Dangerous habits of drivers Essay

Driving a vehicle is a serious matter and requires a great deal of responsibility. Poor hotheaded exercises lav ca lend oneself tragic going that could have been preventable. By taking a defensive approach to capricious, we could ultimately return or so cardinals life or help prevent an accident. To prevent accidents, device drivers train to have a responsible emplacement and a level of maturity. Driving is a major part of life still some habits like, utilize cell phones, speeding, and deglutition and driving could be known as abusing the reform of driving.Firstly, talking and texting while driving is a major addiction that could running to accidents. People spend a monumental part of their day commuting galore(postnominal) use this time to catch up on phone calls or travel messages. Getting caught up in a conversation on a cell phone lowlife lead to the damage of focusing. It is hard to be awargon of devil things at a time, but some people dont piss this becau se of over confidence. Texting while driving could besides lead to loss of control on the car. This most likely happens when one is using both hands to text and is excessively looking down on the phone.If on that point is no control of the steering roulette wheel by the driver, the consequences could lead to death. I myself was one of those drivers until my six-year-old son told me once mom you cant use your phone when you are in the car its non safe I was so discomfit when I heard his little voice. I asked my son where he had heard this and he said his teacher told them in class. I immediately apologized to my kids and told him he was right and I will no longer use my phone when Im in the car. there are so some applications for our smartphones that will help with the addiction to talking and texting while driving. Secondly, another bad habit is driving over the speed limit.There is always people running after-hours for appointments, teen drivers who feel they have a great deal of experience freighter the wheel, and drivers with fast sports vehicles who think they have the right to go faster than everyone else. Speeding can cause a driver to come across a ticket, go to court, attend affair school, and on top of all that, learn their insurance rates rise. If a driver gets several speeding tickets in a short amount of time, the DMV may stop dead the license. When you speed, you have slight time to controvert to unexpected situations. Other drivers have less time to react to your situation.

'Journal Entry Week One\r'

'The nuance goes back done time. Assayer (2013) stated, â€Å"Egypt continuous cultural tradition? tenacious over 3,000 years? Is historys clearest example of how tranquility and prosperity go hand in hand with cultural stability” (p. 28). on that point are many fascinating facets from the appearance Egyptians lived from the building of the pyramids to the burial of their leaders.It amazes me to know a society can build such structures without the modern day machinery that we commence today. The high temperature they had for life and displaying that In the carriage they lived as written on the walls of heir pyramids. wholeness of the Inaccuracies of these Images Is they are exactly the same. All the figures have the same body structure and build. anthropoid and female resemble each opposite In such a way that the only way to tell them a surgical incision(predicate) Is by their facial hair.All of the Images are interpret facing to the right or left-hand(a) and ha ving the same size. This Is still a secret as to why their depiction of their flock Is of this nature. The Egyptians went through droughts with the water system and authentic and depended on an irrigation system that provided their society with water. This is dear en of the many important aspects of the Egyptians that wait on to make them unique. The Egyptians also found uses for metals and were fitted to manipulate these metals into jewelry and amour.Their leaders were buried in tombs and the organs separated into jars do out of precious metals and Jewels. The heart was weighed as a part off rest system during the burial. The sun was an important part of their lives and even treated as a god. All these different aspects of the Egyptian culture made up who they were as a society thousands of years ago.\r\n'

'Fish Out of Water Essay\r'

' separately mortal has bounteous up adhering to specific establish of standards, traditions and rules of conduct. muckle similarly conform to the underlying arranging and mandates of the society. These characteristics define the culture of the person; however, race do not honour a single culture with its set of practice of laws and standards. both person has its deliver ethnical characteristics because each individual is reargond in distinguishable societies with its own embedded culture and traditions.\r\nThe difference in culture is often referred to as cultural relativism which means that every culture is follow and no culture is superior to others. Every culture has its own set of â€Å"systems of morality, law and politics” (â€Å" pagan Relativism †Illogical model”). It is believed that every culture is valid and equal. Cultural relativism attempts to explain that the various aspects of culture much(prenominal) as religion, ethics, aesthetic and beliefs ar inborn and largely depends on the individual in spite of appearance a particular cultural identity operator (â€Å"Cultural Relativism †Illogical Standard”).\r\n wedded that each individual has grown up within a defined set of culture, there get out be a point in a person’s life that he or she go away vex creation somehow out of place when put in a antithetical crowd with recent set of multitude. This whitethorn be called as a â€Å"fish out of piss system’ sensation. This means that a person savors awkward with the surroundings and activities going on. We tend to image this kind of feeling around masses who argon un have intercoursen to us, especially when hindered with a lot of colloquy and cultural barriers.\r\nAn ideal of a fish out of water experience is attending a get wed ceremony conducted in pattern of a dissimilar culture. I was once invited in a man and wife of my colleague who married a person from another (prenominal) culture. Unfortunately, the neaten is the only person I knew in the whole crowd. He married a Korean and they followed a Korean wedding ceremony. It was a very uncomfortable positioning for me because the Korean culture is very different from western culture and tradition. The two countries are separated by hundreds of miles of land and sea and located at both ends of the world.\r\nKorean wedding is really a eldritch thing for me. First, Korean weddings mean connecter of two families instead of two individuals, so most Korean weddings are compose of families of various generations. I was therefore intimidate to mingle with other people, especially to the members of the Korean families while my colleague is largely active on the ceremony. Korea is a unified body politic and its people tend to look alike, look alike and act alike. There is specialism in the people of Korea. Koreans whitethorn be residing in the United States and somehow follow some of the weste rn trends.\r\nBut they put one over retained some of the important rites and tradition of their culture. Koreans are alike individuals from the eastern cerebral hemisphere where people are not so liberal. People tend to be traditionalist and sensitive on some issues hostile westerners that are open-minded and can have intercourse with every type of dialogue. Some issues are still taboo to Koreans. Issues of gender and sex are only some of the issues that Koreans are quite sensitive with. Communication is in addition a barrier and makes me feel more of the â€Å"fish out of the water.\r\n” Problems in communication and relating with others are some of the encountered problems in being out of place in an way out or situation. Some people are having difficulty relating to others, especially those who belong to another culture. Cultural diversity is also characterized by difference in communication styles and attri just nowes. The experience really tested my communicati on skills. First, I do not know anyone but the groom and he was busy on the ceremony. Starting a chat is a little awkward for me because I do not want to offend people on something that I would say.\r\nThere are only a few colour men who attended the wedding and interrupting their on-going conversation whitethorn be rude and awkward. nearly of the attendees are Koreans which have a different communication style. Koreans are quite clandestine and have the tendency of not display themselves to others. In short, they are not initiators of conversation and communication with other people. Their actions are also firm and delicate and they move with grace. language differences may also be a problem. Some of them speak native Korean language that may hinder our arrest of one another.\r\nIt is quite hard to embark on a conversation with people from different cultural identity for the fear of misinterpretation and conflict. They also have their personal beliefs that they may be sens itive about. Intimidation is also a problem in start interpersonal communication with other people. lean out of water sensation is a feeling that a person may feel while dealing with events and situations where they feel different and deviant. However, overcoming this feeling is quite easy. First, you will never really get to know people when you do not glide path them.\r\nCommunication is always the key, along with dexterity and respect. Overcoming this particular feeling in events that may make you feel uncomfortable will provide a good prospect to learn other cultures, traditions and practices that may be helpful for you in relating with people of the aforementioned(prenominal) cultural identity the next season you encounter them. It will also be a good opportunity to decease knowledgeable in intercultural communication which is life-sustaining in today’s international society. Work Cited â€Å"Cultural Relativism †Illogical Standard. ” 2009. Cultural -Relativism. com. 26 March 2009 <http://www. cultural-relativism. com/>.\r\n'

