Visualization Practice

L'nan and J'nas practice J'nas's visualizations.

Jenna - Friday, June 07, 2002, 7:34 AM
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Niyath> Above the center of the bowl, Alirath lands on the ledge near the Star Stones.

Niyath> Niyath cracks an eye open from her position draped over Hanreth's neck. She gives a sleepy croon to Alirath and then closes her eye once again.

Niyath> Alirath warbles a greeting before landing in a clearing on the star stones with a carefully planned *whump*. Sliding down, L'nan is muttering to himself. "...how I'm supposta know is beyond me... /women/..." Upon seeing J'nas, he gives a wave. "Evening, J'nas. How's Hanre- I see he's doing well," he finishes with a grin.

Niyath> L'nan unstraps himself from Alirath's neck and slides down to the ground.
Niyath> L'nan has arrived.

Niyath> J'nas is reclined against Hanreth, taking part in the dragon-pile. The breeze generated by Alirath's wings wakes him from his nap. Peering through bleary eyes, the brownrider struggles to his feet. "Hello, sir." J'nas manages a salute.

Niyath> L'nan quickly waves the young weyrling back down. "No, no... don't bother. Taking a break away from the hubbub?" he guesses, though he does return the salute.

Niyath> J'nas nods as he slumps down against his dragon. "We were flaming earlier. After a scrub in the springs, we came up here to rest up a bit."

Niyath> L'nan aaahs, glancing at Alirath for a moment. The blue settles at a distance from the other two, stretching out to get as much of the sunlight as possible. With a grin, L'nan returns attention to J'nas. "How'd flaming go? You all up in the air yet? I know there were a few who still hadn't quite gotten the technique down..."

Niyath> Hanreth cranes his neck to whuffle at the smaller blue, moving carefully so he doesn't disturb Niyath. "Yes, sir," J'nas says. "Since Hanreth thinks that it's all fun, we get plenty of practice in. We're just waiting our turn for *between* training now."

Niyath> Alirath watches Hanreth with amusement - he may be smaller, but Alirath seems to think that he is the older and wiser dragon. And so - so he watches. He does finally whuff in friendly encouragement, but that's about it. Got to let these young'ns learn on their own, right? Alirath is all pompous superiority sometimes. L'nan, for his part, just plops down, stomach on the ground and chin propped up by hands. "*Between*, eh? Y'nervous? How 'bout Hanreth? Got all your visualization skills down pat?"

Niyath> Niyath shifts a bit, not quiet disturbed, but not entirely deeply asleep yet either. She rather unabashedly makes herself more comfy on her Hanreth-pillow.

Niyath> J'nas peers up at Hanreth. "He says that that my images are good," he says with a chuckle. "Being that we haven't actually gone *between* on them, I don't know. To be honest with you, I am a little nervous. I've been *between* before, just not like this."

Niyath> "Of course," L'nan says cheerfully. "I was scared.. beyond scared, Alirath's first time. But it gets better after awhile. Not to say it's not scary every time, but... you know." He manages a shrug. Then, "For the most part, y'just gotta have confidence and be sure of your images and everything. Any doubt you've got, will be ten times worse if your dragon senses it."

Dragon> Niyath and Hanreth sense that Alirath seeps into your minds, a cheerful bright blue. << Would you like to play a game? >> he asks mildly. << You will not have to move, but you will have to practice your images and concentrate. >>

Niyath> Alirath and Hanreth sense that Niyath is extremely content. Comfort seeps from every hint of thought, along with drowsy pleasure. << We have already been *between*. Jenna had to change her pants. But I will play. >>

Niyath> J'nas nods as he takes in L'nan's words. "Good point, thanks. I'm fairly confident in my ability to visualize. I'm just a little apprehensive since I can't really test it withou..." He pauses. "Would the image I give a firelizard be good enough for dragons?"

Dragon> Alirath and Niyath sense that Hanreth is practically bursting, << A new game? How does it work? >>

Dragon> Niyath and Hanreth sense that Alirath lets his curiosity show in his tone towards Jenna's pants issue, but he refrains from asking. << You should always stive to better your images, >> he chides in golden tones. << Just because you have been *between* does not mean you are safe from making mistakes. >> Speech over, he explains the game. << I will visualize an object to you. In turn, you must visualize it to your rider, and they must say what it is. Whoever gets it first gets to go next. See? >>

Niyath> L'nan considers that. "Not really. You have to be extremely careful when you're visualizing to your dragon. With a firelizard, they just won't go if they don't understand you. Your dragon will try to go to wherever you visualize. You see?" He tilts his head, expression blank for a moment, then, "If you'd like, we can practice quick, here... Alirath's explaining to Hanreth and Niyath, though... Alirath, Jenna's not here. So just with Hanreth, how 'bout?"

