Private Mist Maiden Mindfulness

Occasionally Hah'en needed to take days for herself. Maintaining a balanced mind was a lot easier here than in her old world, in her old position. Here she didn't need to constantly battle with the guilt and moral questions of an assassin, and old memories were a lot easier to handle in an environment where individuals that were hostile towards her were few and far between.
In other words, Hah'en felt more centered and peaceful that she had in decades. But that didn't mean stress didn't get to her.

Hold for 5 seconds, slowly breath out. Let the tension gradually slide away from your muscles...
Hah'en slowly spoke to herself in her mind, eyes closed, as she sat atop a blanket on the grass. It was a beautiful day and Oceania park had some other people laying on blankets and tarps, but Hah'en had picked an area of the grass lot that didn't have as many people. She was sitting crosslegged, arms lightly resting on her knees, and she focused on relaxing all her muscles. Last night had been a stressful one, Hah'en had almost allowed a perp to infiltrate the residence of her employer because she was still feeling the effects of the pub night from the previous evening. Both Hah'en herself and her employer had been disappointed in her. She had gotten paid though, which was the most important thing.

Hah'en took another breath, and her mind slowly calmed. Sometimes she wondered why she was doing the work she did when it only made her more stressed. In her old world being an assassin had been Hah'en's only option to live, to earn money for herself and to see the world. But here she had options. Here Hah'en could actually find something to do that made her...content. Happy. Adryan's words sprung to mind, him questioning whether or not Hah'en enjoyed her work. Back then Hah'en had thought it didn't matter, but now...
Now Hah'en wasn't so sure.

Hah'en opened her eyes and reached for the water bottle and took a long swig. She saw how a butterfly slowly fluttered towards her, and Hah'en slowly reached for the cheap SLR camera she had bought, set it up, and once the butterfly landed on a nearby blade of grass Hah'en took a quick picture. She peered at the image, and a small smile lit up her face.
Beautiful.

Instinctively Hah'en tensed and prepared herself for battle, when a voice spoke at her from behind. Hah'en stood and turned around with quick controlled movements and her eyes landed on a young woman with golden hair. Automatically Hah'en relaxed, once her mind reminded her that hostiles were very unlikely on this island and this woman didn't smell or look dangerous. Rather, she seemed quite meek.
"I would not know. Although I do not recognize you."
Hah'en answered the woman's question, she would most likely remember an individual who looked like this woman.

Hah'en tensed again when the woman spoke the name of one of the videos she had published on the platform called Youtube. Those videos had been a way for Hah'en to kill time, and to further familiarize herself with the site. Now she regularly looked up yoga and mindfulness videos as well as music from there, and occasionally posted a new video when she got an idea. The Manta Carlos exclusive video, "Yoga for Those With Wings", had been more popular than Hah'en had expected but she had quickly put that aside. Popularity wasn't important for her, rather it made her uncomfortable.
But the way this woman, Ilia Seirin, or Serena, as she introduced herself, expressed how the video had helped her made Hah'en feel content that she'd made it.

"Hah'en Mhu."
Hah'en introduced herself and nodded slightly, sitting back down on her blanket.
"I am glad to hear my video project has been useful to you. I observed that the island exclusive Youtube does not provide many videos where the watcher is able to use extremities such as wings, so I provided for others such as me who might be looking for such content."

"You are welcome. I have considered making a similar video with differing positions in the future, hopefully that will be helpful to you as well."
Hah'en's voice was more or less the opposite of Serena's joyful tone, she spoke matter-of-factly and to the point, keeping her expression and voice neutral.
"I appreciate visually pleasing aesthetics, they bring me peace of mind, which is important to me."
Hah'en explained. She wasn't surprised that it was strange to others that someone who looked and spoke like her had interest in visual arts and beauty.

"Studies? I may disappoint you, but I have not studied these topics. All the knowledge I present in my videos I have collected during my life, through trial and error and observations."
Hah'en was a bit wary of Serena sitting down as well, although she didn't show it at all. She had no right to tell Serena to leave, after all, this was a public place, and the other woman wasn't being so much of a hindrance that Hah'en would move.

This woman smiled a lot, and usually Hah'en tried to be wary of people who smile despite there not being a particular reason to. Well, usually. But Hah'en had been trying to be more openminded, more...trusting. And Serena didn't give off any air of maliciousness, she just seemed like a naturally sunny person. The concept was strange to Hah'en, but not unheard of.

"Long life can be a curse as well as a blessing."
Hah'en remarked as an answer to Serena's words, quietly considering in her mind how much information she should share.
"And if life is the best teacher then those with long lives learn a lot."

The way Serena spoke was even more formal than Hah'en's, or rather her words were near poetic. Though the way Serena described her immortality made Hah'en realize that she hadn't experienced heartbreak and having to live with said heartbreak much longer than anyone with a normal lifespan did.
"This island certainly has many people, and many of them will never be touched by death."
Hah'en commented. If there was any place in this dimension for Serena to find love it was here.

Serena was revealing a lot of personal information and it made Hah'en's skin crawl just imagining herself doing that. Hah'en could never reveal her origins to someone she had just met. How much trust did it take to do that? Hah'en couldn't even imagine, and rather she didn't want to know. She knew she needed to try and trust more but she never wanted to trust this much.
"They do say you never grow old enough to fill the shoes of those who raised you."
Hah'en said, translating a saying from her own world. She wasn't sure if it existed in this one too.