|
|
Post by Solaris on Feb 28, 2013 20:43:12 GMT -5
"I'd be happy t' help, but I can only show you how - nothin' more." Char could sense a hint of the turmoil within the girl, though he was nowhere near the empath Nasiri was. He nodded towards the mats on the floor around the table. "Make yourself comfortable," he said. "I s'pose the Jedi taught ya how to meditate, right? Like as not skipped over the why of it. Meditatin' ain't an end in and of itself, not for us. It's the means t' the end of learnin' t' better use an' to serve th' Force by better attuning yourself to it.
"Th' trick to listenin' to the Force, y'see, is to remove yourself from the equation. To step back an' observe, not try an' look. Feel, not touch. Sense, but not seek." He smiled wryly and patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. "I imagine that's a bit of a trick for ya. Don't stress it if'n it don't come easy - took me years to really learn how to do it. Only when you're in tune with it can ya really move it to your will."
|
|
Nevermore
Moderator 
[SKB:omgtehskippy]
Posts: 112
|
Post by Nevermore on Feb 28, 2013 20:43:30 GMT -5
Constance's lips curled up into a small, reassured smile. She did as she was beckoned, approaching the cushions set out on the floor. She assumed a traditional meditative position, taking in the words that Char spoke to her. Meditation was one of the basics that Gracelyn had covered while Constance was under her, but the girl was so absorbed in her desire to train that she sparsely paid attention, much less practice it.
"Yes, I learned how to meditate," she affirmed. "Admittedly, I didn't do it often. I've always been more inclined to action, not pacifism." Constance's eyes closed languidly, and she attempted to follow the instructions and advice that Char had given her. She attempted to clear her mind, and it wasn't long before the disorienting effect started to take hold. With a cleared conscious and closed eyes, a nostalgic feeling of sleep started to overwhelm her. She was unsure if this was a standardized reaction, but she felt oddly at peace. She paid attention to every little thing; her chest rising and falling with each breath, the flare of her nostrils, the soft touch of her skirt and fingers tickling her leg.
"This is... new."
|
|
|
|
Post by Solaris on Feb 28, 2013 20:45:17 GMT -5
While Constance knelt down and started meditating, Char sat down beside her in the half-lotus. He closely but discretely observed her, making sure she did as she was supposed to do. It wouldn't have helped if she simply sat there bored.
"Meditation ain't about pacifism," Char replied, "no more than th' Jedi Code is, though I s'pose some of th' Jedi's taken that lesson a bit too much t' heart." He smiled wryly. So maybe he was going to let in a little of his own opinions at this point of the training. "It's about peace an' will. In a way, it's helpin' t' train your will an' your connection to the Force jus' like calisthenics trains your body an' readin' trains your mind. You're not just sittin' there, you're basically clearin' the transmissions in your head so's you can hear th' background noise - so to speak."
Char rose to his feet, a little unsteadily due to his foot having fallen asleep. He patted Constance on the shoulder. "Now I'mma clear the interference of m'self - I'll be in the machine shop. Come find me when ya like - the ship-mind'll tell ya how to find it."
|
|
Nevermore
Moderator
[SKB:omgtehskippy]
Posts: 112
|
Post by Nevermore on Feb 28, 2013 21:00:34 GMT -5
Ship mind? Surely Char jested. Constance pushed the thoughts out of mind and remained where she sat. She didn't want to lessen Char's faith in her about her obedience. He was different than Gracelyn was, and so deserved different treatment. His footfalls soon became inaudible, and all she could hear was the piercing silence interrupted steadily by the beating of her heart. She could feel everything he had described to her, and became lost in the sensation she felt.
After what felt like a few moments, Constance's eyes opened. Her eyes meandered to the clock in Char's quarters, taking note that she had been absorbed in her trance for well over half an hour. She wasn't sure how time had striated so quickly, but she refused to stop and ponder it. Hurrying to her feet and towards the door, the teenager was stopped by a peculiarly human-sounding voice.
Constance stopped in her tracks, spinning around to observe Char's quarters. The door hadn't been opened since his departure.
"Who's there?" she inquired. Silence. Then the female voice spoke up again, though refrained from answering her question, instead rattling about the directions to the machine shop. Constance drew in a hesitant breath, realizing this ship really did have a mind of its own. It was something she had never heard of before, and she was perplexed about what technology could allow for a fully comprehensible AI for an entire ship.
"Thank you?" she uttered in confusion. Whether or not the AI could understand gestures of kindness, she knew not. The door to Char's quarters hissed open, Constance barreling out of the door and down the corridors the AI had instructed her to navigate. It wasn't long before the girl had found the machine shop, and she felt her cheeks flush bright red in embarrassment. She had nothing to be embarrassed for, she knew. It was probable Char would be happy that she had taken so long, considering she was meditating the entire time.
It was still embarrassing though.
The doors to the machine shop hissed open, the teenager's clothes fluttering mildly at the decompression. Her footfalls echoed through the room as she entered, green eyes searching for her new Master.
