Rira had been seated at a table in the academy cafeteria for what she guessed to have been an hour. Something that would reasonably never happen in the future again. Even as she sat, her thoughts wandered every now and then, questioning her intentions and if they carried a good enough reason. Which she concluded they did. 

See, Rira came to the academy for one reason only. She was searching for the magician she had encountered twice earlier. Once in a random scene of events and another time on an important day. Some time ago, she had attempted to take over the government of Shanghai but failed miserably. She had not failed to forget that there were other mages save for her and that they may pose a hindrance- no, not at all. What she had not expected was three of them to full-on fend against her and for the dumbest of reasons. Nevertheless, Faye had surprisingly fought alongside her, or something of that sort, and provided the witch with quite sinister plans. She had decided to attempt to manipulate the young mage, perhaps get her to linger on her side, and have the girl fight for her in the future. For that, she had gone looking for her assuming the magician would be in an academy full of mages.

What she had found instead was a short, odd-looking guy trying to steal food from the cafeteria. Or at least that is what she had assumed to be the case. The blonde had gathered a large number of foods and examined them for a good amount of time. And while Rira was the last one to involve herself in the business of other's, she had no choice but to do so.

She stood up from her empty table and carefully made her way to the teenager, her fingers playing with a small ring she had created out of her dark material. Nobody had given a helpful response to the woman's inquiry so far. This boy was one of the last she would ask before giving up.

"You look like you're familiar with this school. Have you seen a small girl with a witch's costume?" She uttered nonchalantly. Her eyes glanced down at the food, "also, are you poor or something? Why would you steal food from the academy?" 

Rira listened to the boy ramble on about how he definitely wasn't stealing. Even when he told her she would not detect him of thievery, ultimately confessing to having some kind of expertise in that category. She raised an eyebrow in slight curiosity when she noticed a smile on the face of the boy. It had not taken him long to open up and explain his actions. Something Rira found satisfyingly vulnerable. She wondered if she could use this to her advantage to find the magician.

"I see. How truly inspiring-- helping people of poverty. I've always dreamt of doing such a deed, I mean, I am working with facilities that aid families in need. Still, it never feels enough! I would hate for any more people to fall into a pit of blackness, similarly like how I did. I've been through it and I would never want people to experience such misery. Please, let me help you. " She quickly nodded with a determined yet disheartened smile, her voice softening. She didn't know anything about the state of hardship for she had not experienced nor seen much of it. Even so, she was determined to put on this act for as long as it would take. If this boy was truly as 'good' as he portrayed himself to be, he would pity or at least feel indebted to her. 

If he would let her: Giving him a faint push to the side, Rira summoned a large cloud from the floor to envelop the table from underneath it. With a swift wave of her hand, the dark smoke grew to pick up the table, supporting the food on top of it with balance and ease. While she did so, her eyes turned to stare in anticipation at him.

"Where would you like it? Are you taking it through a portal perhaps?" She questioned. Helping him move a few items was fine. Doing it with a portal or something that would save her time would be even better.

If one would read the inner monologue of the woman, all they would catch right now was laughing. One of those wicked kinds of cackles. In contrast to her inner thoughts, however, she was quite saddened on the outside. Trying to fight the discouraged smile, she turned to look away at some students lingering in the distance.

"It's nothing bad-- at least not as bad as some people have had it." She quickly glanced back at the now floating table. "I used to live in what I used to think of a middle-class household, something of that sort until our house was burned down. Mostly because of the fact that my father was a poor political member. He wanted to help others but in ways that the government did not wish to support.. so they made sure he couldn't get his voice out. After the fire, we were forced to live in motels until the day where my mother got sick. Since her death we lived on the streets and as if on cue, my father left as well." Rira moved slowly to raise her hand along with the table. She turned to look at him again, her other hand pulling the sleeve of her wrist to show a large wound exposed on the paleness of her skin. One that she had forged through the magic of her beloved blood, of course. "My arm got stuck in the mess of the fire so I have something to remind me each day of my past. Thankfully, the people on the street helped me get through my state and the death of my parents." She gave a shivery sigh and turned her head in the opposite direction for the finishing touch.

With a gentle nod, Rira started walking towards the exit of the cafeteria before halting. "Uh, I've never used those portals. Maybe you should lead the way?" She smiled carelessly. It was always good to have the person trust you first, that way it was easier to play with their minds. Having the boy lead her was one of those ways. Or so Rira thought.

"What about you?" She asked as they would walk. The woman was inquiring about his past, of course. She knew that the boy had gone through something of the poor sort. He practically exposed it and so Rira felt he was vulnerable for that.

With an attentive nod, Rira listened to the boy confirm her story was quite the common one of a poor person. She nodded again when he concluded the past of them should be enough reason to provide them with a better life. "Of course." Is what she let herself respond with, a determined expression taking place. No, not really. You deserve what you work for, not what you go through, her mind wandered, however.

