Calming Countenance

Let's just say, no one at the order is free of having one hobby or another. For some, it's painting, others, they like to study the effects of science, seeing how they can bend the laws of chemistry itself in order to make something new. But no matter what, everyone had something that they could show off or introduce to their friends, or use for their own gains. For Calera, well, she kept her hobby under lock and key.

Sure, there were weirder hobbies to have in the order, but her's was of a particular strain of weird, a special kind of strange that most people shrouded in fear and apprehension. And whenever Calera wanted to practice her little talent, she found herself stuck. In order to perform the feat, she needed two or more people, no matter what. That was why she, with careful phrasing, went to go ask one of the only people she thought wouldn't think her weird if she were to ask.

Calera knew that the guy was starting to fall behind on his training and his own strength from what she heard as she did some off hand tasks for Chief Komui. Apparently it was all from a lack of rest, and that's exactly what Calera wanted to help with first. so she went off to go find him before he was shoved off on another mission. Yes, the man she was looking for happened to be an exorcist, one that the main council didn't seem to appreciate very much, although most everyone in the order (barring a few finders and crows) seemed to love his good will and helpful nature.

After a small while, Calera managed to find the white-haired guy walking down the main hall, having probably just eaten his expansive dinner from the cook, and hoping to get some decent rest this night. Well, that's what Calera hoped to give him as well, so off she went with her own plan. Clearing her throat, she stumbled over her words, before squeaking out; "Master Walker, I understand you've been having some trouble getting rest…if...if you would like, I know a small trick that might help you. It's very relaxing, and I promise that you'll feel wonderful afterwards! Would you like to try?"

Allen turned his head towards the slightly shorter girl (he was 5'9, after all), and nodded his head as she began to speak, wordlessly agreeing with her. 'Some trouble getting rest' was putting it mildly. For the past week Allen has been plagued with nightmares, and his mind had plenty of material to work from. His fear of his friends dying, the Akuma, the Earl and Noah, the 14th and Mana… No one was surprised the boy had trouble sleeping. But a week of little to no sleep was getting ridiculous. Allen was exhausted and willing to try anything.

"It's worth a shot," he said, smiling kindly at the girl. "Thanks… What is it you want to try?" As long as it wasn't something having to do with any of Komui's potions or with bodily injury, Allen was pretty comfortable with any idea the finder could come up with. It wasn't like she would try anything that he couldn't just fight free of and leave if he wanted to, so he wasn't very concerned.

Calera softly smiled, and managed to get her voice completely even before continuing. The rush she felt of just getting someone to accept her offer on the first try always shocked her enough to scramble her voice. Someone actually was willing to let her try it…possibly! It was only a shot in the dark, but as long as Allen was a bit curious, she had a chance of trying it out. "Well, it's something I've been practicing for years now. It's called hypnosis, ever heard of it, Master Walker?"

Allen had, and immediately had some reservations on the topic. Lavi had been sure to tell him of horror stories of people that had supposedly done abhorrent things while being underneath a trance, and Allen didn't want to have anything to do with that. Being frank, he had enough problems just trying to keep his own mind away from the odd spirit in his head, let alone someone who he barely knows. "I'm not so sure about that, putting my mind in someone else's control doesn't sound very safe."

Well, Calera was quick to try to dispel that myth on the spot. A little misinformation was expected, and she didn't blame Allen for it at all, but she would have to to explain what the topic truly was before she lost her chance."All it does is lures the conscious mind into such a state of relaxation, that one might like to sleep. It rests the body, while leaving the subconscious mind completely awake. That way, you still have some control over yourself, and I can't force you to do anything you wouldn't have wanted to do anyway."

Not a total truth either, though. When the mind was as blank and relaxed as it could be, it was far more open to suggestion than Allen probably thought possible, and normally rejected the tasks that Allen would fight against on a basic level, making most anything possible. But she probably wouldn't have to tell him that, it wasn't like she had planned to do anything disastrous with the man. "Are you willing to let me try, Master Walker?

"I'm willing to try it out, just don't do anything too strange to me, alright?" he decided. Calera looked genuine, as far as Allen could tell, and he trusted his ability to read people. Besides, he was so desperate for a chance to sleep that he missed half the conversation anyway, and just decided to go with her reasoning, even if he still didn't fully understand it. He would make a perfect subject to work with after a long time of little practice.

"Okay!"

The finder began walking off through the order, beckoning Allen to follow. Calera was not going to do this task where someone else might witness her or Allen. "Hey! I'm not just going to do it out in the open, so come on! We're going somewhere where you can actually rest!" The brown haired woman had had too many awkward circumstances to even think about trying it anywhere that she might be seen. Chalk it up to her simple social anxiety, but there was no way in hell she was going to speak a word of induction until they reached somewhere more seclusive.

