Tenzin’s Meditation Retreat
Date: 2025-09-25 06:48
(Tenzin’s Meditation Retreat)
[Thu Sep 25 2025]
Franklin Square
It is dawn, about 66F(18C) degrees, and the sky is covered by dark grey stormclouds. The mist is heaviest At Elm and Blackstone
Tessa settles in on the mat, gently smiling at Tenzin before answering, “I’m… better than I was. Being stuck in the hospital was hard on me, that’s how I spent… years, really, of my childhood and adolescence, so I mostly filled my time with trying to get guests to distract me from it.” She takes a deep breath, lets it fill her lungs, holds it, then lets it out slowly. “I feel less like a cornered animal, and the bruising is down, so I look less like the undead in a college movie. I’m… yeah, better.”
Attention turning from Tenzin to Tessa, Ekaterina looks her up and down. “I had heard you were hospitalized by a wyvern. I was going to bring a regenerative item for you, though I heard that Avalon already did, and assumed you would rather only those you were close with around you.”
Tessa shakes her head, saying, “People just sort of… showed up. Avalon didn’t even pretend to knock, he just…” She rolls her eyes, entirely fond, “He just carried in corpses to show me, as soon as I was out of surgery. That man is something else.”
“I am sorry to hear this, I was unaware,” Tenzin pulls his brows knit at Tessa’s news, straightening up. “Let me know in case you are ever in need, and I would be content to help. Though I suspect that you are already in the company of enough,” he remarks, glancing from the yoga woman to Ekaterina. He shifts uncomfortably at mention of regenerative items, saying, “I would advise healing without the aid of anything supernatural. I do not trust it. It may give you wellbeing at the cost of cracks in your aura, which…”
He does not finish, merely eyes the two women with a level of concern. “Have you both been doing visualizations to aid with meditation, if you practice regularly?”
“I cant say that I approve, but from what little I have observed, that is a sign of fondness from him.” Ekaterina supposes.
“Da.” Ekaterina agrees with Tenzin. “I would not use regenerative items myself, but I am a rarity. I am also stubborn.”
As to the question itself, Ekaterina makes a dismissive gesture- Not at Tenzin’s suggestion, but for the subject. “I have been sitting beneath a skylight as it rained. Does this count?”
“It’s his way of showing he’s chosen to take care of me,” Tessa murmurs to Ekaterina, before saying to Tenzin, “I’m sure half the Temple has my number, There’s nothing wrong with having more people in my life who aren’t sociopathic fae.” She does nod at his question, murmuring, “I haven’t done it in… far too long, though… I need to get back to it more regularly.”
The monk only dips his head in acceptance of Tessa’s statement. However, he has a sheepish twitch at the corner of his mouth for Ekaterina’s.
“I believe that meditation has no set structure,” Tenzin intones, taking a peep of the dawning sun way east. “We shall find what it is that suits you best. I am sure you understand that the idea is to find clarity of thought, peace of mind. Overall, a mindfulness of your here and now, rather than being swept away in worries of the future or the past.”
“So I feel we should work on mending your spirits.” He nods, “This will be reflected in your auras. You are familiar, yes?”
Ekaterina nods to Tenzin. “Da. I am aware of my aura. The darkening from exposure to inviting evil in. It is recovering from this which is always hardest.”
Tessa tips her head as she glances past Tenzin, a note of amusement to her voice she tries to squash sneaking out as she says, “Oh, of course yours is completely clear,” as she looks at him. “I… yes. I’m not opposed, at all, to working on clearing mine. Not everyone I interact is… as good of a person as I may like.”
Tessa says “…Interact with.“
Ekaterina says “Very few are as pure as Brother Tenzin. Both inside of, and out of Haven.“
The corners of Tenzin’s eyes wrinkle at two’s comments, but his head lowers humbly. “It is not easy returning to the center of the path,” he confesses openly to Ekaterina and Tessa. “I, too, have suffered temptation and impurity. It is much easier to be away from it when living in mountains no one else can reach, but in a city like New Haven… More can hurt you, more can be hurt.” Softer, he says, “But you can also help more people. I think the cost is worth it.”
“But I would say that there is still hope for both of you, so long as there is the willingness to dispel corruption and darkness from your lives.” Just to be sure, he poses the question: “Do you seek to cleanse yourselves of its stains?”
Ekaterina nods to Tenzin. “Da. I would not have such a tainted aura if not from having the fallen rescue me from the mists.”
Tessa ducks her chin in the tiniest of nods at Tenzin, shifting to tuck her feet in better, more comfortably. “I understand, and… I do,” she answers.