"This is my first visit to the Academy actually. You seem quite aware, yourself. Of the place, that is." Rira noticed how he barely made eye contact or any suspicious movements giving the woman a fairly good summary of where she stood on the spectrum of his trust. He seemed to have eased up, his movements less stiff than in the beginning. A good sign. It was when she had asked him about his own past that he had tensed up again, his expression twisting a bit. Mental jobs? Wrong people? Sounds like your parents are to blame for your past, Rira thought, her expression nonchalant. She would be ready to switch it to a distressed one if he were to turn, of course, but for the meanwhile, she found his story to be quite idiotic. Just as he had mentioned. It was a shame that parents could do so much to ruin the lives of their children, but as a mage, he was capable of much more than just helping others in need. He was capable of upping himself, giving himself so much better. A shame he resorted to other plans though.

Rira noticed the way he cut his sentence short when speaking of his parents. Perhaps they had died for the boy quickly made sure the subject was switched. Even so, the woman decided to linger on it some more. She knew it was a sensitive topic for him.

"I don't know anything about your parents but I feel as if they tried to claim a bigger status, perhaps for your well being. Had they had a bigger position in the system they would've probably done good accomplishments. You know, I understand where you're comíng from. About wanting to help others," she started as she took a left following the boy's directions, "but you do realize it will never stop, right? Not when the current people of the government keep ruling. They haven't gone through what we have, what would they know about the lives of peasants? Think of it, how well would the choices of a rich man affect that of a poor one?" At this point, it was not about the magician she was searching for anymore. Rira viewed an easy target in front of her, in what world would she think of letting her chance with him slip? No, this one would pass off as a great puppet. So she began

"I think a person like you should rule. You would handle wealth in a good way, you would know how to use it, no? Distribute it fair. Not like the current leaders."

With a raised eyebrow, Rira's head tilted to the side expressively. She made sure to exaggerate all the emotions in order to seem non-hostile. Though, she couldn't understand the boy when he mentioned owning an entire city. Did he really? She had heard about a certain city being overtaken but she had no idea which and by whom. Her mind was too occupied by the recent events she had experienced. Had this occurred before those events she would have known in an instant. In fact, she would have been notified promptly after such an occurrence as her contacts made sure of such matters. This, however, she had no idea of.

"Well, if you say so." She uttered but it was when the boy mentioned New York that she quickly perked up in an instant. "New York? You mean to tell me that you own New York?" Now this she had heard. According to daily news, New York had been and was yet controlled by a certain boy that she did not know. Could it have been this one?

With crossed arms, she waved a few fingers causing the table to safely float towards the portal before abruptly stopping. Her gaze lingered for a while on the fresh meat lying on one of the containers before she turned to glance back at the boy.

"You know, now that you mention it, New York was controlled by some guy. I do have a hard time believing it was you who overtook it though." She waited for a response. Would he imply he was the one that took over it, she would shrug helplessly and proceed transferring the table. However, if he would confess that he was not the one who overtook it she would say something else:

"Then what's the point of calling it yours?" The woman whispered in a vexing tone, her lips would curve into a sinister grin before the boy "what you need to do is show them your power, not stand in the shadows of others. You need to be a leader of your own city."

Rira nodded ignoring the annoying thoughts that were crossing her. She complied with sending the table to the other side before she stepped in herself. The smoke would vanish if not for her presence, after all.

Arriving in New York seemed to be a surprise as she had never used the portals of the Academy before. It was quite strange how the powers of mages were put to use in these types of ways, though she understood civilization was the top priority of some. New York seemed as good as new, nothing disastrous, it was hard to imagine the lives of poor people being that bad. At least any worse than the lives of many others. Asian countries were, for example, living more worse off than the homeless people of New York. It was a joke to Rira. While she did not care for the people in either of these continents, she found it ironic that the boy would choose one place over the other.

"I have to say, I'm surprised you only care for one place," she started to test him, "I believe supplies should be distributed to all countries. I suppose it is easier for you to start here considering the fact that you rule New York. But that would be fixed by overtaking other countries, no? I'm disappointed, I thought we were on the same level of understanding." Rira crossed her arms turning her head slightly to the side. "I thought you wanted to help my people as much as I do."

Rira's eyes stared at the boy for his reactions. She had successfully pushed him over the top, perhaps not as much as she wanted to, but good enough. Personal, he had said. Once again, she did not understand. It's inevident that she couldn't understand or relate to him. Which was probably an obstacle if she wanted to get him on her side through deceit. "Ah, I apologize if I seemed over-enthusiastic." She understood now the true picture. "You're quite selfish, aren't you." She muttered with a genuine smirk.

She gently placed the table on the ground, her mind snapping out of her endless thoughts. Looking around she noticed the absence of the people he so much loved. The lack of people made her slightly stand on edge. It would be a problem if one of them happened to recognize her and possibly expose her for what she truly was, a businesswoman. She decided it would be for the best to leave as soon as possible. But first, she would have to push the boy to the max.

"Afterwards? Trust me, it won't be easy overtaking other cities. You might have gotten lucky with this one but the next destination will be much harder. And when that time comes you'll need my help." She smiled taking a step back. Rira would wait for the response of the boy before deciding on leaving or staying. Depending on his answer, she had two options to pick from.