Gymwards she goes, then. She ducks into the little changing room to get into exercise clothes again, then troops out to Senior Starlight, a serious look on her face.

Cocoa lingers behind, still eating his bacon and eggs. 

"So." Senior Starlight claps her hands. "Show me what you can do."

"Just...?"

She doesn't wait for an answer. Just takes a deep breath, settles into the starting pose for the punching technique, and Ring Dances forward to start pummeling a punching bag. From there, she goes through the exercises in order, including those punishingly difficult kicks, unless interrupted. Though she goes a bit more slowly and carefully than usual, more conscious of her form and all its imperfections just because she's being watched by the creator of this martial art.

Silver Starlight watches, silent and still. Her gaze unerringly tracks Trys through even the fastest Ring Dancer moves. Once Trys is exhausted, Starlight speaks.

"Good. Now make a strand for me."

She jumps slightly.

Nods and goes into the meditation pose, eyes shut.

Okay. Don't rush this trying to impress, you do NOT want to flub it. This is normal, this is routine, mental muscles pulling the same weight as before... Breathe, and draw in...

Silver Starlight's gaze follows the qi near Trys' heart as it builds and is drawn out. 

...Breathe, and pull taut, breathe, and press down. Patiently, smoothly, like she can do this all day.

Then she exhales one last time when it settles, shakes her head to clear it, and opens her eyes.

Silver Starlight applauds. 

"If you asked me to guess what day it was from your progress, I would have guessed day ten. Incorporating the kicks earlier seems to have sped your progress significantly, and you've clearly done some meditation practice as well. You're doing the kicks last because you need to excite your qi enough beforehand to make them safe, yes?"

She blushes. "Uh, I was actually mostly doing the kicks last because - that was the order the exercises were presented in? It does feel like it would be straining to do them first, though. But I can handle a bit more strain, I think."

"The hypnotic programming has a punch-punch-kick combination in it, yes? You must have noticed and deliberately avoided it. Good instinct, if you had tried that on your first day you could well have injured yourself. But now I think you're ready for it. Put a qi pill in your mouth and hold it by your cheek so you're guaranteed to have spare qi, then try the combination."

"...Hmm, I did, come to think of it. Because the kicks were supposed to be 'very difficult'. And they are. Okay."

She goes and gets a pill, holds it there. Deep breath.

Tries the combo, expecting it to hurt and trying not to flinch.

It hurts. But not any more than the kicks used to hurt. Come to think of it, they've been less painful recently. Ow.

"Good! You should be safe to do that, mm, another four times without excessive qi draw or strain. Show me you're up to the task."

Well. Pain is temporary. Impressing the master is forever.

One-two-kick. Ow.

Opposite side this time. One-two-kick. Ow. This isn't her dominant side.

Switch again. Ow. Okay, it really feels like she's pulling something, pushing too far.

Scowling, she clenches her teeth. She can do it. Silver Starlight would have stopped her if she can't. That burning pain is not a reason to give up now.

Switching to the opposite side again, one-two-KICK.

The qi pill shatters in her cheek and dissolves.

"Good! Now meditate immediately. If your technique is good you should be able to make two strands."

That's worth a new laptop, some small part of her notes. (God, but the pills are so helpful.) ...She's getting distracted. That's not good. Focus. 

There's a lot of qi buzzing through her. Condense, pull, press. Condense, pull, press... It settles into her, heavy and strong. Her head is swimming a bit.

The pain doesn't matter.

Just saying that doesn't make it true.

Qi is still buzzing. She can focus and reach for MORE.

She's not a genius, not actually TALENTED at this. Just too bullheaded to quit.

Come on, come on, another strand...

It's too thin. It's slipping away into a cloud, and she pulls harder, trying to form a second strand anyway-

Silver Starlight snaps her fingers right in front of Trys' face. "Stop at one."

"-Urk." She lets it go, feeling vaguely cheated. "...What'd I do wrong?"

"You grabbed too hard. You were at risk of damaging your qi system by forcing too much qi through at once. You need more finesse. Practice is the cure. You have Turtle Breathing, yes?"

"I do. It's nice. Is it good practice for this, then?"

"No, it is too focused on the lungs to be of great use shaping chakra elsewhere. But there is a similar technique called Inner Breath which is a direct qi control exercise, and your experience ought to transfer to that. With your permission, I will teach this technique to you now."

"I'll listen gratefully. -What's the difference between qi and chakra, or is there one at all?"

"Ah, I apologize. It is the same substance, referred to differently by different traditions. I am thinking of the tantric model as Inner Breath comes from that tradition. It is a yogic discipline focussed on visualizing qi or chakra flow from the root chakra also known as the first dantian to the crown chakra also known as the dragon's horn dantian. It involves meditation in increasingly difficult stress positions and is particularly good for new True Masters seeking to break through the Second Realm quickly."