Scene #820:

Owner	Pose
Faruja	The Shrine to Phoenix is the same as when last Fred visited: hot, gold on the outside, and spacious within. Faruja met the woman in order to help her cut through the usual red tape and suspicion those guarding the place seem to have. After a bit of small talk on the way, the Inquisitor pauses before the door to turn to Fred. "Ready, mine dear?" Speaks the rat with a solemn air. To him, every visit may well be a spiritual experience. Then the mage is opening the large door. Inside? There's less signs of the previous corruption, and much more structural work done. There's even motifs of Phoenix about the place aside more traditional Ajoran artwork ahlf-done. In the middle of the shrine, there's a constantly burning flame that suddenly flares to life. The burning visage of Phoenix flares into view, and settles onto a small bar where she sits. The birdy-head of the phoenix tilts. "Summoner. Lady of the Flame. Good evening. What can I do for you?" Faruja kneels, and motions to Frederica.
Frederica	Frederica is, of course, nervous. She tries not to show it however, and she's got plenty of experience. "I'm always ready." she blusters. Okay, she's not that good at hiding her feelings. Her nervousness shows in the slight edge to her voice, and the excessive forcefulness of her stride. Phoenix had asked her if she her power was that of destruction, and her coming here today is an answer of sorts. At the same time though, it's a challenge. A declaration from the psychicer of what she intends, even if she's never managed to reliably call upon her healing power. Frederica bows to the Phoenix; the bow of her adoptive homeland which shows respect but not subservience. She doesn't have much of a relationship with gods, though she's more Shinto than anything. Gods are everywhere, they're just not particularly noteworthy unless you tread their domain. She's treading one now though, physically and spiritually. "Lady Phoenix." she greets. "I..." she pauses, awkwardly. Asking her question so soon seems rude. "Ah, I mean, how have you been? Does the restoration progress well?" she asks.
Faruja	Faruja remains silent, eventually standing again. Phoenix notably keeps her gaze on Frederica. She flicks a wing at Faruja. "The Summoner has ensured the shrine physically, and as spiritually as possible, is being rebuilt. We've yet to devise a way to fully cleanse it. The corruption remains, but is quaranteened to the deeper sections. It is no longer a threat as it stands, but anyone with enough corruption and dark magic could reignite it." The fire-bird then tilts her head. Her eyes smile deeply. "I'm glad to see you again, Lady of the Flame. Have you found answers to what you seek?"
Frederica	Frederica frowns at that. The idea of the temple still needing some kind of cleansing doesn't sit well with her. She'd offer to help, but she's already made that offer. She means it too. Corruption doesn't sit well with her, particularly not the corruption of the shrine of an esper of flame and healing. She IS happier though, to hear the Esper refer to her as 'Lady of the Flame'. She has a few nicknames, and that's a pretty sweet one in her ears. It helps relax her, just a little, and encourages Frederica to reply. "N-Not exactly." she says. "I've found the power to heal, a few times. I know I don't want my power to be simply that of destruction. But it's still not ... not wholly mine. I can't always reach it when I try." she admits. That has nothing to do with her power, however. That's more a question of her fears, her unconscious overwhelming resistance to anything that leaves her open for rejection.
Faruja	Phoenix listens quietly, giving the occasional flap of her wings. Faruja, meanwhile, crosses his chest and mutters several prayers. He says something under his breath and confessions and the like. Phoenix is more talkative. "You can touch it, but not command it. You search, and hunt, but there is something keeping you from fully turning your fire to cleanse and heal." States the lady-bird. She tilts her head, then smiles sadly. "Frederica, what are you so afraid of?" She asks bluntly. "The opinions of others? Whether they'll accept you for who you are? Maybe...of being thrown away by those who care for you?"
