“I can't believe I let him talk me into this . . .”
The otter muttered under his breath. In spite of his blue sweater, his body felt chilled in the tropical sun. Goosebumps, even putting his fur on edge.
The year had been a rough one, and everyone knew it. With the new news focus, the island of Cognizant had more work than ever. Even as Darkwitt sent more of his professionals like that mad fox and that cuddly bunny, it didn't really help a bigger problem.
Stress.
Oh sure, they took on extra work, but there's always more work to be done. Ace had expected it when he first signed on to help with the digital maintenance of the island, but that work was taxing mentally, and physical pain followed soon after. Everyone knew it, even the dragon running the place, Kai Tyde, chose the Ayurveda to try and calm things down. Unfortunately, when you're running around like a headless chicken trying to stop server crashing bugs, you don't get the rest to enjoy the sandy beaches.
That's when Jasper stepped up.
He wasn't a bad coder, very far from it. While Ace could understand the function of Cognizant through his artificery magic, the exact words and terminology just wasn't how he operated. He saw the code as gaps in speech and could just put in a word or number by hand. Jasper had far more coding experience and was far better at understanding problems from the lines of text.
These days, it honestly felt like the only two things keeping the otter as head Coder was Jasper not wanting to be directly under his brother Kai, and that Ace himself had barely worked on Cognizant longer than Kai had. It wasn't even a problem since Jasper was practically the secondary coder under Ace, and the two did the exact same things for their work.
But that feeling of failing to meet his own expectations pushed him a bit too far . . .
° ° ° ° °
“Why don't you take a break on the island for a bit?”
“I can't, there's so many things to work out, and refine, and then there's that weird error and . . .” Ace rambled on in the dark room, only the wall of screens illuminated his excessive hand gestures and wide frustrated eyes.
“You're doing it again.” Jasper crossed his arms, his head tilting as if waiting for a response.
Instead he heard a groan and watched the brown furred Artificer fall back into the swivel chair.
“You know we've both been working on these things for weeks, and when do you take your vacation days again?”
“ . . . I don't want to step away, feels like I'm failing . . .”
“Taking a day off isn't failing, it's giving yourself a break, and you look like you need one.”
“But what about the server and . . .”
“The things you got an entire team to help you with? Besides, I can run cognizant for one day of the month, especially when you deal with this stuff for the rest of it.”
“ . . . Are you sure there's won't be a power outage while I'm out?”
“Go rest!” He pointed his arm at the door to the room, trying to hold back a laugh, like there weren't enough back up generators to power a city on their own here.
“Alright . . . I'll try to rest . . .”
° ° ° ° °
The memory haunted him like a ghost from well beyond the grave . . . for the barely 2 hours it took to walk the piers.
“I don't like gambling so that snake’s out, I don't drink so the Inkwell doesn't sound great, I missed the Great Zen so the next 2 hours would just be spent waiting for them to get back . . .”
He turned his head to read the sign of the building before him, “Sunrise Sunsets, yoga classes”, written in cut out wood with stage lights welded to the underside of the letters to make them visible at night.
“As good a place as any, I guess.”
Pushing through the reflective glass door, a hollow rattling filled the space. Rather than a loud bell, the door had a wind chime hanging over the passage. Still notifying when people enter, but it felt more calming. Wooden clicks and tinks of bobbles bouncing off one another, more natural than the beeps and dings that were usually used.
The inside had a more Asian themed style. Wooden walls with a pale coloration and a uniform flowery pattern along the fringes. Emulating a paper wall feel, one the American otter lacked the cultural knowledge to point out where in Asia it was from. The floor was far simpler, being hardened wood with a metal outline separating the entrance from the rest of the room, complete with a mat and a few shoe racks. While he couldn't spot a sign, he could sense the expectation and started removing his sandles. Even the roof seemed carefully crafted, not popcorned or smoothed out, rather it was painted in noticable curves. As if someone with a wide paint brush made similar ish sized spirals, going back and forth across the whole ceiling. It was as if small whirlpools overlapped left to right, and right to left. Not innately hypnotic, but captivating in how rare and nice it looked.
From around one of the walls, stepped forth an imposing figure. While Ace might have been taller than most, his thin build made him a lengthy stick, so looking upwards to meat the eyes of someone bigger than them in muscle strength felt diminishing. It wasn't just their height and strength either, as the woman paced her steps with wide and well defined hips and thighs, shown carefully by her orange yoga pants before it seemed to be hidden under a pair of leg warmers. The brown and black fur of the dober-woman weren't readily hidden, instead shown off by her well designed and branded top. Ace couldn't determine if it was just a cropped tank top or a sports bra, but he did note the tightness it had, giving more than ample support.
