Scene #1438: Questioning Kyra

Owner	Pose
Ainsley	The invitation was a simple letter giving directions, politely asking for Kyra to meet at a specified time. It even gives directions once she enters the house that lead up to the office on the second floor. The whole house feels very 'new,' like a great deal of work has gone into it to restore it since it was acquired. It doesn't feel empty or stuffy, either; the halls have tables with vases on them, and there are hand-drawn pictures and paintings on the wall, all things that Ainsley has made herself. One is a picture of Faruja in the guise of some kind of angel, which may or may not be a dramatization. (It's not, but onlookers wouldn't be able to tell.) The office is as modest as a book-obsessed scholar's office can be. Two walls are lined with bookshelves that climb all the way up to the ceiling. There's no ladder to be seen, because Ainsley doesn't really need one. Hung up on a rack on the wall behind Ainsley is her sword. The word 'MERCY' is written on a plaque below the sword rack. Sitting on a specially-designed rest is some sort of magitech backpack. There are maps and ancient documents displayed on a corkboard that covers the rest of the space that isn't interrupted by the large clear glass window that shows the rolling valley full of jutting crystals that surrounds the house. Ainsley is sitting at a desk. She's currently writing something down into a large book with a metal-plated cover. Her face is neutral, but she seems to be healthy and awake, and she doesn't seem nearly as stressed as she did at Solomon Island just the night before. She's wearing some manner of formal-ish black robe, the same kind she wore during that festival, though it doesn't have the nametag or the Academy logo on it. Her tail sways in half-speed, following the tune of a clock on the wall, above the door. It's a cheap battery-powered analog clock with a simple black and white face and circular design, and it emits an audible 'click' noise as it ticks down the seconds.
Kyra Hyral	Called to Professor Ainsley's office! The events of last night are clearly fresh on Kyra's mind as she arrives at the extremely impressive home of Ainsley. It's actually quite a surprise to Kyra, evident in the awe she initially expresses once she steps inside the manor. Maybe working with the Union paid better than she expected? She certainly wasn't getting paid period, that's for sure, which is partially why she took up the Syndicate side of things. She's long since cleaned herself up with multiple showers following last night's investigation into the sewers. As a result, she smells faintly like artificial strawberry flavoring and her skin seems even paler than usual. She carries a backpack with her and is still sporting parts of her Alexander Academy uniform...which seem to mostly be the skirt and who knows what kind of shirt that she keeps under her hoodie. It looks like Kyra doesn't obey whatever recommended footwear requirement they have since the boots remain. "Hi Ainsley." she half smiles, greeting her from the doorway of her office. "Um. How are you feeling today?"
Ainsley	Ainsley looks up from her book. She doesn't answer immediately, but she at least acknowledged that Kyra was there. The book gets closed with a soft thump noise, the latched closed with a 'click' noise of its own. She pulls the book off her desk, grunting as she sets it down in one of the drawers. She closes the drawer and locks it with another 'click.' She then straightens, and says, "Right. Kyra. Come on in," and she smiles pleasantly at the student. She gestures to the chair on the other side of the desk. "Sit. Please," she offers, in a tone suggesting that Kyra doesn't /have/ to sit down. "I wanted to talk to you to get a feeling for your history. Considering your unique circumstances, I think this conversation will benefit us. Are you comfortable talking about your past, Kyra?"
Kyra Hyral	The deliberate silence is a little intimidating to say the least but Kyra does not show that she's at all thrown off by this. Aware of the purpose of this meeting, she's half expecting a bit of lecturing to be involved, assuming Ainsley isn't the type of person to criticize in public. She walks into the office and unshoulders her backpack, letting it dangle in one arm and rest against the floor as she waits for Ainsley to say something. There's a look of concern that passes over her face as her question goes unaswered but it is gone quickly. Letting her backpack fall to the ground, she decides to take that chair and settles in, leaning her back against the back. "Oh, my history?" She seems a little surprised, then thoughtful. "Well. I'd be alright with talking to you about it, sure. What do you want to know?"
Ainsley	Ainsley smiles at Kyra. She seems genuine, but everything about her is careful, like she's measuring out how much friendliness is appropriate for this. The very mild awkward air in the lizard is evidenced by pauses that indicate that she's thinking on this more than most might. She seems slow, almost stiff, and definitely robotic in her movements, all except for the swaying of her tail. Deliberate is a very good word for it. "Your family is heavily associated with the Church of Cosma, and yet you have no visible connection to that faith in your appearance or your behavior. Why is that?"
