The Meditative Art [Open of course]

[morphitudinous]

After countless hours of training with Rangers and tending to the Engineering department's needs, Billy found that he needed a break. Not necessarily for very long, just a space to clear his head (and train, for in Billy-world wasted time is a terrible thing---especially when one has to fight the Ohm in a few days).

Which meant traveling to a Sensorium, capable of being as quiet as he needed it to be. For the setting he chose a simple beach with fine sand, waves rolling quietly in the background. A flat mat lay over a section of the sand, waiting for him to practice on it. Excellent.

Changing into a comfortable blue training outfit, Billy began a quiet routine. First, the warm-up exercises. Light jogging, then stretching. He then moved onto katas, with some techniques from home and others adapted from the combat training. As always, he started slowly and stumbled a little, but before long he found himself settling into his pattern. Without onlookers judging, he felt much more relaxed and willing to push himself. A computerized voice in the background, his subconscious need for feedback, came floating through the chamber to egg him on: Go on, Billy. Try it. You'll be fine.

Should he be daring today? Billy decided that yes, he'd like to try a difficult kick combo he'd seen practiced at home. With all this training under his belt, he just might be able to manage it. He conjured a dummy figure from memory to perform the move, watched, then attempted it himself.

It took many slow-downs and plenty of analysis of the hologram to fully understand the procedure, but Billy landed a successful attempt. Then another. As his confidence mounted, he felt the accumulated worries start to recede. Words of encouragement came to him from that digitized voice as he practiced, its tone slowly becoming warmer and more familiar to him as it echoed through the chamber. All right, Bill! I knew you had it in you.

Recognition struck Billy as he finished another successful combo, and he was startled enough to forget to begin the cooldown process for a moment or two. He'd almost forgotten, but...he knew that voice from long before all of this. It took all his willpower not to call that kind face to mind as well, but he shouldn't. It wasn't right to stare at a shadow of a best friend.

"I guess I'm not as alone as I hoped, even in my own head," Billy thought aloud, stretching on the mat with a faint smile. Despite himself, he felt a little glimmer of confidence about their upcoming battle. In a few moments, he'd be ready to work at some other exercises.

And he might be even less alone than that. Instead of locking the door, Billy had placed some dunes at the front of the Sensorium to give entrants the clear idea that it was occupied. It was also, as it turned out, a perfect hiding spot.

Comments

Quiet Pride

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

Wandering and reinforcing his routes could only go so far. Even he can only take so much of that, so he'd done other things. Practised his English and a bit later, made a small but nicely filling lunch. With it balanced atop his head, the anomaly walks in his weirdly-gaited way to find someone to share it with.

The smell of the sea though...that's a distraction. Curious, Renne moves to investigate. The smell is as always, soothing. The sounds? Renne smiles and quietly listens, trying to remain out of sight for now.

Although he still swells with pride, such pride.

[morphitudinous]

Billy laid on the mat, listening intently to the world around him: the sounds of the waves, the rustling dunes, and his own deep breaths. He thought he might be hearing something else, but he was unsure.

From his position flat on the ground with eyes on the sky, though, he wouldn't see Renne.

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

That's his intention, for now at least. Carefully, he places the covered dish down off his head and begins to try and back up. Within? Oh, he can feel his pride swelling like a wave ready to break. But, what would it do to disturb the Human?

He doesn't want that, so he's trying to rein it in.

[morphitudinous]

Something's different. Billy can't quite fully identify it, but it's one of those tiny disturbances that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. He shifts to a sitting position, glancing around---oh, there's food. And he's willing to wager that he'll find blue in the dunes if he looks.

"It's okay," he says. "I'm on break."

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

Sneak, sneak...Oh, drat.

Yep. There's food all right and it has the faint smell of something he'd heard called "pizza". No meat on it though, thank his vegetarian tendencies for that.

And yep, there's a hint of blue between those two dunes. Blushing blue.

"Rrrrenne noht wahnt ah-sturrrb."

[morphitudinous]

Pizza?

Billy perks up a little, even knowing that it isn't real. Just the smell is tempting enough.

"Come out," he asks, moving the pizza safely to the center of the mask. Oh, what would the guys think if they saw this?. "That can't be too comfortable, and I've relaxed enough for now."

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

Chirp.

Over a dune he crawls, for a moment looking for all the world like a little blue sand-squirrel. Bumbling down the other side of said dune, he offers a little smile.
And he lets that tidal wave of pride come out.

[morphitudinous]

Ah, there he is. Billy beckons him over. "I can't eat this all myself."

Then he feels the emotion rush through him, prompting a thoughtful pause and some happiness. "What? I've just been practicing."

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

"Rrrrenne lis-sen. Bee do so good."

His skin's going a touch batty between flashes of pride and his blushing. Still, he smiles through it all and crawls to a spot beside the Human.

[morphitudinous]

"I'm not doing that well," came his typical blush. When Renne's close enough, he smiles and offers a slice.

"We're eating, right?"

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

"Rrrrenne thin-k yeu do!"

So there. Nuzzle. A chirp later and he takes the offered slice. His version of pizza? It's actually pretty healthy, again, done with metamorphosed Stacy-goo and memory.

