A Real Fan

"We probably confused your pursuers a little, so they are going to watch for a time, instead of confronting."

A pause.

"At least, they will if they are smart."

His tone indicated he didn't think they were.

"As for what now, we can try our first magic lesson, unless you would like a nap."

She was so new to everything, he assumed meditation would be the best option for starting. it would allow him to first find out if there was a native magic to this world, and he would be able to teach starting there. If not, he could teach her blood magic... not his preference, but he could at least feed her his own blood while he was present.
 
Another yawn, and Ryn shook her head. "No, I don't think I'm ready to sleep yet." It wasn't that she wasn't ready for sleep. Her body was more than ready for rest, but her mind was still racing. She was still in panic mode despite what Crow said about them probably watching and waiting. Being in the room gave her a chance to relax at least a little bit though. Being inside gave her the illusion that she was safe.

"So, magic lesson it is. What do I do first? Are there rules I need to know before we start? How did you first learn magic?" Ryn leaned forward balancing on the balls of her feet, ready for her first lesson, and bursting at the seams with follow up questions, but holding off on asking the rest of them for the moment.
 
A small smile teased at his lips. If nothing else, she was very eager. That was good, but could become a problem.

"I'll explain everything once we do start, and we will start with meditation. Sit comfortably, but not so much you'll fall asleep. Then, start to empty your mind. As thoughts appear, acknowledge them, but do not pursue them."

This might be the hardest thing for the girl, but he refused to call it 'emptying' her mind. That would make things needlessly difficult, because it was not only vague, but would encourage active efforts, rather than simply passiveness.
 
Glancing around the room, Ryn's gaze swept across the bed and the chair and finally settled on the empty corner in which she'd sat the night before and read. It wasn't the most comfortable of places, but she was pretty sure if she used the chair or the bed she'd quickly fall asleep despite the fact that she didn't want to. She hadn't been expecting meditation to start with. She wanted something more... Well, she wanted something more, but if this was how she would start learning magic, then this would be how she started learning magic.

She moved across the room and settled into her corner, allowing her back to rest against the wall, but holding her head up and away from it. As she closed her eyes immediately thoughts rushed into her mind completely unbidden. She did her best to do as she was instructed but it was proving difficult. Thought after thought came into her mind, like a never-ending train. Most of them about how ridiculous it was to try to clear her mind. She acknowledged them and moved on, only to find another thought right behind it.

Minutes passed and the longer she sat there the more frustrated she felt with the whole process. She was acknowledging her thoughts and not pursuing them, but they were still coming. Her mind was far from empty and she felt like she was messing everything up. If she couldn't figure this out how could she be expected to figure out real magic?
 
Crow let her sit quietly for a few minutes before he walked to her and sat on his knees in front of her.

"To start meditation is difficult," he said in a whisper, keeping a careful cadence.

"Thoughts bubble. The stream rushes, and you wish to scream."

He allowed a moment for her to breathe. "To empty one's mind is a task beyond someone new. Instead, we pursue mindful concentration. We wish to be able to direct our will, but be aware of our surroundings."

"Remain aware of your thoughts, but do not focus on them. Concentrate on my voice and its tempo, or the timing of your breathing."

Slowly, he began to recite haiku. They gave a certain rhythm, and since she didn't know the language, he assumed it might be easier.
 
Ryn was about ready to call it quits when Crow's voice reached her ears. She listened to his words and felt a bit better about her situation. The stream was definitely rushing. The thoughts wouldn't slow down, but at least with his voice she had something to focus on besides the frustration welling up inside her. It helped quell the aggravation. She acknowledged the words she could understand and then listened to the cadence of his voice.

It was easier to dismiss the thoughts that entered her mind with Crow's voice in the background. Steadying her breathing, Ryn continued to acknowledge and dismiss the thoughts and ideas that entered her mind. Soon, the only things that she was paying any attention to at all was her breathing and the steady rhythm of Crow's voice.

She finally felt like she was getting it. She felt calm, centered, focused. Conscious of the things around her, but separated from it all at the same time.

Feeling successful, Ryn ended up following a train of thought, instead of letting it go. She followed the idea that she had succeeded and it wasn't until she had fully pursued it that she realized that she wasn't doing what she was supposed to at all.

