I don't own Golden Sun, etc etc usw.
Suggested Felix/Feizhi, nothing explicit or anything though. Read and reviewwwwwwwww
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The room was silent and empty, save for the sunlight streaming through the window onto a small cat reclining on the warmed wooden floor, and the slim figure dressed in pale white and purple robes, sitting just outside the sun's glamour. As time passed, it began to creep over her knee, but she didn't seem to notice. Her long, purple hair was scraped back into a ponytail which cascaded down her back, yet stayed as serene as the rest of her. Her eyes were half closed, not staring at anything in particular but not glazed over with the normal boredom of the students sitting outside. Her teacher, Hamma, was outside scolding one of the ones who had not quite perfected the lazy student's art of stifling a yawn, but her words were inaudible noises inside the small temple, and even if she had been closer, Feizhi would not have realised her presence. Although she herself did not often criticise Lama Temple's students for their lack of focus, she did have some pity and compassion towards them – they would never achieve true enlightenment. There were those who could, and those who simply would never be able to train their minds to the minimum state required for perfection in meditation. However, she had persuaded Hamma not to just send them away immediately- although they wouldn't be able to ever manipulate the strange powers she and Hamma had obtained, they would be able to learn something of serenity and peace; it was a useful and, ironically, 'enlightening' experience, even for those who stayed a mere week.
The door to the temple opened, eliciting nothing from Feizhi. A tall, brown-haired figure looked hesitantly into the room and then back behind him to the somewhat less peaceful scene outside, before making up his mind to enter, closing the door softly behind him. The cat stretched, pushing its limbs as far away from its small body as it could, and then stared at the man with hopeful eyes. He stooped down to it and stroked its head, muttering something about the annoyances of flying ships. The cat yawned widely, showing its teeth, and he withdrew his hand nervously, standing up again and watching the girl nervously. After a few more moments of silence, he spoke,
"Hey... Feizhi?"
He received nothing. Wishing he had the power to mind-read, then immediately deciding against it – Venus adepts were far superior to Jupiter, and reading her mind without warning her beforehand wouldn't be very gentlemanly; he might even get kicked out of the temple if she noticed ... which she definitely would...although that might have helped him to get her attention... – he attempted to tap her on the shoulder. Her eyes flew open and she flinched away from his hand, raising her own in defence, before realising who he was and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Sorry Felix...! I didn't realise it was you."
"That's okay", the adept smiled down at her, offering a gloved hand to help her to her feet. She accepted, and pulled herself up. He overbalanced slightly – she was lighter than he'd thought, which surprised him and pulled a sudden thought into his head. "You aren't fasting are you...?"
"No, not at the moment. Was that a compliment? Why do you ask?" Feizhi replied, laughing lightly and vaguely attempting to straighten out her crumpled robes. Felix shrugged in response, and looked around the temple. The walls appeared to be made of wood, and some beautiful calligraphy scripts hung on the wall opposite the door. There were several windows, although there was no glass- they were open to the world. He smiled; that was the way it should be. Accepting the earth: seemed like a good idea to him. After some consideration he supposed that the lack of windows suggested that the temple was all for accepting the other elements too... although perhaps not fire so much... but he decided that earth was the more prominent. "Tell me – surely you meant something by it" Feizhi's voice drew him back to the conversation at hand.
"Well... I'm not sure. I'm not really a fan of the idea of fasting – whether it's me or someone else, I just don't... well... you saw what it did to Nyumpa, didn't you?" he shrugged again, in an attempt to discard the conversation, but Feizhi held onto it.
"Nyumpa saved the world by reaching enlightenment, Felix" she told him sternly. "Your quest would never have succeeded had he not sacrificed himself for the cause. Even if it had, it would have been nowhere near as successful as it was." Her eyes weren't angry, but they shone with a strong belief that Felix knew could not be shaken. "So if I must fast, then I will. At the moment though... it isn't required."
He must have looked relieved, because she frowned slightly – the first negative emotion he had seen from her in a long time. Her expression cleared quickly after, and she returned to her happier self. "Are you ready for the meditation then?"
"I think so," Felix replied, casting another glance around the room that they would be spending the next few hours in. Catching his eye, Feizhi gestured to the door, and he frowned at her, tilting his head slightly to the side. "I closed it, didn't I?" he asked, looking round at it in doubtful confusion.
"I thought we'd meditate somewhere else today, if that's okay with you. It can get quite stuffy in here," Feizhi motioned to the small windows, and Felix nodded. He doubted she really did feel that the room wasn't a good place to meditate – she seemed to completely detach herself from the world around her when she closed her eyes, so surely location meant nothing to her. He, however, had immense trouble just beginning to clear his mind, let alone to remove himself from the confinements of the room – his thoughts always seemed to flood back into his mind just when he was clearing the last few away. And sometimes they weren't entirely appropriate to the situation either. Caught up in his panicked realisations that Feizhi might have read his mind and realised he hadn't been meditating properly, he followed her out of the temple door in a worried stupor.
