Perfuma was sitting comfortably cross legged on her favorite patch of grass. Calmly breathing in the sweet Plumerian air and pretty fragrants from the sweet roses around her and slowly breathing out her worries for the coming day. Her eyes closed, she focused on the sounds of the birds singing in the trees, the bugs chittering behind rocks and bark, the soft sounds of footsteps carefully approaching her.
"Who's there?" Perfuma called out.
"Sorry," a voice replied, "Am I disturbing you?"
"It's alright," Perfuma reassured, "I'm just doing my morning meditation. Would you like to join me?"
"Um... sure," the voice answered, "To tell you the truth I don't normally do this sort of thing..."
"That's okay..." said Perfuma, "It's a skill to train like any other. But once you get the hang of it, I find it very helpful in keeping me calm and in control of my emotional state throughout the day."
"So, I'll just sit down here and close my eyes?" the voice asked.
"Whatever you feel comfortable with," Perfuma instructed, "Some beginners find it easier to focus on looking at a candle or a leaf blowing in the wind. The important thing is to pay close attention to the present... the now... to be aware of what your feeling, thinking and doing at this exact moment."
"This might be a bad time for me to start getting into this," the voice said with concern as Perfuma felt some shuffling on the grass next to her, "There's a lot of things I need to worry about right now."
"On the contrary, I think that makes right now the perfect time to learn," Perfuma said, "It's perfectly natural for your mind to wander on regrets of the past or worries for the future. You just need to take notice of when it happens, stop for a second and try again. It's important to find out what it is that is distracting you so you can learn to let go of it. Don't make a judgement or focus on the thought, just acknowledge its existence and move on without letting it carry you with it."
The figure beside her sat silently for a few moments. Satisfied, Perfuma returned to her own meditation and began what was known as a body scan. She mentally focused on the sensation of her curly hair, then her forehead, then her eyelids, her ears her nose, her mouth, her chin. What each part of her body was feeling from top to bottom to train her attention. She had just made it to her stomach when the figure beside her began to groan in frustration.
"I'm sorry," the voice apologized, "I don't think this is for me. I prefer actively doing something to solve my problems, even if it means just talking."
"Sometimes when we act without a calm and clear mind," Perfuma lectured, "We make a rash decision that only makes things worse."
"Uggh, yeah, that definitely applies to my current situation," the voice groaned.
"Why *are* you here?" Perfuma asked.
"Mostly I'm here because I got into a fight with my landlord and am currently between homes," the voice exposited, "But also I wanted to apologize to you, personally."
"For what?" Perfuma asked.
The figure took in a deep breath.
"I'm the one who sent the threatening letter about you and Scorpia," they explained, "I'm sorry. I regretted doing it almost instantly and you don't have to forgive me. But I wanted you to know that I didn't mean it and I would take it back if I could."
Perfuma sat silently in her meditation.
"I'm... just going to leave now," the voice said, "I'm sorry for disturbing you."
As Perfuma heard the sound of soft footsteps walk away, she decided to speak up.
"You were with the Horde, weren't you?" Perfuma asked, "Hordak's horde, I mean."
"Yes," the voice answered.
"Tell me," said Perfuma, "Did the Horde ever make you kill anyone? Did you ever have to watch someone die knowing you were responsible for their death?"
"No..." the voice replied, "My first instinct is usually to get out of a situation when it turns violent."
"During the battle of Plumeria," Perfuma told the figure, "I chose to forsake my people's teachings of pacifism to save Bow, Glimmer and the She-Ra. After all, what has our pacifism truly made of us? We allowed our lands to be poisoned and allowed the She-Ra and her friends to fight our battles for us. I remember during the battle... there was this one soldier, a boy... no older than a teenager. He pointed his gun at me, so I did what any normal person would do to protect themselves, I killed him first. I wrapped a vine around his throat and strangled him to death. I probably could have just knocked the gun out of his hand. I could have just made a wall of vines to protect myself. I could have maybe even just restrained him until the battle was over. But I was so... angry and I hated him so much for everything the Horde was doing to our world, to Plumeria, to my friends, to me. And the part that scares me the most wasn't when I was fighting for my life. It wasn't after the battle, when I pulled off his helmet to see the terrified expression frozen on his face. It's when I remember how much fun I was having at the time, how much I enjoyed it. I... took pleasure in the pain and death of another..."
"Why are you telling me all of this?" the voice inquired.
"Because you were honest with me, and I think if I asked my friends this, they would just tell me what I want to hear," Perfuma said, "But I want to know the truth: Do you think I'm a bad person?"
"I'm really not in a position to judge anyone for what they did during the war," the voice said, "But for what it's worth... I don't think a bad person would even bother asking that question in the first place."
Perfuma sat silently for a while, breathing in and out.
"Your apology is accepted," Perfuma stated, "You are welcome to stay in Plumeria as long as you need. I also want you to know that your welcome would have been unconditional regardless of your answer."
"Thank you, your Highness," the voice said, "To tell you the truth, I don't think this place is really my scene, but I'm not sure if there's anywhere else for me to go. Is it alright if I get back to you on that?"
"Of course," Perfuma said, "Take as long as you need."
Perfuma returned to her meditation and was soon able to ignore the sound of footsteps as they slowly disappeared into other sounds of the forest. When she was ready, she opened her bloodshot eyes and coughed the last of the smoke out of her lungs.
"So... like, was I just talking to someone just now?" Perfuma asked herself, picking up her pipe to take another puff, "Or was I imagining that? It probably doesn't matter... At least they seemed nice..."
~*~
DT's notes
Perfuma, Session 1
-Alright, time to make peace with the hippy. Should be simple, right?
-Just need to ingratiate myself as easily as possible, when in Plumberia, do as the Plumerians do.
-Note to self: Meditation sucks hard
-Pacifism sucks too and Perfuma agrees.
-Feels guilty for the likely many, *many* people she had to personally kill during the war
-Possibly uses meditation as a means to control her homicidal urges
-All in all I think things went well between us, for a revolutionary warrior princess, Perfuma is really easygoing.
-Sidenote: For some reason, I could really go for some snacks right now. Must be the fresh air and exercise.