A growl of frustration escaped her, as she shifted against the wall steadying herself to try again. "I can do this," she muttered before once again focusing on her breathing and mindfully avoiding the pursuit of her thoughts.
 
Crow gave no outward acknowledgment of her growl nor her self-assertion, but simply kept up the haiku, because it was what he assumed she needed most: something to ground her.

For him, he had the rhythmic throbbing of his arms with his own pulse, but since she thankfully lacked such wounds, she had his voice and her breathing, and breathing could quickly grow irregular as a person concentrated on it.

While he recited, he let himself slip into a meditative state, eyes half-lidded as he observed her, noting the movement of her chest and the color of her hair, and letting those thoughts slip away as he took in more details of her, then let them also slip from him.

It was blissful, to simply observe and accept what he saw, and finally, he clapped lightly as he felt a slight pain in his back, to interrupt both their states gently before he stopped speaking.

"That is good for now. Too long, and it is easy to lose hours."

Unlike the subtle strain before, Crow's deep voice seemed relaxed now, almost sleepy, but not quite, and he held himself with alert posture and a subtle smile.
 
Her second attempt was much more successful than her first attempt. For one, she knew what to do. She knew that she had to let go of the thoughts that entered her mind and with Crow's voice in the background it was easy enough to just listen rather than actively pursue any thoughts. Her breathing had become steady and calm and she felt like she could sit like that forever.

When Crow brought her back to reality she felt calmer somehow. It was a strange sensation, and she felt like she could finally get some rest too. Her body felt relaxed, almost heavy. How long had they been meditating? Opening her eyes, she fixed her gaze on Crow and gave him a small smile.

"That was... interesting," Ryn said with a yawn. "How does meditating like that tie into magic? Is it something I'll have to do a lot?"
 
Crow smiled back, eyes squeezing with pleasure at her quick progress. He'd expected difficulty from someone like her, but—

Ah, he was glad he didn't have her do it entirely on her own. Even for him, it was hard at times.

"Do you remember how it felt, being aware, but letting trivial things slip away?" He paused to let her answer. "That is the state of mind one needs when using the most advanced magicks, and it is vital for learning, since most magic is a matter of willpower and emotion."
 
Ryn nodded, and then rubbed her eyes, idly wondering if she was only able to successfully follow Crow's instructions because her mind was already tired. She decided that she'd only find out after a nap. Slumping against the wall, Ryn looked over at Crow again not speaking for a few minutes as she needed that time to formulate her question and phrase it properly.

"So, willpower and emotion? I can easily understand why willpower plays into it, but I don't get what emotion has to do with it. That calm that comes over me when I was meditating, is that what's necessary?" Ryn had plenty more questions but at the moment all she could wonder is what would happen if you could still do magic if you were angry.

She sighed and rubbed her face again. She was getting really tired, but it didn't matter. Now that she wasn't actively not pursuing her thoughts they came unbidden and once again her stress level was sky-rocketing. How long was it going to be before they did something?
 
She wanted to know more, but she was so tired, he wasn't sure the answer would stick. Still, Crow would not baby her. He thought a moment before he answered, his tone patient.

"Your willpower will direct the magic, and your emotions..." He thought he'd had a good answer, but it escaped him. Perhaps he was tired, as well? Regardless, he took a deep breath and excused himself with "It's a little difficult to put to words."

He closed his eyes as he began to speak again.

"It is your will that directs the power, but it is your emotions that affect your control. For some magicks, emotions are the source and you need to be able to bring certain ones to the fore to use those magicks."

He opened his eyes, his smile more weary than he intended before he continued to her second question.

"Meditation helps you learn to control your own mind You will be more easily able to alter how you think and perceive, and your emotions as well.

"Magic can be very dangerous. Meditation is similar to falling practice—if you know how to fall correctly, it won't be able to hurt you as much."

His own mind felt like it was going sideways. He hated how injuries left him so tired. It was barely noon.
 
Ryn just nodded while hiding a yawn behind her hand. She couldn't think straight. All the questions that had been screaming to be answered were suddenly quiet, and all she could think about was how good a nap would feel. Another yawn escaped her mouth as she stretched her arms up above her head, her back arching away from the wall in a stretch. Once satisfied with how she felt she pushed herself up away from the wall and rubbed her face a bit, trying to wake up.

