The ship was leaving the harbor. Yoshika Miyafuji hung over the side, frantically saying her last goodbyes to her family
below. They seemed not to hear, smiling plainly as they waved their arms, seeing her off. The girl had been accepted into Truman
Girls' Boarding Academy. The school specialized in teaching young girls with magic abilities in a safe environment, where their unruly
powers couldn't harm others. After all, nobody knew when the Witches could be needed again, and as much as Yoshika detested the idea
of war, there were no threats now. She would be able to study at a prestigious private school, which would aid her in one day taking
over the clinic run by her mother and grandmother.

Yoshika continued to watch her family shrink, even after they were long gone. She kept staring toward where the dock had
disappeared beyond the horizon. She was already homesick. She wondered what Liberion would be like. She had never left Fuso, and knew
nothing of Liberion customs. She wondered what kinds of food they had in Liberion. Maybe she could cook some Fuso food for her new
friends? She tried to picture herself serving a table of hungry girls, but her mind could not form the faces that she had yet to see.
She quit daydreaming and started to explore the ship. Aside from the crew, nobody seemed to be on board, except for one girl. She was
small and her hair was black, nearly reaching her shoulders. Her eyes scanned the pages of a book, until Yoshika approached her,
warranting a glare from the girl's black eyes. Yoshika backed away, startled. She probably wasn't worth talking to, anyway, if she was
going to act that way.

The girl threw away some time, boredly wandering the ship, feeling a bit somber. She wished she had taken a plane. They're
faster, and at least they had movies playing. There was nothing to do on the ship but walk around, thinking about how she could have
done things differently. Yoshika was distracted from her thoughts by the smell of food cooking. Her familiar's instincts kicked in,
the ears of a dog sprouting from beneath her hair. Her newly-formed tail wagged as she tracked the scent to the ship's kitchen. A
young man stood at a table grill, flipping a small steak with a pair of tongs.
"That smells incredible!" Yoshika piped, her tail wagging furiously.
"Thank you, miss." the man replied, "I was told to make dinner for you two, so I thought you'd like a barbecue to kick off
your new life in Liberion."
"Gee, that's really nice of you." Yoshika said, avoiding the subject of the other girl, "I bet it'll be delicious. I never get
red meat at home."
"Well, you're going to get sick of it if you're going to Liberion." the man smiled, "Most of us eat it every day."
"Wow, you're from Liberion? Can you quiz me on my Brittanian?"
"Sure!"

Yoshika had been accepted to Truman Academy two years prior, but she had waited to enter the school to give herself time to
learn the Brittanian language. She knew many words and phrases, more than enough to get by in Liberion, but she still worried she
might be made fun of for not recognizing certain words. She had studied the dictionary some nights, but she had never gotten past the
words that started with A. She looked forward to learning even more Britannian. It was such a complex language, and Yoshika thought
she might never be able to grasp all of it.
"You speak great Brittanian, miss." the man said.
"Thank you, sir! My name is Yoshika by the way!"
"Well, Yoshika, could you bring the other girl her dinner?"
Yoshika shuddered, "Um..."
"I have to finish yours, so why don't you bring it to her and I'll have dinner for you when you come back?"
"Yes, sir..."

Yoshika took the dinnerplate out to the deck where the rude girl was seated. She had finished her book, and was leaning over
the edge of the ship, watching the waves grow and shrink.
"Um, excuse me..."
The girl looked dully over her shoulder toward Yoshika, but she seemed to perk up when she noticed the food the girl carried.
"Dinner!"
She approached, taking the plate from Yoshika and returning to her seat to eat it. "Thank you." she spoke with her mouth full.
Yoshika smiled, turning to head back to the kitchen. She heard the other girl say something, but she didn't stop to hear it.
At that moment, she was hungrier than she was polite. She dashed into the kitchen, finding her meal placed on the counter beside the
table. She took the plate and sat down on the floor outside the door. The steak was whole, and rather than getting up to get a knife,
Yoshika picked up the slab of meat in her hands and took a bite out of it. When the chef returned, he thought he had found himself
face-to-face with an animal: Yoshika was tearing meat off the steak with her teeth like a dog. When she noticed he had seen her, she
blushed red.
"I can explain!" she squeaked, embarrassed.
The man only smiled as he walked into the kitchen, leaving Yoshika behind to finish her meal.

Yoshika spent the rest of the day avoiding the chef as he wandered about, free to do as he liked now that the meals were
complete and he had washed the dishes. As night fell, Yoshika thought that perhaps the ship would never reach Liberion. Maybe Liberion
didn't even exist. She concluded that she must be tired to have such thoughts, and prepared to go to sleep.

Yoshika changed in the bathroom, and when she reached her room, she found that it contained two beds, one of which was
occupied by the other girl. She lay in her bed, fully clothed. She looked bored, and aside from a swift glance, she didn't acknowledge
Yoshika when she entered the room. Yoshika got onto her cot, feeling uncomfortable as she rolled onto her side so that she faced the
wall. She didn't want to see the other girl, fearful of what might happen if she did. Yoshika distracted herself, thinking about
delicious Liberian food and new friends. She drifted off into sleep effortlessly.