Solo Healing Touch?

[Brandon Blackwing]

Day 5 of Summer 515AV


A new day, the fifth of the new season, actually. A new season that –if things continued this way- might just prove to be disastrous. After the many tremors of last season, a landslide had eventually blocked the gate, locking everyone without wings or sublime wall-scaling skills into the city. Even Brandon couldn’t get out; he hadn’t shifted ever since having completely recovered from his injuries sustained on the trip to the volcanic city. But that did not matter, he didn’t have time for flying around, or that was what he told himself anyway.

But today was a day of work, not teaching however. It was one of the random jobs he’d do for a couple days before moving on to another. For the next few days he’d be stationed at the Dreaming Lady, some sort of spa. A relaxation center he knew Dru liked to visit. Of course, the list posted had already informed the bat of what he’d be doing specifically; massage. It didn’t sound very interesting, but then again, that was probably because Brandon did not really know what massage was supposed to mean. Sure, he’d heard the term here and there, but what exactly was it? Brandon’s curiosity did make him feel a little excited, though he feared he’d be severely disappointed.

The bat weaved through the crowd and the warrens, until he found himself in a rather bright room, with three ways to go. He frowned and tried to determine just which way he was supposed to go. Fortunately though, there were a couple of people walking about who looked like staff, and the thief decided to ask one of them for directions. As it would seem, the brightest room was his destination, and without hesitation the bat headed that way, his eyes narrowing slightly against the light.

What he found were more rooms though, and none of them appeared to be occupied. Brandon frowned, stepping into one of the rooms to inspect it. It was small, though large enough for about four persons to walk around in without being packed together like bats in a cave. In the middle were two strange looking tables. Upon closer examination though, the bat determined they were beds or benches, and not tables. They were padded and soft, they appeared quite comfortable, really. On one side there was a hole with extra padding, though the Kelvic had no idea what that was for.

Footsteps approached then, and the bat turned around quickly, spotting a woman walking into the first room, heading his way when she noticed him. “Hello,” she said in Common, probably because of Brandon’s non-Inarta appearance, “what can I do for you?” she smiled a professional smile.
“Ah, ehm, I’m here for the massage..?” Brandon replied, not really sure he was in the right place.
“Massage, yes of course,” the woman spoke brightly, “Please make yourself comfortable on the massage table. Have you experienced this before?”
Brandon frowned lightly, a little confused at the instructions he was given. What was the point of this? “No… This is a first for me.”

“Ah well, allow me to explain. Massage is the art of making the customer relax. It is a way to relax muscles and alleviate cramps and the like.”
That explanation earned a frown from the bat, a full-fledged frown. Was such a thing possible? The woman noticed and just waved to the strange bed. “Just take your clothes off and go lay yourself on the table,” she sighed, “place your face in the hole.”

Curious, Brandon simply complied, taking off his boots, then his bryda, and unbuckled the straps binding the daggers to his legs. After placing his belongings on a pile, he lied down as instructed, placing his face in the hole. At least now he knew what that was for. “That’s a nasty scar on your back,”the woman commented, “I’ve never seen such a huge claw mark… what’s it from?”
“An owl.”
“Must have been a gigantic owl then.”
“Yeah, about five times as large as I am, I think. Something like that.”
“You’re lucky you made it out alive,” Brandon could hear from her voice she was smiling.
“Perhaps. Or maybe Dira just decided it wasn’t my time yet.” Brandon smiled too.

And then the woman started doing her thing. The massage. It felt wonderful. She worked on his muscles, almost as if his body was a clay statue she was refining. She pressed, and rubbed and twisted, and Brandon felt himself relax, his body going almost limp, his mind overflowing with a sensation he knew was bliss. And yet, how was this supposed to be his job for the day? There was no way he was just supposed to lie here all day, relaxing, that was not how Wind Reach worked. “So ehm, I think there has been a misunderstanding… I’m not a customer, I’m here to work, actually.”
“I’m aware, I just thought that to understand what you are supposed to do you have to experience it first. Massage is more complex than you would think, it’s not just rubbing. So I believe an experience can tell more than any explanation.”
“In that case, I have no complaints.”

credit goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Brandon Blackwing]

Too soon the massage was over, leaving the bat only with the feeling of relaxation and the ghost of of the sensation where the woman had rubbed his muscles. Strangely enough, for how relaxed he felt, there was an amazing amount of vigor coursing through his veins. Brandon felt as if he'd been rejuvenated really, as if someone had erased all exhaustion, stress and any feelings of being used from his body. He felt... new. Moving was a pleasure, not moving was too. Dumbfounded, the bat wriggled his fingers a bit, then forming a fist, opening and closing it a couple times. There was no stiffness; while he felt as if he'd had a great night's rest, his body did not show any signs of stiffness or numbness.

