Fundamentals

Participants:

hana_icon.gif lucille3_icon.gif

Scene Title Fundamentals
Synopsis Lucille approaches Hana for help with expanding her ability. The instructions she gets are indirect at best.
Date October 4, 2011

Bannerman's Castle


Life on the island has never really been for Lucille Ryans but now more than ever she gets anxious while here. The more people that show up, the more crowded. She would rather be holed up with Tahir or some shack in the city honestly but with the recent events she can’t really justify not being around to help. Not being around for her father. There’s an added bonus that there is supposedly a woman here she can talk to about her ability, a colleague of her father's.

The young woman is here in the mess hall during dinner to meet her, children running around and other people taking refuge are here sitting and conversing. Her blue-green eyes peer around the room looking for her contact. She pulls the heavy coat tighter around herself and bounces for a second on the balls of her feet.

Hana Gitelman is a rover, and always has been — at least, where always coincides with the Ferry's existence. She makes an active effort not to be a creature of habit, and so her physical presence on the island is sporadic and unpredictable. Today, she's arrived just in time for dinner — stuffed squash, rice and beans, yet another variation on the island's usual autumn fare. That she does have habits shows in her choice of seating: back to a wall, view of as many doorways as possible, and as clear an egress route as can be managed in this crowded space. Dressed in a leather jacket that's warmer than it looks, a gray shirt, and black jeans, Hana sits alone: clear space on all sides suggests not even strangers readily approach her. But then, she's making exactly zero effort to be approachable while she eats.

There's a brief moment of well hesitation as the younger woman eventually spots the woman she has come to meet. Her father described her well enough but there's always a chance that Lucille could still mistake the woman for someone else.

Inching forward she looks towards the other woman and clears her throat. “Hi.. Hana?” The young woman peers down at the table not ready to take a seat unless told. “I sent you a message.. my father..” She stops and smiles softly. “He pointed me in your direction.”

Meeting the former colleagues of her father's has been rather weird for the woman. They know a whole other side to him, one she and her sister were never privy to. Her blue-gray eyes land on the woman’s face.

Dark eyes flick up as her table is approached; Hana takes in the young woman's appearance, dips her head in a terse nod. Yes, she's the person being looked for; yes, they spoke by message. The woman points at the seat across from her with her fork in silent invitation — or perhaps instruction. "Have you eaten?"

You would think the answer to this question is yes seeing as they knowingly made the plan to meet during dinner but instead Lu shakes her head fast as she slides into the seat. “I ate a bit a while ago.” She was nervous and nerves don't really allow her to eat. Delia would say it was her stupid modeling career that made this a reality for her but she could remember having this issue when she was much younger than the day she got scouted in the mall.

“Thanks for seeing me. I appreciate it.” She says politely. Lucille has taken to treating all of her father’s former coworkers in the Company with proper respect. Quite honestly most of them seem pretty deadly to her. And Hana is no exception.

Hana regards the young woman for a moment after her reply, expression impassive; then she turns her attention back to her food. Or at least gives the appearance of doing so. She doesn't, however, leave Lucille hanging overlong, despite not seeming to make any particular acknowledgement of the expressed gratitude. "You wanted to work on your capabilities," Hana observes. "What can you do, and how are you hoping to improve?" Straight to the point — and also giving the young woman something to expound upon for a while so that she herself can continue eating.

As the older woman goes back to her food Lu’s eyes widen a smidge and she settles into her chair sliding down into it a bit her toe narrowly missing the other woman’s. Hana’s being straight to the point is refreshing for Lucille and she briefly closes her eyes nodding her head to the woman’s words.

Leaning forward she looks nervous, “I can.. well it's like manipulating people's bodies.” She looks up at Hana before continuing, “When I manifested I was being hunted in Paris. I touched this guy and he went into shock..” Later in the time following her manifestation she has indulged in her bookworm tendencies and has been reading up on all she can find about biology and the human body. “It's not always that severe though. Putting people to sleep, feelings of euphoria or adrenaline.. slowing or ramping up your pulse. The more I read about our bodies the possibilities seem.. well insane.”

She clears her throat and taps a finger on the table. “I've been toying with being aware of the number of pulses that are in my immediate area. It.. it's difficult. But I've been able to hold it for a bit. I want to know if I can make that stronger. Being limited to touch can make it difficult.” She repeats the word to Hana with a sheepish look.

