Finding Your Balance

It was quiet on top of the castle walls between the two wolves, with only the gentle wind and rolling waves in the distance creating a calming white noise to keep absolute silence at bay. Sirius' instructions had stopped coming for now, so even the words from his mentor had fallen away to allow Artorias to focus everything on his inner thoughts. His emotions were like the sea, shifting and churning constantly, but the more he focused on breathing and on his pleasant thoughts, the calmer those waves became. No longer was he a ship adrift in a hurricane; he was floating lazily in the gentle sway of an ocean current. Breathe in. Artorias' chest expanded, his lungs flooding with cold air that stung in a good way. Breathe out. Tension and heat left him along with his breath, disappearing into the ether in a thin cloud.

Again, and again, and again he repeated those steps, his body relaxing and his mind going blank, save for the images of Briar playing behind his eyelids. He heard the crunch of snow, his ear flicking to catch the sound. Sirius was moving, but he hadn't been given any other instructions yet. Was this part of the meditation? Was Sirius just relocating himself? Either way, Art hadn't been told to stop his measured breathing or to open his eyes, so the boy sat where he was, eyes closed, breathing. Just existing. Breathe in, breathe out. The paws in the snow moved around him in a loop. Sirius was circling him. Artorias could see the scenario playing out in his mind vividly, yet still he stayed where he was. Breathe in, breathe out.

A sudden stinging pain flashed across his paw pad as something hard whacked his foot, making the boy yelp in surprise as amber eyes flew open wide. Light flooded his vision and the world came back to him all at once. He turned to look at his paw, then up to Seer, noting the stick in the Warlord's muzzle. Sirius had hit him with the stick? What the hell?! Before Artorias could ask anything, Sirius gave him the directions to keep breathing. He stared at the dire wolf with a mixture of confusion and irritation before realizing what was going on. This was a test.

Despite the instinctive need to turn on the defense and get to a fighting position, Artorias relaxed his tensed muscles and closed his eyes again. Darkness surrounded him as he took another deep breath in, held it for a few seconds, then released it slowly. His nerves remained on high alert though, knowing now that he might get attacked from any side. But he would not break. He would not lose focus now and let their lesson go to waste. Breathe in, breathe out. Stay calm. Don't lose control. Breathe in, breathe out. Was he going to get hit again? Damn, that really stung! Breathe in, breathe out...


"Artorias" | Thoughts | "Corbin"