“Surprised?” a voice spoke, the woman of course, “I told you massage isn't just rubbing, right? We relieve your muscles of any stress, tension and pain, yes, but we do more than that. We use the energy flowing through your body. Sometimes the paths are blocked, and we can open them again. Or ease the flow of energy, which I've done with you.” Brandon frowned a little, then raised an eyebrow. “What? Energy flow?” He sounded a little skeptical, and with reason; this whole energy thing sounded like bullshyke. Some floaty spiritual bullshyke. “Well, not really energy,” she admitted, “Djed.” Brandon's frown deepened; he had heard that word before, he knew it was Ancient Tongue. But what did it mean again? His knowledge was limited to a couple words here and there.

“Djed,” the woman clarified, “as in the stuff you use for magic.” The bat's eyebrow raised even higher. “I don't use magic.” She smiled at that, a little smugly. “Not only practitioners of the magical arts have Djed, they just use it to fuel their magic. They call upon the Djed in their bodies in order to use their magic. Like this;” One of Brandon's boots started floating in the air, but the woman did not do a thing. Her arms just rested at her side. “What are you doing?” the thief frowned, “Who are you?” His boot fell back to the ground, where Brandon picked it up and studied it intensely, as if he hoped to find a clue.

“Magic,” she beamed, but Brandon did not smile at all. “What magic? There are many kinds.”
“Oh? Someone with some knowledge of the magic arts? Who are you?”
Brandon crossed his arms. “I asked you first.”
“My name's Theresa, and you are..?”
“Brandon Blackwing. What magic did you use?” His voice had gained a certain commanding tone. The bat wasn't happy at all with this development. A mage with the same magic as the Shinya; was she undercover? Sent here to drag him back to Lhavit? Had Alses figured out his identity?

“You don't know?” She seemed more amused and intrigued than offended by the bat's words and tone of voice.
“I've seen it before, now answer the question.”
“It's called projection, alright?”
“How does it work? But first... who are you really? Where did you learn it?”
She grinned a secretive grin. “I told you already; I'm Theresa. I'm a masseuse.” Then she paused for a moment. “Why are you asking? Do you want to learn this magic?” Brandon shook his head. “I just want to know.” In truth he'd have pulled a dagger on her already if not for the uncertainty of who she was. It wasn't a good idea to go threatening people anywhere, especially if she could be Shinya. Maybe Alses had sent some of Lhavit's guards to all surrounding cities, with instructions to find Incognito and bring him to justice. If that was the case he couldn't behave suspiciously at all. Damn, he'd been doing this wrong all along. Maybe Theresa had seen right through him already.

“I just learned it here,” she sighed eventually, shrugging. “Most people with knowledge of magic in this city are reimancers, but there are a couple people who are schooled in the other disciplines as well. I learned mine from-”
“It's alright,” Brandon interrupted, “I was just a little surprised is all. I've been attacked by that magic once, and well... I'm not quite comfortable around people who use it. I mean, they were part of some gang, and for all I know anyone with that magic could be one of them...” Not quite a lie, but it wasn't the truth either. Theresa frowned. “I don't think there is a lot of them though, but they said they had at least one agent in every city in Kalea...” he trailed off, not really sure if he should expand on the lie or not.

