Owner	Pose
Kian	The practical upshot of Kian realizing he can do virtually anything he wants with the Da...PRACTICE Room is that there is an aerial maze that is absolutely fiendish hanging in the air.  There are insane turns right and left, tiny gaps to slip through, ridiculously small gaps to get through, and only by holding one's wings tight to one's back.     And Kian is managing them, to anyone who might be watching, although it's close enough to his limits to be an actual workout.     It's hard to say, though, judging from the smile on his face.  Difficult or not, he's *loving* this.
Clara Jennings	Clara may have arrived a few minutes ago, but she is extremely quiet and has this amazing trick where she is socially invisible. Seriously, she can walk through a party and people look right through her!     She is sitting at one of the seats, her face looking down as she reads a book. Every third page read leads to her looking up. She studies what Kian is going, and it looks fast, difficult, and-if she is being honest-really uncomfortable, too. No shock to anyone that she keeps reading, though. Kian is, after all, busy and exercising. Also she cannot think of a single thing to say in this situation. None of her social scripts really lines up right.
Kian	Kian's own social expectations are attuned to those of his own people, so he would expect to sense any observers... which, of course, he doesn't due to Eart's continuing failure to be like his own world.     So when he mis-judges a gap and clips his left wing against an unnecessarily firm barrier and spins out of control...     ...and for safety's sake puts himself down outside the line that divides the Practice Room from normality.  Because there's no need to expect anyone else there, he doesn't, which means he's actually surprised to see Clara in the observation area.  "Oh!  /Kie/!  I hope I wasn't intruding on your time here!"  He bows slightly, and then stands up straight, all five-foot-nothing of him.
Clara Jennings	Clara looks up from her book, surprised as she is addressed. She slides a bookmark in place very carefully. One gets the sense she is trying to indicate exactly what line she was on.     She rises slowly and returns the bow with one of her own. She is dressed in her black bodysuit. It is light armor and her usual costume for 'work'. Notably she has two briefcases with her. It is going to be a heavy session.     "You did not intrude. I was merely waiting my turn. And hoping that you might assist me. I was able to prepare a simulation, but it seems that my access prevents me from executing it."
Kian	Ever polite, Kian bows again and introduces himself formally: "Kian na'Gar'Tarik k'Rhytak t'Kiare."  It's an avalanche of alien syllables that don't slow the birdman down in the least.  "I think I saw you in the main room not long ago, but it was very busy and I did not have the chance to greet you properly.  And depending on the simulation you're trying to run, ours might not be mutually exclusive.  I was making a difficult maze to fly."
Clara Jennings	"I am Clara Jennings. It is nice to meet you..." She needs a moment. Then it just happens, "Kian na'Gar'Tarik k'Rhytak t'Kiare." She has had to recite a lot of languages she does not know in her time as a lecturer, and for one reason or another, names stick with her. After a brief hesitation she says, "You can call me Clara. And yes, I think I remember you as well. It is nice to meet properly."     The young woman pauses to consider how to explain her simulation. She sticks with the most direct option, "My simulation is a recreation of a scenario that nearly led to my death on my last full mission. It was a setup and I was shot. I should have prevented this, and the director wants me to work on it, just in case such a situation proves to be less than unique."     Barely a pause for breath. "I was entering a private residence in order to prevent a burglary. They shot me while I was moving through the ductwork. They knew I was coming. Five men. Two snipers, three with automatic weapons. It... ended very poorly, but the mission was a success. Nothing important was damaged or lost."
Kian	"I... can't say I have any experience with being shot," Kian says dubiously, "although I've been shot at a few times.  Mostly by energy weapons that can't affect me."     He taps a few buttons, clearing the aerial maze he'd been working his way through.  "Maybe I can help on the scenario you're trying to get through?"  He sounds optimistic, although not actually hopeful.  The birdman knows he's not proof against standard munitions.
Clara Jennings	"Mostly I just want to turn it into a training exercise so I can do it again and again until I get through without being shot and without taking any lives," explains Clara. "And to strain a bit with some limitations."     She takes her two briefcases and pops them open. Inside there is nothing but paper. The young woman looks it over, drawing in a deep breath. "I do love the scent, but this is more of a practical evening."     She turns her attention to Kian, "I am a paper master, you see. It is like telekinesis, but I can only control paper." And so she does, pulling one briefcase into the air, where it swirls around and starts to form a large shape, somewhere between warthog and wolf. "And this is Dickens! He is just a puppet, but it is nice to have someone to talk to, is it not? Oh! What kind of work do you do? I understand you are practicing, but is there a specific mission you are working towards?"
Kian	"A mission?  Oh, Gods no, I'm just stretching my wings the best way I know how, with a good maze," Kian explains, waving a wing at where his aerial exercise zone used to be.  "I don't know what to do in a combat situation, even if my viceroy has tasked me with learning that.  It's... difficult.  Really difficult."
Clara Jennings	"I see. I have trained my whole life," says Clara. "Mostly with expert trainers, sometimes with targets, a mix of things. You know, it is just part of the job. When there is a threat to our shared history, someone has to step in and defend it. Or better yet, extract it before that even occurs and hide it somewhere more secure. Sadly, humanity regularly turns on its own legacy. The Conservatory does what it can to protect the works of geniuses. I am one of our few field agents. At least that is the best term I can think of."     She looks over at Kian curiously. "Your viceroy? So you are in the service of nobility?"
Kian	"Humanity," Kian says delicately, "in my experience, is not very good at making sensible decisions about its own future.  I suppose that's because they can't sense each other the way my people can."     He bites his lower lip and says, "I don't know about in service.  I have been tasked by my viceroy, Her Serenity's heir, to learn the Earth ways of dealing with conflict, and the only one who could have ordered my viceroy is my empress... it's..."  Heavy sigh.  "...complicated."
Clara Jennings	"Hierarchies have a way of providing order to a world that might otherwise be confusing and complicated. But they also introduce complications quite their own. We as humans seem good at striving. Aiming for something. Wanting. But when we do not get what we most ache to have, we can go very, very wrong."     Clara pauses, lost in thought for a moment. "If you do things when someone asks, you are kind of in their service. It works well enough for me to understand. I do not know if you really want to learn our ways of resolving conflict. We.. we sometimes fail."     She sighs, "The reason I want the simulation is, umm, that. I did not mean to, but I killed my attackers. Others tell me that I had no choice but platitudes will not undo what happened. My Director praises my efficiency. He would know, but you know... does your viceroy ever say something that is not right?"