Niyath> Alirath and Hanreth sense that Niyath snorts at Alirath. << I always know where I am. >> There is a pause and then she agrees, << This will be difficult, with Jenna in the caverns. It is a good challenge. >>

Niyath> "Wouldn't that be better then?" J'nas asks. "If the firelizard is willing to go, then I'm visualizing correctly, right?"

Niyath> L'nan nods. "That's very true, yes. But you want to make sure you get it exactly right with your dragon. Also, visualizing time can be a bit tricky, like if you're going at night or something. You just want to be more detailed and communicative with your dragon than with a 'lizard."

Dragon> Hanreth bespoke Alirath and Niyath with << I am ready when your are. >>

Niyath> J'nas frowns. "I hadn't thought about timing..."

Dragon> Niyath and Hanreth sense that Alirath returns, << Very well, just Hanreth's rider, then. Niyath can tell me what she thinks it is. Ready? >> After a moment, he sends an image that's fuzzy at first, and then sharpens moment by moment. It starts out looking like a vague rectangle. As it's details get defined, there are planks of wood, and it seems to be a rather large object. There's a latch on the front, and hanging from one corner of the crate is a leaf - the leaf of a redfruit tree, perhaps? At it's final clear point, the image reveals itself to be one of the storage crates for fruits coming in on the tithe train.

Niyath> Alirath and Hanreth sense that Niyath considers, passing along the final image to her rider. << Jenna says that it is in stores. >>

Niyath> J'nas frowns as he attempts to decipher the image. "I /think/ it's the storage room, but I could be wrong." His frown deepens. "This is harder than I thought."

Dragon> Niyath and Hanreth sense that Alirath sends positive tones. << Very good. It's not the store room, exactly... it is one of the tithe crates. You see? >>

Niyath> L'nan voices what his dragon is telling the others. "It's not the store room, J'nas, but it's /in/ the storage room. See what I mean about being more specific, and detailed?"

Niyath> J'nas nods slowly. "Is such a localized image good enough, though? Or is it just for practice?"

Niyath> L'nan frowns. "What do you mean? If you wanted to go right to Igen Hold, you wouldn't just picture the desert, right? You'd picture the specific details, the shape of the hold, the landmarks, and so on, right? You have to be extremely local, extremely specific, to be safe."

Niyath> J'nas looks a bit sheepish. "That is rather obvious. Seems like I could use a lot more practice."

Niyath> L'nan chuckles. "I was one of the last people to do *between* training," he admits. "For the very same reason. Now, if Niyath doesn't mind, how about we let Hanreth visualize an object, send it to Alirath and her, and we'll see how he does?"

Niyath> Niyath apparently has no objections, for she doesn't move or twitch a tailtip.

Niyath> J'nas nods. "Sure. Is Hanreth to take the visualization from me or from somewhere he's been?"

Niyath> L'nan shrugs lightly. "First of all, don't do somewhere, do some/thing/," he suggests. "An object, and you think of what it is. Think of all the details. Then send that image to Hanreth, and then have him show Alirath and Niyath, see?" He adds as an encouraging afterthough, "Concentrate hard."

Dragon> Alirath and Niyath sense that Hanreth begins to assemble an image, different parts shining to in existence at various speeds. First to be seen is a white, fluffy, squarish object. Next, brown lines that solidify into bits of wood form something of a rectangle over which the fluffy bit hovers. The last piece fades in, appearing to bit linen pulled tight between the first two parts. The final image is that of a long, rectangular frame with the fluffy bit at one end. The linen sharpens to reveal a thick brown fabric.

Niyath> L'nan frowns, shutting his eyes. "That's... that's all right, it's your cot?" he guesses. "Try defining your pillow more, and the exact color of your furs. Are they that straight, or lumpy? Are there any darker spots on it, or lighter?" Opening his eyes, he grins. "Is your cot really that perfect? Add /flavor/ to the image."

Niyath> J'nas blushes slightly. "Not always. It would be better if I imagined it the way I left it this morning. More details, though?"

Niyath> L'nan nods slowly. "Much more detail," he says gently. "That's a good start. But imagine if you just visualized a lake. Nothing else, just a lake. Well, there are hundreds of lakes around - and you don't want Hanreth getting lost *between*." There's nothing joking in his voice now.

Niyath> J'nas pales visibily as he imagines such a fate. "I will /definitely/ work more on that," he whispers.