Poppin' Arms ~ Training Facility

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa imagined trying to relax with Bahamut performing a massage on her and her biggest crushes by means of hot stones.

"I'll give it due consideration," she said, seriously. "Just maybe not with those gals the first time, fella."

She could still feel the corrosive touch of that thing inside Owen's mind as she left the facility. She shuddered. That creature, and its master... If true evil existed, perhaps that's what it felt like.

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[Ambyssin]

Settings things up proved simple. The guild had a cauldron and the means of starting a fire under it. The training room was as good a place as any to make things work. It wasn't like the room would be withstanding any attacks or anything. Probably. Maybe.

Procuring stones that were to Bahamut's liking was actually the hardest part, but he eventually found a dozen and put them into the cauldron. He had covered cushions with towels. The last thing was lighting a few incense burners. They were meant to produce savory aromas. If Bahamut made them correctly, of course.

Now it's a matter of waiting and seeing what happens...

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa arrived at the appointed time. It paid to be punctual. She didn't really know what to expect, but she knew Bahamut had tried a few different means of improving team morale before – something about scented candles? – and she was always in favour of such efforts.

"So," she began, "How d'you do, Bahamut? Is this, ah, dangerous trainin' of some kind, or is there some other reason we're in an underground bunker...?"

 

[Ambyssin]

“Privacy.” Bahamut shrugged. “Those journalists have been snooping around and cornering our team lately.” He glanced at the walls. “Also the fortifications can keep the incense fumes from going away.”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Well, it suits me jus' fine. How d'we begin, fella?"

Hmm. This was the first time she'd been alone with Bahamut in a while. She'd never got the chance to try out her luxray vision on his leonine body to detect if he had any bones. And he clearly didn't now – a quick check confirmed it.

"This is all new t'me. I'm listenin'."

 

[Ambyssin]

He gestured to the cushions with a wing. “Lie down on your stomach. And stretch your legs out if you can.”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa usually held a loaf pose or curled up tight... Even though sprawling out was something she'd grown fond of just recently, it still felt a little stiff and awkward when prompted here.

"Alright."

She spread herself out, stretched as much as didn't hurt, and waited.

 

[Ambyssin]

"The body is an extension of the mind," Bahamut said, as if he was reciting something. "A burdened mind burdens the body, and vice versa." He flicked an upper wing toward the boiling cauldron and levitated one of the stones out.

"I want you to breath deeply. Breath... and focus on your neck. On your muscles." He levitated the stone toward Brisa. "As you breath in, realize the tightness that is there. Do not think about why. Do not fixate on pain or soreness. Merely recognize that the muscles are stiff."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa could follow instructions. Sure. The clarity and specificity helped, too.

"Ain't been so bad, lately," she remarked, quietly. Particularly since unlocking that zeraora transformation... Her usual searing plasma seemed to restore her rather than enfeeble her.

Still, she was stiff. Mostly the shoulders. And the back of the neck. And the jaw. Ah. Yeah, she was fucking stiff.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Continue to focus on the stiffness. Focus on it... and feel it... melt away."

Bahamut lowered the stone onto Brisa's neck. The steam enveloped her fur, mixing with the incense that was already in the air.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Thank fuck she had such a high tolerance to heat. The sensation was intense, but not nearly so much so as what she went through just about every battle.

"Uhuh..."

She pressed her chin further down and tried to allow her muscles to relax. It didn't come easy.

 

[Ambyssin]

"It sounds counterintuitive, but you have to open yourself up to the heat," Bahamut said. He was already levitating another stone. "It is intense. It can be surprising. But stress can be like that, too. Suddenly heightening your body's awareness. Sometimes it takes another shock of sorts to let things reset."

He paused. "At least, that's the most electric-friendly way I can think of to explain it. Electric signals are what actually make your muscles twitch, if I'm not mistaken."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Control over bioelectrical impulses is responsible fer the heightened reflexes an' immunity t'paralysis common to electric-type 'mon," recited Brisa, automatically. "Ah, I'll do my best."

She made herself receptive to the next stone, as much as she knew how, as her forepaws clenched and unclenched repeatedly.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Focus on your back." Bahamut moved the stone over and levitated up a second. "Feel that tightness. The stiffness. Acknowledge its presence." He lowered the stones toward her back. "Let it melt away."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Yeah, there's plenty tightness there," muttered Brisa, closing her eyes and drawing her lip back sharply, suppressing a hiss at the latest application of a boiled rock.

Her patience with this ordeal was paying off, though. Possibly. It was hard to tell if it was just placebo, or emotional-to-physical pain offset, or pain threshold increase due to voluntary application... Kinda fucked up how much more like Jesse her thoughts became in the presence of fellas like Joule.

It was probably working.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Do not let your mind wander too far." Bahamut was studying the little twitches in her body and face. "Acknowledge the tension. Watch it melt away. If you find thoughts creeping into your head, go back to focusing on your breathing. In. Out. Count how many seconds you breath in and out if that helps."

He had smaller stones levitating on either side of him, now. "Next is your forelegs. I believe, based on what I've heard, these turn into arms when all that blacklight makes you transform. Such a process can be... quite exhausting for limbs. Believe me. My legs were my arms for the last thousand years."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

No thoughts, then. Focus.

Counting breaths helped.

So did keeping silent.

In.

Out.

 

[Ambyssin]

One by one, Bahamut applied stones to each leg. "Envision your legs getting lighter. Looser. The stiffness is leaving. The tension unwinding." His voice had a surprising softness to it.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

After a certain point, Brisa's awareness of her stiffness gave way to an awareness of heat, weight, and the sound of Bahamut's voice.

In.

Out.

A 'mon could lose their proprioception under these conditions. That was alright.

In.

Out.

 

[Ambyssin]

One final step. Bahamut had put smaller stones into towels he'd rolled into sleeves. He placed on of each sleeve on either side of Brisa's torso.

"Good. Keep focusing on your breathing."