What Now? [Vanyel/Open]

Hm. She let her head cant to the side slightly, making note of the slight shift in the man's tone. As she had suspected, the bias was quite clear. His retort, of course, reflected nothing on the conversation itself. The topic had been evolving and overcoming obstacles. Could the demons truly be considered overcome? Had Humanity truly Evolved? And his response had boiled down to 'Humanity exists'. Was that truly what 'overcoming' could amount to? Avoiding complete erasure?

Was he right? No. Not from her own objective perspective. But then again, it didn't really matter to her if he was Right.
What mattered to HER was how that view of his effected him. Did it serve him to think this way? Was it, in some way, beneficial that he viewed Humanity as 'an unstoppable force of evolution and adaptation' rather than the more realistic 'survivalist' role they more reasonably had? And truth be told, that wasn't even a particularly special role. Every shred of living tissue on this planet was designed to survive by any means necessary. Humanity was far from the ONLY forms of life that had managed to brave the changes earth had endured. No doubt a number of anima life actually HAD thrived and evolved and changed as a result of the high concentrations of demon and spiritual energy now strewn about.

What WAS important was: did this view make him stronger? Did the perception that he, as a human, could overcome anything simply by merit of what he was at his core truly a positive? She had found that sure, her own Hand had fallen beneath her expectations against demons, but compared to the run of the mill human they were generally much superior. But strength was more than just combat prowess. Some of The Hand had persevered, but in some ways she wondered how they measured up to individuals like Van. It was what occupied her mind as they went inside and found their seats, taking a moment to connect to the cafe's wifi and then order her tea using their homepage. She'd leave it up to Van if he wished to order his remotely or by flagging down one of the servers.

She couldn't help but smile a little as he agreed with her own preference for media. Indeed there was a sort of visceralness to the characters when portrayed on the screen. It was when her own drink arrived that he posed that particular question. And she couldn't help but pause. Thinking for a moment. Her favorite? "My favorite? Hm, that's a bit difficult to tie down. I think there was something I quite enjoyed....have you heard of Chirin? It's a very old story but they came out with a short production of it a few years ago." She murmured.

"It is an awfully sad story. A young sheep loses their innocence with the murder of their mother by a wolf. Frustrated with his powerlessness, the young sheep attacks the wolf but is completely ignored. Not even worth a snack to the beast. Cursing his powerlessness, the Sheep laments his inability to do anything and a disdain for the other terrified sheep who did nothing to save his mother. His hatred of his own kind in doing nothing for one another overcomes his hatred for the wolf that slew her, and he decides that he would rather be a wolf rather than grow up to be like the cowards around him. The wolf becomes amused, and decides to train the young lamb to be like him."

She paused, taking a sip of her drink and closing her eyes as she smiled a bit to herself. "It is a success. Young Chirin becomes a powerful fearsome ram. Felling bears and most anything that gets in his way. But, when the Wolf seeks to hunt sheep again, Chirin decides to betray him. Killing the Wolf, Chirin attempts to rejoin his kind. But they are just as frightened as ever. They refuse to accept him, terrified of the beast he has become. Incapable of even standing his presence. Realizing what he has become in his pursuit of power, he leaves and vanishes into the mountains. And the frightened, shortsighted sheep forget him over time, until they no longer remember he exists at all." She closed her eyes and chuckled.

"I suppose you probably think it rather coarse for me to enjoy such a story. But I always did ....find it fascinating. For all of what he wished, to distance himself from his own kind. In the end, he could not separate himself entirely, and still protected the other sheep. And I always wondered.... was Chirin Good for betraying the wolf, and ultimately wanting to avenge his mother. Or is he Evil? For Hating his own kind, and allowing that hatred to have him turn to the very murderer of his mother in order to try and seek strength to escape that powerlessness? So many stories have ....grey areas. But it is still quite apparent that the one writing the story has an implied answer.

But Chirin is a story where there is not a clear cut sense of dark and light. Chirin did avenge his mother, but only after a long time. The wolf did slay his mother, but that was simply by virtue of needing food, and he even took an interest in helping chirin escape the fear of powerlessness and helplessness. The lowly sheep that did nothing to help Chirin and his mother, they certainly were not virtuous or brave, but can they be blamed for being victims of fear? " She glanced up to Van.

"If for nothing else, I adore the story by simple merit of hearing what people think about the story." She pointed out, making it quite clear that she was interested what HE thought of the tale.

Ahhhh, such was the fascinating part about humans. To see the small little things that they would so openly reveal about themselves. Listening to him speak, he seemed to hold great value in grey areas, that they were a reflection of reality. Aknowledging that there was ....leeway to the notion of black and white. No doubt....the way he had reacted to the telling of her story, he had experienced his share of gay.

That he considered 'betraying' the murderer of one's mother to still be a sin. That he considered Revenge to be a noble goal. An understanding and lack of disdain for the fearful. Was he the hero type? Did he pity such individuals? She had met a fair few humans who despised such things.

It was interesting. Enlightening even. She found herself smiling, enjoying what he was able to share about how he viewed the story. Not out of judgement, but simply bout of academic curiosity. After all, as a god, she had no bearing on the judgement of others. Karma was what judged others, Vanyel was simply another precious Sattva in the cycle.

"There's no need to apologize. I enjoy hearing what it is that you have to say on the matter. I wouldn't have brought it up if I wasn't interested." She noted softly, taking a gentle sip of her own drink as she watched him for a moment. She considered the moment. "You say that it is something that feels familiar. So you truly were once human." She ventured with a glance down to the table, eyes closing as she considered. Yes... he had included himself in humanity, or at the very least seemed defensive about it. But he was, of course, currently demon. She had initially deduced the possibility, and now his .....resonating with the story of Ringing Bell. It furthered her hypothesis that he was, perhaps, a human who had sought power, and allowed himself to become a demon. Though whether or not he betrayed someone was another matter. And perhaps...had some humans close to him rejected him because of the change? She reached up and tapped her fingers along her chin thoughtfully.

