[School] Club Nidawi's Clubroom [East Building]

After Elvina had picked up her laptop, Cansu had said her goodbyes to the principal and his assistant, before following Elvina out of the office. 'I'm glad I'm out of there...' She wasn't eaten, but meeting the principal had been far from pleasant. It had only increased her confusion and it had further raised her doubts. Especially the question as to how he knew about her arrival had managed to root itself in her mind. 'A truly curious thing...'

Having been guided through the school once more, Cansu was eventually lead into the clubroom. As she knew barely anything about this club, or about the school in general, she was interested to see where she had ended up. Besides, if they really were Fae, and if they didn't intend to sacrifice her for cultist reasons, she could finally let her guard down a bit. That'd be nice. She then noticed what she perceived to be another Faery. 'So there are really more of us here... She's pretty large though... I guess she's an earth Faery. I think those were taller than most of us...' Regardless of the other Faeries race, it was truly surprising to meet another Faery.

The other Faery didn't notice her though, as she flew directly towards Elvina and asked about the new member she had been talking about. After a greeting, Elvina introduced Cansu and Shaela. 'Wait. She's the treasurer? So it's not a Leprechaun after all... Thank heavens.' A fellow Faery was far better than a Leprechaun, after all. Just as she wished to say something, Elvina asked if she wanted something to drink. Yet before she could answer that, she got distracted by Shaela's inspection. As the taller Faery flew around her, clearly studying her, Cansu started to feel mildly uncomfortable.

The other Faery then asked about her joining the club and about where she was from. 'Does being forced into the club by the principal count as looking to join it?' Cansu decided not to voice this question. However, now that Cansu had a chance to speak up, she decided to start with a greeting. “Ehh... Hello.” It came out quite awkwardly. 'That was not what I intended to say...' Sadly enough, it seemed like this was now part of her history, as the set-in-stone event of her greeting a Faery of another race for the first time. 'Great...'

Trying to regain some composure, she answered Elvina's question whether she wanted something to drink. “No thanks.” Cansu was still trying to keep down the bitter tea from earlier, after all. She then faced the other Faery again. “I'm from the south-east.” She'd have answered more thoroughly, but she had never really seen where she lived on a map. She just knew that she had travelled mostly to the north-west to reach DD Nen. “I'm not sure where exactly, but I think it would take a few weeks to fly there from here.” If Cansu would have travelled in a straight line, she would've been able to give a more clear answer, but this was the best she could do for now. 'I guess I'd eventually figure it out with one of those maps though... Eventually...'

Tags: @Ning_Yue

The bigger Faery had kept circling around her, until she asked 'South-west?' which Cansu correct with “No, I'm pretty sure it was south-east.” She wasn't sure if Shaela had misheard her, or if the bigger Faery didn't trust what she had said. Whatever it was, Cansu was fairly sure that she had mostly flown north-west, meaning that she came here from the south-east. 'It seems like she doesn't trust me much, even though I'm a fellow Faery. I wonder why. Maybe she thinks I'm the kind of water Faery that tries to lure others into the water to drown them?' Cansu wasn't sure what had caused the distrust from the fellow Faery, nor did she know what her fellow Faery meant with the 'must be tough for you' that was uttered with a tense voice. That said, when the bigger Faery gestured her to follow her to the couch, she gladly followed her there, so that she could rest her tired wings.

Elvina would then ask her about a 'mobility aid' to help her move around. They then started to talk about some creature called 'Donovan' which was apparently Shaela's mobility aid. 'What in the world are they even talking about...?' As if being psychic, Elvina confirmed that Donovan was indeed Shaela's mobility aid, although it still didn't really teach her much about what those mobility aids were supposed to be all about, hence she'd ask the inevitable question... “Eh... What's a mobility aid?” Since they were talking about this 'Donovan' as if he was able to make his own decisions, it was clear the mobility aid wasn't a machine or anything, but rather a sentient being. That said, Cansu doubted that the Fae in DD Nen were the kind of Fae that somehow ordered humans and the likes to help them get around, so the most logical option was that these 'mobility aids' were some sort of animals. “Are you talking about some sort of animal?” There was one thing that concerned her, if that turned out to be the case. 'I really hope they don't mean birds...' Figuring that she'd better be safe than sorry, she decided to follow it up with; “If so... what kind of animals are mobility aids..?"

