As he sat, the wind whimsically played and whispered around him, settling him in his serene state on the sunny day. He listened only to his breathing and when he felt the pulse that he had been looking for within his amulet, he didn’t shy away from it. He accepted the pulse as the gift that it was, he let it ripple through his body, distorting his preconceived notions as drop would a placid lake. Careful not to traipse too far in to something he didn’t yet fully understand, Makarios kept a vague aura of hesitance. The ebb and flow of the energy within him started to feel less foreign, but not much less frightening. It laced through his fingers, settled over his chest, trickled down his legs to the soles of his feet and bubbled up toward his mind. He could feel it, encroaching and reaching for his mind. 

His breath began to quicken, his heart rate responding in turn.

Images of his past began to flood. Images of an animal nature came to the mental precipice making its presence known.

[i]No. I’m not ready...I can’t. I can’t let you in. Please, please!

…

please.[/i]

He could feel a raw energy of aggression begin to rise up. It’s energy differed from before, it bubbled and boiled in him. The energy surged sporadically and fought to keep it under control. Had he traipsed too far on his first venture. Had he flown too close to the source? Even while engaged in the mental battle going on, he felt beads of sweat beginning to form on the back of his neck. His brow furrowed and his back tensed. A growl sounded in his head, a low rumble, echoing through the darkness of his consciousness and resonating off the pillars that represented his psyche. 

The growl became louder, seeming to shake his very mind and he felt a shiver run through him. He couldn’t seem to sate the aggression that ravaged him.

[i]‘No!’[/i]

His eyes snapped open and a sharp intake of breath seemed to bring him back to reality. For a moment, all of the stimuli rushed him all at once, dazing him for the briefest of seconds. He could feel the power of the amulet receding, the warmth that he had previously felt began to recede, shunned away by his own inhibitions. Perhaps that was enough adventuring for the day.

Makarios settled back into the tree, focusing on only his mind but keeping his surroundings in the back burner. He mulled over his past, his motives, his future and his hopes. All became images swirling in his mind. A tableau of things past and things to come, each frightening and inviting all at the same time. In the midst of it all, he could smell a scent. A familiar scent. 

‘I knew he’d show up.'

Makarios continued to meditate, peacefully bringing himself out of his state of tranquility, just in time for a familiar presence to situate himself right next to Makarios.

[i]"So, I hear school dances are killers."[/i] 

Makarios opened one eye, lazily focusing on Caleb. The male seemed to hold an air of excitement about him.

[i]"How are the wounds doing?"[/i]

“A bit better than expected, but I’m not one to rush excitement. Yours?” Makarios opened the other eye, relaxing his meditative pose and leaning against the trunk of tree that he had found solace in. “And why,” he began, turning to face Caleb, “do I get the feeling that this is going to become a regular thing? You…[i]joining[/i] my meditation time.” Makarios held a stoic and hardened face for a moment, staring intently at Cal before he broke a smile and started chuckling.

“What have you been up to?”