“She…” The girl yawned. Now Calan noticed black bags under her eyes. “She really is.” She agreed. Taking the cat and putting it in her arms again, she sighed. 

“How many times do I have to tell you not to go off to strangers, Liri?” She cooed at her tabby. Then she shot a glance at Calan and blinked. “No offense to you, of course!” She said hurriedly.

“It’s no problem.” Calan bowed his head. “My name’s Calan. What’s yours?”

She considered him for a while. “Sirica.” She said finally. “Are you… studying at Lustermain?”

“Aye. Just finished my second year. You?”

“Just finished my first.” She replied, finally easing the tension from her shoulders. “I didn’t know it could be so difficult…”

“Lustermain will do that to you.” Calan said drily. “I thought I was good at math. Used to get awards in it, you know? Then Lustermain put me in my place.”

Sirica smiled. “It’s worth it, though.” She mused. 

Liri meowed and attempted to get out of her arms towards Calan, before being pulled back by Sirica. “She really likes you.” Sirica remarked to Calan, stroking the cat. “She usually doesn’t like strangers this much…”

“She doesn’t? Seems like a particularly friendly cat to me.”

“Not to my mom, she isn’t.” Sirica smiled wider, scratching Liri’s chin. “Liri refuses to ever go near her. But maybe that’s because she knows mom isn’t too keen on cats.”

“Mine loves them. My dad is… not so enthusiastic about them. Apparently, he had a bad encounter with some blue tigers up in the Cardassane mountains, and ever since then, he’s never been able to look at cats the same way.”

Sirica actually laughed at that. Going silent and cradling her cat, she stared off at the rails. Calan let the silence persist.

“So, err…” She cleared her throat. “Are you taking the train to Tranavol?”