[PRP] Mountain Pose (Aerona + Adamaz)

[Sypon]

Aerona stops by the junkyard and encounters Adamaz, a troll with curious hobbies.

 

[Sypon]

The daytime had been less scorching than usual, and for Aerona that meant a jog around the junkyard. She didn't really do it for the sights, sounds, or smells - rather, the dangerous obstacles to climb were excellent practice for the most precarious slopes and ledges. And, because the sun had merely melted and refrozen the icy peaks of Busthind tonight, getting a foothold without ample amounts of gear and patience was hardly worth it. Sometimes you had to climb some garbage.

Aerona made her way around the outskirts of the pile with Sophitia, clambering behind her with a quiet air of restfulness. There were a lot of unsavory treasures in the dump to be sure - and with the high security Punishment Pits right nearby, she was on edge. But, these treks around town were significantly more useful to keeping track of Aerona, and fortunately there was less chance of an avalanche. Just hopefully there was no such thing as a trashvalanche.

Regardless of her constant fretting, Sophitia stayed a comfortable distance from Aerona as she poked around to find a good structure to scale, even allowing her to get started on a big crane, a trash mover with a huge circular magnet. Aerona nudged one of the supports with her boot and smiled back at Sophitia.

"This one looks pretty fresh to climb, an' no drones in sight! Bet I can get to the big magnet thingy!"

"Be safe!"

"Yup!"

She began her climb. Aerona looked out over the vast landscape of peculiarities, rubber and steel, and wrinkled her nose. It wasn't exactly an Alternian beauty, and it smelled terrible. Maybe if she climbed higher she could see something more interesting - and escape the smell.  

[Wizardy Herbert]

Adamaz didn’t feel like a big walk today, and that meant it was time for meditation.

Papa Roach made the gap in the junkyard fence so that Adamaz had easy access from his hive. Walking through it, it often occurred dimly to him that vandalizing property in such a way was definitely illegal. But, the feeling evaporated as gently as it came.

Adamaz approached the spot he and (mostly) Papa Roach had built to act as a small “hideaway hive” where he could practice his Troll Yoga in relative peace. The walls of his hive weren’t nearly as thick as the walls of garbage and scrap he and his lusus had hewn out of a large heap. It smelled rather terrible, it was easy for Adamaz to blot out the scents; it made him feel at home. Papa Roach hissed excitedly from Adamaz’s hair as the familiar stench of the hideaway rolled across them. Adamaz grinned.

Papa Roach skittered off of his ward and amongst the surrounding trash as Adamaz placed down a lantern and his Troll Yoga tome. He flipped to a page with warm-up exercises, and began to go over the basics; Lunar Jubilations, followed by the quintessential Dirtward-Facing Barkbeast. Adamaz held the poses for as long as he could before moving to the next.  

[Sypon]

The redblood hefted herself up the crane a couple feet further and felt her arm pinch and ache. It was getting windy up above, and as the magnet creaked from its chain Sophitia squeaked a warning. Aerona had had enough. Her wounded arm had severely limited her range of motion and endurance, and as tears of pain sprung to her eyes she obeyed her lusus without delay.

"O-okay! Hang on one sec..." She grunted and re-positioned herself on the beam. Out of the corner of her eye, Aerona spotted a strange structure in the distance as though someone had built something out of trash. She blinked. It was real! It was a genuine hut of some kind. The pain in her arm was quickly forgotten (and then remembered as she jerked back to yell at her lusus).

"There's a hobo hut over there!" She yelled. Aerona looked down and carefully placed a tread of her boot down below. Then another, and another. Gaining momentum, Aerona allowed herself to put pressure on only one arm and expertly plopped onto the ground next to her lusus. "Did you hear me? Can we go?"

Sophitia seemed concerned, but... As long as she stayed far awa-- aaand Aerona was gone.

The redblood rushed down a machine-made trail and stood upon a ledge overhanging the mysterious garbage heap. It was still a ways down, and she slid with her boots down a squelching trail of sludge, resisting the urge to laugh as she got closer to the mysterious hut. Boots thoroughly grease-slicked, she advanced.

The little hive looked to be constructed by a troll. She kept a wide perimeter as she circled around, and soon spotted a pair of orange horns from within. There they were. Sure enough, the orange and grey of a troll, and an orangeblood to boot. Aerona ducked behind a trash can.

Sophitia quietly followed behind, clicking with curiousity. The troll didn't seem to be that dangerous, but you could never be too careful. He was a kid and an orangeblood though, but with the prison nearby anything was possible! She told her charge to stay quiet.

What the heck was he doing? Getting a good view behind her hiding spot was difficult - but even moreso, he was doing some weird slow-motion dance! Aerona had never seen anything like that in her life. It was new! It was weird! It was... Kind of hilarious, actually. The orangeblood stuck his butt up in the air and Aerona let out a snort. The jig was up. Sophitia sighed as Aerona poked her head out from the trash can and gave the orangeblood a hearty two-armed wave (wincing and reverting to the single arm).

