10th of Frost, Year 4621
Midhir's eyes opened before dawn had come. Jack was clinging to him like an infant who knew no better. It was tempting to stay there, warm and close, but he was awake and Jack needed his sleep. Incrementally, he extricated himself such that he didn't wake his lover, and tucked the blankets under him to trap Midhir's heat with him. He pulled another blanket over him as well, because Frost was here and he cared. He wasn't supposed to grow too attached to people, but perhaps he didn't have what it took to become a proper monk after all.
He dressed. He slipped outside. He wandered out of the city a bit and found a nice flat boulder to sit upon that was halfway up a bit of a hillock near the treeline. From here, he would feel the sunlight upon his face as soon as it crested the horizon. Bundled up against the cold, he sat down and crossed his legs, assuming a meditative posture. His mind was already alert, so he began to breathe carefully, slowly, bringing his breath under control, and thereby his body, and thereby his mind. It didn't take long to fall into a light sort of trance where thoughts still slid along the surface of his mind but didn't stay long enough for him to attach any specific importance upon them. He still noted the sharp cold of the air that came in through his nostrils, but the discomfort didn't touch him, even as he breathed hotter air out of his mouth.
Eventually, the wolf appeared. It seemed to have a preternatural ability to find him whenever he left civilization behind, but it may have just been a wolf doing wolf things. He didn't ascribe any particular importance to it. It curled up around him, warming his backside. Perhaps it was napping, feeling safe in his presence. Perhaps it was just keeping him warm when he was out in the elements; he sometimes got the impression the wolf thought he was a particularly stupid pup.
When he noticed the sun upon his face, he opened his eyes and rose up out of his trance.
He stood up carefully, not wanting to upset the wolf. It was a wild thing still.
Doffing his coat, Midhir stretched and began to perform his salutations to the sun. It was a physical meditation that made his body more ready for the still meditations, and it also gave him flexibility and strength for his martial training. Just now, he was doing simple things; they were difficult to do properly, of course, but they were not so complex as what he would eventually build into, what people would see as acrobatics and contortionism, perhaps, but to him were all part of the same thing. Body, mind, spirit—they needn't be separated.
Midhir's eyes opened before dawn had come. Jack was clinging to him like an infant who knew no better. It was tempting to stay there, warm and close, but he was awake and Jack needed his sleep. Incrementally, he extricated himself such that he didn't wake his lover, and tucked the blankets under him to trap Midhir's heat with him. He pulled another blanket over him as well, because Frost was here and he cared. He wasn't supposed to grow too attached to people, but perhaps he didn't have what it took to become a proper monk after all.
He dressed. He slipped outside. He wandered out of the city a bit and found a nice flat boulder to sit upon that was halfway up a bit of a hillock near the treeline. From here, he would feel the sunlight upon his face as soon as it crested the horizon. Bundled up against the cold, he sat down and crossed his legs, assuming a meditative posture. His mind was already alert, so he began to breathe carefully, slowly, bringing his breath under control, and thereby his body, and thereby his mind. It didn't take long to fall into a light sort of trance where thoughts still slid along the surface of his mind but didn't stay long enough for him to attach any specific importance upon them. He still noted the sharp cold of the air that came in through his nostrils, but the discomfort didn't touch him, even as he breathed hotter air out of his mouth.
Eventually, the wolf appeared. It seemed to have a preternatural ability to find him whenever he left civilization behind, but it may have just been a wolf doing wolf things. He didn't ascribe any particular importance to it. It curled up around him, warming his backside. Perhaps it was napping, feeling safe in his presence. Perhaps it was just keeping him warm when he was out in the elements; he sometimes got the impression the wolf thought he was a particularly stupid pup.
When he noticed the sun upon his face, he opened his eyes and rose up out of his trance.
He stood up carefully, not wanting to upset the wolf. It was a wild thing still.
Doffing his coat, Midhir stretched and began to perform his salutations to the sun. It was a physical meditation that made his body more ready for the still meditations, and it also gave him flexibility and strength for his martial training. Just now, he was doing simple things; they were difficult to do properly, of course, but they were not so complex as what he would eventually build into, what people would see as acrobatics and contortionism, perhaps, but to him were all part of the same thing. Body, mind, spirit—they needn't be separated.
