I was going, Mother, to pick roses, to find death

MaeA The neutrality on the bard's face was as good as a shout to Maea. She recognized it for what it was and bit her lip, teeth worrying at it as she tried to steady herself. Oh, she had come prepared for this. The papers on the table before her was a careful battle plan constructed for this purpose, her arguments lined up in precise lists - pro's and con's examined in as much detail as she was able to produce. Still she wavered under the question. It was a little too calm, a touch too neutral. If he'd at least shown some emotion she would know how better to approach him, but as it was... Breathing in deeply she felt Sunjata's gaze on her like a bulwark, the support he'd promised tangible even though she only spared him a brief glance when he spoke. He was helping merely by being there, in truth; and this part she would have to manage on her own. "Three things," she said, pressing the palms of her hands into the cool table to steady herself, keep the tone even. As resolute as she could manage. "First, because Zariah implied that I would have to move to Halo in order to attend the school. It made me wonder why she would want to keep the students, what reasons there might be for a school in the first place. You told me that she once tried to control the Hollowed Grounds by magic, threatening to use it against people who disobeyed... What if she is seeking to gather up a force of people to do just that?" She paused to breathe, knowing she was speaking too quickly - too eager to get it all out before he could interrupt. "I want to know what she really intends, and since I was invited personally, I would have a good vantage point on the inside to see what she does." Moving on, she sought Jigano's blue gaze and tried to appeal to the loreseeker in him this time, the curious one who always wanted to know more. "Secondly, I would like to gather information about what kind of training she would provide. Magic has rules and laws but there is still much we don't understand about it. I would like to make it a project to study it, learn how it differs from world to world in the places where it has appeared, and perhaps also learn more about the nature of it here in Caido." "As for the third reason..." Here she looked away, hands closing into white-knuckled fists as she looked at Sunjata with something a little haunted in her eyes, before they flicked back to her Guildmaster. "I... really need to learn what she has to teach, Jigano." Maea's tone changed, grew more quiet, subdued. "I've... come into abilities I can't control. Without a teacher... I might hurt someone. Again. I've already... caused damage." you're so cold, but you feel alive.