Kyra Hyral	The lizardess is also scrutenized in a way, not quite...distrustfully but with a hint of wariness from the girl. It would be easy to chalk up the deliberate pauses as some kind of mind game but Ainsley doesn't quite strike her as the type to pull that, Kyra realizes. Her own gaze eventually drops down to watch the tail, which is honestly sort of distracting. The body language had to have some kind of meaning but damned if Kyra knew what it was. "Yeah. It sure is." A cocky grin forms on Kyra's face. "I decided to stop practicing. It was holding me back, keeping me down, and wasn't doing me any favors at school. So. You know. I stopped." She gestures with one of her hands, "My parents weren't too happy about that."
Ainsley	"Mmh." Ainsley furrowed her brows at Kyra's answer, yet confirmed her understanding of what the girl was saying. The cocky grin in particular, she didn't seem to approve of that, but instead of anger, it was more like... sadness. It was a brief change, interrupted by Ainsley distractedly fixing her paperwork on her desk for a second as a way to manage her emotion. Carefully fixing a stack of papers and setting it aside. "'Holding you back,' was it?" she wonders, confused by that part, as if it contradicted some sort of understanding she had about the topic. This next part is much more carefully said. It's QUITE clear she has a differing perspective that she's struggling to restrain, an effort meant to be a kindness so she doesn't anger Kyra or dredge up negative emotion on the subject. "Was practicing the faith causing trouble for you at the Academy? In what way, if so?"
Kyra Hyral	Kyra waits for a moment, watching the reaction. She actually isn't expecting much since she doubts Ainsley is very invested in the various faiths of her world. She knows Faruja got twitchy when she told him she wasn't a practitioner of Cosma nor was she really interested in joining his religion either. At the very least, Ainsley did seem a little confused as she takes that comment as a sign to continue. "Yeah, holding me back, keeping me from life. I didn't really -get- it until I went to Alexander Academy and met all those other people, you know? Yeah, Cosma Naturalis apparently causes problems around people that don't practice it! Imagine that, when a religion tells you that anyone that doesn't follow their ways is condemned that it doesn't play well with others. When my older brother graduated and Tira...well...you heard that story, right? Well when she was gone I was the only Hyral there. And I was -free-!" She speaks wildly now. Excitedly, often tripping over her words. "I made some friends and they opened my eyes."
Ainsley	Ainsley looks at Kyra with a quiet concern. There's a silence there, that same sadness like the excitement only made the worry worse the more it went on. Something is in Ainsley's increasingly tired stare, like the effort to maintain her guise of cheer and friendliness and kindness is becoming too great, and buckling under the increased stress. "I would wager a guess that this happened about a year ago." She frowns at Kyra, clearly hoping for an answer that contradicts this guess. "Is that about right?"
Kyra Hyral	Unfortunately for Ainsley... "Yeah, it did." Kyra declares, then pauses, realizing where Ainsley is going with this questioning, recalling her own comments from the previous night about her unpredictable magic, "Wait, are you going to suggest that Cosma has something to do with this?" Now she's frowning too. "No, that can't be it at all. People can use their magic fine without following /that/ religion just fine. They don't get weird, chaotic effects like I do. I don't think."
Ainsley	"You are different. I can see where the differences are plainly, now that I have had time to speak to you." Ainsley straightens and lets out a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment. She lets that pause give Kyra some time to prepare for the assessment, because it's quite clear that it's coming. "The others practice magic without connection to the faith because that is what they are. They have no feelings that are interfering with how they do what they do. They found their balance and they kept it, and that is their Pattern. They would only encounter problems if they tried to do things differently than what their balance would allow." "That is what you did. I am not suggesting that it is divine punishment. I am suggesting you erred away from fundamental tools you gained from your faith, and that is why your magic has become the way it is now. You have no way to direct it in the same way. And you need training to get that back. You need to get those tools, if you want to prevent recurring incidents." She puffs a sigh. "I am not telling you to go back to the Church. As one who escaped from a cult myself, I would never ask you to return to a way of life you did not agree with. I am suggesting that you need to develop new tools, or you will continue to encounter problems like what happened during the effort to help Phoenix, and what happened at Solomon Island." She gestures at Kyra, "The Church of Cosma is the life you grew up with, until you found out there was something else, and that the Church wasn't who you were. It was quite the same with me, but it took me years to understand how to even talk to people properly, because I lacked the tools a normal person had. I had to form those tools myself, and I still do. It is still a struggle." She smiles at Kyra gently, still seeming sad. "Does this help you at all? I became longwinded, I apologize."