Allen saw nothing wrong with the statement, and followed her willingly. "Of course." He replied. It made perfect sense to do this in a place he can actually relax, as he himself felt a bit odd about taking part in this procedure. Imagine if Link or maybe even Lavi saw him trying such a thing out! Link would probably just say something about how Allen needed to find better ways to rest, but Lavi... 'For my own sleep, and for Calera's own comfort, I guess.'

They walked on down the halls of the order, making their way over to a small room, mainly separated from the bedroom halls. Calera chose this room from her own social anxiety, so she could make noise and walk around without the worry of someone noticing her. Looking back, she couldn't have really chosen a better spot. "This is my room, Allen. Go ahead and lie on the bed and get comfortable, it's nice and soft! You'll be asleep before you know it!" Calera pushed open the wooden door and walked in ahead of him, leaving the door open in warm invitation.

Allen walked in directly behind, and gazed around curiously. The room looked smaller than most bedrooms in the order; apparently finders don't get as much comfort as most of the other workers here. "But shouldn't we do this in my room though? I don't want to take your bed from you; I might end up sleeping a long time…" As exhausted as he was, Allen wouldn't be surprised if he slept the rest of the day and through the night. The few times Allen did manage to sleep well, he slept for nearly half the day, making Link have to search for him quite a lot.

But Calera shook her head, responding; "No, I'd rather you sleep where someone won't disturb you. You need as much sleep as you can get, and someone coming by won't help you at all! And besides, if you end up sleeping that long anyway, I can survive going without rest a day." If longer than even that, the finder would just sneak a nap or two in the exorcist's own room, it couldn't be that bad to sleep in an unoccupied area!

Calera didn't mention it outright, but she also was cautious of anyone seeing any trigger words that she might use during or after the induction. If someone learned of those, she would never hear the end of it from either Allen, or whoever had learned the phrase to begin with! And besides, if this worked, she didn't want anyone to try to wake him up too early, either, so she tried to make it so that way nothing of the sort was necessary.

She sat on the lone, comfy but stiff wooden chair that lay adjacent to her bed, right in the corner of the room. It would give her a good view of Allen, but also hide her if anyone swung open the door to see what was going on. Many a book was read and hidden here whenever one of the other finders decided to just randomly drop in, so the stage was already set for her. All that needed to happen now was to get Allen as prepared as possible.

"Now, are you ready to begin, Master Walker?"

Satisfied with the explanation, Allen nodded agreeingly, but gazed around, noticing only the bed and the chair in the nearly empty room. "Should I lie down? Or sit…?" He asked. He was starting to feel a little nervous, but as this was something he had never done before, and if it worked he would be giving a lot of trust, he felt that he was justified to be at least a little nervous about it.

"Well, there is a bed…What do you expect me to ask you to do?" Calera joked before adding; "Just lie down and get as comfortable as you can. You might be feeling a bit nervous, but I can assure that that'll pass soon enough, Master Walker." A small bit of anxiousness was normal, so Calera expected him to be a little hesitant.

She paused. Master Walker, perhaps using that would be a bit too formal to speak with. "You wouldn't mind if I called you Allen, at least until this is over, would you? It would sound a lot friendlier, and would help you relax more than if I still spoke as if you were higher than I."
Whether or not he said yes, she would begin her induction once he became comfortable on the mattress. Calera could easily just avoid using his name as she spoke is he still wanted to be so formal.

Luckily, he didn't seem to have such formal reservations. "Allen is fine, of course! Sorry, I should have said earlier…" Allen felt slightly embarrassed. He hadn't even noticed how formally the finder had even been speaking. I really am tired…

He sat on the bed, pulling off his boots before laying back. He shifted around a few moments, trying to get comfortable. Once he settled on the mattress, he looked up at the girl, who had been patiently waiting for the other to settle down. "Ok, what now?" Allen's head was pounding with sleeplessness, and he hoped that Calera would hurry and just find a way to knock him out.

"Just give me a moment, Allen." It was the moment of truth. Calera shook down the worry that plagued the back of her mind from her disuse of the subject. Having a shaky voice would never guide Allen to the state she wanted him to be in. The younger exorcist himself was already so tired, but his nervousness would always rule over how tired he was if she herself didn't sound confident and soft.

Calera took a deep breath, and began to speak as smoothly as she could, treating her speech more like soft music than the bright tones she normally uses. She decided to use a simple induction that she had self-taught herself a while ago, and had memorized if she could ever use such a thing.

