[Inn Room] Routine (Solo)

by **Oluse** on May 29th, 2012, 11:27 pm

512 Spring 30

His eyes fluttered open, his relentless dream still clinging to him like tufts of wool, shredded and melting away like snow as his conscious mind tucked the memory away deep into a part of him that lay beyond thought or emotions, and more often than not beyond any remnant of feelings. Waking had always been a bazaar occurrence for Oluse, for as long as he could remember. Echos of feelings and sensation would cling to him, follow him, yet still shrouded behind some unseen force. Only once had that shroud been lifted for him, the night of the storm, and it had changed his life forever.

He felt it, what it meant to be strong, dedicated, wised yet healthy. With reluctant body Oluse peeled his sheets back, allowing the trapped heat to billow out into the tiny well isolated room. Avanthal had been much more bearable since the melt. Work had been more demanding, but Oluse's spirits had improved several times fold. Adventure sat screaming on the horizon, and Oluse had been strictly preparing for this adventure each morning. He had a new goal, a new idol. And it was already a part of himself, strength, wisdom.

He started with going to the water in the corner and drinking some. There was no window in his room, so he lit a quiet candle, the strike of tinder harsh against the inn's silence. It was before sunrise, Oluse knew more in the pit of his stomach than anything. Without clocks, and hidden so far from sunlight Oluse had learned to embrace his intuition on such things, and thus refined it.

Plenty of time for his morning routine, and perhaps another nap before his shift at the clinic. With only a cloth wrapped about his groin Oluse took full advantage of his range of motion. He started by rotating his arms around, stretching them across his chest, then lacing them behind him to loosen the join, then moves to flexing his neck, releasing a series of pops and cracks. Oluse was still young, freshly fifteen, but his job and the cold had been demanding on his body, not to mention to daily exercise.

He let his back fall posterior, and thought on the muscles within his stomach stretching. Oluse had a vague idea of musculature in the body, his primary field being more in disease and illness than trauma. However, he could comfortably understand the network of muscles in his stomach, if not name them. Still, with this knowledge, stretches such as this pushed his sense of balance, and it took a step or two backwards before he finally gathered his bearings, then had to rest a moment when he drew himself back up. Allowing the blood to rush back to his mind. So compensate, he simple allowed his body to stretch forward as well, bending over and easily touching the floor before him. A recent accomplishment of his, before he had bent more at the stomach, and hadn't managed to stretch far at all, but by bending at the waist, and straitening his back Oluse had managed the floor without bending his knees.

by **Oluse** on May 29th, 2012, 11:28 pm

These stretches, and exploration of his body continues in the flickering candlelight for some time. Using the furniture to stretch his legs up, and allowing himself to fall to the floor for deeper stretches of the more difficult to reach ligaments and tissues. He could likely have stretches father and more thoroughly, has his space been larger, and had he trusted more in his body. Oluse always tended to fall on the face side of his body, and learning to trust it to reach it's full potential without being damaged was a long process indeed.

It was on the floor he moved onto the true purpose of his endevurs. Not to balance, or increase coordination, but to free his body to build some bulk. Bulk was foreign to the child's frame. A season before he had scarcely grown from childhood. Though he was far from a late bloomer in many areas, his height, and his musculature had always been more geared toward fine motor skills, slow and calculated. Just recently had his body been catching up with his age, yet still seemed very boyish and nature. Oluse despised it in ever manner, how subjected it made him. So much of his energy was burned fighting his appearance, so much time spent proving that he was no meer boy. That he was a man, capable f great things if allowed.

He embraced the changes of his body, and pushed them. Feet tucked securely under the edge of his heavy wooden single bed Oluse repeatedly pulled himself slowly up to a sitting position, hands laced behind his head, then carefully lowered himself down. The exercise did not come naturally, and was met with great resistance. Several chimes of this was all that Oluse could handle before finding himself practically glued to the ground. The pain from the previous day's exercise till burned, not inflamed by the morning's work. But, he was not over yet. With sheer will, he forced himself over, already breathing hard. He knew with time he would grow stronger, and his endurance would grow. And so, with as much oomph as the boy could handle he layered upon his stomach, on the warm ground, growing moist from his own body, and places his hands beside him, fingers stretches wide, and began pushing with all his effort. Up he rose, shakily, and the shaking only grew worse at he repeated the action. At firs tit was his stomach that burned, more so than his arms, but soon his arms began the objection as well. The hardest part of the exercise was keeping his back straight, and remembering to breath.

