Scene #2349: A Discussion of Fire

Owner	Pose
Hiei	The coordinates that Hiei gives leads directly to the center of the cavern. He's sitting with his legs crossed, hunched forward as he peers down at the pit of hellfire. He seems rather mesmerized by it rather than afraid of falling in. He looks very comfortable, even in all of the fabric his outfit seems to consist of. He is quite notably lacking in sweat.
Frederica	Unlike Hiei, Frederica has no protection against any fire not her own. Well, no protection beyond literally fighting fire with fire, that is. Fortunately this cavern isn't as hot as it looks, thanks to the surroundings. Sweating from the heat would be almost as bad as sweating from nerves, and either would be unpleasant, especially if anyone were to consider it to mean she's afraid. "You had better not be planning something unpleasant." she warns in greeting as she approaches. "Anger makes me stronger." she adds. True enough, though it also costs her control. Fear, or other similarly strong emotions, do likewise.
Hiei	"I could care less about leading you into a trap. And my sword is being repaired, I prefer to use my sword when I have lethal intent." Hiei explains as he continues to stare down into the fire pit. "I already explained before that I used two types of fire. The fire that is made up of my pure youkai energy, and the fire I summoned. Do you know about summoning fire?"
Frederica	Lethal intent is one of those things Frederica prefers not to have. Not that she has much of a choice most of the time... it's either kill or suffer the innocent to be harmed. Using her fire to consume is one of those things that she's careful of however, always careful of the purpose to which she destroys. "I know of summoning fire, yes." Frederica states. She's worked with Natasha, and seen the works of other pyromancers. She's cast flame spells in VR games. "I don't summon it myself, but I know of it." she concludes, trying to at least be fair.
Hiei	"I summon my fire from the earthly plane. The common fire that you get from rubbing sticks together. If there are things that are on fire on Earth, I'm summoning that fire." Hiei explains, then points down into the pit. "That's a different kind of fire, a fire I'm unfamiliar with. I think I want to learn to summon it, but I don't know much about it. Do you know anything?"
Frederica	Planes, summoning, magic... these are foreign things to Frederica. It's not that she doesn't know about them, just that she doesn't interact with them often. She nods in understanding, following along with Hiei's explanation. When he asks however, she shrugs, looking perhaps a bit smug. "I know about it, yes." she claims. Or at least she thinks she knows a few things. "Nothing that's likely to have anything to do with summoning it, though. Magma? summoning? Those aren't my sort of thing. I wield fires of the mind, not crude matter or forces." she says loftily.
Hiei	"This isn't magma. It's some sort of... I don't know how to explain it. It's hotter than normal flames, much hotter..." Hiei points down into the pit, which is, indeed, a hellfire pit. "Fires of the mind. I actually use my Jagan to enhance my ability to control flames. The Jagan enhances my mental abilities." He offers his hand to her without actually looking, somehow making the offer less personal. He's inviting her to sit next to him. "How does your ability work?"
Frederica	Frederica would look askance at an offer to sit with any boy, let alone one serving the Confederacy who has shown little inclination towards any virtue she could name. She ignores the hand, standing stiffly instead. The question, however, is less easy to dismiss. "It's the human mind." she states. "In some worlds it learns to inexplicably control things around it and we call it magic. In others you find the genius to manipulate forces through devices and rules, and we call it technology. My power's no different from telepathy or divination, or the ability to move rocks with the mind. I just have an affinity for flame, and little affinity for mind reading. that's all." she explains.
Hiei	"People from the Human World where I'm from can be similar. Those with spiritual awarenesss are rare and exceptional. In the Human World, many people don't actually believe in things like that, or that things like me exist." Hiei stares up at her, a headband still wrapped around his forehead, so he only has two eyes visible at the moment. "Your mind has some of the abilities that my Jagan does, so I can understand the concept of your power. That was a part of the reason that I decided to get one."
Frederica	"People from my world die if they're not taught, or manage to find a balance." Frederica says, her voice a little softer. She's explained this to Hiei once, but she's forgotten. That, or she must think it bears repeating. "If you strain a muscle because you exercise too hard, you feel sore. If you cook your brain by channeling too much energy through it, you're dead before you know better." Will or fear, it takes one or the other to survive. Sometimes it takes both. She remains thoughtful for a time, considering. Finally she speaks. "That fire looks dangerous." she says. "I can see why you might want to tame it. If you don't control your own passions, it will devour you when you try."