“I believe it may be more than simply this,” Tenzin ponders between Ekaterina and Tessa, rubbing warmth into his palms as he steadies his posture relaxed. “Doors that you have once left open for those who are being engulfed in corruption, may be opened again by a single word. A simple greeting. A passing by on the street. This is how powerful this darkness is, and how ravenously it spreads.”
“For now, focus on your own inner self,” he guides their attentions gently to something more active. “Give yourself a bit of stretch, a shake if you need to. Be mindful of your breaths and find a rhythm that feels deep and natural to you.”
“Inhale… and exhale. You may close your eyes. Hear the sounds of the park in this cool, early morning. The distant noise of cars and horses. The remnants of rain. And begin to take one step at a time backwards into the depths of your mind.”
Following Tenzin’s advice, Ekaterina adjusts her seating, shifts to get comfortable, legs crossed, hands clasped and does as advised; She breaths slowly, In for four, hold for six, out for the same.
Tessa gives another, tiny nod to Tenzin as she listens to him speak, a deep, clearing breath, then she lets her eyes slip closed, hands on her knees. Her breathing comes slow, calm, deep, something she’s certainly used to.
“It may begin to get dark as you retreat into the depths of your mind,” Tenzin adapts a teacher’s tone, quiet and nurturing, although his inflection may retain some crispness from his farflung homeland. “Your inner world is vast. Sometimes, we do not know what is in it, until we turn the light on.”
Several deep breaths pass, the monk in sync with that of Ekaterina’s and Tessa’s in no time. His eyes are closed. “When you are ready, you can look behind you. Imagine your spirit as a large sheet of silvery fabric, hanging there stretched from corner to corner. Is it wrinkled? Is it pristine? Is it tattered and torn? How does it look like?” whispers the monk. Perhaps he does not expect them to answer while they are in focus, simply allowing them time to experience and see for themselves.
As expected, Ekaterina does not respond vocally, though her eyes flutter closed as she continues to breathe, her attention on Tenzin’s words and Ekaterina’s own breathing.
“Repaired,” is the only word that Tessa offers up to Tenzin, breath slow, in sync with the other two. Her voice is hardly more than a whisper, distant.
“How do you feel as you look upon your spirit?” Tenzin digs deeper into the moment, leading into another breath that fills the lungs. “Does it make you feel happy? Nostalgic? Angry, perhaps? Grief?”
“See if it will reveal to you its true nature,” he murmurs, calm as the breeze that brushes by them. “And when it does, you may find the truth of why it has become this way now.”
“It may have multicolored patches, each a case of its own,” Tenzin further brings to mind. “But pick something that stands out to you.”
It’s after Tenzin’s words and another few moments of reflection where Ekaterina continues to breathe that she speaks, the words barely above a breath themselves, short, to the point. “The storm is what I see.”
“The rain, the rage. The droplets that hammer like bullets trying to break through. The voice on the wind that comes with each lightning strike. The eagle that drifts through it and the solidity of the oak tree that weathers it.”
Tessa brushes her thumb along the fabric of her leggings as she listens, though she doesn’t speak up this time, eyes still closed,tension there a moment but gone the next.
Tamar slips in as quietly as she can, heading for the gazebo in silence so as not to disturb the others.
Turning his head, Tenzin hears Ekaterina’s visualization, nodding once. “The storm brings the flood, and every drop is a ripple of shadow and temptings,” he says quietly, neither ominously nor awed. He accepts the present state as it is and does not question its cause. “Your spirit has natural defenses already; but how do you prevent the droplets from breaking past?” he wonders at Ekaterina, suggesting her to think of a solution.
He turns next to Tessa, murmuring gently, “The protection you have always had has faltered, Tessa. What has taken root in your spirit, and how do you think you can mend its erratic rhythm, to return to your steady center?”
Hard to say if it was the footsteps or something else moving through this field that brings Tenzin to open eyes slowly. They find Tamar here. Silent appraisal is given, up and over, around her form, before he gestures for her to find a dry place to sit on the mat.
Ekaterina doesn’t respond to Tenzin’s question, pondering it and the possible ways to sweep it, features flickering through differing emotions as she does.
Tamar moves, light-footed at least, up and into the gazebo only after Tenzin has given his silent permission and finds herself an unused mat to sit on. She crosses her legs like the others and then closes her eyes.
Tessa’s breath hitches at the question, and she murmurs back to him, “It’s like… an heirloom quilt,” as though that explains what exactly she’s looking at. Her words come slow, dragging, focus deeply rooted in the meditation and the yappy socialite’s natural need to explain, to talk, to communicate, showing through. “Like hiding under it when things are scary… and… not being alone.”