Once he could simply take no more Oluse scrawled, more than stood to his feet, using the bed beside him as a crutch. His body felt as if it were full of acid. He had to relieve himself from the water, and his stomach demanded food. He put this off, however. He would eat when he got to work, for it was cheaper, and money was of great significance to the Denvali boy. Instead, Oluse sluggishly pulled his clothing on. The loss of fine motor skills stuck him as somewhat ironic, since it took the temporary loss of ones strength to improve weaknesses. Go figure.

Once clad in his heavy clothing, layered as if the melt had never happened, Oluse took another gulp of water and worked his way outside, avoiding the planks of the inn which creaked if stepped on wrong. Aware of those still sleeping in the establishment.

by **Oluse** on May 29th, 2012, 11:28 pm

He was right, the sun had yet to raise, but first light had found the melted roads. Significantly less impressive than the before hours of premelted Avanthal, when every inch of the city seemed to dimly glow. Even moreso than the sky. It reminded him a bit of fall in Denval. Emptry streets, with no greenery or life. The, most of all, the eery silence which was hard to find in a city of Vantha.

His mind recalled his small city's streets as he plodded forward, deliberately picking up pace. With heavy bootsteps Oluse worked himself into a barely maintained jog, and headed for the stairs heading up to the Crystal Hall. How morning route. His mind was nowhere near Avanthal, or the Spring of 512, the rested first in the past, the silent mornings of the wide streets in Denval, and then the future, what Riverfall might be like. He had no way of knowing what beauty he would find.

Half way up the steep steps he was forces to stop, curling over for a moment believing he might puke. He had escaped from his body for several minutes, recalling and dreaming upon other places and other times. But his body demanded attention now. He had over exerted it, and knew now that he would be unable to continue to jog up the steps. His muscles aches, and joints wined. And so, he made a deal with himself. He would slowly walk the rest of the way up, rest for a bit as the run rose, then jog his way down. This seemed agreeable in all ways to himself, and so slowly and leisurely he walked up the remaining steps. A smile had found his face, partly a grimace to the bloody taste in his throat, and partly a fulfilled feelings. He felt good, and wasn't sure, but thought he might have gotten farther up the steps that time than before.

Once the crest was achieved he could hear it, the city was awakening. Vantha families below gave their morning bellows of kids and laughs, over theatrical roars of yawn to shrug away the night. And though no individual voice could be hear, a general rustling and shifting came from the homes below. This did not discourage him as he gave a halfhearted stretch and perched upon a stone bench, overlooking the melted city. It took him some time to let his body get comfortable with the stillness, then began focusing on his breathing, as his eyes slid shut.

Meditation was quite the sensation for Oluse. I say sensation before he does not think upon any one thing, or feel any true emotions, but instead finds himself brushed against by the body of the world. Beyond his own body, and into that which does not exist, or perhaps exists beyond himself. This morning he was met with a hot breeze, the smells of spices like chile, and a wetness that fell along his back, and brow. A sensation of falling caught him, and the slightly incline and decline of his person, as if upon rolling waves. Lost he was in this series of sensations, distracted only by the occasional thought which he would allow without judgement into his mind, then push it past, focusing once more on the ever changing sensation running along his body.

The meditation did not achieve an express to any level of true enlightenment. Not of thought in any case, but it did give Oluse some time to exist in a space in which he understood. It massaged his nature, the one in which separated him to clearly from the world around him. He found it often difficult to comprehend people, to truly listen, or follow the logical thoughts expected of him. But, in the space all made sense, it was pleasure, and sensation, and nothing but an easily comprehended series of sensations. He wondered, often, if this might be what happened during his dreams. But, the Storm had changed that.

His eyes eyes finally came open once the glare of sunshine pushed against them. Sunrise was upon him, and it was time to stretch once more and continue his journey. His personal work, and then the work of his community. He picked himself up, with a pop or two of defiance form his body, then stretches and began with a steady jog down the second half of the stairs.

by **Oluse** on May 29th, 2012, 11:53 pm

With another two or three bells before his shift began Oluse had decided, at some time during his shallow meditation, having no true focus quite yet, to go visit Velox. He had no true love for the animal itself. It might seem cruel, but to Oluse Velox was transportation, was a symbol of Oluse's freedom. A symbol which Oluse happened to be near atrocious at commanding, and so awkwardly he had been setting aside periodic time to practice with the beast.