"If Bee wahnt. Bee do nee-d eat."

[morphitudinous]

"I do feel better," he muttered. That was probably what was shining through.

Billy gives Renne a quick squeeze and quiet thank-you before raising his slice. "Yes, of course. I won't neglect eating."

Chow time.

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

"Is good."

A smile. He takes on eating his slice carefully. This is his first attempt at having made pizza after all!

[fireforger]

The sensorium's weren't a place Daja visited often - she preferred to spend her time working the her forge - but today, she had felt the need to take some time to clear her head.

She was pleasantly surprised to find that Billy was there, however. She stood at a distance, so that she wouldn't interrupt - but also standing where Billy could clearly see that she was there.

[morphitudinous]

By that point, Billy had started practicing again. His focus was more on refining his gymnastics training. Since he'd mentioned it to Jamie last week, he thought it would be a good idea to ensure he was still in shape.

He balanced first, then moved to the harder exercises: tumbling, handsprings, flips, round-offs. There were tentacles present to spot should he slip, but he was pleasantly surprised by the ease of getting back into it. The earlier practice and visits had helped his mood.

Daja's presence went unnoticed for a few minutes while his vision was inverting in various ways, but Billy noticed her when there was a break in the action. Ah, yes, he'd meant to talk to her again. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, he waved her over.

"I'm sorry about the delay," he apologized, a little red-faced. "What do you need?"

[fireforger]

Daja smiled. "I'm not here to ask for anything," she said, amused. "I was just fascinated by your movements. It reminds me of one of my teachers - she used to be a tumbler. Were you ever a performer yourself?"

[morphitudinous]

"Not personally, but one of my best friends was a gymnast. She trained me to enhance my fighting abilities---I'll never perform in the shows like she did, but she helped significantly."

Billy brushed himself off and made his way to her, ready for a cooldown. "What subject did she teach you?"

[fireforger]

"I'm sure you could," Daja smiled. "Perhaps you will never perform for kings and queens, but I would certainly enjoy seeing you perform."

"Magic," Daja explained. She smiled wryly. "And also many valuable lessons about life. She was never my primary tutor, but you could say she was like a foster-mother to me and my siblings."

[morphitudinous]

Billy would have to disagree with an embarrassed chuckle. "I'll do it in a few moments if you're really that interested, but I can't promise greatness like hers."

He was more curious about Daja's magic. "Your smithing, right? Or were there other aspects of magic? I would've liked to meet her," he grinned. If she was an influence on Daja, and a good one? Of course.

[fireforger]

"Perhaps one day, I will be to see your friend perform as well," Daja said. "But I am sure that she taught you well.

"Not my smithing specifically - in my world, there are many kinds of magic. Lark is a stich witch, like my sister - her magic deals with cloth and thread and weaving. But even if the forms are different, at the heart of magic are the same rules. Managing your power with medication, the control of your magic, knowing when to step back. You'd be surprised how much you can teach to someone with magic completely different from your own - although eventually, everyone needs someone who can you your kind of magic."

[morphitudinous]

Billy nodded. It made sense to him. "A similar process adapted in many ways," he said to himself. "It's incredible. Magic can do so much---even though people couldn't use it in my own world, I always wondered about the feats that would take science an extraordinary long time to replicate if at all. The possibilities have expanded."

He had that 'geeking-out' look on his face for a brief moment, then smiled at her. This was good, of course, but maybe he needed to warm up if he was going to perform for her.

[fireforger]

"I can't imagine a world without magic," Daja admitted. "I still find it hard to believe that so much of the ship isn't magic at all - if I couldn't see magic myself, I'd never have believed it. You may not have magic, but the wonders you work are amazing."

Daja didn't mind the 'geeking-out' expression at all - especially since when it came to magic and smithing, Daja could be incredibly curious herself.

[morphitudinous]

Daja had hit on what Billy enjoyed most about science: discovering the world piece by piece. Understanding how things work made them even more appealing, because then the opportunity was there to do so much more.

"Our universe did have magic, but I only knew two being who were ever able to use it and they were both from ancient worlds. Our mentor and our nemesis, though only the enemy was still able to cast. As you can imagine, my experience with magic until I reached the ship was wholly negative."

Billy breathed deeply, starting to stretch on the mat. He was just about ready for another round.

[fireforger]

"I'm sorry," Daja said, saddened. "Magic can be a beautiful thing. But like any tool, it is the wielder who shapes it's purpose."

She smiled, patiently waiting for Billy to get ready. "If you ever wish, I'm always happy to show you my own magic."

[morphitudinous]

That would be a wonderful antidote, he agreed. "I'd be honored," came Billy's quick answer as he tested his limbs. Yes, it was all ready.

Billy moved to the end of the mat, took a breath, and set off running. He built momentum for his tricks---rolls at first, then shifting up into a kick. Butterfly kicks, more round-offs, and cartwheels around the mat came net, then his favorite: a series of handsprings. Another line of tricks followed, building speed, and then the finale---having a section of the mat bounce him up, then twisting through the air and landing a short distance in front of her, arms raised.

He lowered them slowly, looking somewhat satisfied and rather exhausted. "That's about the extent of my training so far."