Starring:
Soren, Rockpath (emitter)
Date: June 10, 2015
Summary:
It's been months with of training time, for Soren to learn perfect stillness. He's finally getting it down, but now comes the fun part. Getting whacked by a big fricken stick.
"The Path to Sagehood - Soren's Training"
The fox village, just outside the Land of Snow, and the Foxes Sacred Cavern
Soren and Ayame were still fast asleep. Alot of foxes were nocturnal, and as it turned out, aside from the hunters, many foxes in this little village were just that! So Soren and Ayame had taken to sleeping during the day, so they could, on the days when they weren't training, get Soren introduced to several of the foxes. He ws going to be their sage after all. Well, the sun was setting, and Soren began to stir after what seemed like an eternity of sleep. He layed there, curled up in Ayame's fur, slowly stirring, rolling off the warm fox, into the otherwise frigid air. He picked himself up, working his way out of the foxhole he and Ayame had been sharing, under the base of a rather large tree. It was big enough to fit both of them quite comfortably, even with Ayame insisting on sleeping in her larger form. Slowly, he picked himself up, and slipped out between the roots, pulling himself to the surface.
The foxes who aren't awake are getting to that state. Sadly for one fox, she's on the day-schedule due to her summoner's silly requests. At least she can take a break for now! Kimura yawns as she wanders by Soren and Ayame's cave, only to pause and blink. "Soren-san…" the fox says with a tilt of her head. "What're you doing here??" Disbelief covers the fox's features as she peers at Soren, giving him a sniff. Yep… very foxy. He must have been staying here for a while by now.
Soren blinked as his head swiveled, looking for the source of the surprise. "Oh! Kimura-san. It's good to see you!" he says, walking over, and scritching the fox behind the ears. "Yeah, Emmi and the elders have been working me to the bone." he says with a grin. "Special training, trying to teach me how to become a Sage."
Kimura growls lightly, but accepts the scritches. Who can turn those down? The fox-pup peeks up, amber eyes narrowing a bit. "Hmm? I was just gonna go see 'em. Some weirdo came and snatched Michiko for this random training. I don't know if it'll work out or not, so I'm going to see the elders about it." She nods lightly. "So do you have to go and train more today? I'm not holding you up, right?" The fox's tail swishes behind her a bit before she turns as if to continue on, though if Soren wants to tag along, that was fine.
Soren waggles his hand to and fro. "Eh… technically, I've just woken up, and will be training for most of the night." he says with a grin. More scritches are applied to the fox pup. He actually decides to follow Kimura for now. He had to see the elders before training anyway, so it worked out in his favor. "So… wierdo? When you say that, what exactly do you mean? Do I need to go help, or be concerned?" he asked a little curious.
Kimura nudges gently at the hand with her head, enjoying scritches immensely. However, there are bigger fish to worry about! She makes her way towards the elders' cave, saying, "Well, he said he was Nagamura Shuuren. And he had this weird staff that smelled yucky… And this weird oil. I dunno. I don't trust him, but Michiko said it'd be okay…" She sighs, clearly worried for her partner. She didn't come all this way for nothing! Sure, they don't fight that often in battle, but they /do/ train together quite often, and Michiko trusts the fox with a lot of things. "But yeah. I dunno what he's going on about with this 'senjutsu' stuff, but I dunno… I'm going to ask the elders for help on what /I/ have to do to make sure Michiko can use this new power proper."
Soren blinked, and glanced at Kimura when she mentioned Senjutsu. "Senjutsu you say…" he says scratching his chin. "You know… that's actually what I'm learning from the elders now. Not that I don't trust Shuuren. He and I have had some good dealings in the past, but I think the elders would be able to help Michiko adapt to this more than Shuuren would. But I suppose that's just my oppinion. You'd have to ask them specifically." he says with a nod.
Kimura nods a bit. "Huh? You are? Useful!" She grins a bit. "Well, if Michiko needs help, I guess she can always ask you and the elders. I'll learn with Ayame *grumble…* about what we foxes do when we assist. Shuuren said we might need to call in another fox *more grumbling* to help. But apparently if I'm helping with Senjutsu, then I can't really fight. So I guess it's fine if we find another to pair with Michiko. Gotta make sure the elders are okay with it, though…" The fox babbles a bit, unsure what to think of this all.
Soren grinned. "Well… there's no real harm in bringing in another fox, is there?" he asked with a smile, glancing down at Kimura. "I mean, honestly, I think it would work out well with you two. I mean, Michiko's a really busy person, so having someone to help you get into trouble might actually be a good thing." he says with a small grin, teasing the fox just a bit, and reaching down to scritch the pup to apologize for the jest.
Kimura glares a bit at Soren, pawing at the hand before accepting scritches grudgingly. "We don't need to get into trouble…" she huffs lightly. With a light shake of her fur, she then says, "You should probably get to training, though. I know Genkoro-sama likes to do the initial training when it comes to fox-stuff, so you don't wanna make him mad." She offers a mischievous grin before bounding off. "Bye, Soren! I'll tell Michiko you said 'hi'!"
