Rumble of Thunder, Howl of Wolf. [Spain]

As she returned with her Chair, she was keenly aware of how much this must pain Mirja. The wolf was used to being the apex hunter, the apex fighter. She had always been strong. At least ever since Ceal knew her, she was. For her to have to use a wheelchair to get around now after... whatever happened? That sort of feeling could only be described as agony. As a crushing, crippling depression that could threaten to drive a person onto the brink. Ceal allowed her perkiness fade now, her face replaced with one of compassion, of solemn thought, of concern. She wouldn't bring herself to voice her concerns though, she wouldn't ask about Mongolia, she wouldn't ask her why any longer. The true thing about this entire ordeal that mattered had already been fulfilled. Ceal had found her wolf, she had found her and somehow, as if this were some odd dream, things have taken a turn for the better.

Ceal stood aside as Mirja took the handles of her wheelchair and pulled herself into it. She had to actively resist the desire to help her, her brow furrowing as her concern intensified. She locked her hands in front of her, wrapping an index finger and thumb over her other hand's finger, as she stood still. It was a hard thing for her. The natural desire to comfort the people she loved, to help those she cared about was so great. As if reacting to her emotions, the tribal patterns that Mirja had penned down her arms began to glisten. The dark reddish collection of colors burned vibrantly, turning black briefly before the color shifted into a soft green, slightly tinted with a blueish hue. It was clear that whatever it was reacted to the energy flowing within Ceal's body, reacting to her fluctuations of soul force and residual fragments of Eris energy.

Once Mirja was in the chair, she took it upon herself to move out of the room, using her hands to move the wheels. Ceal would have offered to move her, but she knew she had far more pride than that to simply allow it. Therefore, Ceal merely nodded briefly, following her out of the room, into the hallway, and out the storm door. Looking at her house from the inside with a brain that could actually think correctly, it was actually fairly plain. It had some manner of things, but it seemed she lived a rather simple life. Not that Ceal really minded, she was just unsure if she felt like she ought to be surprised or strangely reassured by the notion. With her finger rubbing her chin, she followed her out of the door.

”Wudang-An-Han? That sounds like very old chinese. Wow Mirja, you know of something like this?” She replied, a bit of surprise and awe stricken in her tone of voice. Now that they were outside, the harsh sun was of course beatign down on them. She didn't like the sun very high like it was right now, very much enjoying the twilight-esque times of day. Those were much easier on the eyes to her. Still, once Mirja handed her the book, both large and heavy as it were, one could hear another sound of surprise coming from her. It felt powerful somehow. Maybe it was the fact the pages count in a book like this had the potential to be astronomical. She had no idea that her beloved wrote something like this!

Taking the book, Ceal decided to crack it open with a certain eagerness. In normal circumstances, it would be hard to get Ceal to settle down to read something like this, typically having such a pathetically short attention span and all. However that was not the case, not this time anyway. She brought it down as she sat in the grass on her knees, opening it and bending over it, resting on her elbows while she flipped into page one.

The book talked about the martial origins of wudang-an-han The energies of jing, qi and shen and how three treasures related to inner alchemy, and how this new style incorporated these same aspects into something far more advanced, far stronger than the ways of old. While on her elbows and knees, she hummed lightly to herself as she continued to read. She had a high aptitude for gathering and retaining information, as well as studying the practicality of various written practices. Even though these terms were mostly foreign to her, the concept seemed simple enough. This was a martial art first. It used motions with the body to channel an energy. She could imagining people training their bodies and mind night and day to master such a state of existence this book described. These such people, unless she was mistaken, studied this as a form to obtain enlightenment, some even going down the road of Asceticsm. Learning about eastern culture was always something that Ceal had loved about old history.

Still smiling, she found herself flipping pages rapidly, comparing Mirja's notes to excerpts she took from various sources. She could almost hear her voice as she read her words. Firm, but choppy and frank, just like her. She chuckled a bit at this thought, somehow finding amusement for herself as her brain brought the words to life right before her very eyes. Her little fox ears perked up when she had gotten to the “introductory to forms” section, reading carefully and studying the diagrams and human anatomy charts that displayed the points of what jing, qi, and shen did and from which body they came, and how to stand at rest, how to channel, cultivate and many other stances and movements. They appeared simple enough, but then again Ceal could also scarcely believe that these would work. Of course she knew they had to, otherwise Mirja wouldn't have handed it to her. But “seeing is believing” as they say. Still, she didn't voice this to the wolf at all.

After having studied that for another ten to twenty minutes. She rose to her feet and took a large inhale. She wasn't sure how this worked still. Feeling the gathering of Jing still evaded her logical mind. Did one make it with their own energy, like soul force? Did it come from the environment around them? The book said it came from the kidneys of course, but that notion didn't make any more sense to her than the prior assumptions she'd made. Still, she did her best to practice the beginning movements, long since having lost track of where Mirja went.