Solo The (Un)Skilful Art of Meditation

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The Diamond of Kalea is located on Kalea's extreme west coast and called as such because its completely made of a crystalline substance called Skyglass. Home of the Alvina of the Stars, cultural mecca of knowledge seekers, and rife with Ethaefal, this remote city shimmers with its own unique light.

The (Un)Skilful Art of Meditation

Postby Paaie on April 27th, 2018, 11:25 am

5 Spring 518
Solar Winds Apartments
At noon

✧Use a skill you have 5 XP or less in
✧Learn or work on a skill that you have interest in, but that your PC doesn't
:: 1,800 word goal

     Gods damn it, she couldn't focus! Syna was glowing so brightly in through her window, warm noon light tumbling through the skyglass and down across the floorboards where it pooled in a rainbow of colours. Paaie was sitting cross-legged on a folded up blanket on the floor at the foot of her bed comfortably. Her wrists were laid, relaxed, on her knees, her shoulders were pushed back and she was sitting straight, quite comfortably in her loose linen shirt and black wool leggings.

    While she managed to keep her dark eyes closed for a few ticks, soon enough they would peek open to look at the rainbow light that had invited itself playfully into her room. The kelvic sighed. Meditation was harder than it looked when she had seen her old caretaker, Misha, in Yahebah do it. Back then it just looked like he was taking a nap sitting up but Paaie knew he wasn't sleeping, he was meditating.

    Paaie felt anything but relaxed, or focused. That instinctive, silly part of her feline self wanted nothing more than to swap linen and wool for her spotted fur and to dance about in the coloured lights—catch them if she could! A sensible part of her knew she couldn't catch light, but it was fun trying anyway. Now she was distracted by thoughts full up of chasing rainbows and birds, maybe some mice.

    The kelvic had just sat down to this a few chimes ago but she was finding that, every time she managed to take a deep breath—in through her nose—and clear her mind by 'breathing her thoughts out'—through her mouth—she managed to hold onto the focus for a few ticks and no more before she got distracted by something.

    Paaie positively felt her cat ears twitching at the noises all about her, even though she was in human form. That's the key, Paaie thought. Maybe if she couldn't hear the thrum of the square out down beneath her apartment window—people's voices, candid laughter as passers-by wandered through the square, the squeaking of rusty wheel axels and clatter of carts as they were steered past, the twittering of birds flitting teasingly by the window—she would be able to concentrate better on listening within.

    The kelvic lifted her hands to her ears and laid her palms flat to block out all the interesting noises. She took another breath in through her nose. The quiet was nice, she realised, but after a few more breaths—in for seven ticks, out for eleven ticks—it wasn't just noise that was distracting her. Zulrav scattered refreshing Spring breezes through the mountain city, and one such breeze peeked in to see the kelvic concentrating and decided to waft about the ivy plant she had hung decoratively in front of the window playfully.

    The ivy plant cast dappled shadows across the rainbow colour that Syna lit her floorboards with, chasing up the walls and fluttering across the ornately carved doorway. Paaie's dark hazel eyes were drawn to watch, she couldn't resist. It reminded her, again, of being outside, chasing birds and sauntering between the hustle and bustle. The restlessness which gripped her like a ripple of lightning was nearly tangible.

    Huffing a breath through puffed up cheeks, the kelvic closed her eyes as well as covered her ears. There! She speculated, now there was nothing to distract her. Now she would be able to focus. For a few chimes, maybe even ten, it was true. Paaie felt the slow, steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed in and out deeply. She relished the quiet and the dim that she had created about herself. It felt peaceful. Slowly she felt the restlessness ebb from her shoulders, and then her back, until all her muscles eased right down through her legs and then her toes.

    As Paaie's body relaxed so did her thoughts. A few times she caught the smell of baking bread wafting on Zulrav's breezes through the square and the delicate scent of the flowers that were springing to life all about the mountain city. It wasn't enough to distract her though. When these scents tickled at her, she breathed them in deeply, and when she breathed out, she bade them leave her be. Soon Paaie began to feel a lightness in her limbs that was pleasantly like being warmed by Syna's Summer caress and a contented smile twitched into her dusky features.

    Which was lovely, except as the chimes stretched, dulling her interest in the outside world and all the curious things in it meant the kelvic had little to think about. It's not like Paaie was a great philosopher, or thought much on the Past, or Future. Not like humans did. Paaie sat, in this moment, the world dim to her eyes, the world dull to her ears, the scents acclimatized gently to her nose, the floor hard and uninteresting under her bottom...and boredom crept in where restlessness and energy usually swelled within her.
Last edited by Paaie on April 30th, 2018, 7:51 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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The (Un)Skilful Art of Meditation

Postby Paaie on April 29th, 2018, 5:03 pm

     Ten chimes slipped, or rather, dragged, by when Paaie's arms began to tingle with the burning of holding them up for so long to keep her hands over her ears. Then it was harder to focus on her breathing and the feeling of Syna across her back. Very soon a light grimace was furrowing Paaie's brow as her arms began to burn and tremble, adding a tempting distraction to cure her boredom. When she could stand it no longer, she let her arms drop mercifully and relief swept through her as she felt the burning sensation immediately ebb. Shoot, that wasn't going to work. The kelvic took a deep breath of determination. If she could just focus on zoning the noise out. But how? Paaie took another deep breath, and exhaled.

