Compromise

[Ixtlilton]

Recently, Jacob had gotten in a fight. It hadn't really been his fault... In fact, in no way had it been his fault, considering a bit of smart mouthing after being assaulted twice was pretty much fair game. But, in the end, he had been IN the fight, and Ansembourg had something of a no-tolerance stance on that sort of thing.

His punishment? His punishment was his goddamn future job, that was the most painful bit. He had to teach his little lunatic assaulter some self-control so that she didn't throw anyone who DIDN'T know how to fly off of a roof.

Despite the fact he'd normally enjoy this sort of thing, he was quite sour about it. That was probably because he'd broken a lot of feathers in that fight, and his arm was still in a sling. And also because the girl he was about to train, he just plain didn't like. There, he said it. It was quite rare for Jacob to find someone he didn't like. It was practically his JOB to like people. Even the worst of delinquents he normally found something good about. But Lilith just rubbed him the wrong way, and that was definitely something that had to do with the whole triple assault combo she'd managed.

Thankfully, Zeke hadn't caught up to her yet.

Rather than just going straight to his normal meditation spot, he'd actually put some thought into it despite himself and picked out a particularly shadowy abandoned guard watch up on top of the castle. Would a basement have worked better? Maybe, but goddamnit if he wasn't getting SOME enjoyment out of this whole mess. That was, of course, if she even showed up. It was just before dawn, since he had no intention of starting his training with a violent shadow-manipulator in the evening. She might not show at all. He didn't know how to feel about that. On one hand, yay, not his problem! On the other hand, she really DID need to learn what she was doing before she killed someone.

[Kitten King]

There wasn't much that managed to shake Lilith - piss her off, easy; annoy her, piece of cake; general upsetting, not the most difficult - but this entire episode had done just that. Sure, she was snappy, and she lacked some general self-control, but... not that kind of self control. At least when she punched someone, she meant to. She... hadn't meant to do that. She hadn't been able to stop it either. She wasn't used to that sort of chaos.

She wasn't looking forward to training, either. It was partially about the fact that she and Jacob had not had the best meeting, partially about the fact that she didn't really like people that much, and partially about the fact that she knew something horrible was going to happen - but mostly it was about the fact that she wasn't looking forward to having to face this. Lilith would be the last person to ever admit that anything made her scared, even if it really, really did. She would sooner jump off a roof- well, you get the idea, so it was hard for her to admit to herself that she might be a little bit terrified. If a little bit even began to cover it...

Her stomach was doing all sorts of weird flip-flop maneuvers (fuck it) as she made her way to where she was supposed to do this 'training' or whatever. She, as expected, got a little lost, but was still relatively close to on-time when she finally stumbled her way to where she supposed to be. There was a moment of silence, which mostly involved her skulking in the doorway, before she said anything.

"'Sup." Her voice was a little groggy and she was pretty sure her left eye was still sort of squinty from sleepl. She was also a little quieter than normal, and it wasn't because she was tired (even though she was so fucking tired). There was a little bit of hesitance to her, that hadn't been there before. Just how much it would be prominent or even stick around, well.

They'd just have to see.

[Ixtlilton]

Jacob had the benefit of getting up this early pretty much every day. That meant unlike the groggy looking Lilith, he had his head all in one place (despite her best efforts previously to spread his brains over the castle's stone floor), and he could at least fake a pleasant expression. Faking a pleasant expression was all but effortless to him. He'd spent so long perfecting it as his default face that he suspected that he could probably keep it up while in a fight, if, for some reason, he ever wanted or needed to.

"Oh good, you're here," he said, his voice letting no part of his true feelings on the subject through. Although honestly, at that point the two options were "of course he's pissed off" versus "he's actually a robot," so he didn't know that he'd actually be fooling anyone. Then again, roughly half of the girls at school were actively buying the robot act, so...

"We're going to start with some pretty simple basics. I'm sure you've heard all sorts of ridiculous mumbo-jumbo about meditation, but for people who can send people flying with their mind alone, it's actually quite a useful practice, and it's the one we'll be starting with." He was already sitting, and he gestured towards a cushion he'd brought out for the sake of Lilith's comfort... or her ass's comfort, anyway. These stones were not soft.

[Kitten King]

...was he serious? He was serious, wasn't he? Yyyyyeah he was serious. Welp. It wouldn't be the stupidest thing she'd ever done.

"Okaay..." A little wary, but not ready to start dishing out complaints yet (she was actually going to try and avoid that this time, however impossible it might be), she dropped her pack by the entrance and sat down. She was obviously dubious, but she kept her mouth shut. Just do what he says, behave, behave... don't get thrown the fuck out of this school too. She tried to imitate the way he was sitting, and she about had it, minus the fact that she was slouching atrociously. She looked over, her expression being mostly tired, a little irate, and a touch confused.

"S' now what?" She was trying, and trying her best, which really was something for her. Maybe if she could actually make it through today without biting someone, get the 'basics' out of the way, it'd make the rest of the sessions more bearable.