"Now, I'm going to ask you to focus on your breath for a couple of minutes. Breathe as deeply, but as easily as you can…Allow your eyes to just softly close. Now, if you would, I'd like you to rest comfortably in the bed, as much as you possibly can… that's right … just allowing the bed to support you, settling down easily, with your feet flat on the covers, arms resting at your sides, or gently on your lap; head and neck in a comfortable position … You're doing wonderfully, Allen."

Allen concentrated on relaxing his body and breathing. It was pretty easy, as he was already so tired. I really hope this works… Right now, he didn't feel all that different; it was just like he felt normally, just lying down, his mind still buzzing around like it usually did. Allen was comfortable, admittedly, but not any more than he was at any random night.

She continued;"Very good, and now that you are very comfortable, I'd like you to become aware of your breathing. Just feel the coolness of your breath as it enters your nostrils, noticing your chest as it rises and falls, rises and falls, in an easy and natural rhythm, your own perfect and natural rhythm."

'Huh, it feels a bit weird, a bit like my own fan in my throat.' Allen noticed, breathing slowly and deeply as he fell into a pattern of breathing. Allen himself didn't notice, but as he paid attention to how he breathed, he visibly looked more relaxed and cool, and his breaths slowed as he focused on them more as well.

Calera paused for a moment to let him get settled before continuing; "Just breathing in … and out … In … and out … just allow your awareness to focus on your breath … However… I wonder if you can think a very unusual thought…I wonder if you can imagine that you can breathe… through the tips of your fingers. Imagine that unusual thought that you can really breathe in through your fingertips… imagine that you can feel the air flowing into your hands. Cool and comforting…"

Allen continued to listen to her voice, following the instructions. His eyebrows rose a bit in calm curiosity as he felt what the finder had described. It was nearly as if his breathing had suddenly leaped from just being at his mouth and nose to his hands as well, cooling down his body from three areas instead on just from his throat. This is kind of weird… he thought, but he let that thought fade as he relaxed, his mind becoming a bit too foggy to really process it as unnatural or concerning.

It was nearly if he was pushing himself into the thralls of trance. Calera was barely guiding him, and Allen looked like he was moments away from being as deeply asleep as anyone she has ever worked with before! He was certainly one of Calera's best subjects, and she felt nearly inclined to try to convince him to let her put him under more often. That is, if she can complete the first one now, of course.

Calera couldn't tell if her induction was truly working, or if Allen was just getting bored. She softly continued, hoping that, if he was bored, he'd just fall asleep from her talking anyway. Allen certainly looked relaxed enough, strewn on the bed as if he were asleep already, and his eyes vaguely twitching, notifying her that he still wasn't completely asleep yet.

"Slowly at first… just with a faint, comfortable, cooling sensation which you might sense on the back of your hands… or perhaps in your hands."

"Imagine that feeling flowing slowly traveling up your arms… your elbows… just imagine that relaxing flow of air that is flowing through your elbows into your upper arms… and then into your shoulders… both arms…smoothly traveling into your shoulders. The air feels so cool, so calm and refreshing."

Allen was completely relaxed, breathing slowly and half asleep. His body felt like it was made mostly of air, yet also way too heavy for him to even think about moving, if he thought about it. His thoughts were slowing tremendously, and he vaguely wondered if that was how they were supposed to feel before her words flooded over his attempt at thought.

'Oh…ohhh', it looked like it was working. Calera could see how his eyes slowly stopped twitching, and he lay still, almost as if he was asleep. She was so close, and so, she continued on, spurred by her near success.

"Now with each cool breath you take, with each word I speak… you become constantly more and more… relaxed… beginning now, to notice the heaviness of your head against the back of the pillow you lay on…" She purred, watching as Allen, if anything, seemed to sink further into the covers.

"Beginning to sink gently through the bed… so that it feels almost as if the covers are starting to wrap around you… gently, comfortable, Allen, you must feel so calm right now, so comfortable and happy."

Allen gave a soft noise of compliance, grinning dazedly as she told him how comfortable and happy it felt. His head felt like a boulder, but the pillow held it up for him, so Allen couldn't bring himself to worry. He couldn't bring himself to even think about worrying, or think about much else than what Calera was describing, and even that was turning into a challenge as she kept speaking.

"A sensation of great peace and security… comfortable relaxation… that improves with each breath you take, with each word I speak…with each word that you hear… as you proceed to breathe in … allowing that relaxing, warming, relaxing flow of air…to flow through your entire body and out through your feet. All your thoughts are replaced with this comfortable, relaxing feeling, and you let them go. You don't need them, Allen, you trust this place you are in, and you want to just let yourself feel it more and more."

Allen's thoughts slowed more and more, and his breathing turned into soft, deep gushes of air, punctuated by little whistles that was likely the best the white haired exorcist had ever done for snoring. 'All I want is to feel…' Anything that he was thinking of flowed out of Allen's mind, replaced by what felt to be like a comforting blanket of nothing.