Tamar settles her hands on her knees, but even then she is a little bit fidgety, the thumbs brushing back and forth lightly. A small furrow develops on her brow when she’s asked to visualize something and then focus on it, too. “Hmm,” the girl murmurs, worrying her lower lip. “It is… like, pale, almost sheer?” She sounds uncertain.
Eric strides in, eyes still a little heavy-lidded with sleep, but he surveys the gathering quietly for a few moments before making his way over. One hand rises to hold his braids back in place, muting their ever-present clacking as he settles cross-legged, hands on his knees, to observe.
Tessa instinctively reaches a hand out toward Eric, even with her eyes still closed, the softest little smile tugging its way free.
Letting Ekaterina and Tamar sink into this visualized self-reflection and introspection, Tenzin offers gentle nods to Tessa. “An heirloom quilt that has been repaired many times over,” he recounts from her earlier observations, welcoming Eric to join them with a gesture for the dry mat.
He directs a turn to where Tamar’s voice comes from next. “In general, the aura may look this way. Sheer and silvery, like fog. You can give it form by meeting with it inside your mind,” he explains patiently what was missed at the beginning of the session. “And as you visualize how your own spirit looks to you, it becomes a familiar thing. It is your own. And now, it is something you can mend anew, just within reach.”
Tenzin carries on then, encouraging everyone with a conducting of the next steadying breath. “With every breath you draw in, imagine you are bringing the peace and good and purity of the universe into your being,” he inhales. “And with each breath out, take from your spirit fabric that which leaves it broken or marred, and let it pass through to be dispelled. Gently.”
Eric reaches out to fondly brush Tessa’s fingers, his own lips unable to resist a pleased smile at her presence. Then he’s back to listening to Tenzin, hands on knees, eyes sliding shut, a bit reluctantly, flickering open a few times before he can fully settle. There’s a long, slow inhale from him, broad chest rising as he holds it, before letting it out in a sigh. Still, one verdant green eye blinks open, and he tries to peer towards Tenzin, as if unsure if he’s actually doing it right.
Still, Ekaterina remains silent, simply focusing on Tenzin’s words and her own breathing.
She’s perceptive, though appears focused internally, having not noticed Eric or Tamar joining. Never the less, for those with the ability to see it, the scarred woman’s visible aura strobes with flashes of lightning which mirrors that which she mentioned seeing.
When being probed, asked to consider the nature of it more deeply, the striations grow active, though once processed, Ekaterina’s aura stutters to static-like spikes of energy.
Tamar opens one eye, first to peek at Tenzin, then trailing over to Ekaterina and finally looking between Eric and Tessa. Then her eye closes again and she shifts, trying to sit up straight and really focus on this whole visualising thing. Following Tenzin’s instructions, she draws in a deep breath, letting it out slowly again.
Tessa models her breathing a touch more audibly for Eric, her hands settling on her knees, back straight. That soft little unguarded smile for him sticks around, though, and she brushes her thumb over her leggings again, nail rasping quietly against the weave. “Gently,” she repeats, under her breath, amused.
Tenzin keeps his eyes open for just long enough to make sure no one’s struggling. Not one person has taken up a yogi’s headstand, which is satisfactory to him. Even if he is the one leading this session, there still comes distraction in the form of Ekaterina’s electricity and Tamar’s burning-eye wings. However, they do not steer him off-course entirely. Meeting eyes with Eric at some point, he gives the man a subtle nod of encouragement.
“Gently,” the monk agrees with Tessa, audibly sucking in the next breath. “You are still capable of channeling this light. You are not undeserving of it. As you breathe, allow it to cleanse you with its good intentions, with its purifying nature.”
“And again, be it a slow and arduous process, siphon out the dark and malicious from your depths. It will only hinder you from reaching your peak.”
At Tenzin’s words, Ekaterina redoubles her efforts.
The rasp of nails against fabric and the subtle creak of leather joins the morning’s gentle ambiance as the Russian allows herself to regain that comfortable seating, stance shifted only slightly, and the breathing continues. In, hold, out slowly, chest rising on the inhale, falling on the exhale.
Eric worries at his bottom lip for a moment, breath held on the inhale, before he realizes and lets it out in a low sigh between parted lips. He glances between Tenzin and Tessa, brow furrowed, then smoothes his expression and tries again. One quiet, prolonged exhale in, and then out, just as fluidly. There’s still a tension to his broad shoulders however, and he can’t help the occasional flickered look behind himself.
