deercountry | January and February Catch-All

[ .. oh. That seems to make the man pause for a moment, a look in his eyes that at first obviously consists of just surprise - apparently he hadn't quite figured out yet that the specific people who left for the city meant that Sunny had been left behind all by himself - before it melts into sympathy instead.

Sunny is way too young to be all alone in a house, he thinks. ]

Well..

[ Maybe the fact he has to quickly deals with those emotions first means that Daniel is a little slow to start speaking again, really stretching the end of that first word before he manages to speak on. ]

I think you made the right decision there. [ To not be alone, he means, and he tries to give the boy a reassuring smile. ] We can definitely do some practice. And.. if you want, you can stay over for dinner too.

[ One may say he sure is quick to offer that to a boy he doesn't know super well yet, but it's not like he didn't immediately let Mob stay over for dinner too when the boy first showed up. Besides-- ]

It's better than eating all alone, right? And I can assure you I make the best genuine Italian pasta you'll find in this place.

[Good, alright, they could do some practice. And eat some dinner. That was definitely going to be a good thing for him. It was easy to forget to eat. Sunny nods.]

I'd like to stay. I'm not sure if I've ever had genuine Italian pasta. [Like, he'd had premade stuff for sure but the actual real deal? He kind of didn't think so.]

I'm not the best at cooking, anyway. Back at home I used to microwave everything.

.. wait.

[ Daniel was already half-turned to start on a walk towards the inner dojo, but he suddenly seems to freeze up on the spot. He turns back to look over at Sunny, frowning like there's a slow realisation dawning upon him.

And he isn't sure if he likes it. ]

If you can't cook well.. Then what have you been eating while they have been gone?

[ Is this the second time he has to take care of a kid who's been abandoned alone in a house.. ]

[Oh no. Sunny's been caught. He stops in place himself, glancing off to the side.]

I can cook a few simple things. So I've been throwing things together. [A beat.] And I've still been eating more than I used to. It should be alright.

[The implications are not great there.]

[ More than I used to??

Daniel isn't sure what that exactly means, but it sure doesn't sound good. How little did Sunny eat before that he's just throwing a little bit together and it's more than that, somehow..?

There's so many dad alarms going off in Daniel's head right now. He's already calculating dinner plans.. Trying to see if he can make a little more each day so he can send his Omen off towards where Sunny lives with a reheatable dish... ]

Are you.. sure? [ Yeah, Daniel definitely sounds a little unsure himself as he asks that.

But at least - judging by the look in his eyes - it's mostly just very genuine concern. ]

It's okay to ask if you need help, you know. [ He figures he ought to say that, if his experience with teens who feel like they have to be Independent and Do Everything By Themselves is anything to go by. ] I sure wouldn't mind sharing some meals. It's usually just me here, so I've got leftovers anyway.

[ And even for the days Hakkai comes over.. well, Daniel is sure that guy wouldn't mind his meals being shared with a kid who needs it either. Hakkai's the fussy mom type like that. ]

[The immediate inclination is to say that yes, he was sure. It was fine. But, well, maybe just because he was doing better didn't mean he was doing well.

Sunny frowns lightly at being told it was okay to ask for help. Sometimes he didn't even think he needed help but... maybe he did. Maybe this was one of those situations it was okay to reach out for.]

Well... if it wouldn't leave you short of food then I'd like that. Thank you for offering.

Don't worry, it shouldn't be a problem.

[ Which - thankfully - Daniel is being honest about here, since he probably would have said the same thing even if it would leave him a little short on food.. It happens when you're the kind of man who cares more about kids being okay than yourself being okay.

But Daniel shares food with people so often that it doesn't really matter if he shares with Sunny too. He'll have enough to eat still. ]

This place is already harsh enough. The least we can do is look out for each other, right?

[ It's now that the man actually steps over to the dojo's doors, opening them to lead Sunny to the inside dojo and out of the cold outside. ]

Besides, only lousy senseis don't look after their students.

[Once again Daniel has earned one of Sunny's not-quite-a-smiles. He was glad he'd decided to stop by today. It had been a good decision.]

Yeah. I think so, too. [Emphatic nod as he enters the dojo, enjoying the warmth of it compared to how cold it was outside.]

