The Hypocrisy of Order

The Hypocrisy of Order
Date of Scene:	29 April 2013
Location:	The Ame-no-Torifune
Synopsis:	Helena and Alma. Do opposites attract, or repel?
Cast of Characters:	Helena Celba, Alma Hyral

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Alma Hyral has posed:
Midnight. The Ame-No-Torifune was quieter now. Alma preferred it that way. Other than the magical hum that always permeated the air from the ship's engines, a constant white noise.

She'd set herself up outside one of the airship viewports, on a balcony just outside the clear glass. All she had with her was a small folding table, with a laptop set up on it, a stool, and a telescope. The telescope was of rather humble construction, being obtained on short notice. It had taken her a while to collimate the device to her satisfaction.

Now her actions were a repetitive back and forth. She'd adjust the telescope a few minutes, focus, then look over at the laptop screen, tapping the keys to record her findings. The program would eventually compile it into a proper star chart. Unlike earlier, she appeared to be serene, at peace.

She was even humming the verses of a song that was common enough in their world. A song about the forces of Cosma versus those of Chaos. The Cosma Naturalis church wasn't fond of the song at all, given the message of the verses sang by Chaos. In acknowledgement of that, she was skipping over verses from the Destroyer with her humming. Still, it was likely an action frowned upon by her extraordinarily orthodox faith.

And so she sat in the still night, charting the skies.

Helena Celba has posed:
Interupting her tune, right at the best moment, was another voice, humming the part of the song she refused to hum.

Helena was actually working on one of her various experiments, which actually wasn't necromancy. She was a strange fusion of mage and monk, while most of her magic came from the necromancy, she always reached beyond her means in the magic department. She hungred for knowledge, she hungred to exceed her bounds...she didn't believe that bounds were there for a reason...they were there to be broken.

Helena did not accept the status quo, she lived to break it.

Helena, assumed the song would be broken once the chaos part was hummed, looking up at the moon. The light from it seemed to shine on her a bit...oddly, like she belong here as opposed to the day. The Sun exposes her white skin and red eyes for something unnatural to it, the moon does the opposite, it almost makes her glow.

"The stars are very different in this world. I've talked to a few astroligers before I rejoined up with Master Murasame too, they say that their stars greatly differ...and that whenever a world is devoured...one of them goes out."

Alma Hyral has posed:
As the humming joined in with the verses of Chaos behind her, Helena would witness Alma growing quiet immediately.

She wasn't facing Helena yet, but she knew it was her instantly. She'd close her eyes, then steady herself with a calming breath, adjusting her glasses upwards. Then she'd look over her shoulder briefly, acknowledging her with a nod, listening to her explanation. She was frightened, Helena could already see her shaking, timidly. And yet this was her subject of interest, her expertise. She couldn't bring herself to respond in a manner that Helena usually expected from her. Perhaps deep down, she wanted Helena to know there was more to her than her faith.

"I d-don't know yet if t-they disappear. It would.. make s-sense. It is said that each s-star is a d-divine spark of her c-creation. I'll need to c-compile all of my findings, and s-see for myself if the s-stars themselves are devoured by the darkness of C-Chaos."

She'd turn the laptop screen towards Helena. "W-What I have s-seen so far, is that the o-orientation of the stars is different in this w-world." She'd tap the keys, allowing one section of the chart to compile early. "..this is the c-constellation we knew as Odin's Wain. It's now turned on its s-s-side, and b-backwards."

She'd then lift her gaze to hers. "I-I'm hoping that with M-Minette, we can find the l-l-location of where our world once sat in her empyrean majesty, and c-calculate possible trajectories to where p-parts of our world fell. S-Shards or entities of C-C-Chaos as Souji explained to me."

The sight of Helena was always disquieting to her, moreso in the luminescence of the moon, but she didn't remark on it.

Helena Celba has posed:
"...That is an interesting idea." Helena actually says, knowing full well she was bringing discomfort to the young white mage, in truth she was put off too. She just was able to either overcome it...or it came off differently. Ususally in her teasing, no she knew that is how it came out.

It wasn't this way with the elder sister...not even alittle, she had liked her, they had gotten along. Friends was a word Helena used sparingly, but the woman was perhaps the closest thing to a friend she had then...

Why was it different for Alma?

"I think you cast blame wrongly here. Chaos nor Cosmo seem to benift from the Heartless. They consume and consume, they devour and destroy...there is no creation wrought from destruction that Chaos brings." she says, simply, "Even if you are such the devout believer that you are, you know that Chaos' place in things is that of entropy...entropy can not exist without creation, and vise versa. They are yin and yang."