    Inhaled deeply, and exhaled. Her breath sounded a little like ocean waves. It made her smile as memories of Yahebah were tugged into mind. Paaie could see the white stone walls, made brilliant under Syna's radiant attention. She could hear the course voice of the ocean as it lapped on the shore, blue topaz, glistening and inviting. She could almost feel the cool coastal breeze drifting into the maze of narrow streets, bringing relief to all it touched, and taste the salt and sand on the bone-dry desert air.

    The kelvic hummed, her human version of a purr and her eyes opened for a tick in surprise at herself—at how vividly her imagination had conjured up the happiest of her memories. Not wanting to lose the moment, she closed her eyes and kept on humming. Imagining her 'happy place' helped to clear away the sounds and distractions that were tugging on her.

    In her meditation she dipped her paws into the choppy shallows and watched the droplets glisten as they cascaded back into the sea. She saw big fat fish glimmering under the surface, riding the tides and avoiding her hungry, watchful gaze. In the distance along the shores, she saw jagged rocks, and light, almost white sand dunes rising up the coastal banks. The wind rustled through the long, dry grasses, and they looked like they were waving at her.

    Paaie hummed her breaths out as she let her daydream carry her thoughts and that way, even in the quiet intervals in which she had to take in a breath, the noises of the mountain city, so different to her home, were transformed into the noises of the desert-dwellers' market. The full, rich scent of spices, the heady smell of the sweat of lots of bodies milling down the street together, and the earthiness of good wholesome cooking ebbed in. Paaie smiled as she indulged in her 'happy place' for a few chimes.

    That was, until a loud clank and clang as a cart wheel split rumbled up from the plaza below her window, chased by a chorus of cussing and concerned exclamation as driver and onlookers alike rushed to make sure everyone was alright. Just like that, her concentration was broken, her humming didn't make much difference. Curiosity stole over her, banishing the nostalgia that had helped her drift peacefully, and brought its friend restlessness with it.

    Like that, the feline jumped up onto her bed, swapping clothes for her tawny, spotted fur in a flurry of lights as she did, landing gracefully on paws as she chased up onto the windowsill to peer down into the square. Sure as her ears had told her, a cart was laying tipped over, barrels and crates strewn across the plaza. A broken wheel, the culprit, splintered awkwardly underneath. The driver appeared to be an elderly man, with impressive white beard, round cheeks and smiling eyes.

    He was none other than Guzo Yhavao the tea-maker. Paaie had seen the Mhakula Teahouse during her brief wanderings about Lhavit's Zintia Peak and recognized the old man from having sat at the windows peering inquisitively into his establishment. He seeemd quite alright, as others were helping him up and beginning to gather up his wares for him. The kelvic flicked her tail. Ma or Pa would have tutted that she didn't rush down to help.

    Paaie looked back into her room and the imagery she had conjured up during her meditation flickered across her thoughts. Along with it, Paaie felt a pang of homesickness. It mingled in with excitement at her newfound freedom in Lhavit, and elicited a meow of frustrated confusion as the kelvic sat down on the window ledge. Paaie regarded the meditation with suspicion.

    Introspection wasn't good for the soul—she decided she didn't like it much. Besides being difficult, it hadn't left her much refreshed. Now that she was gazing back at her still, quiet, lifeless room whilst thinking about dipping her paws in the ocean and lounging in the sun and chasing about the narrow, winding streets of the city, she felt invigorated, rather than peaceful and focused. Meditation, she had been told, was a way to bring oneself closer to the gods, and the kelvic had a particular Wise and Knowledgeable Presence in mind who she hoped to become closer with.

     While cultivating a 'happy place' was a good method for meditating to relax, Paaie wasn't sure it was the right technique for serious focus. It was too fun, and serious meditation was boring. The kelvic wondered if Eyris would really mind if she didn't meditate at all. Maybe the goddess would prefer to see me in the library, she convinced herself. An indulging smile slipped across her lips—it was far easier to be interested in a library full of curious things, a multitude of distractions, than to sit in and meditate.

     Somewhere deep within, though, the feline sensed that meditation was somehow important to religion. Prayer in Yahebah had often involved sitting for a time chanting peacefully, she recalled. The thought made the kelvic sigh. She decided napping was better—so curled herself up on the windowsill in the afternoon warmth and enjoyed Zulrav's light, teasing breeze as she drifted off to sleep instead.
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The (Un)Skilful Art of Meditation

Postby Luminescence on June 3rd, 2018, 11:51 pm

Image

✧・゚: *✧・゚:* *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
YOUR GRADES HAVE BEEN GIFTED
ENJOY!
✧・゚: *✧・゚:* *:・゚✧*:・゚✧

Paaie

Skills
✦Observation +2
✦Meditation +2
✦Endurance +1
✦Singing +1
✦Philosophy +1


Lores
✦Meditation: Not as easy as it seems
✦Misha: Was good at meditating
✦Paaie: Easily distracted
✦Meditation: Less noise makes it easier to focus
✦Meditation: Closing your eyes makes it easier to focus
✦Paaie: Remembers Yahebah fondly
✦Yahebah: Paaie's happy place
✦Guzo Yhavao: Lhavit's tea-maker
✦Paaie: Doesn't like meditation
✦Meditation: Too boring!


Notes
Despite this being a bit of a short read without much action, I actually really enjoyed this! It was nice to get a bit of insight into who Paaie is as a person. In the future, perhaps split your posts up into smaller chunks; I would have liked to give you another point or two of meditation! :D


As always, please don't forget to edit or delete your grading request in the queue! If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grades, don't hesitate to shoot me a PM; I'll do what I can to fix whatever the issue may be!


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