VICTORY ROAD IC CONTACT

[zukeini]

"Hey, uh, you just reached me and I wasn't around. It's Zuke. Leave a message or a text and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Comments

[zukeini]

Yeah, good good. Now-

[Zuke had mastered the calmness of spirit, and was hoping this was going to be something that could be useful. He wanted to be useful to Dimitri, right now. When he couldn't be there physically, this had to be a way right?

The Ujjayi Breath.]

Take a deep breath and fill your lungs. Let it catch your neck a little, and close your eyes. Like this.

[He did so.

His ex-girlfriend called him "the sea". Something to not misjudge, because it can take action, yet calm. Calm and rhythmic like waves.]

Exhale softly. Let yourself hear you breathe, in and out.

[The voice sounded like the ocean as he exhaled.]

[nastyboy]

[Let it catch his neck... Dimitri tries to mimic Zuke as best he can, even though he feels as though he must be doing this wrong, somehow. It just... seems so simple.]

[A deep breath. An exhale. Eye closed.]

Am... I doing it correctly?

[zukeini]

Don't think so much about doing it "correctly".

[Zuke shook his head and smiled a little as he watched Dimitri breathe in and mimic him.

He was working so hard.]

You're not going to get it if you worry about doing it completely correct, on your first time even. Just focus on breathing deep, in and out.

Listen to the sound of your breathing, nothing else for those few seconds. It'll be like an ocean wave. Just let it ease in.

[nastyboy]

I.... Very well.

[He feels as though he should argue somehow, but... That's silly. What is there to argue about? This is just breathing, and Zuke would know more about what he's trying to show Dimitri than anyone else. So Dimitri tries again, taking in a deep breath that presses gently against the inside of his lungs and fills his throat up solidly.]

[It's strange. He doesn't think he's ever thought much about his breathing. Such a subtle little sound, sliding through him...]

[zukeini]

[He wasn't understanding. Perhaps. Maybe soon he would though?

Zuke brought in his air, and he can already feel more confident in decision to do this.

He felt the air in his lungs. And then, a slow exhale. His head felt light, and free. It was a soft sigh, and it rang in his ears like it usually did.]

Now...let it out. Exhale slowly.

[nastyboy]

[Dimitri isn't certain how to respond for something like this. But perhaps that is the point? To just... not respond. Just breathe.]

[So he does, feeling his breath almost bypass his tongue, his teeth, just slipping along his lips and the gentle pressure it exerts as it passes through his throat.]

[zukeini]

[Perhaps he was now understanding. He allowed Dimitri to finish before talking again.]

Deep breathing yoga exercises, a good way to improve your mental function. Lessen your stress.

[nastyboy]

I had not thought breathing could be an exercise... Frankly, I have never thought so carefully on my breathing, if that makes sense.

[zukeini]

That's what I love about yoga.

[He's in his position still, but he looks at the video with a calm seriousness.]

It gives a moment of clarity, I think. It helps you live in the moment and hear yourself. It's healthy to do every now and then.

[nastyboy]

A moment of clarity...

[Dimitri spaces out for a moment, thinking on that thought. Goodness knows he could use more of that, he thinks.]

Although sometimes I think that I - do not particularly want to hear myself.

[zukeini]

[...He hates himself. He doesn't believe in himself.

Of course, it's always easier for someone so hurt by a life they once had to believe more in other people than themselves. Dimitri came from a life of war and loss. He leaned that from Felix.

Zuke couldn't pretend he knew what that was like, and that was his misgivings, really. He can't force such calmness on to someone like that.

All he could offer was his own company, and that sucks.]

I dunno, I like it.

[Elaboration was needed.]

I kinda like the calm moments life gives sometimes. I tend to try to take what I can get. Then give back. Sometimes...I think that's what I can give, if that makes sense. It's how I think people can connect. Y'know, just hearing each other.