Scene #1977: A Little Guidance

Owner	Pose
Sequoia Maybach	"So huh... I never expected the guidance counselor, of all people, knew... Magical stuff." Sequioa Maybach mutters, seemingly to herself, as she makes her way down the school hallway. But the thing is... She's not talking to herself. <JA.> The small, shield-shaped, charm on her keychain replies as the girl adjusts her backpack on her shoulders as she comes to a halt at the office door. "Here goes nothing." She says before she takes a steeling breath and knocks on the door. "Ms. Inai? Are you in? I had some questions." She calls through the door.
Kyouka Inai	Truth be told, finding Kyouka Inai in her office is always a bit of a crapshoot. Although she'll be here if she has an appointment, she spends just as much time roaming around the campus (and the nearby city). Her job is supporting the magical folk of the city, after all- the whole guidance counselor thing is pretty much a front. So she's here enough to keep up appearances, but barely more than that. She's never been the 'office work' type, after all. Today, however, it appears Sequoia is in luck. She must have just finished another appointment, or perhaps is preparing for one a little later, because she is in fact in her office. When the door is knocked upon, a moment later she calls out "Come in." Inside her office, Kyouka sits behind her desk, wearing her 'school uniform', which consists of a button-down white woman's dress shirt and black slacks, her leather jacket slung over the back of her desk chair. She had been looking at something on a laptop, it seems, but when the door opens she casually clicks it closed with one hand, grey eyes studying the girl who enters. "Can I help you?" Her demeanor is not unfriendly, if a bit formal.
Sequoia Maybach	When Kyouka says to come in, there is a bit of a pause; some hesitation. But with a soft gulp, Sequoia pushes the door open and steps inside. Looks like she lucked out indeed, but once she's through the door and has shut it behind her the girl freezes like a doe caught in the headlights of an oncoming mack truck. She knows, intellectually, that Rashmi and Chrono personally said Kyouka could be trusted and spoken to about this kind of stuff, but she still kind of balks at the notion of openly saying 'so, haha, I can use magic apparently, what am I supposed to do now?' "Hi." She decides to start out simply. "I'm Sequoia Maybach, grade 6." She opens, polite as can be. "I was told you could help me with some... Things that kinda just came up for me, recently." She says, rubbing awkwardly at the back of her neck before lowering her voice. "You know. Magic kinda things." This is where she pauses, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her brow as she realizes how dumb that actually sounded. "Chrono and Rashmi mentioned you."
Kyouka Inai	It's not like Kyouka is caught off guard by the revelation the younger girl speaks in such hushed tones. People don't actually come to see her for anything else- the school knows better than to send kids with actual non-magic problems to her office. And besides, her magic sense is keen. She could smell the telltale scent of mahou on Sequoia the moment she stepped through the door. Pointing and saying 'ah-ha' is not really her style though, so she lets the girl speak her piece and come to it on her own terms. "My philosophy is that people should learn to help themselves," She says, with a smile, leaning back in her chair and crossing one leg over the other. "Which is not to say you can't rely on others, just that I prefer to guide rather than to 'help', as it were. But if you're looking for advice, information, or names of a few people it would be good to know in the business, well, I am here for that." She gestures to the two comfy-looking chairs on the other side of her desk. "Have a seat. If you already know Chrono-kun and Rashmi-chan then you're clearly making friends already, which is a good starting point."
Sequoia Maybach	Sequoia lets out the breath she had been holding in a soft hiss through her teeth as she takes a seat, plopping gently into the chair across the desk as she purses her lips. "Yeah well. I feel like I've been flung into the deep end of a pool with a brick tied to my leg, so I'll take anything that's thrown at me right now if it can help me keep myself floating." The girl replies. "I'm trying to get to know others. So far Rashmi and Chrono have been the biggest help in getting me a bit up to speed." She says, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt a bit. "I've cut my teeth on a few... Youma? Monsters, or whatever but if there's any places I should definitely avoid that would be good to know. And definitely maybe a few people who I should try and get to know, that'd help a lot."
Kyouka Inai	Kyouka laughs a little bit at the analogy. "I like you kid, you've got spirit." She says as she regards the girl sitting in the chair. "That's a good attitude to have. Only an idiot refuses well-meaning help when they're in trouble." "There's lots of people around, especially at the school, who will help you if asked. Some of them have been a bit preoccupied lately, but I'm glad Chrono-kun and Rashmi-chan have been able to lend you a hand. They're both good kids too, even if Chrono-kun is a bit.." She makes a faint grimace, "fond of rules." She shakes her head slightly at the question of places to avoid. "I mean, other than the big obvious one of Obsidian Tower, there's not really any 'danger zones' in Tokyo. Youma can and do appear pretty much anywhere. Even on the grounds of this school, although honestly they're less threat here simply because they tend to get wiped out so quickly. Which isn't to say you need to be afraid to walk down the street. It's rare pretty much anywhere, but equally likely most places as well."
