Live and Learn

Thread Status:closed
Players involved: KokoPuffs and tortricidae
Characters involved: Aziza and Killian
Setting: Malseka City
Time: Current, Early morning.
Weather: Clear skyes with a speckling of clouds in the distance





The day started off early, though for her it always did; she enjoyed the time when the sun was still breaking up from the horizon and filling the land below with it's warming light. The breeze was calm and cool though, different from the warmth or even heat of the rest of the day. It made things seem quite peaceful around the city. Other moved about with their morning routines, whether that be shopping, working, or even just enjoying the early morning light; each had their own reasonings to being up at this hour. Aziza, who had made her way to her favorite place, always found went early to the cities library; it was her favorite place to go as she loved to read. Anything from scrolls of magic and books that told marvelous stories, the Sphinx enjoyed them more than anything in the world. Sometimes more than the company of others, not that she was opposed to being around people, but meeting others had always been quite hard for her.

This was the reason why the woman had found the perfect place in the library, where she could sit and read to her own devices. People would pass by here and there, but no one seemed to notice her sitting there; which for her was quite alright, that meant she would be less disturbed as she enjoyed herself that morning. Aziza curled up her legs close to her body, a book laid gently in her lap as her eyes scanned back and forth; reading over the words inside. "ooooooh~" she said softly to herself, voice gentle with the enjoyment she had, "I do suppose that's one way to go about it."  The female Sphinx bit down upon her thumb delightfully, very enthralled in what she was reading at the moment. It certainly would not take much to frighten the woman, that was something that was for certain.

Xira was a lot different than Sleibte, hell even a lot different than Yfrelo. There was prosperity in the sense that there were resources for utilization, and everything melted together in a huge puddle of cultures from all manner of species and lands. It was a breath of fresh air if Killian was being honest with himself.

He'd begged Magnus for a break. Just a week or so to clear his head and learn about his own kind in some capacity. It had come after a rather heated debate regarding where he was spending his nights. Bundled in the archives for hours looking into things that didn't matter. Following leads that didn't exist on some mission to understand something that was irrelevant.

Magnus wanted Killian to stay focused on the task at hand and Killian wanted to understand more about himself and why he couldn't seem to connect with anything that was humanoid. Even in his false human skin. Even when he tried his best to explain and detail and convince. They always knew that he wasn't worth a damn. Not in the humanoid's house.

But this was all for research and the opportunity to develop magic that would change the world as a whole. He just needed to prove it to a very skeptical and belligerent crowd.

Malseka proved to be a wondrous place with dozens of opportunities to learn. Killian had come with a couple things specifically in mind, but he wouldn't pigeonhole himself to one or two subject matters if he could absorb a lot more than that. He decided to visit the city library. One of the neater and more organized of the lot, but he was eager to get started while the sun was still just barely peeking over the horizon.

He gathered many tomes, some dusty, some fresh, but he was a quick study and was prepared to stay all day and take notes upon notes upon notes. He carried his books carefully, grunting as he slid the stack onto the table across from the other patron.

"Excuse me," Killian whispered. "Do you mind if I use this table space? I have research to do."

Aziza was certainly in her own little world at that point, like she'd zoned out and didn't even care of where she was at the moment. Even with people passing by here and there, it did not break her from her concentration. This was typical of her day really, as if her environment didn't even matter. Her mind was in one place and one place only, lost within the world and words on the content she was reading; fingers delicately holding the hard covered book. She would have stayed like for hours if the sound of another's voice didn't jolt her out of her little trance. The woman almost jumped out of her skin, causing her to let out a surprised gasp in return. Sure, the man had whispered to her, but that did not make it all the less jarring of an experience.

Her eyes soon glanced up to meet his own, teeth gently biting upon her bottom lip nervously. Alright, this was ok, right? All she needed to do was answer him, though that was certainly proving to be the hardest thing in the world right now. It usually was for her, her social skills weren't the greatest and she was quite shy at that. Why did this have to be so hard? The poor woman could feel the anxiety building up in her chest, but did her best to keep herself prom panicking. In a soft voice, a gentle whisper really, she eventually responded to this gentleman's question. "S... sure..." was all she seemed to be able to get out, her face soon buried back into her book as a way to calm herself.