Although she was fairly confused about all this 'mobility aid' stuff, as well as somewhat concerned about the potential involvement of birds, Elvina followed up with a more understandable question; whether she wanted fruits or cookies. 'If they've got something sweet, I could finally get the taste of that tea out of my mouth...' Cansu decided to risk it, and accepted the offer; “If you've got something sweet, that'd be nice, please.” After all, she was among fellow Fae now, and it didn't seem like they wanted to sacrifice her for whatever goal. She was starting to get a lot more comfortable then when she was with the principal, although she'd still be somewhat tense, mainly because of how her fellow Faery had also remained tense.

Tags: @Agent_No-Bento

After a snarky comment from Shaela, Elvina started to explain Cansu what the 'mobility aid' thing was about. Or at least, that was what she seemed to be trying. 'I can guess that is a way to help me get around from the name 'mobility aid,' but that still doesn't explain the 'how', the 'why' or the 'when' of it...' Elvina then also went on to talk about someone she hadn't heard about before, some 'Shelia,' whom apparently assisted with these so-called mobility aids. Seeing how Elvina had rushed off to get the food, Cansu would look at Shaela and ask her: “Who's Shelia? Another Fae?” Cansu wondered what kind of Fae was able deliver these 'mobility aids', whatever they were.

Shaela would then say she'd start from the beginning, telling her to pay attention. Cansu would nod at her. The average Water Faery wasn't too good at paying attention, but luckily enough she wasn't average. Shaela started by saying that mobility aids were animals, all sorts of them. 'Working with birds.... No thanks... Also; water-swimming? How will a fish help me get around the school...?' Magikarp used Splash. The introduction was already confusing Cansu, but for now she'd just stick with the idea of 'land-dwelling' animals as 'mobility aids.' It seemed like the other two categories were mentioned just for the sake of it, not for the practicality.

As Cansu was wondering about it, Elvina arrived with the awfully bitter tea again... and proceeded to pour her a cup of it. 'That's it. They want to poison me. No matter how often I'll try to politely decline, they'll just keep pouring in this bitterness...' However, there were also some cookies broken into Faery sized pieces, so Cansu gladly took one to those to nibble on. 'It's sweet~' She would keep nibbling on it while listening to the other Faery.

Shaela then continued with her explanation. Apparently people went to catch animals at the Northern forest, but they had to prove them their 'strength'... 'Prove our strength...? I don't know a single Faery whom would try anything as stupid as to try to pick a fight with an animal rather than to run from them immediately... It's run or get eaten, not 'pick a fight'... Is she even a real Faery? Thinking we can prove strength to animals, our predators, that's even more insane than wishing to defend ourselves better... If my father would hear this, he'd say she's even crazier than me...' Already, Cansu was in severe doubt about whatever they seemed to have in mind.

Shaela continued. She claimed to be capable of forming contracts between animals and others, something that Elvina doubled down upon. She also said Cansu would have to 'prove her worth' to Shaela. 'I'm fairly good at flying for my life, and I can use a bit of healing magic... I'm not sure if that's considered to be worth anything.' They then continued about two different forms of bonds. It was quite the exposition chunk of information at once, so Cansu had to pay careful attention.

It was only after Shaela asked her 'So what do you think?' that she had time to think about it. 'What do I think about it..?' For a moment Cansu had to ask herself the same question. 'I definitely think tying your own life to that of an animal is the purest possible form of absolute insanity. Who in their right mind would do something that is this level of stupid? Even if they die a natural death from old age, animals die a lot sooner than Faeries. I think most types of animals don't even get older than thirty naturally, so you'd effectively cut down your lifespan by around forty years at the least... That's insane. That's absolutely insane. It doesn't even take into account that you could just randomly die because the animal was stupid enough to get run over by a car or to fly against a window...'