Hana listens quietly, attentive to what Lucille is saying even as she busies herself with finishing her food. She glances up as the younger woman gripes about limitations, however mildly, but doesn't say anything until she's finished her meal and set the plate aside. "Some limitations can be overcome," she remarks. "Some cannot." Hana pauses a moment, her gaze going past Lucille into indeterminate distance. "I half-suspect the former have something to do with how one thinks about their ability, their conception of how it operates."

Her focus recenters on Lucille, and Hana sets one hand palm-down on the table. "The ability I have now is cousin to yours, but it makes no difference if I am touching my target or not. My former ability, however, was all about range; needing touch is foreign to me." She withdraws her hand. "When you use your ability on someone, what is that like? How does it feel? How do you envision it?"

“I-.” The woman stops herself and takes the time to think. An eyebrow quirks as she absently rubs the surface of the table they are sitting at. Closing her eyes Lucille’s lips part, “It feels like.. when I'm touching someone I can feel them. It's like everything that makes their body work. The deficiencies.. everything. My brain like hums with the energy I feel like. There's this knot,” She points to the middle of her chest. “And if I untwist it I can feel my ability awakening. Like it's budding.. like a lotus flower..” the younger woman’s tone gets excited as she starts to paint a picture for herself and for Hana.

“Like a flower that when it's touched there is an effect on your body immediately and it only stays for as long as the body is in contact with the plant, which is me.” Obviously. Her eyebrows raise as she speaks faster, “What if the lotus flower… sprouted spores? The radius and distance of the spores could affect hosts while not touching the flower.” Her face falls as she loses it just barely in her mind, “So maybe me as this lotus flower.. needs to open up?” She doesn't totally get it or maybe not at all but that's why she is here. To further understand what she's capable of.

Hana listens as the younger woman speaks, then shakes her head. "No," she answers, lifting a hand slightly in a hold on motion. "Don't try to think your way into it." SHe falls quiet for a moment, then abruptly pushes her chair back and stands up, collecting her dishes. "Come on."

After a detour to dispense of her dishes, Hana leads Lucille outside, finding a place under trees and off the main paths — someplace relatively quiet, relatively undisturbed. Here, she sits down, a slight motion of her head indicating for her companion to do the same.

"How you feel — how you understand — your ability is subconscious," she says, continuing directly from their paused conversation. "Fundamental. Deeper than thought. You can imagine permuting the image in your mind all you want, but you can't force anything upon your subconscious."

Hana gives Lucille a moment more to settle, then prompts, "Do you have any experience with meditation?"

The young woman nods quietly as Hana stops her and then leads her to the quiet space of trees. Her hair blows a little in the breeze and she nods again at the woman as she sits down across from her cross legged.

Lucille’s eyes level themselves in Hana’s direction as she listens to the other woman speak. Tilting her head and nodding to show she's following the older woman’s words she turns her palms upward towards the sky letting her hands hang limp.

Deeper than thought.

It resonates with Lu and she takes a deep breath before slowly letting it putter out of her chest. “I have tried a few times but never took it seriously.” Mentally kicking herself because she should have tried harder at meditating but it would seem she was about to be directed.

Hana looks sidelong at the younger woman, reading something of self-recrimination in her expression, and shakes her head again. "Most people don't," she says. "Meditation is absurdly simple, so simple it seems self-evident — but it is also absurdly difficult." Such is often the case with simple.

"Sit so that you're comfortable," Hana directs, even though Lucille already seems to be. "So that you don't feel any strain or tension, nothing to distract you. Close your your eyes. Breathe: slow, steady, measured." She herself sets words to actions, or rather inaction. "Don't think about anything. Don't even think about not thinking — just let everything pass you by. If you find yourself thinking, let it go. If you notice you feel something, let it go."

"Just be."

That's rather harder than it sounds.

“I guess if it was so easy then we wouldn’t all be in this fucked up mess.” she snarks before getting serious again under the other woman’s watchful gaze. Listening to Hana, Lucille nods her head slowly making sure she’s comfortable even though she’s sure she already is. A slight bit of nerves rumble in her stomach as she nods her head again and closes her eyes. Taking a few deep breaths she keeps her head level and straight, back straight, arms hang limply and sit on her folded legs.