Sequoia Maybach	It's an apt analogy and Sequoia would like to keep her head above water! Though being told she has spirit earns a bit of a sheepish smile. But then she's nodding. "I met Rashmi fighting a monster that... Turned everyone around it into ponies." Yeah she seriously said that. And just hearing herself say that makes the girl wince slightly. "Anyway she introduced me to Chrono shortly after." She says before pursing her lips. "It's not that I'm afraid. ... I mean it's kind of seriously scary thinking about it, but I want to help others where I can. It's more... I just learned magic was real and my shield yells at me in a language called Belkan." Then Kyouka mentions Obsidian Tower. "THAT is something I didn't know at all about. What's up with Obsidian Tower?"
Kyouka Inai	"Belkan, huh? I should introduce you to Hannah someday. She's the most Belkan I know." Kyouka says musingly, recognizing she has a Device Mage on her hands. "Truth be told, Chrono and Rashmi probably know a lot more about Devices than I do, so they'll be a bigger help to you in the specifics of that sort of thing." She smirks a bit at the description of the fight. "Weird stuff is pretty par for the course. Try not to let it throw you." At the question about Obsidian Tower, she quirks a brow. "Nobody mentioned it? Maybe it's one of those things that's 'so obvious' to people in the know they just sort of assume everyone knows about it. Obsidian Tower is bad-guy central. It's bad news for people like you, especially ones who aren't confident in their powers. Just steer clear of it. Even if you end up having to fight any Obsidian employees, don't do it on their home turf."
Sequoia Maybach	"That's a name they mentioned- Hannah... Steiner I think? They told me she was a Device Meister. Though I haven't met her yet. She's kind of... Elusive lately I guess?" There's that. But then she's listening intently. "This is the first I've heard of it." Sequoia admits. "Okay. So definitely DON'T storm Obsidian Tower under any circumstances. Got it." She sounds like she's seriously taking that to heart and not just making light of it. "I guess I should just get used to weird stuff then, huh..." Murmured thoughtfully before a realization hits her. "... I should probably also mention I'm a pacifist." The girl says. "I'll protect someone in a fight, use my shield and spells and stuff to guard them, but swinging punches and throwing magic around is kind of against my principals."
Kyouka Inai	"Ms. Steiner has a lot going on." Kyouka confirms, with a mild shrug. "But if your Device is Belkan, she'd probably know more about it than anyone else in the city right now. I'll mention you to her, next time I speak with her. Not sure when that will be though." At the mention of the girl being a pacifist, Kyouka gives a small chuckle- surprised, perhaps, but not derisive. "You and I have that in common- not the pacifist thing, or rather, not by choice. But I'm also limited to the use of defensive magic. Wasn't always, but that's my lot these days. Take it from me, that means you'll want to partner up with someone (or multiple someones) with some offensive spirit. Youma aren't going to go away just because you wish they would. But you can still do a lot with that. Some of our best fighters can do their best work if someone with a good, solid shield covers them while they prepare."
Sequoia Maybach	A slow nod on the topic of actually catching Hannah and Sequoia nods. "Thanks." But then there's the chuckle and that earns a blink from the silver-haired girl before Kyouka explains further. "Huh... I heard magic kind of isn't... A ~thing~ among most adults?" She asks. "But yeah, I've noticed that my deal kind of makes actualyl dealing with monsters pretty hard on my own. I've noticed others with powers tend to show up when things go south though, so I've been kind of flying by the seat of my pants and helping out others where I can. But maybe finding a solid partner or two would be good..." She concedes. "Okay. I've got some basics down and now I know precisely where not to go without a 25 mahou raid party at the very least. And I don't wanna even try to wrangle one of those together." Sequoia huffs. "I... can always come back if I have any more questions that might pop up, right?"
Kyouka Inai	"Most adults," Kyouka concedes with a nod and a shrug. "That's true. But there are exceptions. Most have knowledge but not power, but some of us maintain a bit of the power we had with certain.. concessions." She makes a bit of a face, but doesn't elaborate. "Anyway, whether or not you find a 'partner', having friends to call in when you need them is always a good thing, whether you can fight yourself or not." "I'd also suggest you try and introduce yourself to Usagi Tsukino-chan. She's got a lot of connections among the magical folks and is a good friend to have. Another person you might try to look out for is Madoka Kaname-chan. Neither of them are Device Mages, but in terms of knowing the right people, it's hard to go wrong with either." She nods her head, and produces a business card from somewhere. It has the school's logo embossed on it, with her name and cell number printed overtop. "Here, take this. Call me anytime if you find yourself in a tight spot." She says, handing it over. "It's my job in more ways than one to help you out of those."
Sequoia Maybach	"Huh." That line of questioning though can be saved for another time. Sequoia nods again though, "I'll try and reach out, soon." She says when told to speak with Usagi and Madoka. Making more connections is always a plus, so she has nothing to lose there in meeting them. When Kyouka hands her the card, Sequoia takes it delicately, golden eyes flitting over the information on it before she nods again. "Got it. ... And thanks." She says, slowly standing herself up before she taps at the charm on her keychain. "You got all that? I hope you were taking notes for me." She says before it replies. <JA!>