“A gang?”
“Yes, they had a tattoo of a broken sword on their thigh,” Brandon lied, making things up on the spot. “And why did they attack you?”
“That's... kind of personal...”
“Yes, I understand. Well,” she said, pulling her bryda down to show her tattoo-less thighs, “as you can see I'm not one of them.” She smiled, and Brandon feigned relief, partly, since he truly was relieved she'd believed him. “Sorry I got a bit … defensive there.”
“Don't worry about it, I can relate. It's not the same, but I have been avoiding a certain group of endal for years now...” Her expression darkened. “I know what it's like, feeling as if they're waiting for you around every corner, behind every door...” She let out a deep sigh. “But anyways, that has nothing to do with today. What was I saying again? Ah, yes, the djed!”

credit goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Brandon Blackwing]

“So yes, Djed. Apart from knowing that it is used for magic, what do you know about it?” Theresa asked. Brandon merely shook his head, indicating he knew nothing. “Right. Uhm, you might not know about Djed, but you know about souls right?” The bat nodded. “Okay, so everyone has a soul, every living thing has a soul, but one does not need to have a soul to have Djed. Everything is Djed. Well, everything is made out of Djed.”
“What?” the thief frowned, “You mean a stone is made out of the same thing as I am? But I am flesh and bone, and a stone is, well, stone?”
Theresa nodded, scratching her head. “Yes, well, it's complicated. I can't really explain it very well, but just accept it. Alright? So everything has Djed, but not all Djed is as pure. A stone's Djed is not as … powerful as your own. Do you get that?”

Brandon had a major frown on his face at that time, trying to comprehend what exactly she was saying. “No. I don't get it. How can a stone be made out of the same stuff as myself? Or a tree?”
“Just accept it. That's just how things are.”
“I can't accept it just like that! Explain things a little at least. How can I accept it without an explanation? Without proof?”
“Ah, but, can you explain your existence?”
“I was born?”
“And how come you were born? Why were you born? Why are you here?”
“I... I have no idea...” the bat admitted.
“Then tell me, is there any proof you exist?”
“Of course! I am standing here, am I not? Proof enough for me.”
“But are you really here? Are you sure you actually exist? Are you sure you are not just something someone made up? Are you sure you are not just a hallucination?”
“Don't go all philosophical on me! Besides, even if I was, I'd still be real, and I'd still exist. Period. And what does this have to do with massage anyway?”

Theresa laughed at that, and Brandon crossed his arms, not really seeing the humor of it all. “You'll soon see how this has to do with massage. Now, Djed. Let's just say that Djed is what makes a stone a stone, and it is what makes you, you. It is different for everything and everyone, and yet it is the same.”
“I still don't really get it,” Brandon frowned, rubbing his temples. The masseuse sighed and made a dismissive gesture. “Your soul is also made out of Djed,” she said, and Brandon's eyes lit up a little. “Because everything is made out of Djed, right?”
“Yes! Are you beginning to understand?”
“No. I'm just repeating what you said. You're not really making sense at all.” The Inarta's face was blank for a tick, and then she pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. “You're a piece of work, aren't you?”

“Whatever, let's just keep going,” she sighed, continuing her lecture, “So, to fuel magic, you use your own Djed. Usually of your own soul, since that's the purest, and makes your magic more powerful. Though I guess that when you're overgiving you sometimes use your body's... would explain the wounds and all...” The last bit came out in a soft murmur, but the bat's ears picked it up nonetheless. “Hold on a tick! YOU USE YOUR SOUL?! WHAT THE HECK?! THAT'S INSANE!!!”
Theresa only shrugged however. “Magic has its risks, yes, which is where overgiving comes in.”
“HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM ABOUT IT?!” Brandon shouted, a little disgusted but most of all shocked. “IT'S YOUR SOUL YOU'RE USING!!!!”
“Well, I reacted like you did, but it's been ten years since I was initiated. I've just accepted it as one of the risks and moved on. You just have to be careful not to go into overgiving and everything's all right.” She smiled. Brandon was not convinced. “What's overgiving then?”
“It's going to far. Using too much of your soul. You exceed your limits. You start destroying your body, and worst of all, it makes you want to cast more and more. You don't want to stop...” Brandon's eyes went wide. So all those mages who went on a rampage in Lhavit..? All those who suddenly collapsed, started bleeding out of nowhere, who grew permanent bark on their arms, or who had stone-like deformities... That was all overgiving? Why would you even want to practice magic with those risks? It couldn't be worth it! He'd known it all along; you had to be crazy to pick up magic.

