gunah | (no subject)

Out there in the tundra, we read many books on it that the old Garhla wrote, but they were so dull. Me? I'd rather think of it as flames-- no, warm embers inside you, still and calm.

[ It's just like her to start a conversation mid-sentence without context to help Hanna understand just what exactly she's talking about.

Seated crosslegged on the floor, Shuyi is barefeet with only a simple cotton dress on and loose black pants with hair twisted up in a messy bun. Her grin is barely concealed even as she bites her lower lip to keep from seeming too eager, because she is too eager to show her new friend this little stunt, if it can be called such considering there's really no possibility of danger to either of their persons. She reaches over to pat the space just in front of her, gesturing for Hanna to sit. ]

People think it's boring. Listen, I thought it's boring but it's not. Imagine-- [ Movement fluid and practiced, she brings her hands together to create a strange symbol using her fingers, both elbows resting on her thighs. ] Imagine whatever you like: a fireplace on a snowy day, cool breeze when the heat bears down.

[ Shuyi allows her grin to bloom at last. ]

Your mind is your most powerful tool.

[Hanna blinks quizzically at Shuyi, who begins a story like a Tarantino movie: smack at the end. Gotta work backwards, huh?

The symbol she doesn't recognize, which only makes her all the more curious]

Alright, I'll bite.

[She sits in front of Shuyi, shoulders sloped and relaxed. She has no idea what to expect, outside of probably something totally crazy.

In her mind's eye, Hanna brings up the image of the night sky in the middle of the summer, full of bright stars and a warm atmosphere. The grass is cool and prickly against her skin.]

[ There's a name for each of the one thousand and one symbols a human hand can make, though anyone who knows anything of Shuyi would know she wouldn't spare a moment trying to memorize them. As long as she knows its meaning. This one is for calmness. Balance. The taking on of any surplus and excess so that the world about her may come to peace.

She laughs when Hanna joins her, shifting her legs to sit a little closer, so she can reach out both hands to hold Hanna's loosely in hers. Then she closes her eyes, her voice softer when she speaks next, barely rising above the sound of her breathing. ]

You're warm. That is usual for you, I hope?

Yeah. It's a thing. I'll show you a trick later.

[Because she thinks lighting herself on fire wouldn't be very conducive to a relaxing imagination session.

She does wonder, though, what Shuyi is trying to do. She's not unfamiliar with illusions, as there are people in her world that can create them, but something tells her Shuyi isn't quite trying to do the same.

She'll find out soon enough, she figures.]

[ Shuyi has no skill with illusions, unless it's of the verbal kind, but then those are called something else. Something less magical. This is nothing of the sort.

If allowed, she would shift her hands so that she may press an index finger against the inside of Hanna's wrist and adjust the other woman's hands to do the same. This way they can hear each other's heartbeats, mismatched for now until Shuyi makes the conscious effort to match her company's. This is easy. As easy as breathing by now. Her own hand may be calloused, with layer upon layer of raised scars, more fitting for a stoneworker than a girl, but her grip is gentle and her humming reverberates through her entire body right down to the tips of her fingers.

The melody is strange but subdued, steady and changing in tune very slowly. It has no words. ]

[Hanna had always loved music. It had been her passion, once, before the world shredded her dreams.

The melody is low, rhythmic, something altogether foreign. The beat is strangely calming, perhaps because it reminds her of what she once was: a girl chasing after a rhythm to call her own.

Shuyi's skin doesn't seem suited for someone to work with such a calming technique, but Hanna makes no comment. She knows more than anyone how looks can deceive.

She continues to stay silent, not wanting to break Shuyi's concentration. She can manage to say quiet at least.]

[ Hanna isn't ailing or suffering from fatigue, unlike the people she commonly tries to help, but there's still some benefit in returning to a calmer state of mind.

Consciously and gradually, she slows her own heartbeat to the pace of one deep in slumber, the fingers placed on the other woman's wrist sending the signal (is it chemical or is it closer to magic?) for Hanna to follow suit. The exercise isn't foolproof even for someone of her own kind so she can't guarantee that it would work for Hanna, but that won't stop her from trying.

Her humming dissipates into silence without a clear end and when she opens her eyes and smiles, it's as if the tune still lingers in the air, just waiting to be recalled. ]

How do you feel?