Mind Over Matter

Roman entered the room, swinging his bag off of his shoulder, and taking a seat on the floor. He winced slightly as his muscles burned at the action. He was used to exercise, to an extent, but with everything that had been going recently, he'd neglected his usual routine. Now that he was running daily, he was far less resistant to the constant feeling of soreness.

He closed his eyes, finding himself falling into the rhythmic lull of his breathing once again, and he could feel every inch of himself relaxing.

Ethon simply observed the boy for a moment, having arrived in his classroom as silently as ever. Translocation had that advantage over apparation.

The boy seemed to be meditating well. His breathing was even, his mind restful. Good. Ethon approved. Rising to his feet, he walked to the table at the front of the room. And then he casually pushed it over, causing it to crash loudly to the floor.

He continued to observe.

The sound jolted Roman awake, and he scrambled to his feet, accidentally kicking aside his bag, scattering a couple books across the floor. "Professor! What..." His gaze fell on the fallen table, then back to Ethon. Trying to play off his rather irrational reaction, he smiled, "Hi."

A small smile pulled at the vampire's lips as he observed the boy's response. "Wariness," Ethon said, moving closer to his student, "is one of the most effective means of offense. If you can fend off or evade an attack before it is launched, you win all the more easily. Therefore, a person must keep their mind ready and their reflexes sharp."

Without warning, Ethon struck out at the boy, the speed and force of the action greatly moderated - which only meant that should it land, it was equal to that a human blow.

Roman followed the professor with his eyes, a pronounced frown on his face as he tried to draw some sort of connection to his speech. It made sense... sort of... but what was the purpose of it? By this time, Ethon had stopped talking, and the boy waited for him to get to the point, part of him feeling very unnerved.

Roman scrambled backwards, arms flying up to shield him from the hand flying at him. He managed to get out of the way just enough so that he was only hit in the shoulder. Still, that didn't mean that it didn't hurt like hell. He stared at the professor, wide-eyed, hand glued to the bruise forming on his skin. The man would either explain himself, or try to hit him again. By now he had learned that questions didn't really matter with this guy.

Ethon regarded the boy, then gave a short nod. "Not bad. Could be better," he remarked. "We will be working on your reflexes." He pulled the boy's hand away from his shoulder and lifted his sleeve to observe the bruise blossoming there.

"Would seem you bruise far easier than I anticipated. I shall exercise greater care in future tests." The vampire stepped away. He could have healed the bruise, of course, but doing so would allow the boy to forget it even sooner. Pain was a necessary part of life, and a great motivator.

"I agreed to teach you how to defend yourself," Ethon reiterated, continuing to explain what that would entail, "both from physical attack and mental ones. While it is not my intent to cause you to fear me, I shall endeavor make you more wary of your surroundings so that you are not so easily caught off guard as you were today. Today, I needed to assess how much attention must be paid to quickening your reflexes. Already, they are good. Together, we shall make them better. Few things are faster than a vampire. Once you have learned to evade surprise attacks from myself, even moderated ones, bullies shall never be able to catch you off guard.

"As for Occlumency, that too shall be an ongoing process. You possess a keen mind, Mr. Ritter. I anticipate you shall excel in the mental arts.

"Now, do you have any questions for me? You may, of course, ask me anything at any time, but if there is anything you wish to know regarding my expectations, now would be the best time to ask," Ethon said. "Also, I should like to hear your own expectations of me, so that we are on the same page. Apprenticeship goes both ways, after all."

Roman bit his lip. That was a fact proven consistently throughout his life, and one that Felix had been more than happy to point out on several painful occasions.

The boy couldn't help but feel his heart race a little at the vampire's brief speech. This opportunity- it was fantastic, and there was no way he was about to allow himself to waste it.

Roman shook his head, "I just want to know why you're doing this for me. I mean, it's not like you're getting anything out of it." This was probably one of the few times in the Hrabrost's life that someone had gone out of his way to help him. Before this, most people just assumed that he could learn everything on his own. Even his own parents stayed as far away from him as possible when they weren't trying to manipulate him.

"My expectations?" He frowned for a moment, then looked back up at Professor Pyrrhos, "I expect you to be honest, to respect me as a human being... To be a good teacher."

"A sound query," Ethon responded. "Very fair. I suppose, it is part deeply ingrained habit. I have been an elder brother for a very long time. Looking out for others is second nature. Furthermore, I despise bullies." His expression darkened, clearly thinking on a far different class of bully.

The man leaned back against the nearest desk, arms folded over his chest and an amused smile pulling at his lips. "You expect a vampire to respect a human?" he asked. "I jest, of course. Probably not the best of jokes, given the circumstances.

"I shall never lie to you, without reason," he granted himself, "and I will teach you to the best of my abilities. I'll even respect you as a fellow being," the vampire added with an amused smirk.

"Today's is an easy session, Mr. Ritter. I want you make yourself comfortable and continue meditating. I want you place every stray thought or worry into its proper place in your mind until it is clear. I will monitor your progress."

Roman nodded and sat back down on the floor. With one last look at Ethon, just to make sure, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was much more difficult to clear his head now that his adrenaline was going. There seemed to be a million thoughts bouncing back and forth in his head. He breathed in again, and a few of them disappeared. After a minute or so, he had finally relaxed himself enough to really clear his mind. It actually was really nice not to have to think about anything for awhile.