The two had met up, as they had arranged. Hivya stood out in the middle of a larger, more open area than she was used to, and she was not sure she was a fan of it. She liked to stay near walls or under over hangs, under trees or in the shadows. Hanging out in the middle of a clear area like this was the ultimate discomfort, but she supposed that was the point. Ulfric was watching her, just standing there silently and letting her deal with her awkwardness and the impulses of running and hiding that were hitting her full force. She shuffled her paws and looked around for the hundredth time, though there was still no one else around, and even if another lion did pass by, it was unlikely they would be interested in two lions just standing around like this. She needed to calm down and stop worrying about things that had not, or might not, happen.
Ulfric continued to stare at her, time just dripping by as she waited for him to say something to her.
Finally, it became too much for her. She had been waiting in silence for too long already: she just could not bear it. Why was he making her stand there? Was this a joke? Was he just making her think about things for a deeper lesson or was he just messing with her to see how long it took for her to snap? It took this long, she had learned. The sun had moved across the sky and she knew she had already shown some profound patience, but that was enough. She could not take it any more.
“Ulfric, what are we doing here… uh. Sir?”
“You seem to have a problem just being out in the open. Look at the way you hold your body. Coiled together, ready to run. Your ears are down, or do you not notice that any more? Your tail could not get further between your legs. It is as if your body is mutated to look feeble at all times. You have no awareness of yourself, and we will stand here until you learn how to carry yourself with some pride.”
She looked at him in surprise, feeling surprisingly hurt by his words. It made her shrink down some more, though this time she realized it and took a breath. She had to do what he said. Or rather, she had to somehow correct the things he was pointing out to her in his gruff way. She watched him for a very long moment, digesting his criticism for a long moment before she took a deep breath and tried to hold herself up a bit straighter.
Looking at him, she saw nothing but pride and strength. He sat with his paws in front of him, nothing seeming out of place, even his tail curled around his front paws and patting the ground rhythmically. It was the only outward sign of any irritation, beyond the stern tone in his voice. He watched her with a cold gaze, eyes steady and keen. He was studying her in a way she was not familiar with, sizing her up as more than just a pretty pink lioness. He wanted her to be strong, and to be able to defend herself in all the ways that she needed to survive.
She took a breath.
“Alright, well… I mean… what do you want me to do? I thought you… you wanted to teach me… how to do things. I… I’m just standing here.”
She did draw her position up, though, and she curled her tail around her paws like he had done. She watched him and made sure her ears were up and looking more alert, and though her body was still tense and she felt like running away, she kept herself up off the floor. She took that as a small victory, but she was not sure just looking like she was not scared did very much to make her feel it. She wondered if he was just worried about the superficial, but Ulfric had more to him than he was willing to tell her outright. She might not have understood his methods, but they were serious and she was going to walk away from this little training arrangement between them knowing more about herself and about others than she could have imagined.
How one carried themself was incredibly important, and went a long way in setting the tone of an encounter. She needed to understand that it was not just how she saw herself, but how others saw her, and if she reflected her thoughts so vividly in her actions, no one would ever take her seriously. She looked pathetic, and everyone would think that the second they saw her, if she kept herself groveling and quiet. No one would leave her alone, either, if they were looking for easy prey or someone to pick on for some fun.
He would not simply tell her that, though. She had to learn things, for herself. He knew that she was not going to be able to really understand these lessons if he just kept telling her how to act, and until she learned how to adopt new habits and replace the bad ones, she was just going to keep falling back into her bad habits. He was going to help her, but he was going to do it his way. He watched her as she adopted her new position, sitting upright and looking proud, irritated, and less bashful than before. The angrier she got at him, the more she would come to understand that her fear was misplaced.
“Just relax,” he said stiffly, shaking his head slowly. She did so, and took a deep breath. She was beginning to understand his methods, but it would take her some time yet to figure it all out. One day at a time, that was what she needed. She would get this all figured out sooner rather than later, though, and she was hoping that when that happened, she would be able to interact with others without feeling anxiety or worrying that she was going to be hurt.
Word Count: 1,038 in Word
