The tour took about an hour, and Ashara retained maybe a third of it.
Not because she wasn't paying attention. She was. It was just that Brannick walked at the pace of a man who genuinely did not care if half his students got left behind, and he pointed out each building with the enthusiasm of someone reading a grocery list out loud. Training halls, lecture building, dining hall, medical wing, library. He gestured at the arena as they passed it, which, up close, was big enough to fit her entire village inside with room to spare, and said "arena" like that covered it.
[That's... that's the whole tour? "Arena"? That thing is the size of a small country and you're giving it one word?]
But, the tour wasn't what held her attention.
The people were.
She caught a few looks along the way.
One from a human guy built like a brick wall, who glanced at her chest, then her face, and then shrugged. One from a silver-haired elf girl, who looked at Ashara the way someone might look at a stain on an expensive rug. And one from a wolf beastkin girl with black ears and a tail that wouldn't stop wagging, who caught Ashara's eye and gave her a grin so excited it made Ashara excited just seeing it.
After the tour, they got herded back to the dormitories and handed room assignments. Co-ed, two per room. Ashara found her name on the list next to one "Yuki Frostwhisper," which told her absolutely nothing.
Her room was on the second floor. It was small, but clean enough.
Her roommate was already there.
Yuki Frostwhisper was sitting on the left bed with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap, staring at the wall like it owed her money. She had short pink hair, light blue eyes, a soft, round face, and a pair of tits that Ashara clocked immediately.
Big. Not Ashara-big, but up there.
She wore loose-fitting robes and had the general energy of someone who'd wandered into the wrong building and just decided to stay.
Ashara dropped her bag on the right bed.
"Hey. I'm Ashara."
Yuki turned to look at her.
"..."
She stared for a long moment.
Long enough for it to get weird.
Then, suddenly:
"You have interesting mana," Yuki said.
[... What?]
Ashara had no idea how to respond to that. "Thanks" felt wrong. "What does that mean" felt like it'd open a door she wasn't ready to walk through.
So, her brain defaulted to the first thing that came to mind.
"You're hot."
"..." The girl blinked very, very slowly. Then, "uwahh!?"
Yuki's pale cheeks turned pink. She looked away, pulled her bag onto her lap, and started unpacking without another word.
Ashara stood there for a second, shrugged, and did the same.
[Nailed it.]
---
That evening, the common area on the first floor of the dormitory filled up with students.
Someone had called it a "mixer," which was a generous word for fifty people standing around with cups in their hands, trying to figure out how networking worked.
The energy in the room was somewhere between "first day of school" and "hostage negotiation." Everyone was sizing everyone else up, and nobody wanted to be the first one to blink.
So, Ashara grabbed a cup of whatever was being served (some kind of fruit punch, no alcohol, tragic) and found a spot on one of the couches near the center of the room.
The wolf beastkin from earlier found her before she'd even taken a sip.
"Hey, tits."
She dropped onto the couch next to Ashara, close enough that their thighs touched.
Black wolf ears, sharp canines, messy black hair with white streaks, golden eyes, and a smirk that said she knew exactly what she was doing. She was short, toned, and wearing a crop top and shorts.
"I'm Mira."
"Ashara." She looked her over. Instantly, something about her reminded Ashara of someone, though she couldn't place who. "And thanks for the greeting. Very classy."
"I call 'em like I see 'em, babe." Mira's eyes dropped to Ashara's chest and back up without even a hint of subtlety. She had a breathy, sultry voice that she was clearly deploying on purpose. "Dramari, right?"
"How'd you tell?"
"Well, you've got no horns, but you do have those eyes... and a 'I fuck often and I'm proud of it' look."
Ashara laughed.
"That obvious?"
"Takes one to know one." Mira winked. "Wolf beastkin, as you can see. I came from Ironhold, originally."
"Heard it's rough for beastkin there."
"'Rough' is a word for it, yeah." Mira's tail flicked behind her, once, sharp. Then the grin came back. "But that's old shit. I'm here now. So, what's your deal? You don't exactly scream 'fighter.'"
"I'm not. Not yet. I was a performer. Dancer, with a traveling troupe."
"A dancer~" Mira looked her up and down, slower this time, making a whole show of it. "Yeah, I can see that. The hips check out."
"You're staring at my hips? That's not the spot people usually pick."
"Don't misunderstand, I plan on staring at all of you."
[Oh, I like her.]
Ashara studied her for another second. The resemblance was bugging her.
[May as well give it a shot.]
"You remind me of someone, actually."
"Yeah?" Mira's grin widened. "Tall, white fur, hits on everything that moves?"
Ashara's mouth fell open.
"No way."
