Hilana’s concerns and anxieties had been settled and smoothed over now that a course of action that made sense had been decided upon. There was sound reasoning and much to digest and think about, and while Hilana knew it was folly to mindlessly follow the herd, she was rarely the head wolf when it came to things like this. It was one thing for her trips beyond the walls by herself or with Finn or Dominus Æros, but this was something much, much larger. At the end of the day, it was something that she was going to have to decide on for herself.
And once she had an opportunity to really think about it, and hopefully hear what His Divine Radiance thought, she would likely feel better. But she was certainly less stressed about it now, and that was a marked improvement. Tiaz remained around her shoulders, lazy and relaxed and spoiled as ever. That, along with the fact that the Umbrium was decidedly cooler than the sunny half of the Sacred City, made him disinclined to move too much from Hilana’s shoulders right then. Fiya settled down between Æros’ four fingers, the rest of her body wrapped around his forearm like a steely, sturdy bracelet.
‘Quiet is good. I’m working on it, but it is slow progress,’ Hilana admitted. ‘Moving meditation is easier, but that’s hardly going to be conducive at the Elemental Planes,’ she licked her teeth behind her lips, thinking. ‘But that’s me getting ahead of myself. It makes for more efficient mages, as Dominus Palaemon said, and that is more important in the present time. You already excel as a master of multiple Runes, Dominus, but I can use all the practice I can get,’ she smiled up at him. This was true. Æros was already a Master of three Runes, and Hilana was making steady progress on her first, at least. But learning that restraint and calmness would be a boon for both of them.
As they entered the Temple, Hilana bowed to the robed sages before bowing even lower to the statue of Her Argent Luminescence. She had nothing worth sacrificing on her person, and as such, she lead Æros off to one of the benches that was well off to the side, where she usually went in order to sit in quiet reflection and embrace the stillness. ‘My book on meditation says that the important thing is just to sit comfortably. The where and the how doesn’t matter, but we just need to be comfortable,’ she offered helpfully. ‘Then check in with ourselves about how we are feeling. Body and mind. But accept that it is okay, we are fine as we are. Then we can count our breaths. Breathe in, one. Breathe out, two.’ The girl’s hands rested in her lap. ‘If your mind wanders...and it will... just go back to counting. When you get to ten... start again. The more we do it...the easier it comes.’
She just had to remember the peace that there was in silence, internal and external. Breathe deep, seek peace. There was little to catch the eye here for her, quiet as this little alcove was, and she had no ability to be drawn to auras or symphonies. It was just Dominus Æros, herself, and her two pythons. But for now... they just had to focus on themselves, and count the breath, and find the relaxation. Any way one did it was right. Just had to be comfortable. And all would be well.
