It was, in many ways, a new day for one Lance Chevalier-Li. It was the first day of his time at a new school, a sort of school that was without a set uniform(which made it unusual to him, what with the schools he had gone to before having a uniform the students were required to wear). It was also the first day of his life in France, and not in terms of how long he had been here. No, he had simply been too wrapped up in helping his parents open their café successfully, his sister having decided to start school long before he had. However, there was one other thing that made today special. It was the first day of his having to hide his friend from others outside his family.
His friend was a little dragon currently nestled inside the bag slung over his shoulder, a bag of freshly baked steamed buns(filled with cream, of course, as the begin so enjoyed) lying inside for the kwami to consume while remaining hidden. Loong had come to Lance just before the young man's family had departed from China, as had the metal armbands that even now lay hidden beneath the white, long-sleeved button-down shirt he wore to conceal the gift he had been given. The kwami manifested as a red dragon, four small black horns on his forehead and two larger red horns extending backwards with black spiraling around them. The long whiskers on Loong pointed to the Eastern motif that seemed to carry over into Lance's other self. Yes, with Loong had come a secret identity. Roux Long, he had called himself, borrowing from both sides of his heritage to create the fitting name that translated simply to "Red Dragon" but sounded much cooler. Tonight, he decided, would also mark the day Roux Long appeared in France for the first time, a hero fighting for what was right. Not that Paris needed another hero, as stories of Ladybug and Chat Noir had been joined by the likes of a hero known as Nightingale. Still, a little extra help could not hurt.
As he approached the school, early of course to keep from running into crowds(while his sister, Lizetta, might be a social butterfly, he seemed to be the exact opposite and actively avoided the spotlight), Lance found that he was not the only one there. While he might be considered somewhat of a lone wolf, he was not entirely unable to socialize. And if this girl had come to school early, then he could tell she might be someone he could get along with. So it was that Lance decided to introduce himself with a simply, "Hey." Such an eloquent speaker he was.