THE CUSP OF INSANITY . Ninazu

[ninazu]

BURN
BRIGHT

“What would…? Ah.” Understanding arches her eyebrows up. There’s layers embedded in that question, and the lioness can’t begin to answer them all. Insecurities, interpersonal webs, and all sorts of meanings lie in those words. She tilts her head, words tingling her tongue, but she hesitates on answering; it’s impossible to guess what Argus might think she’d even be bothered by.

Ninazu blinks. She is woefully underprepared for this reality, even though she brought up the topic. The irony isn’t lost on her. But she’s happy, all the same, and she grins a smile full of teeth.

The lioness’s golden eyes flicker between Argus’s many eyes, now fully revealed from the mask’s absence. She settles on the bottom middle one, and shrugs with a sort of half-smirk. “Truly, I don’t see anything to be bothered by.”

Then she, silent for a long time, listened to Argus without interruption. The lioness hated prying into people’s personal boneyards—unless she could gain something from the effort—but the highlights of Argus’s background interests her all the same. She inhales deeply, and her fire runs down her spine and over her shoulders, vocalizing her anger on Argus’s behalf more than pretty words could ever do.

The dragon left out the details, but Ninazu knew trauma; she knew the details are better left unsaid. So she exhales a plume of smoke, instead, and places a paw on their claws. “If you change your mind about burning them down, I’m always down for a fire.” And she means every word.

“A guided meditation? Sure, though you are the first I’ve guided, so don’t expect much,” Ninazu says with a soft laugh. “Alright. Breathe. Breathe in the deepest inhale you’ve had all day, and let it out.” She waves her paw, breathing in as she instructed, and blows out another plume of smoke with a grin. She speaks her next words slowly, soothingly, with long pauses between the sentences.

“Allow your breathing to return to normal. On your next exhale, close your eyes.”

“Lightly focus on your breathing, with concentration as light as a feather. The air is your anchor, your tether. Gently nudge your mind back to the breath whenever it wanders too far. The thoughts, images, and memories will do what they will. Allow them to rise, but don’t chase them. Return to your breathing.”

After a long moment, she says, “When you’re ready, open your eyes. Notice how you feel now, versus when you began.”

© MADI