as she cup her chin with her hand, she spent a night there several times and even now her companion was using one of the room as well. Well, although Noir just noticed that it might be awkward for her to start recommending things like that. "Ah... I mean, if you already have a place to stay, you dont have to move to Moonshine." and that was how Noir noticed how awkward she could be in front of other people...

"I apologize Ms Necowl, I might not be the best person to have a conversation, I uuh... am an awkward person. I cant socialize really well." Noir scratched the back of her head, feeling sorry for the masked girl. "But, you can drop the miss... you can just call me Noir."

Trying to find something else to say because it would be more awkward if it ended just like this, Noir noticed that she never really saw this girl around the academy before. "Ms. Necowl, are you a student here?"

“Oh! Well if its private I think I may look into it at least, thank you.” She said softly, thinking a bit as she added, she didn't have to move if she already had a place and blinked before nodded “I do but I still appreciate the offer!” She tried to reassure her with at least her words and tone. She then widened her eyes under her mask a bit when Noir apologized and shook her head. “No I apologize! I feel you are doing just fine, I must have made you feel otherwise and I’m sorry for that. I promise you are just fine! Sorry.” She offered then nodded to her correction.

“Alright, same goes for you though Jumanah is just fine mi- Noir.” She corrected herself at the last second. She shook her head then when she asked her next question. “No, I just heard so many stories of this place and city growing up. I had always been curious what it was like so I managed to arrange myself a visit here with some of the people here to check it out. Are you a student here?” She inquired in return tilting her head to one side as she asked.

Noir was glad that the masked girl appreciated her recommendation, the magician thought that she might be a good person indeed. Well but it was her first time meeting someone like Jumanah actually,  so she was curious on what kind of person she would be if they forged a friendship, that if Jumanah wanted to be friends though, Noir wouldn't try to force friendship to someone who didn't want it. But Noir was secretly hoping that this girl would want to be friend with her, considering both of them were magician and... perhaps shared the same interest in magic?

"I see... Yes, I am a student here. If you ever want to try studying here, I would recommend it actually." Noir paused for a second though,"They give nice facilities... and the lessons are not boring too." She said as she looked up, trying to remember what else the academy would offer to their student. "Oh, but it's not like I'm trying to force you to enroll... I just thought you might be interested to gain more knowledge, especially in magic related studies." She said as she lifted her hands, showing her palms.

"Mm, if you want someone to train together some time, just find me in the academy and I will train with you."

She nodded hearing she was a student there, it made sense thinking about it though, the woman was highly skilled in magic from what she had seen. She could only imagine how powerful knowing how good this school was based on the stories she was told when she was little. She though recommended her to enroll too and explained some upsides to the place. She nodded and smiled softly to her. ”I appreciate it but right now I actually have many things I must do before I can settle down in one place. Due to that I don’t think currently I should enroll since I don’t believe I’d stay around enough to get a proper education I would want from such a wonderful place.” She explained

”Once I finish all of my other tasks though I will definitely consider it.” She assured me with a smile. She really would consider it, since all of her other goals would leave her with no plan after completion so this may be a good idea. She then offered to train with her and smiled brightly and would almost bounce to her standing now. ”That would be amazing actually! I was planning here very soon to train more of my magic! When would you be available? I can come over here to train with you whenever it’s best for you!” She seemed excited over the idea. She never had someone to train with before. Honestly having a training buddy seemed like a fun idea.

“I see…” Noir’s eyes sparkled after hearing Jumanah’s saying she couldn't settle down in one place. That was actually the magician’s concern when she enrolled at the academy, well, she liked it here in the academy, but she felt she had to go to visit another country as well to enjoy the wonders of the world. Not to mention that there were always interesting events happening around the world too. “They are pretty flexible if you can't really settle in one place. But I hope even if you ended up not enrolling in the academy, we can still meet in the future or maybe even do one or two adventures together.”

The girl seemed excited about training and Noir was more than happy to help her, “I will be from classes tomorrow, so if you are good with that time, we can meet here again in the morning.”

She wondered if the level she'd need to roam around would still match how flexible they would be willing to be here, as Noir explained the situation there. She though smiled as she heard Noir still would like to meet up and maybe even go on adventures together. She nodding softly to her ”I’d like that quite a lot actually.” She said warmly to her. Maybe this would be her path after everything, going on adventures with a friend who also enjoyed learning more on magic. She hummed softly at the nice though. Then when she gave her a time she nodded excitedly. ”I would be more than willing to go with that time! I’ll be sure to be here in the morning with my notes ready to trian!” She said rather pumped up at this rate. She was glad she came to the school now more than ever.

Noir would give Jumanah a soft smile, a really rare expression that the girl would only show it if she was really feeling happy since she would usually give a rather stoic expression. "I am glad, Jumanah." The black haired said as she grabbed the other girl's hands, showing her gratitude. This girl felt warm, Noir couldnt even tell what kind of expression Jumanah was making under her mask, she just met her at the other day and they wasn't able to talk properly as well due to the battle, but it felt like Noir already knew this girl for a long time. Well, the magician could only hope that this girl wouldn't be missing in action without saying goodbye though like several of her old friends.

The golden eyed girl was happy to hear that Jumanah would love to train together, so she replied, "Alright then, Jumanah. Well then, as much as I still want to stay and enjoy our conversation, I have to go attend some classes now." Noir would release Jumanah's hands before stepping back, "See you tomorrow morning, Jumanah." The black haired girl would then bowed her head slightly before turning her back, leaving the other girl. She felt excited as she managed to make a new friend that she hummed as she walked into the classroom.

EXIT