“Ok.. just be.” she repeats Hana’s direction and continues to breath in deep and exhale slow, her body still after a few minutes of slight fidgeting. That place in her chest where she feels her ability ebbs and flows gently. She doesn’t know if she’s doing it right but.. Well she’s thinking so probably not, oh there we go no thinking..

The wind blows across her face and she lets her body relax further.. And further..

For her part, Hana does not actually meditate; instead, she sits still and quiet, watching the younger woman at rest. Watching the subtle rise and fall of her shoulders, the occasional flicker in her expression. In the privacy of her own mind, Hana is impressed that her student of the moment has remained stationary for so long; most people of her experience don't have that patience, especially not the first time.

That bodes well for her, at least.

By rights, Hana should let Lucille continue in that quiescence, let her take as much away from it as she can on her own. But she does not intend their relationship to become tutelage in truth, only to give the younger woman things she can use to teach herself — assuming what she wants can be learned at all. Thus, after what seems a reasonable length of time has passed, Hana reaches out and lays her hand across Lucille's, skin to skin.

There is a drawback to doing so, as Hana's ability begins to trickle own her biophysical state into Lucille; but the process is slow, especially with so little contact between them. Too, a hunter's patience is not so dissimilar to meditator's zen, when it comes down to it: a state characterized by inner stillness and calm. It's the focused, intent core that differs, in this case centered on a question Hana cannot answer, not even through her ability: what happens for Lucille in that moment of new contact?

Perhaps it is just the presence of something like a teacher that has Lucille especially focused today. She doesn't want to waste anyone's time. Perhaps she is really ready for this. All Lucille knows is that she feels… nothing but the stillness of her body. As her hand is touched by Hana’s her breath catches for a brief moment as her ability flares to life.

At first Lu feels the calm thumping of Hana’s pulse. Their abilities intertwining the women pulse to pulse until they are in sync and rhythm. A slow wave of euphoria blooms from the younger woman settling over Hana and onto Lucille herself. Her ability working the biological functions that could release that feeling inside someone. The joyous sensation a light prickle over her skin.

She exhales a light breath eyelids fluttering as she allows the feeling to continue nearing ecstasy before the feeling slowly begins to subside. Washing away as gently as a wave during low tide until it is gone. Luce’s eyes open a fraction her now golden irises burning towards Hana.

To say Hana is startled by the soaring warmth induced by Lucille's ability would be an understatement; it's all she can do to neither pull away nor snap out with a defensive application of her own ability. Only the fact that she's here as an instructor — of sorts — stays her metaphorical hand and keeps her still until the wave has faded. She waits until the younger woman's eyes open, then sits back, in the process withdrawing her hands and ceasing their contact.

"Seems to me you got a bit distracted there," Hana remarks dryly.

As the connection breaks and her ability folds back in on itself the younger woman’s eyes fade back to their natural blue-gray and she blinks a couple times before leaning back as Hana does as well. Red seeps into her cheeks and she looks down.

“I uh.. sorry about that.” Flushed she picks at her nails absently. “It's sort of enticing when the floodgates open.” She makes a note to not get distracted when practicing again. “I'm lucky that someone that shares what I can do is here.. it seems unique.” She hears of people flying and throwing fire, reading minds, but not so much people manipulating the body and its functions.

The younger woman looks down; Hana does not. "If you didn't have anything to work on," she points out, perfectly matter-of-fact, "we wouldn't be here." As Lucile continues, Hana shakes her head. "It's not unique. It's subtle," the Israeli allows, "but not unique. Most abilities, when it comes down to it, are held by a handful of people — and none are very common." Relatively speaking.

On that note, Hana unfolds her legs and rises. "So. You should have some things to think about now," she says, regarding Lucille steadily. "Practice your meditation, and the experience of using your ability. Not just what it does, not even how it does — just know it for what it is." She lifts a hand in an ambivalent gesture. "You should see some benefits, with time, but of what degree, I can't begin to guess."

The younger woman rises along with Hana taking in words and making sure she will heed the older woman’s advice. “Okay got it.. she brushes her arms absently as she watches the woman. “I'll make sure to work on those things. I can’t thank you enough for this.” Lucille smiles faintly at the woman before beginning to turn away.

“I want to be able to help. I think my ability can do that.” And maybe just maybe with the dedication and diligence Lucille can make a difference. Just maybe.


Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License