Soren just shakes his head a bit. "Then you miss the point of it, young one." he says with a grin, giving the kit one last scritching, before waving her off. "Right right. Take care Kimura-san. I'll try to pay Michiko a visit soon, ok?" he says with a smile, before heading off to find Genkoro.
Genkoro is sitting in the cave, much like usual. Soren was at the point where he could last more than a day to completely stay still, but it wasn't long enough. He'd always twitch or move, disrupting the potential flow of natural energy. Genkoro was simply at the cave entrance. When he finally sees Soren, he growls a bit. "You're late. Let's go." He then proceeds to lead Soren along the path that is likely familiar to him after the past seven weeks. They would reach the open cave, and the large fox would sit down, looking at Soren expectantly.
Soren nodded when he found Genkoro. "Sorry. Wasn't expecting to see Kimura today. Ended up chatting with her while we walked, and slowed down a bit for her." he said, scratching his neck, as he walked down following Genkoro. When they got to the pool, and he ducked in behind Genkoro, he smiled, taking one last deep breath, before walking out onto the water. "Anyways, shall we?" he asked with a small grin. He removed his prosthetic, setting it off to the side. He'd noticed a bit of mold after a couple weeks, so, after cleaning it, he'd left it off during most of his meditation sessions. He settled down onto the water, and took his last deep breath, before settling in for some time.
Genkoro begins the long wait. It is… a very long wait. Fortunately, he's not he one training, so he can move all he likes! The fox just rolls around a bit, tail swishing, ears flicking… The next two days were boring, and Soren was so close… The last few minutes began to tick by. Then seconds. 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0… Two full days have passed with Soren unmoving. Genkoro leaves the puppeteer to his own, actually, not disturbing him. Just a bit longer wouldn't hurt. It's only after three more hours have passed that the large fox nudges Soren. "Alright, if you're not tired, we can begin the next stage of training," he says.
Upon being nudged, Soren just took another deep breath, the first one in two days, and he let it out slowly. "Two days already huh?" he said, pushing off the water, and to his feet. "A bit tired, but I mean, I've been up for two days, that's kindof expected. I think, though, that this would be a good chance to start." he says with a nod, reaching over, and picking up his prosthetic. There didn't seem to be any new mold formations. Huh… an odd thing… to realize that he's been sitting still long enough for mold to form. He shook his head a bit, as he lifted a brow to Genkoro. "So what next then?"
Soren received a light nod, then Genkoro got up and shook himself a bit. "You see the moss that is all around you?" he asks. Once he gets acknowledgement, he says, "It is actually a special herb that allows you to feel the natural energy better. /Don't/ go trying to eat it all at once. It doesn't taste good, and doing so might kill you. The influx of natural energy would turn you into a fox statue." He pauses so Soren can catch up, then continues. "For now, simply mash it with a mortar and pestle, then spread a little bit on your body. Just a small spot. If you're overwhelmed with natural energy…" The fox brings out a stick from behind some rocks. It's a large stick, used more often as a walking stick for a normal human judging by its size. "Yu ge- a wha- wi 'is" comes the muffled voice of Genkoro.
You get a what we is? Wait, no, mouth you… ge… OH. "Oh! If I get to much, you smack me upside the face. Got it." he nods. "Effective motivator." he nods. The young man leaned over, and took up a bit of moss. He looked at it closely, and tilted his head. "Huh… it does seem rather strange. I've… never actually seem this kind of plant before. Why did I not notice this before!?" he says, half berating himself, half tired, half trying to be amusing. He took a nearby set of rocks, and used them as a makeshift mortar and pestle, smashing it up, before taking his prosthetic, and marking his forehead with two fingertips worth, before settling back down, taking a seat in the water. "Try not to whack me too hard, ok old man?" he asked, fitting in a little snipe at the older fox.
Genkoro waits. Soren would feel energy begin to flow into him, but it would become too much in a short period of time, resulting in a *WHACK* across his backside. The energy would suddenly leave his body, and he would likely be bowled over. Genkoro set down the stick. "That is natural energy. Once you can balance it within yourself, we can move on to the next step."
Soren felt so at peace. Like he was being swept away in a soft current, slowly taking him to a place where he could be completely and totally at ea-WHACK!
"OW WHACKIT." he practically yelps. "Son of a…! that HURT!" he says rubbing the point of impact. "Note to self, learn -quickly-." he says, glancing at the old fox. He went to sit back down, before a coughing fit overtook him. "Gah… anyways… so where were we?" he says, taking his seat again.
Genkoro puts the giant stick down to say, "We're exactly where we should be. Now, as I said, learn to balance this new energy. I'll be sure to try and save you, but don't do anything stupid. Put some of the mixture on you again, only a little, and we'll try again." The fox picks up his stick again, waiting intently for Soren to start trying to balance energies and the like. They would continue on for the day, Soren receiving a very nice set of bruises after all the abuse. They only go at it for a few hours, too, so Soren gets to anticipate many more longer days…