Maybe Jek was absolutely wrong in assuming that Killian wasn't a natural born killer. With the way she had responded, Killian would have guessed that he scared the living daylights out of her. While he appeared human, he sincerely doubted that to be the truth of the matter. She had likely been absorbed in her book, much like Killian was about to be absorbed in his own books.

Except he could carry a conversation at the same time. (Years of practice at the college and perhaps a bit of magical assistance in reading and learning as much as he could as fast as he could.)

"I didn't mean to scare you," Killian whispered. "I'll be quiet. Try to be quiet. Sometimes I mutter while I work."

Speaking of, he wandered away and brought over another ridiculously huge stack of books. All of them about magic upkeep and restorative properties unrelated to healing flesh. It was dry stuff for just about anyone who wasn't into the art. And if he applied himself, he could get through all the books before lunch time. Then he could start the philosophy of humankind and perhaps books pertaining to psychology and behavior.

If he was extra diligent, he could move onto the subject of his own kind, but he hadn't really found too much while browsing. He would likely have to refine his search.

The woman took in a deep breath through her nose, holding it for just a moment before blowing the air slowly through her lips; this helped a little, but didn't help the anxiety she felt with someone sitting so close. Not that she minded of course, but for her it was very startling. Aziza didn't even really look up at him when he spoke to her again, she felt it would only make it all the worse if she tried to answer back. Well, she did eventually speak back to him, though that probably took much longer than she expected.. or he expected for that matter. Maybe it was just her own mind making it seem like time had taken a giant leap before she formed any words. Why was she even overthinking this anyway? Oh, that's right, it was because she was nervous right now. 

Once again Aziza breathed as lightly and calmly as she could, yellow eyes peeking up over the book she held in front of her. "I... it's quite alright," she spoke softly, "I. I don't mind... whatever uh... helps you work b..better." Her eyes gazed back down at her book once again, though she peeked over once more to look at the man. She could find herself being just a bit curious about them. Perhaps it was their aura, in a way they seemed quite stressed if anything. Somehow, it also seemed to scream that they might not even be human. It wasn't that uncommon for some creatures to be able to genetically have their original form and a human one as well. Aziza was an example of that, she only used her birth form when at home.

Killian was hyper aware of how uncomfortable his company was. He pushed that insecurity to the side as he placed his own book of notes - written in a specific language he had developed - on the table and opened three of the books he had stacked in the piles. The longer strands of his hair traced along the paragraphs as he read two or three books at once. With a tiny flick of his eyes, the pages would turn, but he wasn't going to be rude to the woman sitting across from him.

"What are you reading about?" he asked softly, nose almost touching the page as he read and scribbled notes at the same time. "If you don't mind my asking. I am paying attention even though I am reading."

As almost to prove it, he looked up at her while he wrote his notes. He looked a bit more serious than he had intended, but he was neck deep in the mathematical analysis of spirit magic diffusion in the atmosphere at specific altitudes and the implications as temperature was brought into the equation. There were a number of graphs and formulas.

All dry stuff, but fascinating for someone whose whole life was drenched in the stuff.

Every now and then the woman would peek up over her book at the other, watching him slightly before moving her eys back onto the pages. She didn't want to seem like she was watching him, or even staring at him for all the matter! Her curiosity was starting to get the better of her though, and why not? Aziza couldn't really help but notice how her didn't event touch the pages to turn them, but instead they seemed to flip to the next with just a flick of his eyes. It was a curious thing to watch really, considering the man's human appearance; unless he was diverse in magic that is, which would explain it. Yet, she couldn't help but to wonder if perhaps he wasn't human at all. Many creatures had a gene that helped them transform into a human-like appearance. It was actually what she was reading about too, as she had always been curious about the gene. 

Aziza was a bit startled once again when the man spoke towards her, her heart pounding lightly in her chest. The woman took a deep breath in, then slowly let it out. "I.. I'm reading about the gene that can genetically change the makeup of non-human being and give them a human appearance," the Sphinx bit down onto her bottom lip, "and how it can be passed down genetically from parent to child.." Her face flushed lightly, feeling a little bit silly for her curiosity on the subject; especially since the other was looking at far more interesting looking material. Then again, this was interesting to her and it was all that really mattered. She shouldn't really feel embarrassed for something so simple, right? No, of course not, that was trivial and silly.

Killian hummed thoughtfully. "That's interesting. A woman of engineering. I didn't know that was linked to a specific gene."

