ic contact: empatheias

[tekhartha]

[ic contact post for private crystal network conversations/ correspondence/ etc in empatheias; action tags also welcome!]

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kicks the door down on this inbox

[ephemerous]

[It has become a regular fixture for the two monks to meditate together, with or without interested students. Today, though, when Nahyuta joins Zenyatta, and he rises from his seated position at the end of the session, he has something pressing he wants to discuss.]

It was an honour to join you today, friend. [He bows low to Zenyatta. Ordinarily, he would extend the Holy Mother's blessings to the omnic, and they would go their separate ways. Today, though, Nahyuta does no such thing.] Will you indulge with your time a short while longer? I have a proposal I would like to share.

he's beauty he's grace

[tekhartha]

[Call it some holdover from his time among the Shambali, but Zenyatta has always preferred to meditate in the company of others; it deepens the experience between them in ways he cannot fully explain.

So it's no surprise when he notices the change even before Nahyuta asks his question. Although he doesn't move from his spot around half a foot off of the ground, he looks up.]

And you, Nahyuta. [He flexes his hands out of position, then touches his fingertips together.] You have my full attention.

25 december, messenger bird.

[divinable]

[ a small package arrives at zenyatta's doorstep. in the box are 3 large lavender scented candles. attached is a letter, which reads: ]

Helmet Head,

While in Khura'in, Christmas is not a tradition we celebrate, I still wished to give something to my esteemed friends. I do hope we will be able to become closer in the future.

Truly yours,
Rayfa Padma Khura'in

[tekhartha]

[Oh, how charming! Zenyatta is quick to get a response sent back via the same dove after a spot of food and water. His handwriting is surprisingly ornate.]

Your Benevolence,

You have my most sincere of thanks for your thoughtful and kind gift! I shall light them during this evening's meditation.

I look forward to speaking with you soon.
Zenyatta

12/25

[invigorates]

[ At some point during the evening, Lioriley places a bouquet of white cyclamens at zenyatta's doorstep, along with a card. ]

Zenyatta,

We may not have known each other long, but you have helped me a great deal since that first time we spoke.

And for that, I feel thanks are in order. I hope this gift is suitable.

Sincerely,
- Lioriley

[tekhartha]

[A bouquet which Zenyatta accepts tenderly and places pride of place in the centre of the room he is currently inhabiting; even after he moves on he takes a couple of them with him, kept fresh by his enthusiasm.

Lioriley will receive his reply via carrier pigeon.]

Dear Lioriley,

Your thanks are accepted with a warm and a grateful heart. Do not underestimate the ways in which you have improved by your own will and resolve.

May the new year rain its blessings upon you.

- Zenyatta

1/31, messenger bird

[oathkeeper]

Zenyatta,

You don't know me but I know that you're good friends with Snow White! I'm letting you know that her birthday is this weekend on Endeca 4th! [Saturday February 4th] She doesn't want a birthday party but I think someone as special as her deserves a Happy Birthday Wish.

Thanks!
-Sora

[tekhartha]

[The response comes quickly via the same bird, after a little food and water.]

Sora,

Thank you for letting me know about such an important occasion! I would be only too happy to do so.

Best wishes,
Zenyatta

Late on Feb 6th; Voice

[boundbynaught]

Zenyatta? Are you there?

[tekhartha]

I am here. Does something trouble you, my student?

have a surprise

[gr1m]

[3am rolls around, and for once it isn't a certain vigilante that gets to hear a voice better left in the past. An actual voice, rather than text.]

You asleep?

Or whatever it is you might do. Recharging.

[An attempt was made.]

what's the time mr wraith

[tekhartha]

[Technically he was when Reaper's message came rolling in, but he cannot say he particularly resents being woken up by it.]

I am with you. What troubles you at this late hour, my friend?

April 7th, Messenger bird

[nofarplaneyet]

[He hopes this letter gets to where it needs to go. He'd been recommended by separate people, after all.]

-- Zenyatta:

I have been told by a friend of yours named Ana that you have a lot of knowledge into meditation. I've been looking for assistance in that very area and if you would like to meet at some point to discuss it, I would be very appreciative.