If Cansu remembered correctly, there were a few animals that grew older, like tortoises or elephants. 'Although the animals that get older probably wouldn't be of much use as mobility aids... It would be fun to have an elephant though... They won't get run over by cars or fly into windows either, although I guess birds were out of the option from the start of it.' If Cansu were to ever form a contract as crazy as the 'equal partnership' it would have to be with an animal that would have a far better life-expectancy as she had, both naturally and in terms of strength and power. 'Like an elephant, or maybe a rhino.' That said, it'd probably impossible to get one of those with where they were, let alone that she would be able to 'prove her strength' to such a big and strong creature. 'I guess that 'equal partnership' stuff is not an option, no matter how you look at it, it's just insane.'

Cansu didn't get at all why someone would wish to risk their lives, or in case they choose animals with shorter lifespans, purposely decide to die young; just for the sake of having a 'better companion' due to compatibility or whatever. As such, Cansu started to debate the other option. Absolute control sounded like a good thing. It'd help her if she had an animal that could deal with other predators, something that she could command to fight them off for her. She could always just heal it afterwards, if that compatibility stuff was truly an issue. The listening part and the 'not-dying' part were very attractive with the option. However.... 'It's true that I was looking for ways to defend against predators and humans, and I get that this requires fighting fire with fire... But commanding an animal around like that... I'm not sure.'

She didn't know if it was just a remnant of her Faery upbringing, or if it was actually her voice of reason speaking to her, but for some reason it didn't sound very attractive to command an animal around, no matter how convenient it would be. 'Maybe it the idea that I might end up commanding something I always ran away from just feels strange...' She wasn't sure. Even so, this option too, required a 'test of strength,' whatever that would end up being. 'I think I heard tales about Forest Faeries saving animals from the traps of hunters and then befriending them... I wonder if I could find a human that is willing to place traps, so that I could save the animals from them and heal them. Would that count as a good way to show 'strength' and form a contract?' She wasn't sure. It probably wasn't, and she didn't even dare to suggest it.

She realized that she'd been overthinking it so much, that she had stared blankly at her now cold cup of tea for quite a while. 'I hope that will at least give me an excuse not to drink it.' Putting the tea aside, Cansu had managed to find an answer to the whole animal mobility aid thing. “No thanks.” She wasn't sure what to expand on, so she'd just wait to test the reaction, hoping that declining all this crazy stuff altogether was an acceptable option. 'Or maybe this whole thing was just some sort of introduction test, to see if I'd be sane enough to decline this stuff altogether...' Cansu truly wasn't sure, but she'd stick with her answer and await whatever reaction.

Tags: @Agent_No-Bento

Elvina had clarified that Shelia was meant to have been Shaela, which helped Cansu fit some things into place. However, the fact that she'd been asked for clarification made her seem so nervous that Cansu herself got nervous just from looking at her. 'It's like she's spreading an infective aura of nervousness...' Despite of this, she didn't seem to be surprised by Cansu's denial. 'I guess they realize how ridiculous all of this is. That's a relief.' She then followed it up by saying that Shaela's explanation wasn't the best. 'Does that mean there's a way to make any of this sound... not ridiculous?' Cansu doubted it. Even so, she'd be interested to hear it from Elvina... were it not that Elvina would stand up and pretty much continued to run out. 'Wait...'

Just as Cansu was starting to wonder if she had scared the girl off, Shaela shrugged, admitted that she wasn't good with words, and then told her she couldn't rely on just herself if she wanted to survive in this school. 'There she goes again... with the 'survive' and getting animals to 'fight' and whatnot... How literally does she mean all of that that? It doesn't sound like it's solely a figure of speech... This is a school though, which is supposed to be at least somewhat safe, right..? Otherwise my reason for coming here is pretty much... gone, I guess.' Cansu wanted to ask about it, but Shaela had closed her eyes... 'How rude...' After making a comment about 'surviving' like that, she'd either have to explain herself better or show that it was just a figure of speech. This was just... 'strange.'