I don't know much about senseis, but I think you're a very good one. [All he has for Daniel is appreciation over here. He takes off his jacket and places it off towards the side.]

What sort of training should I be starting with? [Honestly he has no idea where to begin.]

[ Daniel does have to momentarily - almost shyly - duck his head for a moment when Sunny goes out of his way to say he thinks Daniel is a good sensei. It's pretty much the highest compliment someone like Daniel can receive, after all, even if he isn't quite so sure whether he deserves it or not.

Still.. he just lets it hang in the air for now, especially when Sunny gives him a question to distract himself with only a moment later. ]

Well, we should probably save the physical stuff for some other time if you haven't been eating much recently.

[ Sure, Sunny looks alright enough, but.. Daniel would rather not risk having a student pass out in his dojo, alright. ]

How about we start with something that's more mental instead? You said you wanted help with controlling your powers, right? [ Back when they spoke with Mob and Robby. ]

[Absolutely fair that Daniel would prefer not having Sunny pass out. Sunny himself thought he was fine, but he's hardly going to complain about working on his powers.]

Yes, I've used them more since we talked about them but it's never been on purpose. I'm not sure how to make them happen intentionally. [Any with any sort of control, rather than them going out full force changing people's emotions.]

That was my experience as well when I first started out. [ Daniel replies, reassuringly. Granted, it does seem that he and Sunny have different kinds of blood, and Daniel isn't quite sure if using the other blood types' powers is anything like his own coldblood powers, but he hopes that an adult offering up the idea that it's a relatable experience may be reassuring in its own way.

Especially since he definitely froze things on purpose. So many times. So many randomly frozen items during his first two months or so.. ]

But.. also in my experience, having focus helps a whole lot with being able to use your powers on purpose, rather than accidentally. I think Shigeo mentioned to me before that you helped him with breathing exercises?

[ It may not sound immediately relevant, but it sure helps the direction Daniel is trying to move this in. ]

[Sunny nods at that. He did indeed help Mob with some breathing exercises when he'd first arrived.]

I did. They're something I use to help me calm down when I start panicking. [Usually it works, thankfully.] I've used them to focus before, too, now that I think about it.

That would help with my powers?

[ Daniel nods in return. ]

I think so. It's what worked for me. [ Granted, Daniel thinks that's also partially due to him having experience using focus like that in the first place - like he does for karate.

But then again, if Sunny has experience using it for focus as well.. ]

It all became a lot less erratic when I learned to focus with these powers. And visualize.

[ Granted, his and Sunny's powers are different. He's not sure whether the latter is just especially convenient for conjuring forth ice, but-- ]

Do you maybe want to try an exercise in the latter? I've got a pretty good one.

Edited 2023-02-19 12:13 (UTC)

Less erratic is good. I've accidentally used them on a few people now, and I feel bad about it. [Caveat of it was because he got very sick off of the Rotten Times food and his powers went crazy, but still. He didn't want to risk it happening again at any other time.]

Yes, I would. [Nod.] I haven't done visualization.

Let's give it a try then.

[ The more Sunny can get in control of his powers, the less worried the kid has to be about them, after all. There's already enough to worry about here without having to be afraid of yourself on top of it, Daniel thinks.

So he guides Sunny to sit down now they're in the inside dojo, while Daniel himself moves to the wall where there's a bunch of small bonsai trees lined up. The man seems to linger in front of them for a moment, looking at them all, but then grabs one of them and takes it over to where Sunny is sitting.

As Daniel sits down on the ground as well, he puts down the tree on the floor between them, and puts down a pair of small clippers next to it. ]

This is the one I've done with some of the other kids here at the dojo before. [ He explains, a calm and easy smile on his face. This is supposed to be something relatively relaxing, after all, so he's trying to make sure there's very little pressure going on here. ] It's easy. Just.. close your eyes. And when you do, think only about this little tree here.

[Sunny dutifully sits down, getting himself comfortable while he watches Daniel pick up one of the bonsai trees from the wall. It reminded him of Kim and Vance's mom. She was really into them, too.

He regards the tree and clippers when they're down in front of him.]

Okay. Only think about the tree. [He repeats with a nod, before closing his eyes and doing just that. Sunny has no problems visualizing the tree in his mind, wondering if he was supposed to be snipping it into shape.]