"Kez is my older sister." Mira took a sip of her drink. "She told me some dramari girl dicked her down a couple weeks back. Said you were going to Vanguard and that you had amazing tits." She looked Ashara up and down again. "She wasn't lying."
[Oh my god.]
"Small world," Ashara managed through giggles.
"Tiny." Mira threw an arm around Ashara's shoulder, like they'd been friends for years. "Anyway, let's be friends."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that. I like you. Besides, anyone who makes my sister howl is good in my book."
Mira stuck with her after that, which made the whole mingling thing significantly less painful. They people-watched from the couch for a while, Mira pointing out faces and dropping gossip she'd somehow already collected despite having been here for less than a day.
The brick-wall guy from the tour was Vik Carroway. A human, carrying a greatsword strapped to his back. He was standing near the refreshment table with his arms crossed, sleeveless shirt showing off arms thicker than Ashara's thighs, and every few seconds his eyes drifted toward the silver-haired elf across the room.
"He's been staring at her all night," Mira said. She was sitting on Ashara's lap now, one arm thrown behind Ashara's neck, her tail swaying lazily. Her ass was nice and heavy in Ashara's lap, and Ashara's hand had found its way to Mira's hip. "It's kinda pathetic."
"Who is she?"
"Isendra Silverlace. High elf, old money. Lumendell nobility." Mira took a sip of her drink. "Ice queen bitch. Best not to get too involved."
Ashara looked over at Isendra.
She was standing in the center of a small cluster of students, all of them clearly trying to impress her, and she looked bored with every single one of them. Her chin was tilted up, her violet eyes half-lidded, like she was reading a menu and finding every option disappointing. She was gorgeous, though. Silver-white hair to her waist, sharp features, the kind of posture you only got from growing up in a house with more rooms than people.
[She's hot. Real hot. That attitude, though...]
"Let's go say hi," Ashara said.
Mira raised an eyebrow.
"Pfft. Your funeral, babe."
They walked over. The little cluster of students parted slightly as Ashara stepped in, and Isendra's violet eyes flicked to her, then dropped to Mira's tail, lingered there for half a second, then came back up.
"And you are?"
"Ashara. I'm a dancer. Or, I was, before this. Traveling troupe."
Isendra looked at her for a moment. Her mouth curled, just a fraction.
"Oh, a dancer? How charming." She said it the way someone might say "oh, you collect bottle caps? How charming." Her eyes drifted to Ashara's outfit, the low neckline, the fitted pants. "And that outfit is very... bold. For a combat academy."
"Thanks. I figured if I'm gonna get my ass kicked, I should at least look good doing it."
Something flickered across Isendra's face. Not quite a crack, but... a pause. Like she'd expected Ashara to shrink, and Ashara hadn't.
Then the mask came back. Isendra did a little "hmph," flipped her hair over one shoulder, and turned back to the person she'd been talking to.
Dismissed.
[Okay, she's a bitch. A gorgeous bitch. But a bitch.]
Ashara smiled and walked away. Mira fell into step beside her and bumped her with her hip.
"Told you."
"She'll come around."
"Oh, you're an optimist. That's cute." Mira bumped her again. "It's gonna get you killed, but it's cute."
They made their way toward the far side of the room, where a dark elf woman was chatting near the window. Darya Moonstream, according to Mira. Late twenties. Dark elf.
Ashara noticed her before they got close.
Warm brown skin, long black hair, kind eyes, and a body that the robes she was wearing couldn't even begin to hide. She was curvy in the way that made you look twice, and her tits were, frankly, enormous.
[God damn. Those are... wow. Okay.]
"Hey," Ashara said, stepping into the conversation. "Mind if we join?"
Darya turned, and her face immediately softened into the warmest smile Ashara had seen all night.
"Not at all, sweetie. I'm Darya."
"Ashara. This is Mira."
"Hi," Mira said, also very clearly looking at Darya's chest.
"Can I get you two anything?" Darya asked, like she was the one hosting this event. "I think I saw some pastries on the table by the door."
"I'm good, thanks."
"Well, if you change your mind, let me know." Darya reached over and, very casually, very naturally, tucked a strand of Ashara's hair behind her ear. "There. That was bothering me."
Ashara blinked. Mira snorted.
A commotion near the snack table cut through the chatter.
Some guy had bumped into a smaller student from behind, sending a plate of food clattering to the floor. The smaller student spun around and stood up so fast the chair he'd been sitting in scraped back a foot.
"Hey! Watch where you're going, asshole!"
The voice was high, sharp, and angry. And it came from someone Ashara had noticed during the tour, the pretty guy she'd mistaken for a girl.
Long, sandy brown hair, short stature, big green eyes, delicate features, and a build that did him zero favors in the "I'm a guy, actually" department. His hips were wider than a lot of actual girls Ashara had met over the years.
