Starring:
Soren, Rockpath
Date: June 1, 2015
Summary:
Soren's training begins, and he learn's how to perform a crucial part of gathering natural energies, the perfect stillness.
"The Path to Sagehood - The path to Stillness"
The fox village, just outside the Land of Snow
Today marks the beginning of Soren's training. From Summoner to Sage. The foxes had agreed, though some were a bit less happy about the decision than others, and ultimately started to think up a training regiment for Soren. There was, to be fair, not much to Sage Mode, but it all hinged on one simple fact.
A large gray fox sat waiting for Soren, and Ayame, if she chose to come, tail swaying lightly. A glance up to the sky, and his ear twitches lightly. Late… A sigh escapes the fox, but he continues to wait for the man, tail swaying just a bit more impatiently than before.
Soren yawned as he walked, just a little drowsdy.
"HOW COULD YOU NOT GET SLEEP!" Ayame practically screamed as they walked to the more isolated section of the foxes home village.
Soren shook his head, still just a little drowsy. "I'm sorry, I've been under this impression for the longest time, that foxes were nocturnal." he says, patting his face just a little bit. "Probably because someone likes to keep me up at night for the strangest reasons. I wonder who *that* could be." he says, looking down at the fox, currently in pup form. HE shook his head as he entered the clearing, smiling, and bowing his head towards Genkoro. "Apologies Genkoro-sama. It's been a long night." he says with a smile, and a tilt of his head. "I take it you will be handling my training today?" he asked with a small smile.
Genkoro gives Soren a look. A look that says, 'You're late' in the most scolding manner possible. The grey fox rises, though, giving himself a small shake to wake his muscles. "I'm glad you could spare some time. And yes, I will be." The large fox turns, padding over to a nearby cave entrance. "Come with me, young ones. There's a lot to work on, and patience is not a skill I have except in certain circumstances."
Soren looks embarassed for a moment, scratching his cheek. "Yeah… sorry about that. I was given the impression that most of my training would be at night. By the time the little one rousted me, I was already late. I apologize." he says, bowing his head. He knew when he screwed up, and this was definitely one of those times.
Ayame glared up at him, and shook her head. "No, you don't get to blame this on me. Not this time." she says, snickering, as she trotted behind Genkoro.
But he followed closely after Genkoro. "So… how am I getting the snot kicked out of me today?" he asked, mostly joking.
"You're not," rumbles the fox, making his way through the cave system. Soon, it becomes dark. So dark that the light from the entrance barely shows the path. The light is enough for the two foxes, but Soren will have to navigate through his own means. "We'll just take a little walk for now." Ayame would know that this cavern was usually closed off, a boulder blocking its entrance most of the time.
Ayame tread through the cave slowly, carefully. She's never been in here, and it's always been closed off. The nerves were getting the better of her, just a little, as she shed her pup form, stretching into her full 6' form. Curiosity is certainly winning out over nervousness though, as they just continue to walk.
As they walk, Soren can't help but reach out to pet his partner, try to calm her nerves. But as the lights dimmed, he kept his hand on her for a different reason. He closed his eyes, and simply let the fox guide him. "Well… that sounds better than most of my training sessions." his wit still showing.
Genkoro doesn't reply for a long moment, simply continuing forth and trusting Ayame to follow (and bring her partner with). Eventually, Soren and Ayame would see light up ahead. It was shining down into the tunnels, revealing an open space that was… pretty spacious. Obviously, the tunnels were built for foxes like Genkoro in mind, but this cavern could probably fit fifty of him. In the middle was a pool of clear water, and every rock face was covered in a soft glowing miss.
Soren dipped his head to duck into the cavern, and opened his eyes. "Woooooow. Pretty impressive." he says with a small grin. Soren just took in the space around him in total awe of the sight. He grinned, admiring the subtle beuty of the space around him.
Ayame gawked around in awe aswell, just taking in the scene before them.
Genkoro nods quietly. "For the training we need to do, you need to be completely still. For now, just lie in the water, and use your water walking abilities to keep yourself afloat. If you move at all, then I will restart my count. If you can remain completely still for a full two days, then you'll be allowed to begin the real training." Genkoro curls up in his spot a bit, looking at Soren.
<Public> Gnome has disconnected.
All channels have been gagged.
GAME: Save complete.
Soren blinked. Two days? Ooof. That was gonna be tough, even for him. He glanced at Genkoro, and lifted a brow. "Two days? Seriously? Phew… Remind me not to be late next time." he says, scratching his neck, making light of the situation just a little bit. HE nods though, removing his shirt for now, and walking out onto the water. He layed down, and started the training. "If I may ask… what exactly is the intent behind this?" he asked, kindof curious why he was going to be staying still for 2 whole days… probably significantly longer.
Genkoro considers, then decides that two days of silence is going to be more bearable if Soren didn't have all his questions floating around. "Sage mode, which you are attempting to achieve, combines three different energies instead of the two that make up chakra. Your mind. Your body. And the natural energy from that which lives around us. To gather this natural energy takes practice and concentration. To allow it to enter your body, you must have complete stillness. It is, unless you have somehow achieved mastery, impossible to move and gain natural energy."
The fox continues to speak, rumbling lightly as she shifts to be more comfortable. "For foxes, it is probably the hardest training that we do. To stay still. Naturally, we tend to be excited and even a bit twitchy, always wanting to move." There is a glance to Ayame, then. "So that is why we say two days. you will not currently be gathering natural energy, but learning to keep still. Gathering the third component will be a task for later sessions. Now, if that answers your questions, I'm starting the count." 1 second. 2 second. This is going to be a long wait…
Soren took in the knowledge and let out an "Ah." He took a few moments, before closing his eyes, focusing on his meditation.
…
…
…
ACK! Itch! He twitched a bit, before scratching. Darn it, ok again.
…
…
…
"ACHOO!" he sniffed, before laying back down. Ugh… this was going to take forever.
And it did indeed take quite a while for him to get right. At first, Soren would make a ton of little mistakes. A twitch here, drumming fingers there, occaisional sneeze, or blink. And after a while, he'd run out of chakra, and have to go back to the village to rest… but he kept on. During his training he stayed in the fox village, and lived amongst them when he had time to, learning more about them, and their mentality, working on deepening his connection to the fox tribe as a whole, and not just to one or two of them.
For however long it takes, Genkoro would lead them out of the cavern and back to the fox village to let them rest and recover. Them he would lead them back to the cave when they woke up. Ayame would be instructed to also keep still, but she would not have to sit in the pool of water. She was simply watched by Genkoro, whose eyes were perceptive enough to tell when the younger fox moved. After many weeks of training, though, he sees that Soren is finally able to stay still for longer and longer periods of time, working his way slowly up to the two-day mark.
