Dressed in the more heavy and expensive temple robes as opposed to the he weight of say a Hakuma or Kimono. She knelt in the personal temple of her families mansion, incense smoke raising around the expensive bronze statue of Buddha she had managed to convince her family as necessary. Both hands were linked with fingers facing up and cupping one another, tips of her thumbs touching one another, eyes closed with a peaceful expression on her face. Striding around her like every time she was here to do this sort of training, trying to empty her mind and reach a greater spiritual plateau was a many in elaborate yet basic yellow and orange robes, head shaved with orange dots and a thin stick in his hand. This stick and Haumea had reached a very distressing relationship where the monk, a teacher of the spiritual and her religious superior was using said stick as a motivational tool to help her put into practice the instructions he quietly murmured.
The relaxed expression that had found itself forming upon her face was something she unconsciously did and apparently Haumea wasn’t at the level where she could look so at peace, thusly was doing it wrong. ”How can one be too relaxed when trying to empty their mind?” She would ask after a thwack to the back of the head accompanied by that a statement to that degree was uttered, an even less useful explanation of “If you haven’t realized that yet then you are not there.” It was a repetitive routine she was used to after months of this sort of treatment, Haumea wasn’t fond of flaunting her authority but at times she really wanted to admonish him but she knew that was the wrong thing to do.
Instead she would stretch while giving of a minor frown and sigh, deciding to trust in her senior regardless of her feelings and move on as this training was something she herself had desired. After the momentary pause the black hair girl got back to the same posture, closed her eyes and began the proper breathing exercises she had been taught. She started with a long, slow inhale through her nostrils that lasted about ten seconds, then a final big breathe from his mouth and then released said breathe in small, spaced and accelerated bursts, a total of fifteen and a small pause before restarting the process. As difficult as maintaining such a breathing method without fumbling would be for most people, Haumea was train since young and had exceptional breathe control and practice, able to use a few more simple breathing techniques even in her sleep.
Hating to admit it she silently acknowledged in her head that she had been in fact slacking, maybe not taking it as seriously as she could but such sloth was only a temporary thing for a hard worker like herself and she had motivation to succeed. She allowed herself to hear the mans droning words, smell the incense that tickled her nostrils with its sharp scent, get the wood she knelt on and acknowledged it all as she aimed to mentally move past them. As seconds moved by these sensations and her own thoughts slowly began to melt away, even the focus on her breathe began to move past and the motion being more automatic.
After an indeterminate amount of time moved passes by did Haumea sink deeper and deeper into the meditative trace and became totally unaware of her surroundings. ”Hmm? What’s that?” She asked herself as she felt an unfamiliar and yet recognizable warmth touch upon her skin, opening her eyes but only within her own mindscape with a look of surprise crossing her face. She didn’t kneel anymore but instead stood within a vast darkness, oppressive and crushing in from every side with apparently only nothingness for her to float with. Yet something in front of her shone brightly, providing a sense of sanctuary and comfort to combat the looming isolation. ”This flame, it’s like my own but instead of dangerous it seems comforting, is this?” She asked no one in particular, slowly reaching out to cup the floating, white gold coloured flames, the ball both burning hot but yet comforting and left not marks behind. To her shock and surprise these flames started to spread up her arms, the fire stretching across and surrounding her body, the heat still not inflicting damage but becoming more and more difficult to bear until finally she went to yell.
Finding herself snapping back to reality with said scream upon her lips, the young woman promptly stopping herself and covering her mouth with a flush of embarrassment spread across her face while she breathed heavily. Her teacher made a humming sound that caught Haumea’s attention and caused her to look up at him, to see them man with an actual smile having formed up his face. “It looks like you’ve broken through to the next level young one, now you need only master it which is but a bill compared to the mountain you have ascended, I am proud of you my student.” He expressed to her with a tone that was trained and practiced to stay level and yet there was still the obvious sign of excitement to show he wasn’t being sarcastic, leaning down to put a hand on her shoulder with pride and the other handing her the stick she hated so. Haumea didn’t have any immediate words she could say, looking at the stick she had been handed and back to her master who gave a nod of understanding, heralding the prompt and immediate disintegration of said stick to ashes from the young samurai before the pair of them laughed and Haumea rose to her feet to then offer a boy to her teacher ”Thank you for you patience and tutelage, I would never have reached this stage so young if it wasn’t for you shishou! Thank you for believing in me and may I request you help me over this next proverbial hill…. just maybe not today…, please?”
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