They meet up.

There's nobody waiting, so Mateus takes a seat on the aforementioned bench and enjoys the sunshine as Adriana finishes up inside. It takes some time, but finally, the doors push open and a refreshed young woman strolls down the path towards him. Her hair glistens under the light. She runs her hands back through her clean, silken locks, and then she steps in front of him, curtsies, and offers a polite smile and a hand to help him stand.

"Thank you for your patience," she says. "I've been away from a proper indoor shower for sometime."

Mateus holds her hand and hoists himself up. She smells even nicer than before. "No problem. So what do we do now? I don't even fully know what I'm doing here."

"Neither do I to be honest, but I believe my grandfather wishes you to enrol in some classes and learn about our world. Try to find your place here, meet people, and enjoy yourself until we decide what to do next. And I'll be here if you need anything at all. Okay?"

He smiles. "Thanks. You're too kind."

She glances past him to something behind. "Ah. Hold on one moment."

Mateus turns and watches her quickly step over to another girl on her knees. Whoever it is, they're picking up a few books that have fallen to the ground. Then he notices something else. The girl in question is the same one as in the shower! I guess wandering into the boy's shower room isn't the only instance of her being clumsy.

"P-Please, Lady Ashdown. You must not trouble yourself with me," she pleads.

"Oh think nothing of it, Yara. And have I been gone so long that you've returned to speaking to me like I'm a stranger? You need to calm down. When you get flustered like this, you're so helpless." She giggles.

The elf stands back up with the books stacked in her arms. "I know, Adriana. But we're in uniform, and--" Her eyes turn to you, and when they do, her face starts flooding red once again. "I-I should g-get going," she stutters before turning to leave.

"Already? But I wanted to introduce you to my friend."

Yara looks to you and then back to Adriana before muttering, "You know each other?"

"Come, Mateus. This here is Yara of house Elavel. She's an old friend of mine. Incredibly smart, though of course she'll never admit it."

As he approaches, the poor elf grows more nervous as she reflects back on the humiliation from earlier. He can tell just be looking at her. "It's good to properly meet you then, Yara. My name's Mateus Reis. I'm a new student here, and--"

Once again, Adriana puts a finger to her lips. She comes in close and whispers, "No, no. You don't call an elf by their first name unless you're close, especially when you're a boy and she's a girl. It's an intimate thing to do."

Yara looks even more bashful now. "Please, uhm... We only just met," she mumbles.

"Sorry!" Mateus calls out. "I'm new to this whole region actually. There aren't elves where I'm from."

"I see." Yara lets out a sigh. "Apologies. I had no idea."

"You'll want to address elves in this format: Ms. Elavel," Adriana explains with a raise of her finger. She looks strangely proud of her sudden role as teacher. "While it's not unusual to one to call an elf by their first name, they have to trust you a lot first. Doing so on your own accord is considered incredibly rude. You might also notice that they speak a little differently than you or I. The way they comprehend language is a little bit different. Yara here is fully fluent in our tongue, yet you'll never hear her use things like contractions in speech. It's simply how their minds work."

Yara giggles. "Thank you, professor."

"So, uh. Are you both mages? Is everyone here a mage?" you ask.

"You are new... Ah, but not everyone, no," Yara explains. "Many are. There are mages of all levels here at Redbloom Academy, some focusing on specific schools with others not, but it is also Tivera's center of knowledge. We both are though, yes."

"Schools, eh?" Mateus says. "Things like conjuration, illusion, stuff like that?"

Adriana holds up eight fingers and takes a deep breath. "There are eight schools of magic in total."

Wow. As soon as she's given the chance to educate, she completely loses herself. Her eyes are practically glowing. I guess I better just let her finish the lesson. It seems to be enjoyable for her. Does it make me a scumbag to glance down at her chest once in awhile as she does it? Too bad she doesn't have that robe on anymore... Look! She's super sweet. I'm just saying she's also super hot. This world definitely seems pretty lax with that kinda stuff anyway. The Acting Grand Master was basically in her underwear.

Bonk. He winces back as Adriana hit him gently on the head with one of Yara's books.

"Are you paying attention?" she asks.

"Sorry. We didn't have magic... uh, back in the kingdom I'm from. These classes are going to be difficult for me."

"No magic at all?" Yara asks curiously. "Interesting."

"Well, you'll need to pay close attention then and try your hardest." Adriana places the book back onto Yara's stack. "As I was saying, there are eight schools. Conjuration, which revolves around the summoning of objects and creatures. Necromancy, which involves the manipulation of life energy, and of course raising the dead. Evocation, which in the simplest terms is about unleashing raw energy. Abjuration, the school about protection. Transmutation, a school of magic about manipulating the properties of reality, such as allowing one to fly, or turning one into a frog. Divination, a fascinating school all about observation and knowledge. Enchantment, which is based around manipulating people's minds. And finally illusion, with spells great at tricking others with false images and sensations."

Yara smiles and speaks quietly. "I have always been interested in conjuration."

"And I wish to be a master Diviner one day," explains Adriana. "Perhaps you'll find an interest too."

"Apart from magic, there are interesting studies here at Redbloom. I am quite interested in monsters myself."

"Some refined biologists have come from here, but there are still so many monsters out there without proper detailed documentation."

They're losing me again, though it does sound kind of exciting. I'm just worried whether or not I'll even be able to wrap my mind around this stuff. How hard is it in this world to learn magic I wonder, especially when you haven't done it at all your entire life. I doubt I can just get a crash course.

Adriana turns to you. "We should enrol you in some courses though as soon as possible. Don't worry about your grades. You're only here to learn. It isn't exactly something you can flunk unless you're actually pursuing specific degrees or you have a job you're trying to get. They won't kick you out unless you cause enough trouble, but doing poorly isn't trouble."

"You seem to be pretty convinced I'm going to do bad," Mateus replies.

"Apologies... but I imagine it won't be easy for you. I didn't mean it to be an insult. You aren't dumb, Mateus. You just have a great disadvantage compared to everybody else here. Most students are educated nobles from refined wealthy families. You don't need to feel like you need to compete is all I meant. Do you mind if I choose some courses for you? I imagine you won't have any idea what you should choose, since you'll have very little context. I need to choose mine anyway."

"Yeah that's fine. Just nothing too hard I guess."

"Maybe I'll try to keep you in classes with either me or Yara." She chuckles. "Though it may not be possible. We'll see."

"Y-You don't have to do that," Yara mutters. "Anyway, I need to get back to my studies. We will talk more later, Adriana."

I think she's still a little flushed from earlier.

"Of course," she replies. "Please don't be a stranger. In the meantime, I'll go take care of the enrolment. How about you take a walk around the academy grounds? It might help you out to no where things are in advance. I won't always be there to hold your hand after all."

Yara raises her books up over the bottom of her face. "You held hands?"

"It's a saying, Yara!"