"Well," Marisse said, her voice polished enough to pass for cordiality, "if it isn't you again."
Lucavion inclined his head with a precision that approached courtesy closely enough to mock it.
"Professor Marisse. Fancy meeting you in an Academy corridor."
Her smile tightened. "Magister Marisse."
"Of course." His expression suggested that the correction had already begun slipping from memory. "These distinctions remain difficult for a simple student."
The students lingering near the junction slowed by almost imperceptible degrees. Some pretended to rearrange the books beneath their arms, while others continued conversations that had lost both rhythm and attention. Marisse held enough authority to command interest on her own. Lucavion's willingness to irritate that authority gave them a reason to remain.
Marisse adjusted the examination pages beneath her arm. "Your difficulty with proper address has become remarkably selective."
"I learn best through repetition."
