Arric had already begun working on his breathing when Eshe arrived. She chuffed as she approached, her mouth full of flower stalks and a smile on her face. His meditation spot was beautiful, an oasis in their already stunning territory. She looked around briefly, taking it all in after setting the blossoms at her feet and sitting beside him. "It's beautiful," she whispered, feeling obligated to speak quietly and not disrupt the peace.

"I brought you a gift," she said next, looking down to the ground and pointing to each flower as she explained: "I have some lavender, jasmine, and peppermint that we can sniff before starting. They all have calming agents, so I figured they could help."

"I'm good with those. All smell nice." Arric said. To make things easier, Eshe divided each type of flower into three tidy little piles—just in case he preferred a particular scent. "I'm not sure which you'd prefer, but you can pick first. The lavender is my favorite, but the peppermint tends to kick in faster. " Regardless of his decision, she'd steal a spring of the purple-petaled plan for herself.

"Alright," she said, steadying herself with deep breath. "I'm ready."

She followed his instructions after watching for a moment. Although it took a little time to get the hang of focusing on her breath, she eventually got used to it. . "Alright," she whispered. It felt wrong to raise her voice any higher. She had gotten to the point where the awareness of her surroundings had begun to fade.

"What's next?"

Quiet her thoughts—how was she supposed to do that?

She frowned, peeking open an eye to glance at him. “I … wish I knew how to quiet them,” she admitted, her voice quiet. “How do you do that?” She frowned, feeling lame for even asking—what kind of question was that? How did she not know how to silence her inner monologue?

She snapped her eyes shut, wanting to avoid seeing his reaction to her silly, stupid little question.

Eshe nodded, understanding what Arric meant—distraction chased away the thoughts. She needed something to fixate on. She was looking for something when he nudged her. She turned, smiling at him, “Thanks, Arric, she felt grateful for his help and patience. “You’re already helping me.”

Then, hoping to zen out, she leaned down and sniffed the lavender she’d brought, hoping that’d help her focus. With the smell lingering as she lifted her head, she looked to the river, focusing on the way it rippled in the early morning light. But, still, even as she tried to tune things out … she couldn’t quiet her mind, the inner criticism she was facing that mocked her for not being able to focus.

She sighed and closed her eyes, hoping that would help.

She concentrated on the water, her surroundings fading. She occasionally noticed it, but it didn't distract her too much from the practice. She felt she was starting to understand it when a crow cawed nearby. The crow's voice echoed as it flew out of the forest by the stream, and it caused her to nearly jump out of her skin.

She looked around, her eyes wide, heart pounding, and fur spiked every which way. “Goodness,” she breathed, trying to regain her composure as she glanced sidelong at her teacher.

He wasn’t phased by the crow—somehow, he remained calm. She turned to him, impressed. “Impressive,” she complimented.

The smell of the flowers began to waft up and tickle her nose, and she breathed in deeply. The smells together were … disgusting, if she was being totally honest, and she frowned to herself.

When she opened her mouth to apologize, the tickle in her nose expanded to the back of her throat, and she began to cough uncontrollably. Although she motioned to him that she was fine, forcing a smile and curling her tail in a way that was reminiscent of a thumbs up. Eventually, she stood and went to the stream to drink, which quickly resolved the issue.

“Sorry,” she said, clearing her throat as she looked over her shoulder. Water dribbled from her chin, wetting her shoulder.

“I shouldn’t of brought so many strong flowers.”

He was right—they were strong. Next time, she’d have to remember that everybody wasn’t as used to the herbal scents as she was.

“I can get them out of your way,” she offered and stood. “I want you to get a headache because of them—but you’re more than welcome to any if you'd like.”

“I picked them a few days ago, so any of them should last for another week.”

“I think this would be a good ending point,” she admitted. “I’m still a little spooked from that cawing, and I don’t want to force anything.” She knew herself well enough to know she’d only frustrate herself if she tried to push it.

“Plus, you can get some alone time in before you start your duties,” she wagged her tail—it was important for him to stick to his routine.

”But I’d love to try it again soon!”

“Sounds good—thanks again,” she said. “I had a lot of fun.” That was, until the crow messed it all up.

When he resumed his practice, she took that as her sign to leave. With no set plans, she decided it was time for breakfast.

Despite the abrupt end to the meditation, she noticed she was a little more relaxed than she had been beforehand; she’d have to meditate with him again.