Hiei	"These flames are much more powerful than simple earthly flames. Perhaps it will be a good first step before I try to tame the Darkness Flame one day... But right now, the Darkness Flame would consume my entire body." Hiei admits, though quickly moves on, hunching over slightly. "I was meant to die from birth. I remember it clearly, being a baby. They threw me from the floating village with the intention of killing me. There is virtually no chance of survival for such a thing."
Frederica	Frederica's not without sympathy for Hiei's story, and it softens her expression for a moment. But, of course, she's not about to show it. Not about to willingly show it at least. Hardening her expression, she injects scorn into her voice. "We're all meant to die." she says acidly. "It shouldn't matter. What matters is what we do, and what we try to do. Sounds to me like you're so eager to fight to the death because... because what? Because your village wanted to be rid of you? Because you were dangerous even as a child? Well so what? You're not the only one." she glowers, angry well beyond what she should be over this revelation.
Hiei	"I care very little about the village anymore. One of the reasons I gained my Jagan was so I could find the village again and kill them all. But upon going back, I realized that they were already dead inside, and left them alone." Hiei doesn't seem to display any particular emotion beyond what he normally shows when he tells this story, but he doesn't actually make eye contact as he tells it. "I did learn that my mother killed herself shortly after my birth, over the grief of having to allow the village to kill her child due to their rules." He considers what she says though, then shakes his head. "My goal in life is minor, I largely find it all a chore outside of combat and getting stronger. People live for others, but I live for no one. I will be eternally rejected by all of those around me, because they know what I am. I survive, and fight, and try to find reasons to continue moving forward. But if I die in battle, at least I di dsomething interesting."
Frederica	Frederica shakes her head. "You will be eternally rejected because you live for no one." she corrects him. She knows something of this fear, living it herself. Easier to push everything away than to take a risk and have them reject you. She loses to that struggle more often than she wins, but she hasn't lost completely. Not yet. "Find your reasons to move forward, or fight until someone ends your suffering." Frederica says, drawing herself back and up to her towering full height. Well, not towering, not to anyone but a shinki. "I can't teach you to call on an inferno like this, any more than I could teach you how to give meaning to your life. Perhaps if you find one, you'll find the other." she sighs. "Are we done? I'm sorry I can't help you more." she adds. And surprisingly, she might even mean it.
Hiei	"I thought I had friends, and a family, and they eventually grew afraid of me. So, I understand that I do not need people any more than they need me." Hiei is quiet as she speaks, then offers his hand again, still without actually looking up. "Just sit down and watch the fire, perhaps you'll be able to help after a while."
Frederica	Part of Frederica wants to, figuratively, slam the door in Hiei's face. It's far easier to push someone away than to accept the chance that they'll hurt you after all. She's got a gentle nature however, and the urge to push people away isn't exactly a bone-deep desire. A compromise, she finally decides. She once again doesn't take Hiei's hand, but moves off somewhat to one side. "I don't see how this could possibly help." she grumbles, calling up flame and pouring it out before her, shaping the flame into a seat. She's not some barbarian to go around sitting on a cavern floor, not even in a cavern of fire. She primly perches on her flaming throne, muttering to herself under her breath about how stupid this all is.
Hiei	"My hate and anger at everything don't burn as violently when you're around." Hiei states without any real context, and removes his white headband to open that large third eye in the middle of his head, peering down into the hellfire. "I'll be more successful with you here."
Frederica	Just... what is this weird youkai saying? Frederica isn't sure. She doesn't WANT to be sure. She does, however, feel a heat come to her cheeks. Just the air of the fire cavern, surely. "F-fine then." she says gruffly. "Not that I want to help you learn to control more deadly fire. But if you're less angry, that's better..." she tries, excusing this as just some... as something. She's not sure what.
Hiei	"Good, then." Hiei does quiet now. She'll notice his third eye glowing a lot as he stares down into the pit. They'll likely stay that way for about an hour before he finally decides that they can go home. He'll try again later.