Arriving at the stables Oluse went confidently to the snow pale monster, and pulled the door open unabashed. He had once been afraid of Velox, but now he realized that Velox recognized Oluse well enough as an owner. In truth the quadruped had been quite well trained from youth, and in it's middle age had grown quite obedient, had it ever been anything but.

Oluse by checking his food, not his job but still a habit he had picked up. Food was available which told Oluse the horse had been eating well enough, or he refused to eat. Oluse paused and looked at the horse, he wasn't sure where to even begin in telling if a horse was sick or not. But the alert look in the horse's eye told Oluse there was likely nothing to fear. And to he began the painful experience of saddling the mount. Brushing the dust from it's pure hide was easy enough, but the pain came form his muscles as Oluse hoisted the heavy saddle onto Velox. The first time Oluse's muscles rejected and the saddle went falling to the ground, frightening Velox, and some other animals in the stables somewhat. Oluse reluctantly ave Velox a minute to calm, and his own muscles some time to rest. Once all was relaxed once more Oluse tried against, and clumsily managed the heavy saddle over his head, and onto the back of the long legged horse.

His sweat had begun to grow a bit cool against his skin, and overall Oluse was feeling uncomfortable as the dust of the stables began sticking to him. Oluse really despised working with Velox, and wondered if after they were on the road if it would become more bearable. It would.

Oluse buckled the straps along Velox's undercarriage, then across his chest, making sure there was no wrinkles or folds in the padding below the saddle before tightening them down. He took the liberty of strapping on all of his saddlebags, even the empty ones, and then undid all of them, waited a moment, then put them back on. Oluse wanted to make sure he was ready to strap and unstrap the horse quickly, and had slowly been developing quite the efficient system. One that would seem ridiculous and sluggish to the Drykas, who would be packing nearly no supplies with them outside that of a tent.

Once he was satisfied with his system's fine tuning for the day Oluse fixed the bridle to Velox and slowly guided him out of the barn. In Vantha he clearly told Velox to hold step, before he gave and awkward set of hop, looping his foot in a stirrup and against feeling the aching pain as he pulled himself up onto Velox.

It was still an unsettling sensation for Oluse, leaving the ground, with nothing but trust to ensure your safety and control. Trust Oluse had very little of, especially for some dimwitted animal.

by **Oluse** on May 29th, 2012, 11:53 pm

With a deep breath Oluse began, nudging Velox ever so slightly to begin into the fences courtyard just outside the stables gate. Oluse felt the undulating and shifting below him, and did performed his usual trick of slipping deeply into his own body. As the horse moved Oluse thought of it's giant muscles, how the weight moves around, and imagined himself an extension of this. Or more precisely the horse an extension of himself. He thought upon how such a homunculus would move, how Oluse would need to shift to compliment the movements of the beast.

As he did this Oluse knew nothing of Velox' thoughts. How much the horse craved to get out of the coral. Beyond the gate, and how much the horse missed white snow beneath it. The calming cold. How scared and unfamiliar the world had been to the beast, and how much it would be happy once they were on the road, traveling each day.

the training continued for nearly a bell, shifting between walking and trots, Oluse practicing mainly to halt the horse quickly, and establishing a clear understanding of what he wants to the horse. His flaw was in a general lack of understanding in how Velox had been trained by the Vantha, and in the confusing manner in which Oluse treated his mount. He expected the horse to think as a human, but treated it like some tool, to be handles and pushed without contemplation.

In time, perhaps, Oluse would learn to see the horse as it was, and hopefully the Drykas could instill this in him. But the boy from Denval knew nothing of horses, and so the struggle was long, but informative. The worse one starts the quicker they improve, and Oluse was not utterly oblivious to the occasional twitch oft he horses ear in annoyance, and grunts of frustration or discomfort. Only mostly so.

by **Valkyrie** on November 8th, 2012, 8:33 pm

Oluse :

You Will Be Collected if Worthy

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.