Her muzzle angled upwards in a fierce position, critical and judgemental. Those dagger like ears remained pointed near perfectly, focused forward. A deep redish orange hair color lined her back in a perfectly smooth cut, stopping just below the top of her calves. A white headband kept her hair back while they studied the far less impressive otter. Those eyes piercing into and through his own, light and grayed, angled and sharp.
“You're late, my last group of the day has already left.” Those words stung, tipped with poisonous shame, festering guilt.
“I'm sorry Cyndi Sunrise, I wasn't expecting myself to be here today.” Unable to bare their fury, Ace averted his gaze downwards, paying more visual attention to the floorboards.
Several aspects of his words struck her as off, but she resolved to deal with the most pressing question. “If you weren't expecting it, why are you here?”
“A coworker of mine, he mentioned I looked awful, and that I should try and take a break, find a way to relax . . .”
“I could sense it the moment you entered my space, otter.” He couldn't see it with the weight pulling his eyes down, but her eyes no longer stung like daggers. Harshness lightening beyond Ace’s observation. “Your body, mind, and soul are polluted and unkept. I can help, if you are willing to improve yourself as well.”
Ace looked back up towards her eyes, barely missing the softness they had to see only that intense directness. “Anything to put my mind at ease.”
° ° ° ° °
The two found themselves in a carpeted training room, Ace seeming no more confident while the doberman circled him, somewhere between a pack hound and a hungry shark.
“To cleanse you of your toxicity, I need to understand just how soiled your being truly is. Do you know how to do a standing tree pose?”
His voice shakey, struggling to choose from the mess of words in his mind. “N- no. I've heard of it, but . . .” The words feel silent, expecting harshness.
Only to be put under that sharp focused stair.
Cyndi stopped right in front of him, meeting them face to face, maintaining perfect eye contact that scared Ace’s away. “I want you to copy my pose as closely as possible.”
Her left foot remained rooted to the ground, while her right leg turned at her hip, their knee bending into a perfect parallel line between their lower and upper leg. Her arms raising up and hands snapping together over her head, like the needles of a proper sturdy winter wood. Never once had her piercing blue eyes left the otter’s form.
As he moved, Cyndi studied his movements, watching how he shifted and presented himself. How they almost winced while trying to turn his right leg to face outwards. His left leg twisting and shaking under the strain, though holding roughly. He needed to move his head back to see his hands, making sure they connected before trying to look back at Cyndi. Even without wind, he was swaying wildly in the breeze. Failing to hide it, his pain of getting to and holding this stance was more worrying than his posture. Even his eyes became unfocused while trying to keep some sorry semblance of balance. If Cyndi was a sturdy winter tree, Ace wasn't even a young palm tree trying to face down a tornado. A monstrous case with a single gleaming silver lining.
He was trying.
“You may rest.” His leg sprung out to stabilize himself while his arms rested on his thighs. Bent over and wheezing, rather unfortunately not used to even simple stretching. Even while Cyndi had a far more controlled stance relaxe. As Ace recovered from his extension, Cyndi made her way around behind him, pulling his shoulders to fix his posture.
“You seem rather unwell otter, why is that?” Cyndi asked as she moved her forearm behind his neck, softly patting at the top of his head with her free hand.
“How am I supposed to kn- ouch!” He could feel her pulling on the back of his hair, breaking his unsure demeanor.
“You know why, your body does. Your mind might be too polluted to answer though. Speak without your head.”
He could feel Cyndi pull at his hair, tugging him backwards while holding the back of his head still. That small burst of pain became a quieter throb, fading through his head, and his mind. “I guess, my whole body hurts. My upper feels frustrated, the back of my hips feels warped, and my stomach feels tied in knots.”
Although he couldn't see it, Ace felt Cyndi nod to every answer they got. She didn't directly say anything, only pulled at his hair. Letting the weight of it build before releasing it from her grip, the hair now resting on his lower back. “Am I . . . doing enough?”
“That's the toxins coming out of you. Moving away from the areas they've strained for so long. I'm helping you move them away and out of your system.” She sounded more reassuring than before, more caring in her attention. It felt cold in a comforting type of way.
“I want to help you more, but I need you to take another pose for me. Feet together . . .” The sound of rustling carpet. “back straight . . .” Any slack in Ace’s posture was snapped away. “and arms just above your sides.” His arms lifted just a small bit, forming a sort of umbrella pose.