She walks towards the edge, "While the heartless can be used by those with darkness...as we have witnessed..." she shakes her shoulders, "They fit differently in the cosmology of the universe."

"But that is interesting, trying to find where the shards could have landed on trajectories...the issue is, finding where the dark star once was." she says, "I fear that may be impossible...more then that, we've been told even if we were to find our shards, they are useless without our Princess of Heart surviving...and without a keyblade to restore."

"That constellation...is it really Odin's Wain?" she asks, "When you turn it as you described? What about the stars that comprised it? Are they same brightness? Are you sure we see the same constilation at all? Perhaps our location has changed...but are you even sure that was it to begin with?"

Alma Hyral has posed:
Kyra and Alma were different creatures altogether.

Kyra in all out rebellion may still believe in some of the precepts of Cosma's faith, but she kept them well-hidden. Whether her rebellion was purely to spite her family, or whether she was no longer a believer was difficult for Alma to perceive, but she believed it was more the former than the latter. Kyra's magic was wild, powerful, and untrained, because she had little focus on it any longer. She believed in science over faith.

Alma, was a true believer. Her focus was greater, her faith more solid. Generally her one concession was that she believed in concordance between faith and science.. which was something she generally kept hidden, as even that would be frowned upon by her faith.

When Helena states her beliefs on the origins of the darkness, Alma does not refute it. "N-No, you're not wrong. I-It is said the universe was once in balance between the l-light and the d-dark. O-Order and C-C-Chaos. Creation and E-Entropy. I don't want C-C-Chaos destroyed utterly, just k-kept in check. I.."

This was difficult for her to talk about, to confide in her. "..W-We're taught that the G-G-Goddess loves everything b-but C-Chaos. But I t-think that she loves even C-C-Chaos despite what it did to her. I-It just.. saddens her."

She conceded the point with a nod. "T-The H-Heartless are a different a-animal in the c-cosmology but I don't know that they're i-i-incompatible with C-Chaos. Maybe C-Chaos is only a small part of a vast sea of d-darkness."

She'd bite her lip as Helena described how difficult it is to restore a world, but she spoke up with slightly more conviction in her voice. "M-Maybe, but we have to t-t-try, don't we? W-With better resources, m-maybe we can find even a darkened s-s-star. Even d-darkness has energy. Energy r-r-radiates, and can be d-d-detected."

She'd tap the keys, and the screen would connect the dots, or so to speak, then the plane of viewing it would change, until it looked exactly like the constellation. "T-The stars do seem d-dimmer here. But t-this was it. I-I'm sure of i-it."

Helena Celba has posed:
Kyra was...a special creature for Helena all together. The wildness was something that Helena was naturally attracted to...like a fire, that you know that you could burn yourself on. Helena's first friend, however, was not that Hyral.

Helena had a similar belief, that everything can be explained, everything had a place and a purpose. The nature of the universe, however, didn't mean that needed to remain the same, and she constantly saught to overcome preconceptions.

"Interesting belief, for someone as orthidox as yourself." She says, "Or is it pity, that you look down on it? Is it that Cosmos loves chaos, or pities it because it doesn't subscribe to the world she invisions? Does she love her children, or pity them for not being perfect?" She says, pointedly, "That is what I can not stand, it is not love that we are reguarded with, but pity. We are naught by sinful children to her, imperfect and needing guidance. I do not need the guidance of something that only reguards my with contempt." She takes her headdress off, placing it on the ground, and undoing the bun that is her hair, letting it hang down.

"I do not need the pity of something who allows children to watch their parents slaughtered by the very thing she created, and to survive alone on the same desolate world she holds as her perfect creation." she murmers, "Why you follow such a thing I can not understand, with all of the awfulness in this world, and instead of taking the blame, they cast it on Chaos. Chaos is responsible for your suffering, it is responsible for the uglyness in humanities heart. For the Nightmare golems, for the class divide, for the darkness that plagues all hearts."

"If you could find it, Alma, then how would you take it back? The world would be crawling with Heartless...eaten by their superior and nigh infinite numbers. To take from darkness, you need someone of equal...if not greater light. Does anything like that even exist? Surly, Cosma does..." She says, pointedly.

...

"...Perhaps it is distance that makes the stars dimmer, we being farther away than we once were."

Alma Hyral has posed:
Alma doesn't respond to her at first, letting her finish. Maybe she was too frightened to interrupt before Helena was finished.

