Private Flesh and iron [Taji Nelson]

[Xerek]

Xerek shook her head as he talked about the armor. But she still smiled. He was still on the work. But that's just the way he was really. She chuckled as he admitted he enjoyed the hug, "Well you oughta!" she joked.

He asked again about how to relax precisely, she spoke softly, trying to keep him from thinking in stiff terms, "There is no precisely when it comes to relaxation. Think of the time I helped you relax with song. Sing to yourself perhaps, you don't need to think about how good or bad you sound. Let the very hum of your voice feel like it resonates through you. You don't need to worry about anything. You're young, you have time. It's ok to wait until later for things."

She was probably not the best person to tell someone they had time. She was an anzati, and she would probably long outlive Taji Nelson. But that didn't mean what she said wasn't true.

 

[Taji Nelson]

It was at that moment that Taji took her advice. To be exact, he started singing. Unfortunately for anyone around who had ears or could hear, his singing was an abomination. It was like nails grating on a chalkboard mixed with the hissing of a cat, combined with a blender and heavy machinery. It was one of the worst sounds to ever come out of the mouth of a human in the lifetime of the galaxy. To make a long story short, his singing was something that should never be heard because of how genuinely awful it was. "I'm a bad singer, aren't I?" asked Taji. "My brothers think so anyway." And they were right about how horrid his music was.

Xerek

 

[Xerek]

Xerek smiled lightly as she heard him begin to sing. It was utterly awful, but the point wasn't to enjoy it, or to sound good. It was for his sake not hers. She sighed as he stopped and mentioned how bad his singing was, she put a hand on his shoulder, "It doesn't matter. You're not singing for me or anyone else." she told him.

"Don't think about it, or heck, think about it if you want. Don't try and force anything. Meditation can take work. Especially for people who refuse to slow down. You need to be patient, don't bother with details or how long it might take." She tried to tell him. Xerek had lived a good bit longer than he had, and some of that time there was no good choice other than meditating and waiting.

Taji Nelson