Auron --

[tekhartha]

[It certainly does; Zenyatta's reply comes swiftly, and the bird returns with a gold ribbon tied around its ankle.]

Dear Auron,

I would be delighted to help you. Simply name a date, and I shall be there. I do not have a fixed abode as such, but, if your home is not particularly well suited to mindfulness, might I suggest your local park?

- Zenyatta

May 27 -- Voice

[nofarplaneyet]

[There had been small victories since his first cathartic meditation session. He'd made a few more friends, number one, which made him somewhat happier. Unfortunately things had happened to one of them in particular that has left Auron feeling helpless and in need of guidance.]

Zenyatta, my friend. Are you busy?

[tekhartha]

[Beyond the safe seclusion of their session, life, as it was wont to do, went on. Time passed. Zenyatta's thoughts have occasionally strayed towards Auron, of course, but they have been largely untroubled.

To be suddenly contacted like this, out of the blue, is not initially concerning as it might be- but he cannot entirely pin down the tone of Auron's voice.]

For you, I am never busy. Shall I come to your apartment?

Christmas Gift

[nanoscope]

[Zenyatta is a hard one to track down, but Ana knows he sometimes stays with Genji or at the house. So whenever Zenyatta does stop by the house, he'll find a nice little gift waiting for him.]

[Since he can't enjoy the basbousa she'd made for everyone else, Ana had to improvise. Instead, his gift includes a crimson scarf, as well as a set of meditation pillows. Just because he's an omnic doesn't mean he can't enjoy a few comforts of his own.]

[tekhartha]

[ANA you are so thoughtful!! Zenyatta is going to wear that scarf and use that cushion until it falls apart, and then he'll probably just ask Gabe to repair it for him. Happy holidays to you, too. ♥]

12/25

[mon_dieu]

[Look if Zenyatta ever confronts Antoine about this, he'll deny it. HE WILL DENY IT SO HARD. But there is a package at his doorstep. Polish for his metal, a mini sewing kit for his clothes, and a little card.]

Merry Christmas.

Antoine D'Coolette.

[tekhartha]

[oh!!! As if the parcel itself were not enough of a surprise, Zenyatta finds that he's reading the name of the sender twice just to be sure he's read it correctly. But he has. And it's such a wonderfully thoughtful little gift he spends the rest of the day glowing with it.

Of course, he simply must return the favour. Antoine will find a little package of his own waiting for him at home: it contains a quality whetstone and a small selection of unusual spices he's come across during his stay here, from the wonderful to the weird. Though he knows better than to mention the gift, either in his own note or in person, he does sign his name on the tag.]

Christmas gift

[nofarplaneyet]

[There is a card place where Zenyatta should be able to find it eventually on this fine day.]

--I wasn't really sure what I should get you. I thought about it for a while and the best thing I can come up with is that I have followed your advice as best I could. That to open oneself up to friendship is to make one vulnerable, but in turn, it can lead to a life much richer for the risk.

In doing so, I've been able to confront a lot of what I had not inside my soul for so long. Although I still do miss the friends I'd lost, it's not an all consuming weight around my heart any longer.

I've also been starting to teach someone else how to meditate to help him calm down from all that's happened to him. I guess that's the best gift that I can share with you, especially.

Thank you, Zen. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction to be happy.

Auron--

oHHH NOOO AURON BLESS U

[tekhartha]

[Zenyatta reads the card. Then he re-reads it, and re-reads it again, for good measure. By the time he's finished the letters on the paper are glowing with a pale light, flushed with emotion and pleasure and above all else a sense of incredible gratitude for his student. For the warmth he feels radiating from each word.

He, too, takes his time to put together a "present" of his own before finally slipping an envelope through Auron's letterbox. The letters on this one glow in a similar fashion, as if written in molten gold:

Like a desert flower waiting for rain,
like a river-bank thirsting for the touch of pitchers,
like the dawn
longing for light;
and like a house,
like a house in ruins for want of a woman -
the exhausted ones of our times
need a moment to breathe,
need a moment to sleep,
in the arms of peace, in the arms of peace.

When I look upon you I no longer see a shadow: I see the light that cast it. Never doubt how proud I am of you, Auron, or how much I admire the man you have proved yourself to be.