“You're doing great.” Emotion dulled in her cadence, in any other position it could have been apathetic, possibly mocking, but that tight strictness felt nice, focused, and honest.
Her arms moved forward, elbows bending over Ace’s, and her forearms pulled back towards her, letting her hands rest on his back, pressing in with a professional calmness, even if her hands were hidden under Ace’s longer hair.
“I want you to try and push your arms forward, like that toxicness on you is breaking away, that you can push forward past it, but only if you truly want it.”
Lowering his eyelids, he took a deep breath in, and out, and started pushing his arms forward. Cyndi's hands pressed right into that spot of stressful pain, while Ace helped put forward the pressure into it. Working out that tension that slipped forward, like a coiled spring releasing in slow motion. The more he pushed, the more that feeling pressed out in his chest. It became harder to breathe, more strenuous to push, but it felt so nice to do. Every second his focus wasn't on his body, was another bit of stress worked away from not just his body, but mind as well.
Their mind felt quieter, and more at peace.
Cyndi's hands and arms untangled and pulled themselves back. In place of all that toxicity, were muscles, developed from the emotional weight they carried. Unable to be left to diminish, they had to find a new weight to properly carry.
Coming around to face Ace again, Cyndi made sure to feel the fur exposed by Ace’s crop top sweater. The slim fluffy core just couldn't be hidden, not when the sweater hugged their chest so snuggly, so comfortably. After all, it fit the nice round breasts into its revealing curve, even stretching just a bit. It looked so nice, but Ace couldn't care about their clothes at the moment. Their eyes were fixed forward, handling the new weightlessness as the pains of stress faded, as they purified. A small twinkle shown in their eye, fading out of perception, though the doberman could see it in their eyes.
They love this feeling.
“Decent work otter, now stretch your arms for me.” Ace crossed their arms over their head, leaning them back in a rather relaxed and routine way. One that pushed their new breasts out just a bit further, stretching their sweater out just a bit more as well. It left them lost in that feeling, lost in the shape Cyndi wanted for them.
“Now transition into a low lunge.” Still her voice felt cold, but no less professional either. Directly commanding and expertly spoken. Ace struggeled to remember what the low lunge was, but they didn't need to, their body answered the call, free of the mind’s shackles. The left leg went backwards, sliding over the carpet as it went back. The other bent, letting their body be closer to the ground. Without any prior training, Ace kept their form mostly stable and did it far better than before. It wasn't enough however, and there was more cleanse.
Cyndi moved beside their trainee and mirrored them in a low lunge of her own. Keeping her poster astonishingly still, she still turned to face the otter and moved her hands to further help. Pushing their back to be straighter and more vertical, shifting their knee to be more stable in position, and pulling their other thigh to stretch just a bit further out. The next thing to fix was their pelvis and it's current turn, twisting it back towards the right. The soft groans of a novice could be heard while Cyndi corrected those flaws, her hand smoothing out those inconsistencies with an experienced ire. Flattening and correcting, those soft nonverbal complaints fell to ragged, than controlled breathing. Their groin and hips now perfectly leveled and safely maintained.
“ . . . and back up.” Cyndi took hardly any effort to straighten her bent knee, returning her to a standing position. Ace had a bit more difficulty. Pushing of the ground slower, a bit more unfocused to the world around them, far more attentive to their body and Cyndi's. It felt looser, more flexible and malleable. More of what Cyndi wanted from them, and that felt . . .
Calming.
“Last pose for today otter, downward dog.” That hardened, direct and dry tone became a comforting reassurance. A positive affirmation in itself. That voice enforcing them, pushing them to continue the exercises.
Their hands reaching for the ground, lowering themselves towards it for support. Legs stabilizing while pressing the hips upwards. Straining their body in ways Ace couldn't do, but this otter could. Letting that pain and tension build, focusing that corrosive poison. Letting it be pushed away while Cyndi encircled them.
A hand slid under their side, feeling the otter's core before pressing it into alignment, pressing that tension out. Pushing it away as muscles developed, weight further moved, and small gasps of pleasure fell silent. An emptiness forming in their mind, a vacuum forcing itself to be filled. Draining away those thoughts and memories that impeded that bodily perfection.
° ° ° ° °
"breathe deep, allow the self to subsume. The ego is insignificant compared to the transcendent glory of inner peace."
she had forgotten how long she was in a pose.
Her voice slithered into ace's ears. ensuring there was no space between words. She couldn't concentrate. couldn't focus beyond anything but that soothing lap of Cyndi's speech. She knew she was going to enjoy a personal class from Cyndi Sunrise, but she had no idea how deeply it was going to affect her.