"You discover yourself to be… to be more relaxed… than you have ever been before…So you drop down, deep into relaxation, deep into the hypnosis that you let me bring you into." Calera ceased speaking, just watching Allen for any signs that he wasn't completely under, or that she really did just talk him into simple unconscious sleep.

If Allen had been awake, he would have been amazed that the hypnosis actually worked. But, it did, so he was not really aware of anything. Well, even that wasn't quite true, he was hyper-aware of what Calera was saying, but everything else just seemed to disappear. All he was doing was laying there, thinking of nothing, waiting for nothing, just drifting away in his own mind. Even his dazed grin had left his face, replaced by a slightly upturned, but loose smile.

She finished her induction, and just stopped. "It…worked." It was obvious that it had, Allen looked like he couldn't be moved for the world! Calera supposed now would be the time to just let him sleep, but her mind kept nagging her. 'Hey! You put him under, at least give him a post-hypnotic trigger or two! He probably wouldn't mind it if you didn't make them too embarrassing!'

'...' She couldn't do it. Calera agreed only to help Allen rest, and that was what she planned to do. She would likely suggest some things here and there to help bring him under in the future, but taking advantage like that was just simply out of the question. Allen was just being far too good of a subject for her to not try to get back under later. Sighing, the finder carefully thought of what to say next, as Allen was quite impressionable in this state, and she didn't want to say anything she didn't mean.

A benign question shouldn't hurt to start, as it would tell her how he tries to speak while under as well, as everyone takes relaxation differently. "Allen? How do you feel?"

As soon as she finished talking, she saw Allen's mouth futilely trying to work, as if he was speaking as well as he could, but the sleepy sprout was too relaxed to even make a noise. Calera would have to settle for the contented humming noise he made in the back of his throat when he put the most effort into his voice-box, before he suddenly dropped back down, letting his mouth hang open, as if that piece of his body wasn't even there.

"Next time anyone asks you a question while you are in this state Allen, you'll find you have just enough energy to answer them, although the energy you used will just help serve to bring you farther down into this state. Do you understand?" As entertaining as watching Allen try to speak was, Calera still would need a semi cohesive answer from him every once in a while, so she felt like this was pretty necessary.

Allen answered her again, this time using a very soft, nearly inaudible tone that she heard, only because his voice was the only one speaking in the room at the moment. "Yeah..." The voice trailed off into nothing, and Calera could swear that she saw Allen sink just the finest bit further into the mattress, although only slightly. It was surprising that he could actually find a way to sink further, especially considering it was only his first time being put under!

"Good, you must just want to feel that clear, open bliss more and more, to go deeper and deeper, don't you?"

"Yesssss..." Allen tiredly mumbled, heavily hissing on his s' as his voice left him.

Calera was confident that Allen would probably accept the next offer more easily than she probably could have ever hoped for, and pushed onwards with confidence. "That's wonderful, Allen. And you will be able to, along with be able to return to this beautiful trance as often as you would like to. All it will take is the simplest phrase. Would you like to hear what will bring you back here, even deeper than you are now?" Jeez, she said a lot. Maybe she should try honing in her mouth after she was done with all this as well.

"Yes..." Allen drawled. More than simple statements were far beyond his abilities at the moment, and judging by how he always had to suddenly shift his breath and sometimes even speak around a line of spit that was beginning to form, the short sentences he's managing might be too much soon as well, if Calera planned to keep him under like this much longer.

"Then I'll tell you, since you seem so eager to know, Allen. The special phrase is known as simply; 'sink and listen'. You know that for a fact now, don't you Allen?" Calera smoothly uttered, already expecting the answer.

"Yeah..." There was no question In Allen's mind. Calera said it would, and it would. There was no reason to question it, and his mind wasn't anywhere near close enough to question it anyway. Allen was already so far down in his own mind, only being pushed further down the more questions he answered. And Calera knew that, so she decided to end the session where they were. Maybe next time Calera could help deal with some of Allen's fears or his bad habits next time! Maybe even let her give him a fun little trigger to play with as well.

"Perfect, you did just perfectly, my friend. Now, I'm going to gently count from five down to zero, and when I reach zero, you will easily slip from this peaceful trance into complete, non-hypnotic slumber. You will only wake up when you feel perfectly rested, or, if extremely necessary, you need to eat. Do you understand, Allen?"

"Yes" He muttered, his mind falling down just a bit more already.

"Alright. Five, feeling the beginnings of gentle sleep tug at your body...Four, feeling the clearness of your mind fog up with cloudy tiredness...Three..." And so she went on, counting down until she had finally reached zero, and Allen made no visible notice in posture as he fell into heavy slumber.