Always and most affectionately your teacher,
- Zenyatta]

Mystery Gift - December.

[empc]

[ On the last day of the month of Ennea, Zenyatta will find a package for him at his doorstep.

The package is a small box which contains a teapot. Its ~magical~ components always cook and heat tea to the perfect temperature and the tea will never taste weird no matter how long they've been in it.

(Thank you for submitting to the Emotion Tracker!) ]

[tekhartha]

[How delightful! An elephant, too! He will have to invite someone over for tea at once- and possibly more of his barely edible shortcake, he still has quite a lot of that left.

Sometimes he brews tea just for the pleasure of watching it do its magic.]

surprise it's actually voice

[gr1m]

[Well.

That's some panic that cuts through right away, even if it's less D A N G E R panic and more of a frantic not as alarming sort-]

Do you know anything about helping a cat having kittens.

[-The more alarming thing may be the fact he's using voice rather than the normal text.]

[tekhartha]

[Stupidly, naively, Zenyatta's core shudders at the unexpected sound of Gabriel's voice- but only for a moment, before he his taken instead by its tone.]

Are they similar to cattle? [...] I will be right over.

[He's true to his word. Whatever doubts he has about meeting face-to-face once more he shakes off his heels on the journey over, letting himself in without a second thought. The way he always did.]

Gabriel?

Mid March (Audio to start)

[boundbynaught]

Hello, sensei. I know it's been awhile.

[An understatement of course, but he wanted to acknowledge it.]

I just wanted to say thank you again. [He doesn't sound particularly enthusiastic about it, but sincere.]

One of the reasons I got busy was because my greatest fear finally came to pass... the person I look like... the one I was made to believe I was... he has returned to Verens. I can't say that things have gone well exactly, but I do know one thing is true - the kinds of negative reactions I've had in the past that you helped me through? Those changes haven't manifested.

So I want to believe that even if things haven't gone well, hopefully they've gone better than they would have otherwise.

[tekhartha]

[It has indeed been quite some time, but Zenyatta still recognises the familiar strains of Auden's aura even before he does his voice; perhaps prematurely he positively lights up his end of the connection with pleasure.

True, as Arden's reasons for making contact become clear, there is somewhat less to celebrate, and his enthusiasm tempers to somewhat more appropriate levels. He listens in respectful silence, then, waits for him to finish-

- and when he speaks, the overall effect is less pleased than it is soft, and warm, and, above all else, proud.]

It is only when we are challenged that we realise not only how far we have yet to go, but also how far we have come. [His orbs chime in the background, once, twice, as if marking time.] You have triumphed, my student! Small though it may seem, you have brooked a great storm with courage.

[a pause.]

Would you like to meet?

Oh look, I was the last tag here too lol

[boundbynaught]

[ He's not going to be able to deny the mixed feelings as he contacts Zenyatta. Part of him wonders if his sensei even remembers him, so there's a little sadness there, along with sourness that maybe he DOES remember him and hasn't contacted him because he doesn't WANT to talk to him. The other side of it is definitely hopeful. Maybe Zen does remember him, maybe he can actually take up Arden's lessons again, and he's just been busy. Arden's lost his own senses after all, so he didn't contact Zenyatta any earlier either. He just suddenly saw - and mainly heard - Zenyatta commenting on the amulets. ]

H-hello Zenyatta, my name is Arden.

[ And he'll go quiet a bit, trying to see if he gets any recognition. ]

[tekhartha]

[Each sensation washes over him like drowsy music, one after the other, until each strain harmonised into a bittersweet symphony of emotion: hope, sadness, uncertainty. They reach him before he even realises that he knows this feeling, there is something specific in it, as individual as a fingerprint-]

Arden! [His voice flutters, moon-bright.] To think that you are here still! How has this place treated you, my student? It has been far too long.

Deca - Trite the 2nd - Mental Connection

[green_cyborg_ninja_dude]

Master? Something hit me this morning and the more I think about it the more I want to do something about it. I was hoping you could help.

[tekhartha]

[Genji sounds pensive rather than concerned, at least, so Zenyatta doesn't worry too much in turn.]

Of course. What did you have in mind?