Her thoughts were interrupted by the return of Elvina, whom had brought her what I think is meant to be orange juice. Glad to have something other then the tea that was far too bitter for her tastes, she'd say “Orange juice is fine, thanks.” while accepting it and starting to sip from it. Meanwhile, Elvina would sit down, as she would soon open the floodgate of exposition start talking about the whole bond thing once more.

To Cansu's surprise, it was apparently possible to use the bond thing on humans as well. 'That's insane... You could bind everyone you wanted to do your bidding.' It seemed to be something extremely powerful. 'I could even make a Faery Hunter kill the other Faery Hunters and fight fire with fire in the most literal way. Make him burn his comrades down.' This lugubrious train of thought would soon be interrupted by Elvina's follow-up. 'She sounds so nervous...' Cansu wasn't sure whether she was annoyed by it, or if she felt sorry for Elvina. It was probably a bit of both. Hence she decided to do her best to follow along with the explanation, despite her doubts about whether it would change her mind in any form her way.

It seemed like the pro's of the master-servant bond weren't as great as was suggested by Shaela. 'So you can't ask for anything too extreme. Wait... you can't even go against their personal beliefs? Do animals even have those...? How much of what a human wants can be counted as their personal belief..?' With the introduction of this concept of 'personal belief' it was suddenly quite unclear what she could or couldn't expect from this whole master-servant relationship thing. The example given to her wasn't clear either. 'Isn't eating grass or meat based on the animal's biological constitution... what about it is supposed to be a part of any sort of belief? Maybe some of the more mythical creatures could have beliefs. Normal animals though... I don't think they can even have such a thing as beliefs. They just eat grass or meat depending on what their stomach can digest, and solely for the sake of preventing starvation.' It also seemed like 'something would backfire' if the contract was broken.

Just as Cansu was starting to wonder more and more about it, Elvina told her that she could feel free to interrupted her. Deciding not to waste any time on it, she'd immediately do exactly that by interrupting Elvina after the 'do your best alright' part of her speech. “I don't get the personal belief part. I always thought that eating grass or meat was just something animals did depending on what they could digest, just like how only predators would go after us Faeries, while herbivores would keep us alone because they can't digest us. Are you suggesting that predators have other reasons to eat us based on something like a personal belief, that there's more to it then just the basics of needing to hunt for nutrition...?” It was quite a scary thought; to think that they were eaten for other reasons then the predator's survival. “Oh, and what do you mean with backfiring?”

Elvina then renamed 'bond' to 'contract' again, something she had done for at least a second time. 'I guess she means the same thing with both these words?' Cansu wasn't sure about it, as 'bond' sounded a lot friendlier while 'contract' sounded a lot more professional. However, since both were used in an interchangeable way, they probably referred to the same thing. Elvina then said that both held fifty percent of control in the equal partnership thing. 'Wait what... It means I'll have to allow an animal or whatever to control me...?' Remembering that she was told that she free to interrupt, she'd immediately do so. “Hold up. Sharing control? What does that mean? Does it mean I'd have to let the animal or whatever decide my actions half of the time...?” If that was the case, the answer would most definitely remain a firm 'no' to this part of the whole proposal.

Elvina continued about something regarding breaking the contract. Although she had ignored it earlier, she felt like she basically had to ask about it, now it was brought up yet again. “The whole bond or contract thing. I'm sorry, but I don't get it. How does it affect the animal's capacity to function? How can it give me control over them? What exactly is broken about it when either of us would be unhappy with it? Also, you said there were no cost, but what kind of cost would we otherwise talk if there were some? It feels like you're holding back something.” She realized that she was overloading the already nervous Elf with questions, so she'd quickly follow it up with; “I'm sorry. I don't want to be be mean or anything. It just seems like all of this is really important, so I'd rather know as much about this as I possibly can. I'm not trying to be difficult on purpose, I just want to be able to make a well-educated decision, if I were to decided to go along with any of this.”

