Zalu stopped in her tracks, taken aback by the sudden attention. Elara was looking at her, really looking at her, those intense green eyes holding her captive. Zalu felt a flutter of nervousness, a strange mix of excitement and apprehension. 'Finally,' she thought, 'a chance to actually talk to her.'
"Hi," Zalu began, trying to sound casual, though her heart was doing a little tap dance in her chest. "I'm Zalu Dlamini. We're in the same year." She offered a tentative smile.
Elara continued to look at her, her expression unchanging, those emerald eyes still holding Zalu's gaze. After a beat of silence, she finally spoke, her voice soft, yet clear. "I know."
Zalu blinked. "Oh," she said, slightly deflated. "Right. Of course, you do. You're… well, you're Elara Lunari Von A'Royale." She chuckled nervously. "Everyone knows who you are."
Elara didn't respond, her gaze unwavering. Instead, she turned and began walking towards the area where the second-year timetables were usually posted. Zalu, slightly flustered, hurried to catch up. She wasn't used to this kind of… non-interaction. Usually, people were eager to talk to her, drawn to her energy and enthusiasm. But Elara… Elara was different. She was like trying to hold smoke – elusive, intangible.
"So," Zalu tried again, falling into step beside Elara. "Big day, huh? Midterms are finally over."
Elara offered a small, noncommittal "Mhmm."
Undeterred, Zalu plowed on. "I was actually thinking about Professor Kyfman's lecture from last week," she said. "The one about the influence of celestial bodies on magical affinities. He was talking about how certain planetary alignments can amplify or even suppress different magical talents."
"Mhmm," Elara murmured again, her eyes now scanning the notice board where the timetables were usually displayed. They weren't up yet.
Zalu, though a little embarrassed by the lack of engagement, decided to embrace the awkwardness. She was genuinely interested in Elara, intrigued by her quiet intensity, her air of mystery. Besides, Elara was listening, wasn't she? Even if her replies were minimal, she hadn't told Zalu to go away. That had to count for something, right?
"He mentioned that Star Witches, like you, are particularly sensitive to these alignments," Zalu continued, launching into a detailed explanation of the theories Professor Kyfman had discussed. "He said that certain alignments could even unlock dormant abilities, or… or even reveal hidden destinies."
"Okay," Elara replied, her eyes still searching the empty notice board. 'Where are they?' she wondered. 'I need to know if I have any free time to work on Mom's review.'
Zalu talked about her fascination with astrology, her hopes of becoming a celestial cartographer. She talked about her family, her love of training, her dream of traveling the world. She talked about how weird people were, and how she just didn't get them. She talked about her favorite spells, her struggles with transfiguration, her theory on the interconnectedness of all magic. She talked about Professor Kyfman's eccentric teaching style, his tendency to go off on tangents about ancient prophecies and forgotten civilizations.
Elara, for her part, offered small, almost subconscious responses – "Yes," "Okay," "Mhmm" – her mind flitting between Zalu's words and her own internal musings. 'Mom's review… maybe I should just get it over with. But that constellation chart… it's calling to me. And Nyx needs new enchanted toys.' She was only half-listening, her attention fractured, yet somehow, she absorbed the gist of Zalu's ramblings. It wasn't that she was deliberately ignoring her; it was more that her mind was a whirlwind of its own, a universe of thoughts and ideas constantly swirling within her. Zalu's chatter was just background noise, a gentle hum in the background of her own internal world. And in a strange way, Elara found it… comforting. It was like white noise, filling the silence without demanding her full attention. She could just… be.
Zalu, initially self-conscious about the one-sided conversation, gradually relaxed. She was so used to being the center of attention, the life of the party, that it was almost... refreshing, to just talk without the pressure of performing. She talked about everything and nothing, her words flowing freely, her enthusiasm infectious. She was so caught up in the sheer novelty of having Elara's (sort of) attention that she didn't notice the almost imperceptible flicker of something… perhaps amusement? Perhaps boredom? on Elara's face. She just kept talking, oblivious to the fact that Elara, though physically present, was already drifting away, lost in the labyrinth of her own mind, her thoughts now occupied with the pressing question of… 'Just how many high-quality gems can a panther reasonably consume in a week?'