Xaviers!

Looking a bit nervous, Janice stops by Nailah's suite, rapping her knuckles on the door frame as she looks to see if the sphinx is around.

It takes a while but eventually the door opens a crack and one lens of sunglasses peer out before Nailah opens the door further. She looks... different. Her undercut's grown out some for starters but more striking is how she's holding herself. She used to stand just a tad slumped and awkward, unless she was fighting but then her stance was usually wide and low. Now she's standing up straight and lifts one arm over her head to lean against the doorframe.

"Hey." she says, left hand in the pocket of her black leather jacket.

"Hey," Janice says with a small wave.

"I guess you... had a good break?"

"Could have been worse. It did get a little rough but I pulled through like I always do." she says with the shadow of a smirk on her lips.

"Guess it was easier without me messing things up," she jokes weakly.

"I mean you're not wrong. But when you have a good grip on yourself a little unpredictability can add some excitement."

"Hopefully less than a wannabe supervillain at a dinner date, yeah?"

"But it was memorable, you have to admit that."

"Yeah, well we... kind of left things in a weird place."

"Is the whole bit where you have to pretend to snog a princess done?"

"Oh! Yeah, that was months ago. Didn't seem like you really cared all that much..."

"Well it ah... seemed important to you, and all."

"Not every day you get to help a princess." she says a bit matter-of-factly. "So how's your Summer been?"

"Kind of boring," she admits.

"I mean, after some of last semester I guess that's good, but I was stuck with my mum and dad for a lot of it."

There's a bit of a twinge at the mention of parents and Nailah's tail twitches a bit erratically behind her.

"Nah, boring is - well - boring. Anything's better than that."

"Your parents give you the business too?"

"My parents didn't even want me going here because it might be dangerous. Then a lunatic almost killed them with a car-bomb because he was after me so things are a little... awkward right now."

"...yeah, I can see how it would be, sorry."

"Yeah. And I'm not sure how to explain to them that I'd do it all again if it means stopping people like Hazard or March."

"That was pretty amazing what you did to March. You're not getting the headaches anymore?"

"I would if I tried to broaden the view. If I just hold on to one future it gets much simpler. No forks, just a straight shot to the goal." she says and almost reflexively takes her hand out of her pocket to make a chopping 'straight-ahead' gesture with her four-fingered hand.

Janice's eyes widen.

"...when did that happen?"

"Oh. Yeah. That. I might have... gotten that bitten off. By that black-and-white monster that attacked the school last year." she says, having the decency to be kind of embarrassed about it as she flexes her remaining fingers.

"What did you even do on your break?"

"I just kind of... followed my hunch? I guess you could say I went out to find myself and it led me to Madripoor. It really is a shithole."

"...and all I did was get a summer job at Jamba Juice."

"Hey, money is money. And I bet it smelled a lot nicer."

"I don't know, I think I developed a strange aversion to strawberry kiwi."

"As you should, kiwi are gross."

"I spilled a bottle and I still can't get the smell out of that uniform shirt."

"They didn't give you a new one?"

"I think you'll find 'smells like our products' is not something the Jamba Juice brass consider an issue."

"Maybe they should. It starts with kiwi-shirts and ends with, I dunno, slashed healthcare benefits."

"I'll put you down as an ally when the revolution comes."

"Too bad you can't focus your power on a bunch of CEO stock values."

"I mean, maybe I could if I practiced enough. But that tends to get you on watch lists, you'd think."

"Only if you're caught. They never did find the people who broke into the Royal Mint and made off with a literal ton of money."

"Unless they got secret-arrested and sent to secret-jail."

"No, something tells me they got away with it. And that's okay, because what they really stole was their friend Will mushed and stamped into crisp Pound notes."

"So this is a humble-brag for you?" She quirks a brow.

"No, just a regular brag really."