Kyra Hyral	Kyra rests her elbows on the arms of the chair and threads her fingers together. She's got a defensive look on her face, unsure if she's going to be told to go back to the Church she's kicked to the curb. But to her credit, she doesn't interrupt, listening as the teacher speaks and gives her own explanation for the wild variations in her magic. She's actually rather impressed at how much Ainsley's absorbed about how her world works, speaking to the woman's attention to detail. "As an explanation, it makes sense." Kyra finally says after a long stretch of silence that was accompanied by a vaguely angry look on her face. "I did spend the majority of my life blindly following that faith thanks to my parents. I've got no intentions on going back. Ever. I'm done with that way of life. But...at the same time...it sounds like you're suggesting it's going to take /years/ to fix this problem." She doesn't seem very happy about that.
Ainsley	"What I'm suggesting is that it is going to continue being a problem until you make efforts to understand and fix it," Ainsley tells Kyra, holding up a hand in something of a placating gesture. "It was difficult for me because it was my emotions and my understanding of other people that needed to develop properly. I fear I have been stunted, because I was already well into adulthood by the time I realized what was wrong. It was not just a cult I was defying, but two decades of programming to be an emotionless puppet, without an identity." She clasps her hands, resting them in her lap. "Being free is not worth the pain of the people around you. I have hope that you can figure out how to solve this on your own, with time, and faster if you find the right people to help you. I ask that you at least try."
Kyra Hyral	Kyra continues to frown and look vaguely angry. "...I don't want to hurt my friends." she admits after a long stretch of silence, albiet being vaguely amused at their similar circumstances. Ainsley experienced a cult and Kyra is all too happy to apply that label to the Church of Cosma. "And I don't want to go back to the way I was before." Her shoulders slump. "I'll...try to look for something. I mean...I am still in school. There's probably a teacher somewhere."
Ainsley	"Unfortunately, my very rudimentary understanding of magic means I cannot provide these tools to you myself, especially since we're from different worlds. I'm a hedge mage at best, and my only strength is my sheer level of mana and combat experience." Ainsley shrugs at Kyra once, looking apologetic. And then she puffs a sigh. "You're a White Mage, right?" Rhetorical, because she continues, "It may be a good idea to seek out another White Mage that practices their magic without faith involved, and learn how they handled it."
Kyra Hyral	Kyra seems equally disappointed at this, actually, because with Ainsley she knows that she apparently cares if her magic is righted. Or at least she must if she was going through the trouble of asking her like this. "At least we have sheer levels of mana in common." she mutters, watching the lizardwoman, nodding along. "There's bound to be some in Galianda, despite what the Church says."
Ainsley	Ainsley nods to Kyra slowly, sad that she can't help directly. She looks down at her own hands for a second, thinking on the problem some more. Then she looks back up to Kyra and nods. "Remember: I am your ally, and hopefully someone who can earn your trust. I'll always be around if you experience a hardship... as a professor, it is my job to help you learn." "I have other questions, but that was the most pressing concern, so they can be saved for later. Do you need to go? I don't want to keep you here for longer than needed."
Kyra Hyral	"Yeah, I believe you." Kyra manages a weak smile. "You're pretty nice after all." And not bad for AUTHORITY. "I think the biggest problem will be finding someone suitable-" Read: someone who doesn't annoy the crap out of her. "-but, uh, we'll see." To the prospect of follow-up questions, Kyra raises an eyebrow. "Go? Only if something happens. I was planning on being on reserve tonight in case there was an attack."
Ainsley	"Right then..." Ainsley sniffs in through her nose. She is glad that she got to discuss this with Kyra and that it turned out positively. She drums the desk a couple times, her stress melting away somewhat when a possible avenue to solve the wild magic has been decided on. "What do you think of the Multiverse so far?" she wonders at Kyra, showing a brighter smile, now that the serious stuff is out of the way. The lizard girl gets up from her seat with a grunt, and steps over to a box off to the side. She digs through the box and acquires a pack of jerky from within. She pops a piece into her mouth, chewing on it while she waits on the answer. The bag is offered to Kyra, wordlessly asking if she wants some with her gaze.
Kyra Hyral	For a few moments, Kyra seems spaced out, perhaps mentally reviewing her options for those who might be available to teach her. Naturally, a few professors come to mind, but to get one of those people to help her privately would be tricky. Ainsley's question snaps her out of her thoughts. "Eh? Oh, it's pretty fun, actually! So much stuff to see, so many places to visit, people to meet! I don't think I'll ever get tired of exploring places!" The unvoiced question gets a nod and she leans forward, plucking a piece from the bag. "In spite of a few jerks coming to poke at Shiva, I'm glad the gate opened." She chews on the jerky. "Hey would you mind a personal question? What was this cult you were a part of?"