“Sometimes if you go too far, but way too far, it becomes permanent. You go insane. You are stuck with horrible deformations. Some can still be healed though, with the right treatment, if they are treated quickly enough. And that's why you have to be careful at all times with magic.” Brandon just stared in disbelief. He'd know magic was dangerous, but this? This? Oh gods. Well, if he'd ever see those things happen in front of his eyes he'd knock them out immediately; be it Zhol, Sal, or anyone else. A rampaging mage was even more dangerous than a relatively sane one. He shivered.

credit goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Brandon Blackwing]

“That was a bit of a tangent though. Anyways, to get back to the point; you have a soul. Every living thing has a soul...” Theresa continued her explanation, getting to a topic and concept that Brandon was at least a little more familiar with. Living things had souls; everyone knew that, even though no-body really had proof of the matter. Then again, ghosts existed, and they were very creepy and potentially dangerous. But more importantly, some people believed they were souls without a body, and Brandon was one of the people believing this theory. Or superstition, whatever you wanted to call it. … Did that make people just ghosts in a shell? A fleshy shell?

“Your soul is what enables you to move. It is the core of your being, of your existence, and of your body. Your soul controls your body. The arm of your soul is what is inside your arm, what makes your arm move. The same goes for every other part of your body; your soul has a corresponding part that makes it move, or do what it does. That's what we call the astral body.”
“So you are saying,” Brandon slowly spoke, frowning deeply, “that there is a body within my body?”
“Simply put, yes, that is correct.”

Brandon nodded, just accepting it and storing the knowledge in the vaults of his mind. Whether he understood or not mattered little, if he had the knowledge of things he could make do. Somehow. Besides, he wasn't interested in learning magic anyway, but it was good to know just how they did those impossible things. “The astral body is also what we use in projection. I detach the astral body from my arm and use it to do whatever I wish.” the female Inarta disclosed. “That sounds... painful. But how come I can't see it? Your arm, I mean?”
“Because you have no way of seeing it? I don't know. Moving on!” she clapped her hands together. “Of course it's not as simple as just having a body within a body. Both need to be connected. You get that, right? It's like trying to move a pebble by moving another pebble; if there's nothing connecting the two, only one will move. And that's what's happens with projection; basically. But, if you tie a knot around one pebble, and the other end of the rope around a different pebble, you can move both.”
“Because the rope connects the two stones!” This was something Brandon did understand; he could see it in his mind too. It sounded very simple and logical.

“Exactly! Now, the same goes for your body, but it is a lot more complex, naturally. Instead of one cord connecting your astral arm with the arm of your body, your 'real' arm, so to speak, there are many, many of those cords. And through those cords flows Djed, which makes it possible to sense with, to feel with, and to use that specific part of your body.” She took a brief pause to catch her breath. “Massage can enhance the flow of Djed in your body, if the masseuse is good enough and knows where to push, rub, twist and whatnot. And you have to do it the right way too of course.” Brandon nodded sagely, these were things he could understand, things he considered particularly useful. “Have you heard of pressure points, by any chance?” he queried, having heard that term a couple times before, once or twice from his own mother's mouth. It sure sounded massage-ish.

“Ah, yes, I have. I believe they are the places were Djed pathways cross or come together, right? Like some sort of intersection or crossroads? Yes, I think that's what my teacher told me a long while ago... Why? Are you interested?” Brandon nodded, stroking his goatee absentmindedly. “I thought it had something to do with massage, I just wasn't sure.”
“They do,” Theresa stated a little surprised, “they actually play a major role in manipulating the energy flow in the body. As a masseuse I have some basic knowledge of the location of some, and how to use them.” Brandon nodded thoughtfully, his eyes gleaming. Manipulating the energy flow in the body... that sounded useful, especially after the explanation on that magic Djed stuff he'd been given. If he could somehow block that flow, could he make someone unable to use magic? Temporarily perhaps, but still, it would give him an edge in fighting mages... Or even better, perhaps it would make some specific part of the body useless, limp. Like that magic, the projection. If he could somehow sever the cord, so to speak, the second stone wouldn't move. As was the case if he'd somehow hold the cord in place, but in such a way it did not allow any movements... Now that would be neat!

credit goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Brandon Blackwing]

Brandon's daydreams did not have a lot of time to exist though, as Theresa soon explained that even though she did have some knowledge of the pressure points, she did not know the location of all of them, but only a fraction. Positively manipulating the energy flow within the body, so the masseuse explained, was a difficult task, since there were many things to take into account. One part was the anatomy of the person who'd requested the massage. All humanoid creatures were relatively similar in terms of bone arrangement, and they often had the same types of muscles in the same places, but the internal systems were not always the same. Apparently, the location of pressure points was somewhat different for every race, which made it hard for practitioners of massage to perform as well on different races. Kelvic were a different story though, as they essentially were human when not in their animal form.