She'd noticed how tired Crow looked as well. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to take a nap. It was just turning from morning to afternoon. It was the perfect time of day for a siesta. Leaning back against the wall again she brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on top of her knees. "Would you mind if I took a short nap? Or is there more to do right now?"
 
"Rest," he urged. He needed some as well, and he could put up a shield around the room again to keep them safe. There was more to do—so much more, but right now, they were both too tired to do much.

"Take the bed."

He rose, marked a blood sigil on the floor, then headed towards the chair. It was soft, and if he was sitting, it would put less weight on his arms. His back might ache, but he knew stretches would help with that when he woke.

He let his hand rest on the chair's arm before he sat and closed his eyes.

"Less pressure on my arms if I take the chair," he added, just so she wouldn't fret over him.
 
Ryn was too tired to argue, and would have probably just accepted the bed regardless, but knowing that he felt the chair would be better for him made it a little easier to live with. As she stood up, her hand slipped into her pocket. Her fingers slid over the smooth sides of the ring, and she let out a breath. She was glad it was still there, but at the same time she kind of wished it had fallen out of her pocket somewhere. It wouldn't be her responsibility then.

Pushing the thought out of her head, Ryn continued to shuffle over to the bed. It took everything she had not to just flop over, but to gently lay herself on the mattress. As soon as her head hit the pillow, Ryn was out.

The sleep wasn't very restful though, nor very deep. She tossed and turned, and mumbled. She had terrible dreams. Dreams of being chased. Dreams of what could possibly happen if the the ring fell into the wrong hands. Her imagination came up with terrible and horrifying possibilities that her waking mind would never have been able to conceive.

When she woke up, the circles under her eyes had barely diminished and she felt terrible. She peered out the window to get an estimate on what time it was, and say the pink and orange hues of sunset. She's slept a good couple of hours. Raising her arms over her head, Ryn stretched, arching her back and closing her eyes. Even after the worst naps, a good stretch always made her feel better. After relaxing she lazily ran her hands through her short, bed-mussed hair, smoothing it down and tucking it behind her ears.

It was dinner time and her stomach let her know, as it rumbled uncomfortably. With a frown she looked around the darkening room once more before rising and heading to the door. They hadn't run into any trouble that morning, and it was still early enough for there to be a decent crowd out and about, so it was probably safe to go get dinner.
 
Crow remained in the chair, breathing slow as he slept, though the twitching in his face and fingers betrayed his lack of restfulness. He woke suddenly as he heard the door and looked over, spotting Ryn, then closing his eyes again.

"Where are you going?" he half-slurred as he tried to rouse himself enough to move. His back ached, his shoulders throbbed, and his legs felt numb.
 
Ryn stopped and turned, looking over at Crow, and seeing that he was still very much in his chair. He hadn't moved beyond speaking to her. "I was going to go get food. I need to get out of this room. It's too small. I feel all confined, and this morning we were fine, so I thought it would be fine again to go out for more food. I was going to come back. I would have brought you something too. I just need to get out of this room. And I'm hungry."

The more she spoke the more she felt confined in the room. It hadn't been that long, but for some reason, to Ryn, it felt like they'd been holed up forever. Scratching the back of her neck Ryn, shifted back and forth from foot to foot. "You said you had a plan? Maybe we can just get it over with and be done with all of this. I could go back home, and you can... enjoy the rest of your vacation. You probably didn't see things going this way, anyway. I don't know. I just want to do something. Anything. Get food. Take down the bad guys. Whatever, just let's just do it. I can't sit here and wait much longer."
 
"I wasn't going to stop you," he said as he slowly rose to his feet, slightly unsteady.

"It would... be wise to go together."

He inhaled sharply through his nose. Putting weight on numb legs, it felt like so many daggers driven into his muscles, and he stumbled as he struggled to stay upright.

"As for my plan, it is fairly simple. We need to find who exactly is stalking you, then observe them as much as they observe us. If you agree to it, you will become bait, and I will remain nearby in the form of a bird."

He closed his eyes. "Near enough that no ranged attacks will hit you. Far enough that I don't look suspicious."

He opened them again, using the explanation to distract himself from his discomfort.

"I am thinking it might be best to make a copy of the ring at that point, not a true copy, but something that looks identical. We can use it to buy time if needed, but I would prefer not to, as that could bite you in the ass later."

Crow tried to stretch. His back felt tight, painfully so...