The professor said nothing but started leading them out, so Cynnya followed, mouthing a silent 'thank you' to Halin'a. She tilted her chin up proudly and walked in front of the guards with as much grace and poise as she could manage, thankful that they were letting her walk on her own. She noticed, however, that their hands remained on the hilts of their swords and she scoffed silently. She was a small young woman who looked like she could barely hurt a fly in her human form. Sure, she could probably outrun the two guards but her unarmed combat skills were still just basic and she would probably get only a few good hits in before they were able to subdue her. The only hope she would have of actually causing some damage was changing into her ocelot form and clawing their eyes out, but any form of resisting at this point would be tantamount to guilt in this matter. Apprehension grew in her stomach as they neared the Asylum and she choked back her fear, letting none show on her face. This would be the first time she would be even near the Scholar's Asylum and the stories that came from the place were enough to give her chills. Her eyes widened in surprise at the destruction of the building doors. Her sensitive nose picked up the scent of something burning from inside the building before they had even passed through the doors and she looked over at Halin'a quizically to see if he was just as confused as she. They seriously thought she, a 3 year old Kelvic with no training in Djed whatsoever and nothing but fear for the dreaded asylum, had something to do with this? This was preposterous. Cynnya held her breath as they passed through the doors, foolishly thinking that she could somehow breathe in the magic that caused many to go mad in these halls. Finally she couldn't hold it any longer and was forced to breathe as they climbed the stairs, silently wishing she was anywhere but here. Her pupils were wide with terror and she kept glancing back at Halin'a to be sure he was still there, some small comfort in this horrid situation. She watched intently as the professor opened the door with the strange symbols, wondering why he seemed to avoid touching any of the symbols. She fought the urge to spit at him as he ordered them inside, choosing instead to adopt a more mature response of keeping her mouth shut and entering as ordered. He was not the one she needed to convince of her innocence, it seemed, he was just an errand boy for the Ignatius guy. The door locked ominously behind them and she turned to Halin'a, her eyes wide and full of apology. "Halin'a, I am so sorry, you didn't need to come with me. You need to believe me, I have no idea what is going on. This is my first time even in the Scholar's Asylum and all I know from here are terrible stories of people going mad from misusing Djed," she said quickly, her words practically running into each other in her panic and trying to convince Halin'a that she was innocent. "I've never practiced Djed, my roommate does but she's not very good at it and I could certainly never damage those doors we passed through." She searched his face for any sign that he either did or didn't believe her. Tears pushed themselves into her vision and she brushed them away angrily; she would not show signs of weakness, not now. |