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Beila studies waterbending, and when she has the basics (waves, ice, the water whip, other relatively simple forms) she's permitted to specialize in healing.
Later on she'll be able to volunteer at a hospital and get her practice in that way, but to start, her teacher advocates practicing on oneself - just a few times, to get a feel for what one's healing bending is doing on both ends at the same time. This dojo produces more and better healers than most, so Beila's inclined to agree with the practice. It's only a few minor injuries, the teacher will be right there to patch her up if Beila doesn't manage the trick by the end of the lesson, and - it's not like she minds, in the right mindset.
Beila gets this faster relative to other students than she did the ordinary waterbending forms. The teacher says she has a natural aptitude. Over the course of her three-hour lesson she heals several burns (these are the easiest injuries to handle with waterbending) and then moves on to slicing her palm shallowly and then pressing healing water into the cut.
It's almost meditative, almost hypnotic. The teacher is satisfied she doesn't need immediate oversight and has gone to see to another student; Beila loses track of time. She's sitting in the dojo courtyard with her bowls of water (one bloody, one clear) and slicing her hand open again at the time her boyfriend is supposed to pick her up.
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roc_on
roc_on
And then they go to his house, on Liqing. Beila is clearly edgy but determined to go through with telling him - whatever.
thinklikethis
Dao opens his front door and leads her inside.
It's a small place, and not very well decorated or maintained, but it's clean and has chairs and tables.
It's a small place, and not very well decorated or maintained, but it's clean and has chairs and tables.
roc_on
Beila sits.
"So, this is kind of awkward, and given that we aren't even having sex yet maybe it's premature, but I really like you and it would be harder to find out in a month than right away if we're not going to work long term, so I decided to go ahead and tell you today. Um." She sighs. "I'm - sorta kinky?"
"So, this is kind of awkward, and given that we aren't even having sex yet maybe it's premature, but I really like you and it would be harder to find out in a month than right away if we're not going to work long term, so I decided to go ahead and tell you today. Um." She sighs. "I'm - sorta kinky?"
roc_on
"Like, I did not mind slicing my hand open as long as I was in the right headspace first," Beila says. "I'm not sure how far it goes. I only just learned to heal today so I haven't, um, played with it much, and naive introspection only goes so far. Oh, and stereotypes aside, I might be a masochist but I'm not ocean-aspected, like, at all."
thinklikethis
"...I am not even sure I know what that means," says Dao. "Ocean-aspected, I mean, I know what a masochist is."
roc_on
"Ocean-aspected means liking to be bossed around. Contrasted with moon-aspect. Moon pulls, tide follows." She makes a wavy gesture.
thinklikethis
"Gotcha," says Dao. "Okay. Um. You're kind of awesome, have I mentioned that recently?"
thinklikethis
"I am blushing because you're a masochist," he says. "Is why I am blushing."
roc_on
Beila's going to sit here and enjoy the cuteness and wait for him to elaborate.
thinklikethis
"Well - good. I guess."
He covers his face with his hands and hangs his head.
He covers his face with his hands and hangs his head.