She had become dedicated to the journey of balance. She stared in the mirror. overwhelmed by the feeling. adoring the sensation as it crept up her body and held her steadfast. trapped. the tiny voice slithering into her head as she stared in the mirror. watching more and more of her eye color fading into the glowing amber of her mistress' instruction.
"M....Mistress I..."
"shhhhh. cease thought. we have no business in letting the thinking world disrupt our wondrous progress. you are right there. on the precipice. stretch a little further. move a little closer. let it go. take it. allow yourself the last little inch of self to leave from your breath. one last exhale. andthewordswillcomeandtakeyouutterlyandoverwhelmthesensenesand-"
she whispered faster and faster. too much to focus on. too much to understand. her eyes glazed. simply shutting off her thoughts in favor of letting the words fill her up. like liquid ambrosia drowning herself in this feeling. it was time to let go.
The otter is silent, the otter is empty, the otter is happy.
The otter is relaxed . . .
Thanks to Cyndi.
° ° ° ° °
“Please stand.” Cyndi commanded, as gently feeling as a command could be.
The otter returned to her feet with a swift rise. The blood rush from her head mostly ignored, as the rush of blood away from their mind felt like another amazing reward to such a well needed meditation day.
“Hmmm . . .” Cyndi hummed to herself, hand under muzzled chin, hand curved and thumb underneath. Her other hand rested on her side facing outwards while she pushed her hip to the side.
“Most of my students don't usually take to my classes so . . . well?” She had to question it herself, as the slim otter guy who first entered was seemingly erased. In their place, was almost a copy of herself. The dark brown hair that lined his head became a long haired fade to a deep blue, long and straightened like her own orangish red. His sweater, once baggy and overly covering, became a perfectly supportive long sleeve crop top, complete with an orange sun on her left breast. Her sweatpants were similar, now tight around her thighs and pelvis, even to the point of a noticeable gash between her legs, and a cameltoe Cyndi questioned would be acceptable outside.
The most notable thing about her however, was the mostly orange eyes. Now blank and wistfully looking back at her own, the eyes of a dedicated thrall.
“If it helps you avoid clouding your mind, I suppose this is a sign I've done well . . .”
“I feel so much better now . . . !” The girl dragged her words out, the empty look in her eyes barely plucking as she remembered to show some enthusiasm after a moment. A soft happy smile filling not just her own face, but mind as well.
And then a pause.
Cyndi looked down at the enthralled otter, and the otter looked back to the professional Cyndi, than back again. While the otter kept a straight and focused gaze, Cyndi's started to waver. Not in concern or fear, but confusion as the student kept their mind entirely empty. Usually they'd walk away at this point . . .
“Do you need something else?” The dober-woman never thought someone could be too clean of toxins, till seeing what can become of a workaholic otter.
“ . . . ummm, oh there's one thing!” They pepped up, reaching just under her breasts for the tight sweater pocket, pulling out her phone and tapping at it. “Would you mind if I take a selfie with you?”
Annoyance rung through a hushed sigh. “Social media is no place to go after a yoga session to post images.”
“Post images? . . . I just want a nice picture to remember this class by . . .” She didn't even seem hurt by the suggestion, rather she seemed further confused.
“That's . . . a fair reason to ask.” The otter looked to her blankly again, blankly waiting for permission. “If you care for a keepsake of today, you may take a picture.”
A breathy gasp came moments before an excited, and controlled “Thank you!” rolled off the otter’s lips. Before turning around and lining up the shot. Taking extra care to turn off the flash before capturing them both in frame . . . even if Cyndi was interested in the photo itself.
“Thank you again Ms. Cyndi. I will make sure I catch your next class on time!” She promised before rushing towards the door to head out.
The instructor tried paying her no mind, till she saw something by the door. “Wait you-”
She was cut off by the wind chimes of a bouncy otter girl walking through the front door into the open Cognizant air. Taking a deep breath, and enjoying the sight of the Great Zen pulling into dock. A nice beautiful evening to walk through, now balanced and mindfully posed for the evening.
While Cyndi was left looking at the abandoned sandals waiting by the door. Whispering under her breath in an empty room, she brought herself back to some peace. “Maybe there is a such thing as transcending too far . . .”
-----
I owe a lot to so many people this hypnovember. helping manage the server. helping Roleplay as the respective masterminds. even providing artwork. I owe so much to this community this year.
Impossible Ace actually made this story and the artwork for this post. and I love the energy behind it.
art and story by \r\n\t\t\t\t\t
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