“So, you see, massage is a lot more complex than you'd imagine,” the masseuse said proudly, placing her hand son her hips and puffing up her chest. “More than anything, you need to have a good understanding of the anatomy of each respective race, but that's just the basic knowledge you need. Pressure points and the Djed network in your body is for the rather advanced. ” Brandon stared at the woman silently for a bit, then his frown resurfaced, and a grin formed. “I don't suppose you're the best in your field here?” She blushed and her confident pose crumbled. “Well... no, I'm not the best. There are a lot of others working here who are many times better than me... I'm actually considered to be something of a rookie, actually...” Theresa admitted, staring at the ground with crossed arms. “So then why are you the one supposed to walk me through all this stuff?” Brandon had one eyebrow raised and his grin had turned smug, but his questions weren't an attack on the woman. “That's... uhm... because of my Common... I speak it better than anyone here, so...”

She recuperated quickly though, the slight embarrassment she'd no doubt felt for a couple moments replaced with her smug feeling from before. “But despite that, you cannot even compare to me when it comes to skill and knowledge!” Bran blinked once, and then he laughed, guessing that was supposed to be some sort of jab in his direction. “You're completely right,” he admitted with a shrug, “and that is why I am here.” With a grin he strapped his daggers back to his ankle and thigh, put on his bryda and boots, and sat down on the massage table. “So what exactly am I supposed to be doing today? Obviously I know next to nothing about massage, and I have no experience at all either.”

It took a while before the masseuse answered, using the moment of silence to think about it. “Well, I was told to teach you the basics... so that's what I'll be doing.” She walked towards him, ushered him to get off the table and took place upon it herself. “Say I am a customer, a hunter who just got back from a hike in the Unforgiving. My legs and feet hurt from walking, and my back is a bit sore from hiding in the bushes. What do you do?” Brandon frowned lightly; since she was a customer he couldn't tell her to stop whining, could he? Sore feet and back seemed to be part of the job to the bat. Then again, a good massage was a true pleasure... and could provide some relief of the soreness, or so masseurs and masseuses claimed. “I'd massage their back and legs?” Not quite hard to figure that out. “And how would you do it? Show me. Demonstrate it.” She took off one of her slippers.

Brandon knelt down, grabbing her foot gently with both hands, and thought for a moment. Massage was rubbing, right? But the foot was a little too small to just rub with his palms... he could use his thumbs though... With his fingers on her sole and his thumbs on the top part of her foot, Brandon started rubbing, tracing circles with fingers and thumbs. “Like this?”
“Hmmm... yes.... Though you can be a little more... less gentle. You're not applying enough pressure to give the desired effect.” The Kelvic increased the force with which he rubbed, but Theresa wasn't satisfied with this either, telling him to be a little more gentle. It took a while before he managed to find the right amount of pressure. He massaged one foot for a couple chimes, then moving to the next, noticing before long his fingers were starting to ache a little. The unfamiliar movements were strangely taxing, and Theresa took note straight away. “Not as easy as you thought it was, right? Sometimes you can't use your arms for the movements , and you can only use your fingers, and those aren't very used to doing intensive tasks.” Brandon heard she was grinning from the tone of voice she was using, though he did not bother to look up, instead focusing on finishing the second foot, trying to ignore the strain in his fingers.

credit goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Brandon Blackwing]

For the next bit, Theresa said she’d rather stand and watch while giving the bat instructions, thus she left for a brief couple chimes to fetch a friend of hers to, like she worded it, “be the subject for a torture session”. Clearly Brandon’s foot massage hadn’t been nearly as good as he had thought it was. Or was the masseuse just teasing him? She hadn’t really complained or given negative feedback when he’d been at it; not when he’d followed her instructions anyway. Unless of course he’d been doing so terrible she had just given up and endured it. Not a happy thought really; not for someone who was quite proud of the finesse of his fingers and hands. They could be deadly and painful for fighting, but also careful and gentle when picking pockets or locks. Perhaps that was the problem; maybe there were not enough gradations in between.