"Char?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Solaris on Mar 1, 2013 9:48:50 GMT -5
"Right here, kiddo," Char said as he walked over to her, wiping his hands off on a rag. The shop behind him was still shiny and new, with an assortment of fabrication equipment and maintenance tools arrayed within; fitting, as the hangar was right next door. He noted her cheeks were red, but figured the flush was from exertion rather than embarrassment - until he caught her emotional state. Yeah, she had an over-abundance of pride. He couldn't help but chuckle at how easily embarrassed and flustered she was, but the kid sure could stand to not take herself so seriously.
"So what'd ya find?"
|
|
Nevermore
Moderator
[SKB:omgtehskippy]
Posts: 112
|
Post by Nevermore on Mar 1, 2013 16:51:06 GMT -5
The girl fumbled with her words, caught off guard by a series of stuttering "uhs" as she tried to piece together everything she had felt. Her nostrils flared in discontent as she drew in a deep breath, closing her eyes to let peace reign over her mind. Exhuming the breath through her nose, her lush green eyes became visible again as the lids opened.
"A lot," was all she could say. It was scarcely sufficient though, and she needed to say more.
"I felt tranquil. I felt like even if I was attacked at that moment, I would be able to keep calm," she continued. "It felt like nothing could disturb me. It felt like I could sense everything around me, right down the faint fluttering of a moth's wings." Was there really a way someone could describe the benevolence of the Force washing over you like water over a smooth stone?
"Oh, who am I kidding?" she sighed. "That doesn't do it justice by a mile."
|
|
|
|
Post by Solaris on Mar 2, 2013 7:21:55 GMT -5
"Language really has a lack for it," Char agreed as he tucked the rag into his belt. "Like I said, it really ain't somethin' I can really put words to - not without a lot a' fancy flowery poetry an' whatnot." He shrugged. "An' even then, it really only makes sense to someone what knows what you're talkin' about."
Char looked over at where he'd been working, where an atomic furnace was heating up a handful of metal ingots. The ingots were a selection of good durasteels with varying hardnesses and ductilities, all glowing orange-white behind the heat screen. Char contemplated for a moment, thinking about how he wanted to do this next step. It could very, very easily fall into dark arts if he weren't careful about how he taught her this. "Tell me what ya know 'bout alchemy an' the Art of the Small," Char said as he looked back at Constance.
|
|
Nevermore
Moderator
[SKB:omgtehskippy]
Posts: 112
|
Post by Nevermore on Mar 2, 2013 10:19:51 GMT -5
Constance felt even more disheveled as Char inquired about what she knew about alchemy. She had never learned about it or practiced it, and had only heard about it in whispers between others. Traveling with Char was certainly opening up more avenues of learning than she had originally anticipated.
"I don't, I'm afraid," Constance answered. "I've heard about it, vaguely, but haven't done any extensive researching or study on it before."
Despite everything that Char was teaching her, the girl couldn't help but wonder when the two of them would get to combat training. It was what she wanted to learn about the most, and what she felt she was best at. She dared not believe she was better than Char, but she wasn't inept or incompetent. She remained quiet and refocused her mind back on the topic at hand.
"What I did hear about it," Constance continued to elaborate, "wasn't precisely 'good.'"
|
|
|
|
Post by Solaris on Mar 2, 2013 18:18:36 GMT -5
"Wouldn't expect ya to," Char replied. He arched an eyebrow at the flicker of impatience, the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "What most folk know about alchemy is what ol' Adas is doin' down southwards, what with the turnin' folk into red-skinned monsters and puttin' 'em in that berserker armor an' all. That ain't the half of it, not really."
Char walked over to the table and picked up a fearsome draconic mask, a snarling reptile-faced helm with an array of six horns. He looked into its smoldering red eyes for a moment, feeling the flickers of fury and wrath, compassion and love bound within it, then tossed it to Constance. "Technically speakin', that's dark armor. Part of mine, actually. Modeled after th' krayt dragon a' Tatooine. I assembled it - an' the rest of the suit - molecule by molecule and imbued it with th' Force."
|
|
Nevermore
Moderator
[SKB:omgtehskippy]
Posts: 112
|
Post by Nevermore on Mar 2, 2013 18:58:01 GMT -5
As the mask landed in Constance's hands, she couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for the object. She could feel the menagerie of feelings tickling her palms, some irritating her mind while others warmed her heart. She admired it.
"It is beautiful," she spoke quietly as she approached Char, holding it out for him to reclaim.
"Are you planning on teaching me?" she inquired. Her first impressions of alchemy were those of frivolity; science created for those to make them feel like they were magic. She understood now that it was different than what she had originally anticipated, and saw it as an incredibly invaluable skill to have. There was no telling what someone could make with this sort of knowledge, whether their intents were pure or not.
"Or are you just showing me?" she inquired. She recognized the possibility that Char was merely showing her, and thought she'd clear up what his intentions really were.
|
|