Alma didn't know much of Tira's relationship with Helena. She knew the two knew each other, but nothing else. Once Tira began to go out with Souji, she had less time to relate every aspect of her life to her little sister. The two had been close before that, and Alma hadn't been jealous of Souji taking some of that closeness away, she had just been happy for her sister.

She closes her eyes, her face tilting up to the sky. It was as if she were soaking in the light of the moon, the radiance of the stars. "N-No. I d-don't think it's p-pity. D-Disappointment perhaps. D-Disappointment that it has to be t-this way. I.." She swallows audibly. Her eyes were misting with tears already. The explanation Helena was giving just mad her.. sad, not angry. She was still quite afraid though. She skipped over a response at first to that part of the explanation. "T-Then we will have to find that l-l-light."

And then she returned to it, her voice sounding very small, and plaintive. "I-Is that why you h-h-hate me so much?"

Helena Celba has posed:
"I do not know." Helena says, as honestly and as seriously as she can. It is odd, Helena isn't serious, she is...floopish, unserious, playful and chaotic. However, sometimes being capracious twists back towards being grounded sometimes. Perhaps these are one of those times.

"Something about you...just...sets me off. Digs at me to try and break you from your ways, and I have never felt that way about your sisters." Or it wasn't as demanding, "I don't think I hate you...we both know what happens to people I hate...but.." she shifts uncomfortably, "There is something about you that makes me feel a way I am not familar with, and I have no idea what it is."

"And you feel the same about me, I can see it in your eyes, in your reactions. I hate acting like this, I hate being forced to respond to anything in a 'natural' way." there was that flare of stubbornness. The desire to break past preconceptions. "So you know what." she says, suddenly, "I appologize for not respecting your wishes, and giving you my drink. It...was.." she tries to cough up the words, "Wrong of me." was that so hard? Yes...yes it was, but to spite herself...

"I don't want to hate you, you are the sister of a dear friend of mine, and of someone I personally...like."

Alma Hyral has posed:
She wrings out her hands, fretting, trying to stop the timid shaking, but she can't help it. It was always a symptom of her extreme social anxiety. She'd been home schooled for twelve years before going to Alexander Academy, doted and sheltered she hadn't had a single friend outside of her siblings. That trend continued in school, and even grew worse. She still hadn't had a single friend in school. She could calm her stuttering, and her general anxiety if she was comfortable around a person, calm.

Ironically, she could do so around Souji, but not so much around Kyra anymore.

Helena hit it right on the nose, something about her magic set her off, put her on edge, made her terrified. But there was one thing at her core that she had to make perfectly clear. "I.. don't h-hate you. I'm t-t-terrified of you. I d-don't know why either. T-There are black mages, necromancers in o-our world that don't make me feel this w-w-way. B-But you? I.. c-can't explain it. I t-thought maybe after the d-date.. that I might be able to l-like you. You w-weren't.. totally t-terrible to me. You w-were nicer than you h-had to be. And I.. I k-know you mean well, but sometimes it feels l-like, that even when you do, that i-its still a joke to you. T-That I'm a joke, that my choices are j-jokes. A-And then after we w-were done.. i-it started again. B-Between y-you and me" She bites her lip, staring down at her hands.

"I.. I apologize for y-yelling at you, e-embarassing y-y-you, making y-you feel that way. I d-don't know what I'm d-d-doing that makes you feel like that, but.. still."

And then, she says something meekly which suprised even her, "F-For Tira's s-s-sake, can we just start o-over? P-Please? I-I t-think she'd want me to s-s-support Souji, and y-y-you. That's why I'm h-here."

Helena Celba has posed:
"I won't likely ever stop making you feel like that." Helena says, "It is...my nature, as it is yours to be like you are." she sighs, it is frustraiting that she was so static...at least to Helena's eyes. "I don't take life seriously...I try not to. It is too short. It is too painful and bitter, you have to steal moments of joy from where you can." She says, and redoes her hair. Slowly, she puts the cap back on, feeling...much more relaxed.

"Yes, we can start over...but, I will still tease you. I don't know...something about you, just brings out the kid in me." She says, and ruffles ALma's head, "But not in the mean way, in the...kid sister sort of way. I can not change who I am, nor can you I guess..." She says, finally,

"Besides, we both want to help Master Murasame, right?"

Alma Hyral has posed:
She'd listen to Helena, before nodding thoughtfully. "M-Maybe. B-But that doesn't m-mean I-I can't see past that."

She actually would manage a faint smile as Helena ruffles her hair, scrunching her shoulders slightly inward. "Y-Yes, I do w-want to help him.."