Theresa returned soon enough though, followed by two people, judging from the rhythm of the footsteps. Brandon stopped staring at his hands and put them in the pockets of his bryda instead, waiting for the door to open. Three people spilled into the room –apparently more than one person was interested in subjecting them to Brandon’s fearsome hands of torture- which was getting a little crowded with four persons inside it. Obviously, once two of them would take place on the tables there would be more than enough room. Both newcomers were female, so his nose told him, as if his eyes were not competent enough to tell him that, but they were not around the same age. Both were short, shorter than Theresa –who already was one head shorter than Brandon. The youngest of the two new females was the tallest of the duo, the oldest teetering on the edge of being a second Azira, only way older. Unfortunately for the grumpy huntress though, the older woman was still a couple inches taller.

And she was old, probably as old as Gallan, if not older. Ancient was a more appropriate word, the bat found. “So, this is Irina,” Theresa introduced the old Inarta, “and this-”
“Hey! Mister Brandon!” If her appearance and scent hadn’t been enough to allow the bat to attach a name to the yasi in front of him, her voice certainly did. “Hello Isha,” the Kelvic smiled at his pupil, “Irina.” He nodded in her direction.
“That is Mrs. Irina to you, young’un!” came the reply, and Brandon winced at the grating sound of the old woman’s voice. “Youngsters these days! No respect for their elders anymore. Back in my day we would get a slap for that disrespect- and don’t you make that face at me! I saw that Theresa! Rolling your eyes like that! Honestly I don’t remember ever raising you to be such a scamp! It’s all the fault of those… those teachers! They’ve gone too soft on the yasi. Letting them do what they please. Teaching them useless knowledge and anything but the most important things! Manners!”

Brandon let out a deep sigh, one that was drowned in the flood of words coming from old Irina. This would be tiring for sure. Theresa leaned in from his left, smiling vaguely before covering the side of her mouth with one hand so Irina, who had begun ranting against the Yasi, wouldn’t see if she happened to glance their way. “Sorry, my friend was preoccupied, so you’ll have to do with my mother instead.” She grinned widely, and Brandon let out a defeated sigh. “And what’s Isha doing here?” he asked, nodding his head towards the annoyed-looking girl.
“Oh, bendi. She’s been assigned to do some bendi for my mother, or that’s what I understand anyway. But as I asked my mother to come here for a bit, she came with her.”

“Hmmmm…” The bat eyed the yasi for a moment, and the girl’s bored expression turned wicked quickly. With a couple quick chirps and a gesture of her hand she managed to fix Irina’s attention onto Brandon instead. “Ah! So you’re one of them eh, whippersnapper? I should have known! It’s written all over you!” Her approach was quite sudden and she almost launched her index finger in the thief’s nostril as she raged. “Rebels, all of you! Good-for-nothings who lack respect and manners! No surprise the young’uns of today have none either, with you lot teaching them! Great example you set for them to follow! I told the Valintar many times, I said, Kaden, boy, listen. This is going too far. The quality of the teachers is going down, we need better ones! But does he listen? No! No! No, he does not! Instead he even gives the position to outsiders!” she snorted loudly. “You know what we did back in my day with outsiders, whippersnapper? We tossed them into the crater, we did!” Isha couldn’t contain her laughter anymore, causing Irina to snap her head in her direction. “Ah! You’re laughing now, scamp, but back then this behavior would not be tolerated! Oh no! We- ”

Fortunately, Theresa interfered, calming her mother down –even though it took a whole five chimes- and coaxed her onto the massage table with words like “token of respect” and “deserving it”. With a last sputter of “the good old days”, Irina gave in, making herself comfortable on the table, clothes abandoned. “Alright Brandon, she’s all yours! And don’t worry, she likes it rough.” The wink added at the end only made the bat more hesitant to start, but before he could even move a muscle, Irina had already started rambling again. “Ha! You laugh now, but back in my day I was a real beauty! All men fought for me. Managed even to hook an endal, I did! Ha, but I’m glad the bastard’s dead. Couldn’t keep his hands to himself, became even worse after he returned from the Inclement. Back then the place was still a respectable club, not that newfangled hot-shot sweatroom!” It enticed a collective sigh from the youngsters present, and Theresa gestured the bat should just begin.

credit goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Brandon Blackwing]

Brandon started with Irina’s shoulders, following Theresa’s instructions carefully, mostly using his thumbs again, tracing circles at the base of the old woman’s neck, and shoulder blades. In an attempt to make the old nagging Inarta shut up, the bat even applied some extra force, but his plan backfired instantly, resulting in an assault of swears and commands to be gentler. Fortunately, Isha had been sent away to fetch some special sleep inducing tea, and, like a gift from whatever goddess of mercy out there, she arrived only a chime later. The three younger people had the old lady drink it, and soon enough the woman appeared to become too sleepy to speak another word.