Frederica	That seems to be right. With someone helping her, a psychic able to bridge the gap between her and a victim, she can heal. Healing with fire is difficult. The line between proper healing energy and too much energy is a slim one, and she has to share her subject's body in a sense. To feel the injuries, feel the limits of the cells, to know when she's at that edge between heling and harm. It's a scary process, and not without a lot of personal cost, but the result is more than worth the pain she suffers. That's not what scares her though. She's quite brave, as suicidally brave as any of those heroic types who she chides for carelessness. Her fear has never been for her own self, or at least not for her body. Frederica starts at the Phoenix's blunt question. "I-I'm not afraid of anything!" she insists, lying blatantly. Fear is part of Frederica. It holds her back... but it also makes her strong. As the Phoenix goes on though, the words strike at her barriers. She shakes her head feebly. The opinions of others don't matter at all! Except of course they do, if they're people that matter. People she cares for. It's that last phrase though that gets a reaction. "I wouldn't... if someone cares for me they'd NEVER throw me away!" she insists fiercely. Maybe a bit TOO fiercely. Okay, maybe a LOT too fiercely. It just miiiight be a sore point for her. She was, after all, sent away by her parents. Sent to be adopted by a family better-suited to deal with uncontrollable psychic talent. Discarded, some might say, though the truth isn't so simple.
Faruja	The Phoenix suddenly grows larger, flaring in whites and blues, large enough to nearly touch the top of the ceiling! Faruja steps back, and tugs Fred that way with him. "Do not lie to me!" Comes the esper in that dissappointed, stern 'Motherly' tone. Then, slowly, she shrinks and calms. "I think...that you were harmed. Early on. By someone close to you. A stranger, or the most powerful of enemies? A brave person such as you could face them. But what of the Summoner?" She waves a wing to Faruja. "Would not his dissappointment sting you? If he turned his back on you, would you not cry?" Faruja, for his part, jolts up with something akin to righteous rage. Before he can speak, there's a flash of fire around him. Rather than hurt, it's a gentle warmth, and Fred would notice the Summoner floating slightly in the flames, asleep. "...Though I suppose there's little risk of that. You fear most those who are closest to you. That your flame will hurt them, and that you'll be rejected for simply having your powers, wild though they may be. You don't want to hurt those you love, and you don't want them to hurt you." "I know it's hard to admit. But I won't tell anyone. So long as you're plagued by those fears? You will not be able to wield your true strength, for to heal, requires serenity and peace."
Frederica	Frederica takes a step back. Not out of fear, or so she'd tell anyone who may comment. No, wariness and respect are fine, but fear is unspeakable. She allows herself to be drawn back by Faruja. Telling, however, she tries to remain between him and the Phoenix. Whatever fear she does have for herself, it's always secondary to the fear she has for those she's close to. In a way, the stern disappointment of Phoenix is worse than a bellow of rage, and more lasting on Frederica. She glances at Faruja, startled, when the flame rings him. About to act, about to do SOMETHING not even she could say what, she notices that he's fine. Peaceful, asleep. She doesn't answer the Phoenix's question. She won't lie, not after that stern disappointment, but she can't so easily admit it either. Phoenix is right though. Right down the line. Her fears are for her friends, fear of hurting them, fear of them rejecting her. The only fear Phoenix doesn't quite touch on is her fear of her own power. The killing flame, that which has the potential of heedless uncontrolled destruction. That power which she's wrapped in bonds of control so strong that she has trouble reaching past it. There are unshed tears in the psychic's eyes as she finally speaks. "Is that what I should do then?" she says, her voice a weak whisper. "Get rid of my fears?" She knows how to do that after all. The same spirit that took Toph's rebelliousness and stubborn pride could take her fear, couldn't it?
Faruja	Phoenix shakes her head. "If you just throw them away, you'll be little more than one of the elemental creatures in the cavern. No. Your fears can be your strength. What you must do, is recognize them. /Accept/ your fears. And grow stronger as you face them. You are a brave, little Lady of the Flame. Use that bravery, your friends, and your allies. Cleave to them, recognize the fear that holds you back. Know that you are more than fire that burns and destroys. That you need not cling so tightly to your fire. Peace. Serenity. /Relax/, Frederica. You must come to be the gentle spark that heats upon a cold night, if you wish to heal truly. Know yourself. Know those you wish to heal. You can do it, if you just let go of your pride, and look inward without walls."