Ainsley	Ainsley looks pleased by Kyra's approval of the Multiverse. Considering her own experiences, it's nice to see people new to it that are so accepting of such a tremendous change. The lizard girl chews on more jerky, even when a question is given to her. She gives a nice healthy pause to think about whether she should answer that or not... her eyes lid for a second when she swallows that bite. "They're called the Grey Scholars." She opens her eyes. "Early on in the history of the Quetzal, the uh... metahuman race that I come from, there was a schism in the way they wanted history remembered. Some wanted it to be remembered more vaguely, with folk tales, because human history is filled with hardships and evils that no longered applied to people fundamentally transformed. The side that didn't agree with that was what would become the Grey Scholars. The First Quetzal was their founder... it's said she believed that recording history while letting one's heart guide the writing created biased and flawed accounts of events. She believed that if the historian could record history as impartially as possible, being able to prevent tragedy in the future would be easier, because there would be a clear understanding of events. The problem with this is that the historians do have emotions, and it's impossible to train those out of a person, not without very dark magic that they would not abide. So they train scholars from an early age to view things as objectively as possible... which leads to a problem where history has no meaning or substance any longer. Historians record events and people like they are numbers, and have a harder time understanding the meaning behind actions. What causes a war might be a land dispute, but that land dispute could have been sparked because of disagreements in philosophy, or religion, or previous actions of either side." "When I realized the entire mission of the Grey Scholars was impossible, I left. My father had fed me information for a long time that let me form a healthy perspective, which helped me figure it out. They excommunicated me, and eventually my mother lost her mind as a result of her inability to cope with my departure. Her whole reason for joining the Scholars was to protect me from religious influence she saw as corrupt." A beat. "They are not evil. But I believe they approach it wrong, and that their methods cause more problems than they solve."
Kyra Hyral	Kyra waits, chewing patiently as Ainsley decides over whether or not to answer her question. She appears to be perfectly okay with refusal of her question since it did sound like something pretty personal. The information hadn't been volunteered earlier but at the same time the conversation had been focused on her magical issues. Much to Kyra's surprise and delight, Ainsley does offer information. She listens as she describes the cult, much to her surprise which seemed more academic than religious. In fact, it seemed the exact opposite of religious which is what Kyra typically mentally associated with cults. "...does this cult still exists as it did? With the objectivity and all? Have they realized the problem you discovered with the cult?"
Ainsley	Ainsley pops another piece of jerky into her mouth, chewing on it. She quirks a brow, the question getting some curiosity out of her. "That's the problem, though..." She shakes her head, the thought not sitting right with her. Setting the bag on her desk and pushing it over to Kyra, she lets the girl enjoy as much of it as she likes. It's smoked, definitely beef, kind of sweet compared to most jerky flavors. "They think they are objective. Which means they cannot figure out their own hands in front of their faces when it comes to the flaws in their organization." She crosses her arms, playing with one of her sleeves. Her chair creaks when she leans back in it. "I doubt it has changed very much at all. Or if they did, they haven't closed up shop because of it. I haven't worried about it... and I'm not going to perpetuate the same argument that led to the creation of the Grey Scholars, anyways. If they really think that's the way to go, I'd only stop them if they actually started causing problems for the world and not just for themselves."
Kyra Hyral	Kyra enthusiastically chews on the jerky once she recognizes the familiar taste. She may have been half-expecting some kind of exotic meat flavor or meat but this was perfectly fine to her too. "That's sort of ironic. They tried so hard to eliminate emotions to eliminate biases in history recording. Yet they're so biased that their own method is correct that they won't consider the evidence to the otherwise." She leans back in her chair, thoughtful. "So they just let you leave? Just like that? Or did they try to make you stay?"
Ainsley	"The problem with leaving is that many just end up hermits, insane, dead or, in rare cases, they just come back." Ainsley breathes through her nose. "My father left before I did. I never saw him again. I don't know if he's alive, but in my world, if you disappear off the face of the planet, you're probably dead. That's just how it is... without someone to protect you, you end up dead very fast." Her jaw tenses a couple times at the thought. "I did not lift a finger to help them when my mother went mad, but I will tell you something..." "It hurts to be away from them, even after I learned that their methods are wrong. And I won't ever tell them that, because they are unlikely to appreciate it." She frowns. "Do you have any other questions?" she wonders, subtly indicating that she's not really inclined to speak about this anymore.
Kyra Hyral	Kyra nods along, looking saddened as Ainsley admits her parents are in a pretty terrible state-one likely dead, the other mad. She seemed to be thoughtful about something for a moment but she realizes the tone of the lizardwoman towards the end there. This was a subject she really din't want to talk about further. With a sad smile, she shakes her head. "Not about that, no. Thank you for telling me more about it, though." She finishes off the piece of jerky and leans forward a little, clearly seeking another.