And he was standing with his fists clenched at his sides and his jaw set, glaring up at a guy who had a solid foot of height on him.
The bigger guy raised his hands.
"Whoa, sorry, I didn't see—"
"Tch." The kid snatched his plate off the floor and dropped back into his seat, hunching over what was left of his food with one arm curled around it. As if he was cautious people would try to steal it.
Ashara watched the whole thing.
Specifically, she watched the way his butt stuck out as he stood.
[... That is a very nice ass, though.]
"Jesse Ashford," Mira said, following her eyes. "Commoner. Got in on skill, apparently. He's been snapping at people all night. Kinda cute, though."
"Very cute."
"I'm beginning to suspect you think everyone's cute."
They wandered over once Jesse's murder-aura died down a little.
Darya had already drifted over ahead of them, and by the time Ashara got there, the dark elf had somehow produced a napkin and was handing it to Jesse like she'd been carrying it this whole time.
"Here, honey."
Jesse looked at the napkin, then at Darya, with the expression of someone who had never been called "honey" in his life and didn't know what to do about it.
"... Thanks."
"I'm Darya."
"Jesse." He took the napkin, wiped his hands, and glanced up at Ashara and Mira. "What?"
"Nothing." Ashara sat down across from him. "I'm Ashara. Just wanted to say hi."
"... Hi." He said it like the word cost him money.
"Where are you from?" Darya asked, settling in next to him with the ease of someone who'd decided this boy was now her responsibility.
"Outside the city. Small town." Jesse's jaw was tight. "You wouldn't know it."
Ashara and Mina glanced at each other.
[Well, okay then.]
Two fae, tiny and winged, zipped past Ashara's head close enough that she felt the breeze from their wings on her cheek. One of them, a little green-haired girl and the other a blue-haired boy.
"PIIIIIIP!"
"YOU WERE BEING BORING!" the green one yelled back, and they chased each other behind a bookshelf.
"Pip and Puck," Darya said, watching them go. "They've been doing that for about twenty minutes."
"Should someone stop them?" Jesse asked.
"Probably."
Ashara glanced around the room, letting her eyes wander.
In the far corner, a girl sat alone on a chair she'd pulled away from everyone else.
Dark hair, pale skin, wearing all black. She had a beautiful sword resting across her lap that she was holding with both hands. She had the kind of face that could've been pretty if its current expression was something other than: "come closer and find out what happens."
As Ashara watched, a guy walked up to her with a friendly smile and tried to introduce himself.
The girl looked up at him.
"What do you want?"
She said it flat. Monotone. Like someone reading a ransom note. The guy's smile disintegrated. He turned around and walked away without another word.
[Whoa.]
"Sable Corvain," Mira said. "Nobody's gotten more than three words out of her."
"She looks like she'd stab me if I breathed too loud."
She turned back to the room, began lifting her cup, and then her eyes found someone standing near the far wall.
Her cup didn't make it to her lips.
She was tall and athletic, with dark hair pulled back in a neat ponytail. Sharp jaw, high cheekbones, dark brown eyes. She stood alone, holding her cup with both hands, and she wasn't talking to anyone. Her posture was perfect, shoulders back, spine straight.
Ashara's brain went quiet for a second.
[... Wow.]
She was, without exaggeration, one of the most beautiful women Ashara had ever seen. Not in the flashy way Isendra was. Lots of people had this girl's features.
This was different.
This was the kind of beautiful that made your chest tight. The kind that made you forget what you were about to say.
[God, look at her. What I wouldn't give to just... ]
Ashara bit her lip. She didn't even realize she was doing it.
"The one you're drooling over is Daniela Stormveil," Mira said from beside her. "Don't bother with her, though. She's a noble from Ironhold."
Ashara looked at Mira. Her tail had gone completely still. Her ears were flat against her head.
"Is that bad?"
Ashara had heard a few questionable things about Ironhold, sure, but was just being from there enough to mean Ashara should leave her alone? She wasn't sure.
Mira was, though.
"Yes." Mira then took a sip from her cup and left it at that.
Ashara looked back at Daniela. She thought about walking over. Introducing herself. Saying something, anything.
But, she chickened out.
[... Not tonight. I'll find a better time.]
---
The mixer wound down around ten. Students filtered back to their rooms, voices fading down the hallways.
Ashara went back to her room. Yuki was already in bed, curled up on her side, asleep or close to it. Ashara changed into a loose shirt, slid under her covers, and stared at the ceiling for a while.
Tomorrow, it started for real.
Classes, training, standing in a yard next to people who'd been fighting their whole lives and trying not to embarrass herself.
And yet, she was kind of excited.
She grinned into her pillow.
[Well, one way or another, I'll make it fun.]