[Satyata]

Deep brown eyes held close a quiet study of Kimsan as the Master stood before the young one. Perceptive and discerning, those eyes took in and truly saw more than most believed. As with all things, the 'child' had a respectful gaze locked on to his Master; trying to take in and understand every movement, every slight twist or turn of his features in order to glean something from the information which may give him cause for worry. In part it was a defense mechanism, built to prepare him for the worst before it had a chance to manifest fully. It was his first protection from the world around him, it was...

"Yes, Master Kimsan." His reply had been almost subconscious, but he had known what he was saying and why. "I will come to know all my weaknesses, Master Kimsan." His face contorted in a moment of lost thought, as if he knew he should say more. It brightened somewhat and he added, "And I will work always to overcome them, Master Kimsan." He gave a customary bow of his head and promptly began going through the motions with the monk. After a time his movements grew to be more graceful, more like the monk whom he followed. Frog became Horse became Crane almost without thought. By the time he had been asked to stop, he was already sure that he could practice them in his sleep, and given enough of a chance, he would try to do just that.

Drawing on all the past wisdom which had been passed down to him, Satyata did his best to understand the connection between cornerstones and the animals which the techniques had mimicked. He understood the basics of the concepts at least, but he kept on pondering until he had what he thought was a better grasp on it. "The frog has great power within, but holds it until he truly needs it. The horse may run swiftly from danger, but is willing to stand and defend when necessary. The crane is peaceful and calm, willing to wait for what he knows will come to him if he is still." His words came haltingly, as if the realizations came as he spoke. "Are these qualities the 'cornerstones' which I should build upon, Master Kimsan? Is this why we begin with them?" Despite the monk's kind words and gentle demeanor he still could not help but feel as a fool whenever he made what must have seemed to the Master as a feeble attempt at true understanding.

Brushing from his mind any thoughts of shortcomings, he made himself focus on nothing but the Master's words.

After the monk spoke and drew his hand away, Satyata touched his finger to where had been indicated and made a mental note of where his lungs reached. His parents had never spoken of this, but a few quick tests using both normal breathing and the technique shown to him soon proved that there was certainly something to it. He could hardly wait to put it into proper use. He had always had high endurance and good stamina, but this would surely be more beneficial than anything he had ever learned on his own.

Even as the Master went on, Satyata was still going through the motions of practicing his breathing, at least until he heard the words "most important". At that he stood straight and paid close attention to every word. He followed the explanations with brief nods and adjusted his stance with each instruction. The part about young minds had almost brought the burn back into his cheeks, but he forced that away as he had been taught to force away all unnecessary emotions. No time for foolishness.

With his stance stuck as close as could be to what had been described to him, the boy then moved from physical matters to those beyond simple flesh. Thought, the second half of a true 'body', was harder to conquer; it required more awareness of self and a good understanding of what was behind one's thoughts than the average person had, but he had tried his 'hand' at clearing his mind on more than one occasion and he was sure he could do it again.

He had only begun the usual process when he 'felt' more than saw the master leaving him. Something broke his 'concentration' and eyes flickered toward the monk. For the shortest moment he thought of calling out, but he quickly dismissed that as a childish reaction. Had he mis-stepped and angered the Master? No, that couldn't have been it. It had to be a test of will and dedication. At least he knew he had a great deal of both in any case.

As minutes passed into hours, Satyata found that the master had been all too correct about 'young minds'. He thought that he had mastered his mind to some degree at least, but this exercise quickly showed how much a fool belief that had been. The first few hours before full darkness he had concentrated on nothing but the forms, hoping to grow so accustomed to every motion that they would drift out of his conscious mind completely and into some far of area of thought. After that it had become a struggle between forceful cleansing and a cycle of knowing that knowing he knew had already defeated his attempts at knowing that he could not know what he knew.

With more hours passing, he grew tired of inane thoughts and soon quit focusing on anything. It was only when he ceased to force himself that things slid into place. Awareness of self came not from force of will, but from quiet acceptance of what is. It was much akin to meditation, but also far from the same. He no longer sought understanding or perfection. Desire and all other emotion melted from him. He had achieved pure awareness.

The suns eventually rose again and with them came the Master to see his pupil's serenity.

OOC: Sorry if I got carried away with this. Just really enjoying the thread.