A relieved sigh rippled through the small room, and finally there was peace and quiet. Well, not that long, but long enough for a breather. Theresa soon began giving the Kelvic some more instructions, her voice a bit hushed, probably so not to disturb her mother now she was being silent. “Right, for the back and legs you’ll be using some special lotion from this bottle here,” she said, handing Brandon a small vial. “Apply some on your hands first to warm it up before smearing it on Irina.” The bat nodded and did exactly that, then rubbing it into the skin of Irina’s legs using long stroking and pushing motions with his hands, just like the masseuse was telling him to.

Suddenly, Isha spoke up, a little too loud for both Bran and Theresa’s liking. Before she’d even managed to form a whole word, the two of them had hushed her already, the masseuse sealing her mouth with her palm. “Keep your voice down,” Brandon hissed, “you almost woke her. This’ll cost you five sets!” Isha gave him a wicked grin before replying: “Sorry Mister Brandon, but you have no power here! Today you’re not a teacher, and Therry is in charge.” The bat could swear he heard the old woman murmur something along the lines of “I told you so, no respect. Serves you right, damned teachers…”, but she hadn’t moved one bit, so he guessed he’d imagined it. Meanwhile Theresa -or Therry, like Isha had called her- was inquiring about the mysterious sets. Isha filled her in on the details happily, and Brandon got back to massaging the lotion into the old lady’s calves.

“So, I’m in charge here,” Theresa spoke in a ponderous voice, “which means I’ll have you do those five sets. And do it quietly or I’ll double them.” Bran smirked, and glanced into Isha’s direction, noticing her “I’ve made a terrible mistake” kind of expression. She then stared at Theresa with puppy dog eyes, but the masseuse was adamant. The yasi sighed deeply and got to work, starting with some squats, and Theresa shifted her attention back to Brandon and his handiwork. “You’re doing good here, except that you have to make your movement come from your back. Don’t just use your arm, but your back as well. It’ll have a better effect on the subject.”

Now that was something Brandon could do, and he changed his movements instantly. It felt a little unnatural though, but if that was how Theresa wanted him to do things then he would. Now she had seemingly adopted the sets, he’d try to stay on her good side, lest he had to do some as well. For now she seemed content though, telling Brandon to start working on the second leg, then making various changes to his form and technique before ushering him away. “Watch,” she ordered, applying some lotion on her hands.

credit goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Brandon Blackwing]

In comparison to Brandon’s own performance, Theresa’s was superior in every way. Her motions were smooth and natural, much unlike the bat. Then again, she had of course been doing this kind of thing for way longer than Bran would ever do. The Kelvic carefully studied the masseuse’s technique, noticing when she used more gentle or harsher motions from the way the muscles in her forearms contracted or tensed. She worked faster too, but not too fast. And yet, it took her almost as long to finish the leg as Bran. Naturally, that meant she had given the leg a much more intensive treatment.

“Did you see it? You’re a little… awkward… with your movements. As if you’re not sure if you’re doing it right.”
“Because it doesn’t feel very natural to me,” Brandon added, crossing his arms. "It feels weird to use my back to massage…” Theresa frowned at that, seemingly deep in thought. She then walked up to Brandon, prodding his shoulder blades with a finger. “I meant you should use these more, not-” she traced a line from his shoulder to his hips. “-all this. No wonder your movements are awkward.”
“You said to use my back, and all this-” he traced the same line quickly, “is my back. Those things,” he pointed at his shoulder blades, “are called shoulder blades.”
“Oh! Shoulder blades! I wasn’t sure what they were called, so I figured back would work…” she made an apologetic face.