And then, out of nowhere, she would say something to her, in response to her comments on stealing moments of joy. "H-Helena.. Would you like to know what it's l-like.."

And then she paused in her statement, for a very long time, looking down at her hands as if considering whether this was something she should share with her. "....t-to fly?"

Maybe she wasn't so static after all.

Helena Celba has posed:
Helena raises an eyebrow...

"To fly?" She asks, oh right...

"You mean like you did right? That...was pretty interesting, and a spell I have never encountered...or at least one I could actually sit and study.." Helena smiles a bit, it was...

"I'd love to learn how to fly..." she says honestly, "But isn't that one of Cosma's little secrets?" She asks, not sure if this came from her magic, or from something else? Was our little golden girl exploring magic?

Alma Hyral has posed:
She'd actually manage a faint hint of a smile, though she seemed embarassed, she was rather coy when she described how she learned it. "N-No. A-At least I don't think it is a s-secret of my f-faith. I've n-never heard of a-anyone in my C-Church who could do it. I j-just.. learned how. M-Maybe it is a secret they k-k-kept from me. I dunno."

She'd tilt her head to the side, giving her an inquisitive look, and studying her at the same time. "I-I'm not sure if you can learn it, I d-don't even r-r-really know how I did but you d-don't need to learn h-how..."

She'd place a hand over her heart, and began to murmur something to herself. An aura of yellow radiance would appear over her. At first, it didn't seem all that strong, or impressive, but then as she cast spell, after spell into it, pouring more and more holy energy into it, it grew ever brighter, more blinding to look straight into. And then she placed a hand against Helena's palm, and then the aura would spread over her, only dimmer. "...when I-I can l-let you borrow it."

She would explain to her. "I-It won't last for more than a few minutes, but y-you should instinctively know w-when its about to f-f-fade. Just think on where you want to go. Come back w-when you're done, or if you w-w-want more time."

But Alma would remain seated. She wasn't coming with her?

Helena Celba has posed:
Helena isn't burned or shinks from the holy...no matter how chaotic she is, how close to chaos she might be...she was not yet that far gone.

She is surprised, however, at the feeling of magic through her she did not recongize, and did not fully understand...but it was there, it was a power she did not mind, for some reason...flight, gravity control she mused... something to do with kinetic energy, but she didn't have time to study the spell, the componets of it.

"You are not coming with me?" She asks, "Or is this away to get rid of Helena for a time?" She asks, with a coy look, she wasn't angry, but she was more mischevious with her tone.

"This is...pretty impressive, Alma..."

Alma Hyral has posed:
Helena would feel that it definitely was a holy spell, comprised solely of holy energy. But it didn't burn away at the darkness. Not within Helena. No, in fact, it felt quite comfortable. There was nothing in its energies that felt like that it held any wrath for the darkness. It was solely protective. Helena would probably get the feeling that even if she touched Alma while she was within it, she wouldn't hurt herself to do so.

When asked on the matter though, she only smile. She definitely seemed calmer. "N-No, its not a way to get rid of you. This is just your moment. Yours to enjoy. Not mine. I think I'd just like to watch you fly.."

Helena would get the sense in her demeanor that there was something else about it, something that prevented Alma from joining her, but it didn't appear to be derision, something about Helena that made her reject the idea. More that it was something about herself. Maybe it was even.. shame?

Her smile seemed a touch sad now. "I'm just glad you like it. Go enjoy yourself Helena, please."

Helena Celba has posed:
Helena frowns a little, but lets it pass...perhaps it was a converstion for a different day.

However...Helena suddenly drops off the side of the Ship...

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Yeaaaaah.

Alma Hyral has posed:
And so Alma rose from her seat, moving to the edge of the ship, leaning against the railing as she watches, her smile still sad, but she manages a giggle as she watches her have fun.

She didn't confide in Helena that she'd never used it.. just to fly. Just to enjoy it. She'd learned it on Chocobo, she'd concealed this aspect of her magic from the Academy's professors and from her classmates. She'd returned home after Tira died. And Tira's death combined with the grief of her family incredible guilt over how she'd learned to do this. She saw the method as sinful. And yet she couldn't deny that it could be used to the benefit of others. And so to her mind, that was twisted by the orthodox and ultraconservative doctrines of Cosma Naturalis resolved never to use it for the benefit of herself, unless there was no other choice. It was solely for others.

Cosma Naturalis had broken her enjoyment of simple pleasures for herself.

At least she could watch Helena fly, and marvel as she imagined herself doing the same, suddenly envious of her.