"I believe it means 'master' or 'teacher' in Chinese," Kat answers, smiling sheepishly. "Granted, I only know the word from watching Avatar: the Last Airbender."
Kat thinks on her choice of word for a moment, the nods decisively. "'Nightingale'," she replies. "That's my word." She sings quietly, under her breath, "A nightingale in a golden cage, that's me, locked inside reality's maze," before quieting and closing her eyes.
It's hard to get her mind clear of any extraneous thoughts; too many ideas flitting around, too many random musings, too many worries and tiny, niggling little fears. Eventually she turns to mentally reciting the entire song which inspired her word choice. That manages to get her brain focused enough that she can begin turning her attention to the mantra. Nightingale. Nightingale. Nightingale. Nightingale...
Yugi, meanwhile, has assumed a cross-legged position and is sitting back-to-back with Yami on the love seat. He's breathing in and out at very focused, specifcally-timed intervals; he, too, learned breathing exercises, though he usually finds himself using them before choir practice. Now, however, he's trying to follow April's lesson for himself. Yami's attempting to do the same as well. They're not so much focusing on a word as they are simply focusing on the comfort of the other's presence; no word or phrase could possibly come close to describing how safe they know they are when they're near each other.
Bakura simply sits on his barstool, hands resting calmly on his lap, eyes closed. While he's not regulating his breathing like Yugi, he appears to be deep in thought, or intensely focused. Either one. He's not mentally repeating a mantra either; he's building up various mental images, similarly to how he would prepare to cast a spell. And they are detailed mental images, including a work-in-progress design for wards to protect Kat's flat, among other things.
Kat's choice of mantra is inspired by the song "Escapist" by Nightwish. >.>
Kat thinks on her choice of word for a moment, the nods decisively. "'Nightingale'," she replies. "That's my word." She sings quietly, under her breath, "A nightingale in a golden cage, that's me, locked inside reality's maze," before quieting and closing her eyes.
It's hard to get her mind clear of any extraneous thoughts; too many ideas flitting around, too many random musings, too many worries and tiny, niggling little fears. Eventually she turns to mentally reciting the entire song which inspired her word choice. That manages to get her brain focused enough that she can begin turning her attention to the mantra. Nightingale. Nightingale. Nightingale. Nightingale...
Yugi, meanwhile, has assumed a cross-legged position and is sitting back-to-back with Yami on the love seat. He's breathing in and out at very focused, specifcally-timed intervals; he, too, learned breathing exercises, though he usually finds himself using them before choir practice. Now, however, he's trying to follow April's lesson for himself. Yami's attempting to do the same as well. They're not so much focusing on a word as they are simply focusing on the comfort of the other's presence; no word or phrase could possibly come close to describing how safe they know they are when they're near each other.
Bakura simply sits on his barstool, hands resting calmly on his lap, eyes closed. While he's not regulating his breathing like Yugi, he appears to be deep in thought, or intensely focused. Either one. He's not mentally repeating a mantra either; he's building up various mental images, similarly to how he would prepare to cast a spell. And they are detailed mental images, including a work-in-progress design for wards to protect Kat's flat, among other things.