"Yooooo! What are you doing?" Aerona called from afar. Sophitia wrung her claws anxiously, and Aerona gave her a look as though to say 'Hey, I'm keeping a safe distance!'. Surely this weirdo couldn't be too bad. Unless he'd lost his marbles and was some scraggly hermit living in the dump and was super dangerous, or an escaped convict. That would be too cool.  

[Wizardy Herbert]

Adamaz heard a snort and looked up. He didn’t quite “freeze” in surprise, since he was already still to begin with. Another troll kid, a peppy-looking redblood, was waving energetically at him from outside his hideaway. He had never been interrupted while doing poses before, and his rump was in the air. Hmm. Papa Roach scurried out of the walls to be at his wards side.

"Yooooo! What are you doing?"

Good question. Adamaz didn’t know how to respond; Troll Yoga is not something he fully understood himself, much less something he could explain concisely. Adamaz decided to continue his poses, though his focus was interrupted. "Practicing poses." he mumbled, his breath strained. He pointed at the tome laying open before him. "From there." He shifted into Resting Slab position, shortly before continuing into the Cresting Ophidian. Hoped maybe she would go away? He doubted it.  

[Sypon]

"Poses? For like... Dance?" Aerona inquired. She popped up from behind the trash can, no longer deeming him a threat. Now she could get a better look at him.

He was pretty small in frame, and looked about right for the setting. She could smell him before she could even see his symbol, and visibly wiggled her nose to try and adjust to the additional garbage-y aroma as she stepped over detritus to reach him. Ratty winter clothes with an ill fit looked typical for a lowblood. Nothing out of the ordinary here! She gave him a smile and put her hands on her hips, leaning at the waist to take a look at the Troll Yoga tome.

Little plain figures of trolls were doing some rather odd poses, but there was very little description implied. "Mmm. I don't get it. What're you supposed to do with this? Are there rules? What are you even practicin' for?"  

[Wizardy Herbert]

"Not dance. It's just ... " Adamaz realized that trying to talk while doing poses was hard and silly. He shuffled onto the floor, crossing his legs into the Nucifera Fold. It was the flower-like pose on the cover.

"It's like exercise. You hold the pose as long as you can, then move to another one." He paused. "Also, hello. I'm Adamaz. That's Papa Roach." He waited for the response, eager to get back to Troll Yoga.  

[Sypon]

"Exercise?" Aerona twisted up her mouth. Adamaz, his name was - he was just sitting on the ground! It wasn't so much a pose as a... Configuration of his extremities. It didn't seem so hard. "Is that it?" She asked.

Aerona was quiet for a moment, mulling this over. It seemed pretty boring, though to be honest so did this orangeblooded junk weirdo named Adamaz. "Name's Aerona, mum's Sophitia. I live over by the town." She puttered about, watching. Adamaz was resolute. He didn't even twitch or wiggle - and even though he was breathing deep, regular breaths, he looked still as stone. As she observed more, Aerona's curiousity grew. It certainly wasn't a blood-pusher pumping, thrilling exercise... Unlike the bloodsport and military training of the government, it seemed so tame. Was there really that much to it?

She'd have to find out.

Aerona bit her lip with pointed teeth and analyzed the next pose up in the queue. She turned her head to try and read the pages upside down, and elected to stand next to the troll to get a better look. "Can I try?"  

[Wizardy Herbert]

"Um."

Adamaz could tell he was being judged, but he didn't care. He wasn't hesitating for that reason; he didn't know if he wanted company while doing yoga. It might make interrupt focus. Something might even happen to the book.

It then occurred to Adamaz that if he couldn't meditate while someone else was in the room, he was not very good at meditating was he?

"Sure. Sit over here. Start like this, then follow."

He straightened his back to re-emphasize the Nucifera Fold. After a moment, he hopped to the left a few times to make space for Aerona.  

[Sypon]

Aerona grinned. Her sharp teeth spread with an attempt at charm that may have come off as insistent or intimidating. When he complied, she hissed. "Yessss...!"

Who was gonna stop her from sitting down somewhere near him, anyway? She trod over to where he gestured and spun around with built up energy. Sitting down, Aerona examined the book briefly before trying to pull her legs inward. Ouch. She grunted as her huge boots made graceful sitting difficult, dirty treads digging into her leggings. A lot of trial and error later and Aerona was sitting still. She could feel the pull in her legs. It was a stretch she'd done before, but nothing quite this exaggerated. How strange! She placed her hands on her knees and looked at Adamaz out of the corner of her eye, straightening her back to match his. A deep breath in, and out.