[ For a moment the man is quiet - just to give Sunny some space to really get inside of his head, and imagine the tree there. It's not too long of a pause though, because from Daniel's experience with teens - and his own experience when he was a teenager and doing this as well - he knows that they often imagine it a little too quickly, missing the point. ]

Really make sure you've got the tree in your head. Think about all the individual little branches and leaves. Visualize all of them in your mind. [ He speaks calmly, adding: ] Take your time with it, if you need it. This isn't something we need to rush.

[ If anything, slowing down only makes it better. It is still like a form of meditation, after all. ]

[Sunny had definitely visualized it too quickly, not realizing that he had completely missed the point.

He lightly furrows his brow when Daniel tells him to think about all the little details of the tree.

So he goes back through, tracing the branches up to the leaves, trying to imagine each individual sprout of green. This time he takes a bit longer, making sure he'd considered as much of the tree as he could, down to the texture of its bark.

Eventually he nods.]

Okay, I have it.

[ This definitely seems like a better amount of time to Daniel. Enough for him to believe the boy really has listened to the instructions - and enough for Daniel to nod with a smile, even if Sunny can't see it. ]

Great. That's the first step. The next is imagining the tree the way you want it to be.

[ At least he gets it's still a little bit vague, so he elaborates: ]

You know what it looks like now, but if you could change it, what would you make it look like? What do you want the tree to look like to you? Imagine that in your head, just as thoroughly.

[What did he want the tree to look like? Sunny tilts his head slightly as he thinks about that. Considers what he might want to change about this tree.

It takes him a bit, but he thinks that he wants it to be more fluid- or wiggly, even. Not as straight of a tree, but ones with bends in it- in its trunk and its branches.

He imagines what that would look like, inspecting it carefully in his head. He likes it, he thinks. It's a nice tree.]

Alright, I have the tree.

Alright, then you can open up your eyes.

[ And when Sunny does, Daniel is picking up the set of small clippers already before putting them into the boy's hand. ]

You've visualized it in your head, so now it's time to actually make it happen. Here, you can prune the tree until it looks exactly the way you want it to.

[Sunny does so, and looks down at the clippers in his hand when they're given to him. He pushes down the feeling that clippers now gave him, after the fight he'd had with Basil.

It was time to prune the tree.

He examines the tree carefully, not entirely sure how he was going to make it work, but he was going to try. He starts by clipping the leaves on either side of each branch in an alternating pattern. Maybe he couldn't change the way the woody parts were growing yet, but this would do.

While working, Sunny looks up at Daniel once and a while to make sure he was doing okay.]

[ The moment Sunny glances at him, Daniel just smiles and nods - every single part of him approving of what's happening here. He doesn't want to say too much to accidentally steer Sunny any kind of way, but it does seem that the other has something in mind that he's working on now. ]

You know. [ It's why he starts to speak, even while Sunny may still be working on snapping off some of the branches with the clippers. ] Your powers? They're just like that bonsai.

[ There's a slight pause, but then Daniel continues. ]

It's easy for powers to happen suddenly, or accidentally.. but the way to start using them intentionally is just like that. You envision in your head what you want to do with your powers.. and then you make it happen.

[ Just like how Sunny is making his own image of the tree come to life. ]

It's all about taking a moment to slow down.

[The reassurance has Sunny continuing, trying to make the tree match the image in his head as closely as possible.

He continues to snip as Daniel speaks, but he's paying attention to him.

Taking a moment to slow down and envision what he wants to do with his powers. That made sense. It could be like this tree. He could work on using them the same way.

Eventually, the tree is as close as he thinks he's going to get it, so he stops and gently puts the clippers back down next to the tree.]

I understand. [He nods.] I can visualize how I want my powers to work and try to make that happen.

[ Daniel nods in confirmation. ]

It won't always be easy. [ Sure, that might dampen the message a little, perhaps make it slightly less optimistic.. but Daniel does want to be a touch realistic about it in this sort of place.

Trench is too dangerous to put ideas into kids' heads that might get them killed. ]

So you should always be careful. But back when I first learned how to use the powers I got here, all I did was just try really hard to envision in my head how I wanted to use them. [ He reaches out, gently brushing a hand across the tree's small branches. ] I made sure to slow down. To breathe. That's what did the trick for me, since I started to have less and less accidents with my powers over time.

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