“Anyway, for massaging the back, you’ll want to use long motions; like this;” The masseuse placed her hands on Irina’s back, pushing them from her hips to her shoulders, the tips of her fingers almost touching. On the way back she pulled them back, but now her thenar of her hands were close. “Start with that.” The bat nodded and switched places with his tutor-for-the-day. His hands were still lubricated from the lotion, so they slid easily over the old flesh of the old lady. Brandon mimicked Theresa’s motions as good as he could, though by no means did he manage to do it just like she had. Despite the instructions he was given, the bat’s hands were unsure; he had never thought he would use them for something like this. He did not really know how much pressure he could apply, or what was the minimum required. He guessed it all came down to feeling, but still… Those hands were deadly weapons, and if they weren’t used for fighting, they were nabbing valuables or manipulating lockpicks. Thievery required him to be very very gentle, but fighting was the opposite.

Isha prodded him just below his ribs, and he jumped slightly, not having noticed she was there. Between his thoughts and this massage there wasn’t much room for scanning the environment, though the fact he deemed this a safe zone probably had something to do with it as well. “That face doesn’t suit you, mister Brandon,” she beamed mischievously, “You look way too serious,” The bat lifted an eyebrow. “You’re saying I don’t look serious on other times?”
“I’m saying that you’re frowning too much on this. If you’re bad at something, that’s that. If you can’t do something, it doesn’t mean you have to be all frowny about it. Just move on and try something else. That’s what I always do on bendi anyway.” Another smile. “And you already have a job anyway.”

“Quite right,” the bat shrugged, a guise for a sharp prod of his own, aimed for the spot just under Isha’s ribs. It hit, making her twist in giggles. Apparently she was ticklish there. “But this interests me. So I want to make it work.” Brandon’s interest was not for healing purposes though, but combat. That djed thing had been way too interesting… if he could find a way to block the djed stream, imagine what he would be able to do. Take away magic for a brief period, maybe for a long period! That would shut Zhol up next time he decided to act high and mighty with his reimancy; a magic the Drykas boy didn’t even seem to control yet. His emotions did, and Zhol couldn’t control his emotions very well. Nevertheless, threats made with reimancy would end up backfiring then. However, it wasn’t that Brandon disliked the horse boy, on the contrary, he kind of liked him. Well, he liked him more than Turrin in any case.

Theresa’s adjustments to both his pose and movements brought him back to the present, going from auto-pilot back to manual. More pressure, she’d said, so he could reach the deeper tissues. The masseuse also told him he’d have a better feel that way, and she was right. Irina’s back muscles; they felt like wooden boards in some places. Stiff and hard, but they were not tensed up, not consciously anyway. Brandon was instructed to work hard on those places, because those were exactly why Irina needed a massage. Those muscles needed to be made supple again, or at least not as painful as they obviously were. It was, however, not something the bat could handle just yet, and after about ten chimes working on the various spots, Theresa took over, allowing him a break.

It was much needed, his arms and shoulders were not used to those movements at all, and stretching and other attempts to loosen them up helped a bit at least. Not much; rest was all they needed. During his break, he thought a bit, pondering on Isha’s words, while pretending to listen to her rattling. Indeed, he might not be cut out for massage, but massage was not what he was after. He wanted to obtain something else. Something that could give him an edge in battle. Perhaps he had found it; but he would need to do some research though, and experiment.

But before that there was more massage to practice; three whole days in fact. Brandon just hoped that did not mean three whole days of Irina; if they’d put her in that sleepy state it was fine of course, but still; she was a pain in the butt when awake. Maybe Theresa could cure that along with that bad back, with that healing touch of hers.

credit goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Estrellir Konrath]

Brandon Blackwing

Interrogation +4
Rhetoric +1
Philosophy +1
Massage +4














Massage: Relaxes muscles
Djed: Energy flow within the body
Theresa: masseuse & projectionist
Djed: Everything has it
Magic: Uses your soul’s djed
Overgiving: Using too much magic
Effects of overgiving
Projection: Uses astral body
Pressure points: Djed crossroads
Massage: Depends on racial anatomy
Massage: How to apply the right amount of pressure
Irina: grumpy old Inarta
Irina: Theresa’s mother
The uses of massage lotion
Massage: Movement from arms & back
How to massage back muscles

Notes

Kudos for a good solo! The way Bran interacts with others always provides an entertaining read, spicing up an otherwise plain training thread. PM me with any questions or concerns!