"It's only been recently that he's been hiding," Freida answered, "A week or two, maybe. We should call him over."

Angela opened her mouth to speak, perhaps to protest, but didn't follow through.

Instead, Thyme spoke out. She did so with gusto. "Roland! Come into the pool! Why are you hiding?!"

For a short while, Sabine wanted to mention that perhaps Roland was afraid of her, but she didn't want to leave her friends just because another friend was hiding from her. It was an on-the-spot theory anyway. She was curious to ask him. That, and it was enough fun to watch Angela's strange behaviour around him. It was Angela's own small comeuppance where Sabine was otherwise too shy to do much teasing herself.

[hr]
"Not necessarily," Najirra replied, "The body is a reflection of the emotional mind. When you are relaxed, with nothing to do or think about, it relaxes and deteriorates. When you are in a routine, it aligns with the routine. When you are working, it flows through with energy. When you are overstressed, there is so much energy that it tightens up and overcompensates. The energy can take many forms; tension, heartbeats, cramps, headaches. But this is not the only direction it flows." Najirra swept his hands up in a movement from the front of his stomach to his forehead, "The mind is informed by the body, through our senses and our pains. If we calm our bodies, all it takes is a little focus and we may calm our minds. Though temporary, this is what we accomplished with the breathing." Najirra leaned forward slightly, "You may attempt this breathing technique whenever you like, but it is not the only way to calm yourselves. Each time you come to my abode, we will always start with a different calming technique or practice a previous one. Eventually, we may find those which work best for each of you, and you will know the best way to calm yourselves."

Najirra gathered up the parchment and began to roll it all up, gesturing to collect the charcoal as well. "But, learning to calm oneself is not the complete answer to your predicament. It is only a part of it. I shall also teach you to recognise your thoughts and behaviours in order to treat them accordingly. This will involve looking into what happened and finding associations. Additionally, if you are interested, I may teach you exactly the nature of terrible memories. How they work in the mind is very similar from person to person, and understanding your own mind to that extent may be useful to you. It may give reason to your suffering." Najirra placed his hands on his knees and spoke genially despite the subject matter, "So, with which would you like to start? With thoughts and behaviours or understanding your minds?"

Fendros stayed quiet and decided to let Ahnasha decide. He wasn't sure what to expect from either of the topics. The idea of using a breathing technique to help solve the problems they were facing seemed too easy and quick, but at least he didn't suspect that he was being led astray by Najirra any more.

[hr]
Janius' eyes followed Kaleeth's to the children. He thought for a moment that he should step in and arbitrate where they were fighting over the larger pieces, but they didn't fight for long. It wasn't as if they couldn't go to their friend to see the shield fragment whenever they wanted. It was just a little memento after all. Still, it was quaint to watch.

"Heh, yeah. It's been a while since I saw kids awed like that. Adorable is the right word for these little scamps." Janius turned his back to the children and faced Meesei, "You aren't thinking of making shield biting a regular entertainment, are you?"