"This seems silly." Aerona remarked. Nonetheless, she closed her eyes and focused. "How long do we hold this? You know what - I'll just follow you." Aerona's blabbing finally stopped as she cracked one eye open to keep track of the orangeblood's movements.

Wizardy Herbert

 

[Wizardy Herbert]

Adamaz was right; it was much more difficult to meditate while someone was talking. Neat. He'd have to focus harder. Adamaz tried to block out everything but the ever-present scent of the trash that filled his hovel. Nothing but the trash. Goooood. A few minutes after Aerona set up next to him, he began to cycle through his favorite poses: the Warrior Castes.

Adamaz unfolded his legs and stood, his stance wide. He stepped his left foot into a deep forward lunge, his back straight, and raised his hands straight into the air. The Triumphant Highblood. Inhale...Exhale. Adamaz held the pose for two minutes.

Adamaz then stepped back out of the lunge, turned his body sideways, and stepped into a shallow sideways lunge with his arms straight out, level with his shoulders. The Devoted Midblood. Inhale...Exhale. Another two minutes.

Finally he turned his body forward again, swung his left leg out behind him, leaned his body downward and stretched his arms over his head. The Reverent Lowblood. Inhale...Exhale. Another two minutes.

As Adamaz moved to go through the cycle again, with his right foot this time, he remembered that Aerona was in the hovel too. He turned back to see how she was doing with the poses.  

[Sypon]

Aerona watched Adamaz intently. Every movement he took was controlled and heavy, the opposite of her normal way of going about things. She spread her feet apart and dipped down. Her tongue poked out of her mouth as she focused, wobbling at her center, and finally drew her hands up to an identical parallel. This wasn’t so hard. She smirked.

She breathed through her nose and out of her mouth, trying to watch how he was doing it. After about a minute, the back of her leg began to ache. Aerona frowned and closed her eyes. Follow the orangeblood – inhale, exhale. In no time, the other minute had passed and she opened her eyes to see Adamaz already assuming the next position. Huh. Time had passed without her even realizing it. She blinked and scrambled to catch up with him, this time twisting sideways.

“Whooah!” The deep twist caught her by surprise. She scooched her feet in and out to try and maintain her balance, then shakily put her arms out. This one was more difficult than the first. Even for all of her activity and survival skills on the mountain, Aerona was finding it ludicrously difficult to stay still. She was finally able to relax after a while, but no sooner than she did Adamaz had moved on.

This one was a doozy. The redblood gawked at him, crossing her arms at his athleticism. He was a perfect plank, horizontal to the ground…. How? She wrinkled her nose and kicked up her back leg. The combination of her horns and chunky boots made for a strange balancing act, and even before she was able to get into the correct position the two minutes had passed. Adamaz was already about to return to the first pose. With an amazed glance, Aerona followed him quietly. So this was what it was all about! Focus and balance. She’d found some weaknesses she didn’t even know she’d had, and even if she looked goofy doing it at least she wasn’t alone. Aerona pulled off her hat and boots, carefully stepping on a cardboard box laid out flat so as to avoid being entirely in garbage. She recentered herself and followed the orangeblood’s lead.  

[Wizardy Herbert]

Adamaz didn't know why he checked; he was pretty awful at reading people. Aerona looked focused. She seemed to be doing okay? He wasn't sure though, so as he rotated through the Warrior Caste poses again, he checked in on how she was following him. She certainly was doing her best. It was confusing and hard to meditate while at the same time keeping tabs on his guest. Maybe he should stop?

Nah.

Adamaz wouldn't let someone else get in the way of his meditation. He kept on going with the cycle, moving on to some leg folds and building up to another attempt at the Hoofbeast Snout Pose. He hadn't been able to hold it for very long in the past, but he thought he'd give it another shot, despite any distractions from his guest.  

[Sypon]

Time passed… And time passed. Aerona’s energy had gone fully into the exercise, and for once her mind wasn’t hopping back and forth. It was peculiar, feeling so calm. The strange sensation of relaxation was remarkable. At some point, Aerona couldn’t remember which arm was injured. Everything was tingly and exhausting, focused and filled with breath. Even the trash smell was gone.

At least twenty minutes later, and Aerona’s injured limb began to get the better of her. She winced in an application of the Dirtward-Facing Barkbeast and cried out, dropping onto her makeshift mat with a frown. “Yeesh…” She clutched her arm with a rough sigh and shook her head to get the sleepy feeling off. And exhaustion kicked in. With each breath, Aerona realized how tired her body had become – parts of her body she didn’t even know could hurt! A wince and a few pokes all around her body, and Aerona broke into a smile.

“Holy crap! Adam—Adamaz, right?”

Sophitia chirped at the rude discourse, and Aerona gave her a sheepish grin. Nonetheless, she continued her raving. “That was awesome! So weird! What’s it called? Do you live here? Can I come back sometime?”