Frederica	Good. If the only way forward would be to discard her fears.... to become an unfeeling zombie, Frederica's not sure she could have done it. She might have considered it, but the sight of what happened to Toph without her will to succeed was a terrifying one. In its own way, that hollowness is even scarier than the very real fears Frederica has of rejection and immolation. Being alone, even being dead... those are terrible things, but they're better than being EMPTY. Than not caring. "Recognize the fear." Frederica says in that pained whisper. Find her way past it. It's an easy thing to consider, but it's never that easy in practice. She's learned to relax, to trust, in a very few situations. There are a few people she can trust enough to reach out to, to open up to. It's been with them that she's succeeded in healing. That she's been able to relax. Frederica nods, though the motion is hesitant and clearly uncertain. "Fear... is keeping me from healing." she says. Sounding like she's not sure she can believe it. "But I don't want to fail. I-I've made my flame a protecting force. I've... learned to heal..." she says, breaking off. Healing is, after all, the ultimate expression of flame as a protective force. This doesn't really need to be said, however. No doubt Phoenix already knows it, so she'd be saying it only for herself. "W-will you help me?" Frederica finally asks. Pride... asking for help isn't about pride. She might not need further help, but she's not sure how to overcome the barrier within her that keeps her from healing at will. Deep down, she's known all along it's been her fear that's been holding her back. It's difficult though, nearly impossible, to become vulnerable. Like turning your back on an enemy with a bared blade, trusting in their better natures to not simply run you through. She might be able to face that fear herself, but she's not sure. It's not easy to ask, but it's easier to ask than to face it alone. "Make your flame... my flame? The flame to protect and to... to heal?"
Faruja	It's a simple concept, but often something that takes lifetimes. Phoenix looks to Frederica sadly. "I know. It's difficult. Even for ones such as /I/." She says in sympathy. She hops off her perch, and bird-waddles forward to gaze at Frederica. A wing is offered out, her feathers surprisingly soft and warm despite being made of fire. Cheating espers! Then, when she's finally asked, both wings comes together to envelope Frederica in feathery warmth. A gentle hug, and then a ball of fire passes towards Frederica, hovering in her reach. "You and I are kindred in some ways. Of course I will help. Take my fire, Frederica. Add it to your own. When you find yourself unable to bear the pain, the suffering of your fears? Remember that I am always with you. That my fire is your own. And that no matter what, you have friends who will love and protect you, no matter how powerful or dangerous your flame is. For even as they view its destruction, they see it's protection as well. You embark upon the final steps of your journey, and it shall be difficult. But show your friends love, and care. That is the strength you shall need when you heal."
Frederica	Between Carbunkle and Phoenix, Frederica's gaining quite the affection for the Espers of Ivalice. Similar, perhaps, to her affection for pokemon, and for much the same reason. She has no fear of Phoenix's fire. She's touched the esper once before, and even then she had no fear. Fire, after all, doesn't carry the same always-destructive fear for her that it does for others. She fears destructive flame, even her own destructive flame, but knows deep inside that sometimes it can be just a simple comfort. The hug is nice, but the proffered ball of fire hovering within reach is another matter entirely. Controlling another's flame is difficult. This has always been true. Her own power is easy in comparison, or at least takes little energy to control. Tentatively she reaches out though. It might well be that reaching out that's the true help. Having asked for aid, and being willing to reach out to another, to risk being hurt or rejected... that's the true test of Frederica's will. Still, she has some idea what she has to do. She doesn't try to control the flame. That would mean nothing. Instead she uses the flame as a point of familiarity. A link. Something that, in spite of the fear and danger, she can use to reach through. Not to have a telepathic contact with the Esper, but in a manner similar to her healing... to establish a bridge between esper and psychic. To create a psychic link, however temporary, of sympathy.
Faruja	The link forms easily enough, hovering in the back of the head for future use. Indeed, Phoenix seems easy to connect with, after Frederica's outpouring. The motherly Esper smiles gently to Fred, reluctantly letting go and flapping back over to her perch. She has Faruja in her grasp, rather than letting the Summoner slump to the floor. He's snoring in squeaky little snores. And should Fred peer into that fiery ball of connection? She might feel the overwhelming love, sympathy, and concern for herself, and all mortals alike. Of the Espers, perhaps Phoenix is the most pure, and certainly the most loving in her thoughts, and it shines through in their contact today. "Frederica. Defend, heal, and protect those you care for." She says simply enough before laying down the sleeping Summoner.