"And yet. If you truly are someone who feels such a connection to the story. Do you regret not being human anymore?" She asked gently, looking up to him with that same gentle expression. That simple curiosity within her eyes that spoke volumes. No judgement, no incredulity, she was not searching for something to dislike or to like. She simply wished to know. Perhaps that might be upsetting, perhaps it would be liberating. He need not worry about losing her favor. Nor have to worry about trying to gain it. All she sought was information, and even if that was information in the negative, it would still further her understanding.

She smiled. "You don't have to answer any of those. I suppose I'm simply a bit too used to others trusting me that I suppose I've become a bit nosy. I apologize for that."

She couldn't help but smile softly, not in relish of his suffering. But to see what he had become as a result of it. Reaching out, she gently ....hesitated. Hm, yes, he had seemed averse to touch. So she folded her hands in her lap and let her head tilt to the side.

"You have grown. You have become the dark Ram. But.....do you not think that perhaps that is alright? You are more humane now than any other human ever is. True.... a good number of humanity is, by their own nature, human. But how many do you think would gladly lose themselves? So much of humanity views that humanity as nothing. Something they would give up easily, and never look back. But look at yourself my dear. You have become something else, but you still have your humanity. You felt insulted when I seemed to speak less of humanity, and diminished it's feats. You regret having left and desire greatly to become human once again." She smiled, canting her head further as she looked at him.

"In no longer being human, your humanity has blossomed. You have no reason to remain humane....and yet you are. I won't lie...it is very possible that you will never be human again. But you have gained understanding beyond what most humans shall ever know." She assured him, and reached up to touch the center of her own chest. "We may not all be what we would...prefer. I myself was created using many human lives as sacrifice. By a demon no less. But the demon who threw away so many souls to make me....and the man sitting before me? You could not be any more different. So please dear, do not despair. Indeed, many may ...judge you at first for what you are. But I'm sure anyone who gets to know you will soon overcome such an assumption. Unless you are a better actor than I can sense" She chuckled. My, what a thrill that would be if she were being played for a fool.

She allowed him time to process. Watching as he stared down at his cup, reminding her to take a sip of her own as she watched his ....interesting transformation. Ah, so he had been hiding his more demonic features... she supposed given the shame, that made sense. Though she was frankly surprised that his human form was so notably inhuman. Interesting.

Ahh, and now he smiled. She mirrored the expression, pleased to see him coming to the light at the end of the tunnel. Coming to accept how his suffering had changed him possibly for the better. So many humans struggled with that, and again she was struck with curiosity as to WHY some were capable and some were not. And interestingly enough.... Van had seemed to transition between the two. Her words, at the very least seemed to help him find some semblance of progress. Of course, that still left him to GROW from this conversation, but she was a bit more invested now. And ..... impressed that he was so receptive to her reasoning.

Her smile was genuine, happy to see him stepping out of those darker ideas in his head. "Understandable to say the least. I honestly wish I could say I cold help you with that, but well...I'm not quite that powerful at the moment." She noted with a soft, sheepish chuckle and a sigh at that. Hmm. "But in that note. I suppose if ou wanted to learn more about such things. Demons would probably know the most about it. Given their ....infectious nature. I have heard of a few instances of change. There are even rumors I've heard about the Queen turning herself into a Danava. Though I admit, I don't really mingle with many demons, so I'm not even sure if that one's true." She noted. A bit....crestfallen that she couldn't help him on this particular journey of his.

But all the same, her smile brightened. "Even so, I'm glad that at the very least, I could provide some perspective on the subject. It is .....easy to be stuck in ourselves when hardship rears its head. But at the very least, I have always been of the opinion that hardship will make one stronger in the end, and not simply for humans at that." She noted with a gentle, hopeful smile, truly believing every word she said.

Ajita smiled calmly and watched as he seemed to sort through his thoughts. From the notion of Demons knowing about such things, and the subject of .... Mana? She tilted her head for a moment and raised a brow. "Are you on a First-Name Basis with the Queen of Demons?" She asked, with something of an entertained giggle at the idea. Well, not that some people calling her Mana wasn't uncommon, stronger individuals certainly. Or just the bold types. But it was still interesting to hear the ....particular....casualness with which he spoke of her. Interesting.

Though.... she did pause. "Oh.... the person who made you specified that it would be ...permanent? Hm... that is....troubling. Especially if it was by their power that it was done.... In which case, you may very well require a power equal or surpassing theirs if you want it to be ..UN-done." She murmured with ..... a slight shard of concern in her voice. All the same. "A shame that you want to be a human again rather than ....something else. BECOMMING something else is generally fairly simple. But ....specifically returning to being human is a tricky thing." She noted quietly, rubbing her chin. She was, after all.....familiar with the ....finer inner workings of the soul.

"Hm. Well we all need a bit of perspective after all. Even the Gods above and on Earth find themselves proven wrong." She noted with a chuckle. "So... now that you are accepting of Help. What do you plan on doing now? Admittedly it's become a bit harder to run into demons these days. Shadow Fall is not quite as prevalent. And I can't help but feel like I don't really RUN into them as often. Do you plan on seeking them out? Finding them is one thing, but one willing to help you is entirely another. They can be ......unpredictable. What was the demon that turned you like? Were they part of an organization?"