His jaw tightens at his lack of awareness of his surroundings (Izumi-sensei would be furious), but then, why would he be expected to keep an eye out for cats?
He blows out a breath. "Alchemy. Transmutation?" He checks her expression to make sure she's following this. "I'm really good at it. Well, back home I am. I'm a State Alchemist." With pride, "The youngest one to ever pass the test. But here-" He shrugs. "I don't know what's wrong. I can't seem to connect to the earth's energy the right way. Like I'm pushing through a- a skin or something to get at it."