003 - Hope! [Action]

[noras_boy]

[Hope is inbetween his morning and afternoon classes. He's got his books in his bag, with a crisp new pad of paper with incredibly neat handwriting just visible where the cover has not fallen over the lined paper in a straight line. Hope is looking up at the sky with his eyes closed

Comments

[one_part_saint]

[Zak is a few chairs down, studying over lunch. It's probably not a class book, unless it was something mentioned as recommended reading on a syllabus someplace. Either way, he's devouring it as precisely as he's devouring his sandwich.]

[noras_boy]

[Hope notices the other guy from his Politics class. He looks over his notes one more time and closes the pad, shuffling the contents of his bag so it won't get creased as he's putting it away and walks over to the table.]

What're you reading?

[Hope looked down at the other guy. Before everything happened, he wouldn't have gone over to say hi. But hey, he made the choice to say hello, and he's going to stand by it. No regrets.]

[one_part_saint]

[Zak swallows first. No spraying sandwich across the book. Gross! Oh yeah, this kid. Sorta familiar.]

History of Galbadia. Know your enemy and all that crap, you know?

[noras_boy]

You sound like my Tactical Strategy instructor. But I'll admit, if we didn't have Lightning's knowledge of PsiCom I wouldn't be sitting here now.

[He offers a smile to him and sits down, taking a bottle of cola from his bag and taking a sip.]

Galbaldia is one of the neighbouring states right?

[one_part_saint]

Yeah, I transferred here from there. What's PsiCom? [He kinda figured the kid wasn't from around here, but it doesn't seem to bother him.]

Aren't I in your tactics class?

[noras_boy]

PsiCom... it's kind of an elite military unit back home.

[Hope looks at him.]

Last period today?

[one_part_saint]

Kind of like SeeD here then, huh? And yeah. [Zak nods.] Last period.

[noras_boy]

SeeD seem to be a little less ruthless. And PsiCom don't have academies like this... I think.

[Hope smiles at Zak.]

Oh, we are then. It's nice to meet you. I'm Hope. Hope Estheim.

[one_part_saint]

Zakari Aetherun. You can call me Zak, though. Nice to meet you. [And it actually seems like it, by the way he tries to smile.]

Yeah, there is that too, the less ruthless bit. You know what you're studying yet?

[noras_boy]

I'm majoring in Battlefield Medicine. I kind of have a knack for healing magic. But I'm just doing prerequisites right now, getting my sciences out of the way, with my Cadet trainings too.

[Hope accepts that as a smile.]

What're you studying?

[one_part_saint]

I'm not sure. Leaning towards a double major in something. Maybe double weapons. Maybe something else. I'd try to triple major if they let me but I don't think they'd let me.

[He gives a dry sort of chuckle at that.]

I just...like working with my hands. Taking Engineering as an elective this semester.

[noras_boy]

Engineering? That's cool. I'm not really good with tools. I got kicked out of my Shop class in fourth grade.

[He gives a little laugh.]

I... I'm not bad at handiwork, but... I'm better at using my head.

[one_part_saint]

I like doing both. When I can get away with it, you know? We'll see what happens, I guess.

But...healing magic? I thought that was the purview of Sorceresses? Or is that just here? [Because Zak is curious, and that's just the kind of question he'd ask.]

[noras_boy]

... I'm not a sorceress. My magic... well it comes from this. [Hope lifts the sleeve of his shirt and shows him the large blue brand on his arm.]

My brand.

[one_part_saint]

[He peers over to take a look at it...personal space? What's that? Zak would probably poke at it, except he remembers, hey. That's a person. Oops.]

Okay, so not like here then. And of course you're no Sorceress, you're a dude.

[He laughs at that, though, even if it's rusty.]

[noras_boy]

Sorceresses can't be a guy? I didn't know that.

[He laughs too.]