Scene #2247: Cookies and Families

Owner	Pose
Ainsley	Ainsley left the door unlocked. Entering the kitchen, one would find that it's got a wall covered in counters, with some manner of brass-colored magitech refrigerator, as well as matching microwave and oven, with a sink and cabinets. The kitchen is covered in flowery designs, clearly built for Ainsley's sake. And the counter island is covered with containers filled with... cookie ingredients. She has everything out for the baking process. Ainsley is even wearing a big apron that says, 'Kiss The Cook' but with a bunch of little red heart designs, and pink background.
Kyra Hyral	It takes a bit of time for Kyra to get here and she clearly arrives alone. Like before, Kyra lets herself in, coming to expect the door being left open for her. She makes her way right into the kitchen, quieting the dull roar of her radio as she does so. It's quickly revealed that the reason she's so late is she bought a potted African violet on the way over, knowing just how much Ainsley liked flowers. The purple-flowered plant is tucked under an arm as she steps into the kitchen. Kyra looks like she might not have slept very well last night. There's a weariness about her that wasn't there before. Most notably, she doesn't seem very pleased at the moment either as might be expected from finally being free of her parents.
Ainsley	Ainsley looks at Kyra for a second. She doesn't smile, but it's not neutral. There's a somber kind of look to the reptile woman. She steps up and gently accepts the flower, with a "Thank you~" with plenty of sweetness. She sets that aside on a clear spot on one of the counters. Then she carefully looks Kyra in the eyes, not nearly as ... gloomy as she was when she recommended the girl find some help for her abilities. Then she steps away and picks through the ingredient containers. "Cookies," she tells Kyra, "We'll be making those. While we do this, we can talk as much or as little as you want about what happened. I have some things to say about it, but only if you want to hear them. Okay? If you don't want to talk about it... we'll just make cookies." She smiles and watches Kyra's face, searchingly.
Kyra Hyral	Perhaps in start contrast, the gloom has come to Kyra instead. It's true when she says she still seems in shock about what happened last night and it's quite possible she has not yet /really/ broken down over her loss. "Cookies, huh?" Kyra gravitates over to the table, regarding the ingredients, "What kind of cookies are these going to be? I don't see banana anywhere-" what? Well. Ainsley might have heard of Kyra's reputation at school for being an -extremely- bad chef. "I'm curious about what you want to say, Ainsley." she doesn't sound apprehensive at all, but still weary. Not everyone has been accepting of her choice, friends in the Light Warriors included.
Ainsley	Ainsley searches more, her smile fading. She was... actually hoping she wouldn't have to explain this. She looks down at the ingredients for a second, an awkward silence overtaking her. Her tail wiggles behind her. Eventually she starts putting together basic cookie ingredients into a bowl, and then starts putting the additives into separate bowls of their own for Kyra to choose from. Various nuts, some chocolate chips and other classic cookie ingredients. "When I left my family, I didn't have anyone," she tells Kyra, her voice quiet when she turns to look back to Kyra. "I thought it was the right choice. That their teachings were wrong, and that I had to find the answer myself." She lids her eyes. "Part of me was right, and I think... Now I think I was also being selfish." She looks back to the ingredients, staring into the bowl. "They were still my family. Though they were... crazy, and didn't really show love, they wanted to protect me, or teach me a lesson... And even if I didn't mean anything to them in the end, they still meant everything to me when I left them." Her eyes water when she admits this, though she continues without a crack in her voice. "Keep loving your family. Don't hate them for what they did. Love them, even if it hurts, and they won't return that feeling, or respect who you are. Love them because they are your family." She breathes a big, shaky sigh, and fiddles her fingers together nervously in front of her chest, feeling the flour against her digits. "Your decisions hurt them as much as theirs hurt you," she says, "And that hurt won't go away anytime soon. It's been years for me, and it still hurts. It's important to understand what this all means."
Kyra Hyral	The initial look of disbelief on her face as Ainsley starts to talk suggests that...yeah, she really did need this explained. At this point in the aftermath, the thought that she'd actually miss the rest of her family never occured to her. Perhaps the finality of 'forever' in terms of being cut off hadn't sunk in quite yet. But in a way, knowing what she did when she spoke with Ainsley last time, she is unsurprised and comforted that Ainsley understands what happened and to some extent why Kyra did what she did. "Are you saying that I'm going to regret doing this? Leaving them?" Sullenly, she moves to pour chocolate chips into the mixing bowl, perhaps even ahead of when they're supposed to go in. "They used me as a political pawn and continue to do so now. I'm going to have a /hard time/ loving them after all they've done to me my life."
Ainsley	Ainsley gets out the mixing tools when Kyra puts the chocolate chips in, carefully mixing all of the ingredients together and making sure that the chocolate chips get distributed evenly. While she does this, she tries to think of how to address the topic of regret. "Yes," she decides to answer, "It'll likely hurt for a long time, until there's no more room for it to hurt. You do not have to fix them or make them understand. It would be noble to try, but after a point, all adults are responsible for their own decisions. If you try and it does not work, remember that despairing would also not help them understand." She looks at Kyra carefully. "I urge you not to hate them without first trying to understand what would lead them to their decision. To research that political world of theirs and determine how necessary or thoughtless it may have been. Once you understand, you will have an easier time knowing just how tragic or cruel the decision was." She turns to retrieve a cookie sheet from a cabinet, preparing a spoon to move the cookie dough. "My banishment was whole and ruthless, and I spent years on my own. I was aimless and alone. But now I am here for you, and everyone else you know in the Union is, too. Your friends in the Academy, your real friends, will still accept you. You are young, and you will survive."
Kyra Hyral	There is a look of constrained confusion on Kyra's face as she tries to grasp Ainsley's words, all the while seeing to the mixing of the ingredients. It is a gooc thing that Ainsley is there to help follow the instructions on cookie making else Kyra would have deliberately messed them up alwady. "In my case, trying to fix it would be futile. They've made up their mind and there's no going back for them, no matter what they see or hear about me. I doubt they'd even show up for my funeral if I died." In that moment she does get a bit of insight: in that case it wouldn't hurt as much for her parents. Still, what a selfish thing to do. "I won't be alone." she acknowledges with a weak smile. "I have you. I have my friends." She seems far more comfortable with this topic than the hypothetical of loving and/or missing her family.