As they left the temple grounds, he shook the thoughts about the thoughts out of his mind, and gazed at their surroundings – he didn't recognise anything about them. The path was steep, but not without beauty. The trees were tall and leaned down over them, casting thin shadows on the ground. Birdsong could be faintly heard, as well as the sound of crickets chirping – combined with the isolated place, he found it slightly humorous. Feizhi noticed his smile, and her face echoed it after a vague attempt at restraint. She stretched her arms out above her head, splaying her fingers in the air. "Have you ever been through here?"
"No, not that I remember..." he replied, glad to have conversation and with his fears fast forgotten. "Where are we?"
"We're..." she paused to ponder the geographical location, drawing up a small map in her mind "...slightly north of Lama Temple. I'm following the stream which leads to the waterfall at the temple," she gestured to the left of them, where the sound of water could be just about heard. Felix nodded, his underlying question of where they were headed and why apparently ignored – he had expected Feizhi to pick up on that. She was good with picking up on answering subtle questions, but, interestingly, not so good at being subtle herself. His smile grew, and he took a deep inhalation of the fresh air, filling his lungs with purity. The peaceful nature of their surroundings made him feel somewhat nostalgic, and he closed his eyes to enhance the feeling, sending himself back to scattered memories of childhood which he could not quite grasp.
After a few more minutes, the sound of rushing water was getting increasingly louder, and the two adepts found themselves having to raise their voices somewhat in order to be heard by both themselves and the other. Eventually, they reached a clearing, where a large waterfall cascaded down the mountainside. The water sparkled in the afternoon sun as it sprayed across the large rocks that stood defiantly at its base, and there was a small pool, carved over hundreds of years, which rested at the bottom, calming the water as it reached the end of its fall. The water appeared to be fresh and clean – Felix could see the pebbled bottom of the pool – and all in all very appealing after the short climb. Feizhi slipped out of the robes, draping them over a rock which had fallen away from the waterfall, shocking Felix slightly with her abruptness. To his conscience's relief, she was still clothed, now in what appeared to be a smaller and slightly more shabby looking robe which hung loosely over her shoulders, reaching down to her knees. She quickly undid her ponytail, laying the hair band carefully over the robes on the rock, and smiled at Felix's uncertainty.
"You might have to take off some of those heavy clothes, if you don't want them to get damp" she laughed, turning away from him and leaving him to wonder what to do; were they really going to sit under the waterfall, or was he just blatantly stereotyping the whole meditation thing? After some very brave yet rash ideas, and some defeatist ones, he decided to remove the bulk of his clothing and his gloves and shoes, leaving him in a light shirt and baggy trousers, which he rolled up.
"So uh... what are we doing?" he asked, feeling stupid – it was obvious. Or at least it seemed obvious. He felt he needed some confirmation before stepping into the waterfall and beginning to attempt the arduous path to meditation...assuming that was what they were going to do. They might just be paddling, or sitting on the side of the pool, or catching fish although he couldn't see any in the water and assumed that he probably wouldn't throughout his time there or...
"Meditating, of course! Although if you really want to, we could maybe go swimming afterwards" Feizhi smiled at him. "I thought a change of scene might be nice, that's all. We can go back if you aren't comfortable with it" she added as an afterthought, a slightly dejected tone apparent in her voice. Felix shook his head, and her happy expression returned. "Great! We'll aim to sit on those rocks over there..." she pointed, and Felix followed the line of her finger "... and then I'll try and tell you how to clear your mind again, assuming you're intending to fire your usual questions at me." She waded into the pool, and had to swim a small distance to reach the rock. Felix followed her, and stared at the rock she had chosen and the one next to it – it was quite a distance away. After a moment's decision, he chose to clamber onto the rock which she was perched upon, tiny water droplets flecking his hair and glinting in the afternoon sunlight.
"So... we sit in it?" he tried, unsure of whether he wanted the answer to be a yes or no. Feizhi nodded, and shuffled backwards on the rock until the waterfall engulfed her shoulders, creating tiny streams down her torso, legs and face. She closed her eyes, but a faint smile still remained on her face, encouraging Felix to try it himself. As he pushed himself backwards into the water, bracing himself, he closed his eyes as well to prevent the water from running into his eyes. He let out a gasp as it crashed down over his own shoulders and body with intense force, far detached from the calm serenity that it seemed to flow over the purple-haired girl with. His eyes automatically opened, and then were forced shut again as the water dripped into them. Spitting the liquid from his mouth, he moved himself forwards so that it wasn't attacking his shoulders with so much force, and his knee brushed against Feizhi's. With a slight jolt of surprise, he moved it away again, but she appeared not to have noticed, though the smile still remained, perhaps slightly stronger than it had been. Casting the thought and embarrassment away, he closed his eyes and began to meditate.
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Yeah, slightly inconclusive but... I suck at endings. R&R plz : I haven't written anything for god knows how long two years? :S so some input would be really appreciated, or I might go back to the hiatus or something. Plus I'll love you forever if you do, and most likely check out your stuff, so you know. It only takes a few minutes..! If that. Yes.