Tamar seems to shift uncomfortably as Tenzin continues, though whether it is his words or the posture that bothers her is difficult to tell. The eyes at the pinion joints of her etheral wings never fully close, only blinking every so often and always watching. Eventually the girl decides to shift her pose, uncrossing her legs and bending them to one side before pushing up onto her knees to something more familiar. Here she seems to be able to settle, hands resting light and flat against her thighs.
Tessa lets her breathing quiet, focus internal. Her hand shifts over to rest on Eric’s, thumb brushing across the back of his hand instead, breathing not hitching, attention not diverted, working off instinct.
“Choose to not let the darkness in, and you will find yourself purged of the suffering it brings,” Tenzin calmly speaks to the small group. His own eyes drift shut, with faint movement beneath the lids. Every word in no hurry at all. “Know that despite what fate blood and history may have carved out for you… for as long as you consciously, continuously choose to do good, then you are not truly lost.”
“When you are ready, you may turn around again — inside your mind — and begin to step back out. To return to this humble gazebo, still cool after the first of autumn rains. Hear the rustle of your seatmates and fellowmen. The distant sound of McShiel’s kicking out last night’s drunks.” He huskily chuckles. “The rhythm of your breath… and soon, your eyes may open to the world again.”
Slowly, Ekaterina’s breathing grows heavier at Tenzin’s words; It’s a gradual thing as she comes back to herself with a slight shiver– Not for the weather, but the sensation, as if a dog shaking off the rain water from stepping to the garden.
Eyes opening, the scarred woman becomes aware of Eric and Tamar now, there alongside Ekaterina, Tenzin and Tessa. There’s a nod, a setting of the jaw, the mask raised against the world’s intrusiveness.
Eric only seems to calm when Tessa’s hand finds his, and though he’s late to the gathering, he does seem to find at least a modicum of peace near the end, the tension loosening in his shoulders and chest. Eyes still closed, he lifts his head, inhaling deep of the crisp air, features softening just for that handful of moments held precariously by Tenzin’s voice, Tessa’s presence, and whatever patience he’s found. When Ekaterina stirs however his eyes snap open, pools of alert green tracking to her, not hostile, but watchful and intent.
Tamar finally gets to open her eyes again as well, glancing over at Ekaterina with a fleeting ghost of a smile. Her shoulders roll slightly, trying to loosen herself up. She doesn’t seem to need much to come back to ‘this’ world, or perhaps she never really sank very deep to begin with. She looks over at Tessa and Eric, gaze lingering on and studying the man before she finally turns her attention to Tenzin curiously.
Tessa sighs, at peace, when she shrugs off the metaphorical quilt, eyes opening slow as though just waking, drifting from Tenzin to Eric, as though drawn there, and she taps her thumb on the back of his hand three times.
Tenzin is quiet after that. As far as he’s concerned, he’s wrapped this up and continues to sit in a state of tranquility. Even the exchange of looks between Ekaterina and Eric don’t incite much in him; he simply exhales his own peace and his own pace, giving his fingers, toes, and neck a small stretch. Everyone gets another brief, stolen appraisal, including Tessa and Tamar, the latter of whom earns a lingering few seconds more. All he gives is a tight-lipped smile, like the sort one gives a coworker on the way to the water cooler.
But just to be safe, he lets them all know, “Thank you for joining me this morning. May you carry this quiet with you for the rest of the day, and I hope your spirit is mended by the actions that follow.”
“Thank you again, Tenzin, for taking time out of your day for us. I enjoy these quite a bit, they’re… peaceful in a way little in this town is,” Tessa says softly to Tenzin, though she doesn’t rise yet.
Following Tessa’s suit, Ekaterina doesn’t move yet, though she does bow her head to Tenzin. “Thank you, Brother for the enlightenment.”
Eric kisses Tessa’s hand, then rises to approach Tenzin a bit sheepishly, extending one broad hand for a shake. “Sorry for my lateness,” he murmurs, still keeping his voice quiet. He brushes his braids back over broad shoulders with the blade of one hand before continuing, “Only been here a bit, but it’s easy to see how dark the city is. I like the reminders that it isn’t all that way. You ever need anything, come find me and I’ll see what I can do.” A pause, and he adds, “And I’ll be here again if you have another session.”
Tamar studies that tight-lipped smile from Tenzin for a moment before her gaze drops down to her hands on her thighs, tonguing her cheek for a few moments in deeper thought. She echoes the other two women with a quiet, “Thank you, Tenzin,” and then she likewise pushes up to her feet. “I need to get some sleep.”