Shaela was pretty correct. They'd probably do well by making a manual about this entire thing at some point, otherwise the poor Elvina would probably end up with a nervous breakdown eventually. Even so, Elvina wasn't finished yet. She introduced yet another concept 'synchronicity,' a word entirely unknown to Cansu. The 'incredible things beyond belief' didn't really explain anything either. She also said that their lifespans would synchronize, which raised yet another question. In other words, Cansu had to interrupt Elvina to overload her with questions once more. “What is syncro-.. synchronicis? What are those incredible things beyond belief? Also, if our lifespan synchronizes, does that mean some of my lifespan goes to the animal, and that I'll die younger, or that it happens the other way around if it was a long-living animal? How would the death of one of us cause the other to die?” Cansu had barely been able to follow along with any of it, which would be both visible and audible. Especially the last question was something that she'd need to have answered. She didn't like the idea of placing her life in the hands of another, be they animal or human, or whatever other creatures existed. If the aim was to make her talk more, they had easily succeeded by now. 'The way she talked right now makes it sound like they're trying to fool me by selling me worthless items. How much more vague can you get? Ising phrases such as incredible thing beyond belief...'

Sadly enough, Cansu's mind couldn't calm down just yet. Elvina had even more to say. Physical strength wasn't needed. 'That's exactly what I was wondering about before. It's like she read my mind. Or maybe Shaela messed up explaining this more than once before...' Regardless, that last part was at least somewhat of a relief, as she actually understood it this time around. Even so, she did wish to ask a question about it. “I know the the arts of healing that have been passed down through generations of our clan's Water Faeries. Do you think that'd impress anyone or anything? I don't think I've got much else to offer.” Cansu decided there was not much harm in admitting the limits of what they could expect from her, as it seemed like they might otherwise overestimate her, and put her in a needlessly dangerous situation.

Finally, the conversation switched towards Shaela and Donovan. They bonded based on 'smelling familiar' or something... 'I'd have to make myself smell like an animal..?' For some reason, neither Shaela nor Elvina had said anything about what Donovan was. It was as if they purposely tried to hide it from her. If she wasn't growing more suspicious again already, she was certainly becoming suspicious again by now. She decided to be straight to the point. “You've been talking about Donovan a few times now, but I've got no clue what he is. Is he an animal? If so, what kind? Also, it sounds like you did that equal partnership thing with him? Is that correct? If so, what made you decide to risk sharing your life expectancy with an animal?” Although she'd try her best to sound 'neutral' during her questions, her thoughts weren't. 'Please don't say it's a bird... Please don't say you're actually someone who'd tie their life to that of an animal...' Cansu had already trouble to swallow all of this, so she surely didn't need any more confusion...

As it they were trying to mentally break her down, the last part was what entirely destroyed her attempts to remain mentally calm and collected. She'd do her best not to show it too much, but she was pretty confused by this information overload. It was especially so because they had mentioned mentioned 'surviving' yet again, in a way that seemed to be more literally than figuratively. This time, she decided to straight up ask them about it. “Surviving a school festival? Couldn't I just sit stuff like that out somewhere alone? Also, forgive me for asking a strange question, but what would having such an aid do to help 'surviving' a school festival, and what exactly do you mean by having to survive it? I've managed to escape from multiple predators before, animal and human alike, so getting away from someone annoying or avoiding crowded places shouldn't be too hard. Are you saying that there something more dangerous than those things here, or am I misunderstanding your usage of surviving?” From the many questions that were coming from Cansu's side, it was clear that she was willing to do her best to understand things, but that she was struggling quite a lot do to so.

Tags: @Ning_Yue