Arista looked out at the assembled group and then down at the list in her hand.
"Alright," she said. "I'm pairing you up now. Listen for your name and remember who you're matched with."
She moved through the list steadily, calling pairs in a sequence that wasn't strictly by rank, mixing them with a logic that wasn't immediately obvious but clearly had one. Students found each other with nods or brief words, sorting themselves into pairs across the hall.
"Azael Ignivar and Elon Suks."
Azael looked up.
A young man a few meters away glanced in his direction at the same time, presumably Elon.
Medium height, stocky build, the kind of frame that suggested he hadn't gotten his rank through finesse alone. Rank fifty, if the pairing was anything close to proximity. He gave Azael a brief, assessing look, the way people do when they're trying to form a quick first impression and aren't bothering to hide that they're doing it.
Azael nodded at him once.
Elon nodded back.
Simple enough.