“Of course, friends,” Tenzin expresses to Tessa, Ekaterina, Eric, and with a nod aside, Tamar. “I hope you sleep well.” Seeing the man approach, he leans into a kneel and stands to meet him — the only person in this gazebo that this man can possibly freely touch, unless it were a life or death situation. “Tenzin,” he introduces himself, returning the handshake with a firm, warm one and a courteous bow. “I am glad to hear it. Tessa is lucky to have someone such as yourself by her side. I am sure this will help her greatly, too.”
Tessa rises to her feet only once Eric has, an elegant shift of limbs that belies, if maybe hints at, just how well-honed she is. There’s something amused to the tilt of her lips as she watches the men shake hands, quiet though, and she gives an agreeing nod to Tenzin. “I’m blessed to have him in my life, sweet thing he is.”
Eric blinks, taken aback, unable to help the pleased wrinkling at the corners of his eyes. “Oh,” is all he can muster, cheeks flushing a bit. “Well, er. Thank you, sir.” He tries a bow to Tenzin in return, a little uncertainly, then regards Ekaterina with a hesitant arch of his brows. “Nice gun,” he tries at last. “Didn’t realize it was THAT type of meditation or I would have brought mine.”
Standing smoothly, Ekaterina thumbs the rifle slung across her back. “It is casual gun.” she explains to Eric. “Only a hunting gun. One grenade pod, heavy feed and laser focus.”
“I still haven’t seen your gun,” Tessa murmurs to Eric, squinting at him.
Eric rubs at his jaw, then very seriously informs Tessa, “I need to get some grenades, I think.”
Which to most people would in fact be heavy weaponry. Still, Ekaterina advises Eric, “Avoid the frags. The ones Haven gets are more often duds.”
“In no reality do you need grenades, my love,” Tessa huffs at Eric, shaking her head.
Tenzin considers something for a beat. He checks a glance at Ekaterina and wonders of Eric, folding hands together, “What kinds, specifically? I may know someone who purchased.. the wrong things.”
Eric nods carefully, listening very intently to Ekaterina. “I have absolutely no experience,” he tells her, “But I’ll take your word for it. And how hard can they be, honestly.”
Ekaterina says, slowly, “You should train to use them before you get them or you will blow your arm off. This happened to someone in Iraq. Was big mess.“
Eric’s head swivels to regard Tenzin blankly for several seconds. “You give out meditation AND grenades?”
“Brother Tenzin is very enlightened man.” Ekaterina explains to Eric.
Tessa leans softly into Eric, slipping her hand into his and saying, “Most people who aren’t me are combat trained, beloved.”
“I am only little combat trained.” Ekaterina assures Eric and Tessa. “Only tiny bit, really.”
“W-well, they are not a package deal,” Tenzin assures, huffing out a laugh from the gut. He jerks a thumb at Ekaterina like this woman… “Everyone has their reasons. But to ah, add to Eck’s claim, I once threw a grenade at a lieutenant and it bounced off the corner of a crate I was hiding behind, and landed right at my feet.”
“I was lucky it was the smoke one.”
“I can wear a vest and shoot someone with a taser, that’s… about it,” Tessa admits shyly. “And I don’t even carry them most days…”
“Humans need all the help we can get.” Ekaterina shares. “There is always more to learn, da.”
Eric eyes Tenzin with new respect, squeezing Tessa’s hand as he murmurs to her, “We’ll talk about the grenades,” though it’s clear after this conversation he really, really wants them.
Eric says “oh, you’re not, ah…“
Eric gestures vaguely with the open palm of one hand, uncertain what word he’s looking for.
“You are not getting grenades until someone who’s not an idiot says you can have them. That does exclude your boss,” Tessa says to Eric, side eyeing him.
Ekaterina shakes her head. “Nyet. I am not supernatural.”
Tenzin is content to standby here like an NPC, smiling at everyone. He also tries to vaguely mime back at Eric, until it might make sense. It does not. At all. Until Ekaterina says that. “Oh, I see.”
Tessa buries her face into Eric’s shoulder to muffle the sudden bark of laughter at Tenzin.
Eric opens his mouth to defend his boss, pauses, then shuts it. “He pays on time,” is all he can muster on that particular behalf. “Most of the time.”
“Is disability.” Ekaterina agrees with Tenzin, bouncing off of his claim with comedic timing a plenty. “I am waiting on medical to prove.”
Eric snorts laughter at Tenzin’s remark, grinning over at Ekaterina. “One’s definitely rarer than the other ’round here,” he notes.
Tessa pauses a moment, as something occurs to her, then she looks over Tenzin. “Oh, you… see auras naturally, don’t you?” she supposes. “Thought that was a ‘me’ thing.”
“There are some humans around if you know where to look. Some are not in the Vigil and do not want to enslave everyone and use them like suicide squad, either.” Ekaterina notes to Eric.