[Ixtlilton]

Jacob paused, searching his best manners knowledge for a POLITE way to say "sit up straight." No matter how he tried to phrase it, he sounded like a nagging fishwife. It was IMPORTANT, though... How could he get a novice who was none to keen on the whole thing to understand that, though?

Couldn't Dmitri have started him on an easier case? Like... Like Rune. Frankly, an hour to himself to "meditate" would fix the man in and of itself.

"Alright, first is the correct posture," he decided on. "You've already got the legs down, that's good. Straighten your back, not so much like a ruler, but to where it's comfortable. You'll be sitting like this for a decent amount of time, so you don't want to have to shift around."

[Kitten King]

Ugghhh she had to actually sit up straight? It was like that ridiculous manners lesson that every kid went through when they were little. Sit up straight, don't bite other children, Christ use a fork - those had not been the most shining of days. Still, she did as she was told, though she wasn't pleased. It didn't feel quite right, either...

"Isn't meditation supposed to be comfortable?" She wasn't complaining, and tried her best to keep her voice from sounding that way. As much as she wanted to complain, she was also a little curious. Wasn't that how meditation was supposed to be? All relaxing and shit? She didn't feel that comfortable. Maybe Wings didn't know what he was talking about. He knew enough to whip your sorry ass. Shut up subconscious, who asked you?

[Ixtlilton]

"You'll get used to it. It'll get a lot more uncomfortable, pretty quickly, if you try the whole deep-breaths thing while slouched over," he assured her, magically resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Alright, now close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. Take slow, deep, even breaths," he said, falling into the routine on instinct. It wasn't particularly hard to meditate. The most difficult part was dealing with impatient people expecting there to be some magical significant click where they went from "normal mode" into "meditation mode." Hopefully he could avoid that with Lilith. He doubted it. "Focus on each breath, letting the other thoughts of the day fade away." Dear god let this work so he could move on to more interesting things.

[Kitten King]

She wasn't sure that she would ever get used to this, much less in the (hopefully) short amount of time they'd be doing meditation. She continued to do as directed, closing her eyes and breathing. Just. Breathing. Lots of nice breathing. ...holy fuck, people could really just sit here and do this? Ugh, no, try, try...

Even as she tried, she couldn't manage to sit completely still. A fidget here, a twitch there, an itchy knee or shoulder you'd swear was every couple seconds. She squinted one eye open, looking over at Jacob, then closed it again. Shit, what was she even supposed to be doing anymore? Argh. Okay, just... just be calm, and stop bouncing your knee. Stoppit. Okay. Wwwwwow, this was really bizarrely hard. If there was one thing Lilith was absolutely not used to, it was sitting still, and boy did it show. She cracked an eye open again, a little wider this time. How in the fuck was he doing that?

[Ixtlilton]

Jacob had once meditated in a force four hurricane. On a roof. But Lilith, in her mass wiggliness, was too much for him to handle.

He bit back a sigh, barely, and managed with a bit of a shorter breath. He had expected this. He had to keep telling himself that. TOTALLY expected. He had plans. Those plans did not involve throwing Lilith out the window.

"If you find yourself unable to focus on breathing alone, try picturing a shape in your mind and focusing on it," he suggested, getting ready to go through a whole damn list of things that work for some people and not for others. He really hoped he wasn't going to have to get all yoga on her ass before she managed to find that relaxed state from which he could guide her into not blowing shit up every time she got pissed. Oh, and also being able to blow shit up when she wanted to. But that was a bit far into the future to be thinking about now.

[Kitten King]

This process of Jacob suggesting shit and Lilith subsequently failing to succeed at that method continued for awhile. The shape thing didn't go well, for reasons one could only imagine. Christ, her brain was like a ping-pong ball... they also tried a similar method with a word or phrase. Similar results. Next, the winged wonder decided that maybe trying mantras would be a good idea. Nnnnnno. It was a fair attempt, but just... just no. At least she was managed to be somewhat polite - she hadn't snapped at him yet, at least. Or bitten him, that was a good start. Of course, with all those options down for the count, that left...

"Yoga?" She was completely dubious of this one. "Okay, I was all for your weirdo ways of doin' things, but dude - serious? How the fuck- er. I mean," She put a hand on her right shoulder, rolling it slightly and frowning. "Your arm's still in a sling an' my shoulder's still jacked up. How in the hell are we supposed t' manage that?"

[Ixtlilton]

"Very carefully," he said with some semblance of patience left. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and choked back another elongated sigh. "I as hoping one of the other seven methods would work, but you're too hyper to hold still. So we'll try moving you."

He shifted his position, bring his legs out in front of him. "Let's start with just making sure all your parts work. Sit with your legs streched out in front of you. Flex your feet, stretch out your spine, and put your hands on the floor by your hips." He did it as much as he could, one arm in a sling and all that. "See? Very basic. Now bring your arms straight out to the sides and up over your head. See? Good. Don't give me that look, just do it. Take a deep breath... as you exhale, lean forward. Keep your back straight. Inhale and exhale, and with each exhale lean forward more. Good. Any parts of your body screaming with protest yet? The general idea is for you to get used to various routines so you can move yourself and still manage to meditate." He frowned, still folded over on himself. "I honestly wish I could get you doing something that wouldn't take as long, but if you can't hold still, then you can't hold still. We'll just have to work around it."