Perhaps that wasn't the word he wanted to use. There wasn't a real art or branch of study that focused on those specifics. Genes and the like. Killian considered himself an engineer because that was the word that was available, though he considered that to be too specific when he was looking at graphs and hypothetical scenarios. There wasn't a real word for that either as far as he knew.

He called it math, but which the additions of more organic elements, it stopped being math and started being something else. For now, he called it engineering, but that wasn't a good fit when deconstructing gemes could also be considered a similar vein of study. It wasn't alchemy, which was a magically based art.

Skill?

He'd name it officially later when his research was fully funded and he wasn't here "on vacation".

"Does that school of study have a specific name?" he asked, still writing. "I call it engineering where I am from, but I don't think it applies anymore now that I think about it."

He stopped writing. Now was not the time to get distracted, but he had a gene that allowed him to change from a Sphinx to a human. He'd assumed that all Sphinx could do it because of how little he knew about his own kind, but the way this woman spoke of it, he was quickly realigning his thoughts.

"What have you learned so far? Oh! If you don't mind my asking. I'm Killian. I'm an engineer at the Mage's College in Yfrelo City. Sleibte."

Engineering? She herself would have never called herself a woman of such a thing, then again it wasn't as if she really had a specific thing she studied in the first place. In fact, she learned things of her own reasoning; those usually just because she enjoyed doing so. Which is why she always found herself spending time here at the library in the first place. It certainly got her out of her home, of which she would surely have no problem staying at, even if she didn't really enjoy the thought of socializing. That sort of thing just really highlighted the fact she was a shy individual and most never really approached anyway, which was always quite alright in her mind. Organic things in honesty where probably the most fascinating to learn about. There were so many creatures in the world around them that there was always something to learn about them. About how their species came into existence or how they behaved as well; or even how hey lived their lives. 

Quite a few species were still a bit of a mystery to many people though, which happened often. Either those creatures or rare of hard to study. Some being the dangerous kind as well. Even the weakest creatures of the land could be dangerous at times. "Oh uh..." she spoke lightly, thinking on the subject for a moment, "I.. I don't really know if there is a specific name for it really. At least, none that I surely k-know of." Aziza couldn't help but to stutter here and there, though she tried her best to keep it to a minimum as to now annoy the other. In a way it felt a little nice to speak to someone who at least was interested in talking to her.

"N.. no it's fine I don't mind you asking at all. M-my name is Aziza," she would have offered to shake his hand but she couldn't gain to courage for that move, "A lot of creatures do have the ability to change their appearance unlike others. A Kitsune is naturally able to do so though most of it is illusions. Take a Unicorn for example, they are inherently magical creatures, but they don't come naturally with shape-shifting abilities. Yet, if one posses such a gene to shape-shift, they can easily go between human or their original form when they please." 

Aziza was doing quite a bit better at speaking now, though when it came to things like this she could easily speak about them forever.

"Sounds familiar," Killian replied. "I wouldn't have linked it to a physical trait. I thought it was purely magical."

Though now that he thought about it, it made sense. Not necessarily for him, but for Jek. A wild kirin with no magical training might not have been able to shift, but after training, was able to tap into a physical potential that was already present. Killian was by no means an expert, but he was fairly certain that wild kirin were able to transform at will.

Jek was special in that case. And so - apparently - was he in a sense. Maybe.

He returned to scribbling in his book and flipping through pages. He couldn't afford to get distracted chasing another line of information and new subject matter. He had to stay focused on the ward magic and spiritual magic diffusion for the time being. He had a couple weeks to get as much as he could done. Maybe he could look into that as well. Organic engineering. Maybe. There had to be a word for it.

"Aziza, are you a subject matter expert?" he asked, not looking at her. He had a feeling his presence was making her more nervous, but if he didn't stare her down with that piercing look he had sometimes, she might not feel so uncomfortable. "I'm interested in perhaps following that line of knowledge. As soon as I finish this of course, but I like to learn my information from living breathing sources as well. I find that subject matter experts are great conversationalists, even if they are a bit nervous."

A knowing, but charmed smile spread across his lips as he scribbled.

"I'm especially interested because I believe I possess the very gene you are researching. And part of my vacation time is supposed to be spent learning more about myself and my kind. You seem like a lovely person to start. with."