[Kitten King]

Oh holy shit this was harder than it should have been her spine. Her shoulder was fine with these exercises for now (thank god), but her back was screaming at her. Which was apparently the point. Oh my god who enjoyed this??

"Who ENJOYS this?" She repeated out loud, though under her breath. Christ, she didn't even have any back problems and this hurt! She was lazy as fuck and not really physically fit, sure, but should this have really been so difficult? Aauugghh... no, she could do this. THIS HAD CHALLENGED HER. SHE WOULD NOT BE DEFEATED. He spoke again, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he was folded like a fuckin' chair, and Lilith barely resisted glaring at him. "I can hold still," she managed to grumble, easing her position back a little. "It's just... early."

[Ixtlilton]

"It wouldn't hurt if you were more in shape," Jacob said, his irritation preventing him from thinking that line through. "Yoga is one of those things that takes a lot of practice, which is sort of the point. In the end, you get so flexible and relaxed that you can meditate while standing on a finger. It's not really my thing, though... I prefer to be comfortable."

Jacob eyed her. "No offense, but if you can't hold still at five am while half asleep, I'm not banking your future success on your ability to do it later." He sighed and straightened up. "If you don't want to do yoga, the only other option is tai chi, but I doubt you'll be interested. It's more of the same, really... Discipline and silly looking poses."

[Kitten King]

Ugh, she was just… she was getting nowhere!! Requiring practice was all well and good, but it wasn't something she was good at. Repeating and repeating something with no results, without knowing if you'd EVER get results was just… UGH! It wasn't something she could ever be good at. She frowned at the cold stone for a moment, looking aggravated, before unfolding her legs and standing up.

"Look, I-" She sighed in the middle, quickly scratching the back of her head. "I appreciate the effort, okay? Let's just face it - I'm never gonna get anywhere with this shit, so what's done is done, and I ain't gettin' any better at. So.. thanks for the shot, I guess." With that she turned, hands in her pocket and ready to snatch her backpack off the ground and get the fuck out of there.

She wasn't expecting to see her brother there.

"…hey?" She was speechless for a second, startled by his presence. He smiled at her in response, but she could tell there was something else behind it. A little bit of guilt started to creep up her spine, and try as she might to fight it off, it remained.

"Hey. Going somewhere?" He still had that smile, one eyebrow raised at her, but she knew what he meant by it. God… he was always doing this! Why did he always have to show up like this? Spurred by her aggravation, she snapped back, her courage returned.

"Yeah, I am. This isn't going anywhere, Nic. Now move." He didn't move.

"It is going somewhere - I promise." His voice was calm, level, like always. She felt herself bristling a little less, but she was still frustrated with him.

"Yeah right - none of this has worked. Just let me go." She was more sullen now, eyes locked with his and showing just how sour she was about this whole situation.

"He had one more, didn't he?" A normal person would've asked how he knew that - but she knew how. It just made her scowl more.

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing. Give it a shot, okay?" She just frowned at him, looking unconvinced. He winked at her, his own personal brand of 'trust me'. She sighed, relenting just a little. "It'll turn out all right." She still didn't say anything, so he pushed again. "I'll bring you a really awesome dinner." …god damnit.

"…promise?"

"Promise."

"A big one?"

"The biggest."[/b][/color] She squinted at him for a second, debating… then she groaned, and turned around, still looking displeased. Behind her back, Nic smiled and nodded and Jacob, giving a quick thumbs up before turning and leaving himself. Lilith plunked back down next to Jacob, still unsure, and sighed again.

"A'right. Let's hear this 'tai chi' thing."

It was a start.

[Ixtlilton]

Jacob was still sitting there when she came back. It took all of about four minutes, which was almost comical. It probably made him look all mysterious and patient or something, but in reality, he ALWAYS meditated in the morning, and he wasn't going to let one grumpy student mess that up. (Plus he would need to relax after dealing with her for ANY period of time.)

"Tai Chi is part exercise, part arobics, and part martial arts," Jacob began, as if she'd never stormed off. "It's also the single most difficult way to meditate, so I really didn't want to start you off here. However, I'm fairly certain the more or less constant movement will solve your wiggling problem, and since it's great for any kind of elemental bending, I was planning on starting you on it after you got meditation down anyway. ...By the way, your body will hate you for these exercises as much as with yoga, but if 'martial arts, but while hurling solid shadows at people' isn't enough to get you interested enough to keep at it, nothing will be."

Instead of jumping her right in, he decided to gage her reaction a bit first. She looked more uneasy than sullen, as if the walls of her room had suddenly fallen away, revealing that she was on top of a cliff. ...God, she wasn't scared of heights, was she? That literally just occured to him (he tended to forget it was a thing people had), and he'd feel like a grade A idiot if that was the case. "Uhm, also, if you wouldn't mind... could you tell me a few things you really hate? I don't mean like, caterpillars and broccoli, but if you're scared of heights, or fire, or enclosed spaces or something, it's probably something I should know. If we'll be doing Tai Chi I'll need to find a different place for us to practice in the future."