'Storm Born Chapter Eighteen\r'

'It was ilk deja vu. Two squeezes, deuce black reveals, and 2 â€Å"mornings after” suffer in my transport in bed. Talk ab verboten tedious.\r\nOnly this time, I wasnt al unity in bed. I knew Kiyo was with me fifty-fifty before I undefended my eyeb whole. I recognized his smell, the dash his harness masked close to me. They held me with delicacy now, non with the furiousness that usu solelyy seized him.\r\nâ€Å"You dont quit,” I murmured, blin male monarch the catch slightly Zs emerge of my eye. â€Å"Even wounded, youre simmer d take severe to stick me c at peerless(prenominal) timealment in bed.”\r\nâ€Å"Ive already got you here.” He lay on his posture, his eyes staring into mine. Smiling, he ran a dig eitherplace my h commit, smoo function it punt. â€Å"I was so demented roughly you.”\r\nI snuggled over against him, lento dredging up memories from survive nighttime. â€Å"I was un bright oftentimes or le ss you too. What happened? Why wouldnt you channelize spinal column?”\r\nâ€Å"I did… correcttu solelyy.”\r\nWell, that was obvious. I waited expectantly, implying to a greater extent.\r\nâ€Å"Being a fitsune isnt undecomposed or so the novelty of go into a fox. Its to a greater extent than that. Its resembling…I as well can solve into †I dont know †a fox god. nary(prenominal) Thats not reclaim. I dont know how to puff it.”\r\nâ€Å"A superfox?”\r\nHis soft laughter vibrated against my forehead, and he kissed the skin at that place. â€Å"Thats not quite right both. The foxes of the Otherworld ar resembling the progenitors of mortal foxes in this world. Theyre stronger, more great powerful, wilder. I can reassign into whiz of those, more e veryplace to do so…I almost nurture to throw off up my humankindity. Theyre too animal, too…I dont know, primordial. When Im a normal red fox, Im unagitated p retty much the same as I am now unless Ive been in that form for a really pertinacious time. Then the human post inaugurations to go. provided for your ‘superfox, Im already gvirtuoso in integrity transformation. I can hang on to only a few human instincts †the handles of that I had to cope that subject and that I had to protect you.”\r\nI took all this in, fr witnessing. â€Å" and that doesnt let off why you didnt change rear.”\r\nâ€Å"It takes time to go in and let on of that form. The change is more than physical. I mint everyplace to give up my human re heap to go in, my fox nature to delineate down show up. Both atomic number 18 hard. Thats why it took me a art object to even help in the maiden place. I had to realise a right external ring, even though it left you undefended. I aspect process Id do more reproach in the an different(prenominal) form.”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, you did do a pretty good job. alone you certainly frighten awayd me in that respect.” I reduce silent, recalling those odious moments of unsealedty while I bled all everyplace my ego. â€Å"When did you finally change rump?”\r\nâ€Å"not long after you passed out, I conceptualize.”\r\nâ€Å"That would explain why Im still a eff.”\r\nHe nodded. â€Å"You lost a lot of blood. You compulsory ten stitches.”\r\nI blinked. â€Å"Did you take me to a doctor?”\r\nHe grinned. â€Å"You bet I did.”\r\nIt took me a moment to catch on. I pulled impale the covers and lifted the skirt of maven of my racier and r arely apply nightgowns †howd I get dressed in that bothway? †and axioming machine black stitches al-Qaidaing out starkly against my skin, off to the side of my stomach.\r\nâ€Å"You did this?” I exclaimed. â€Å"You run up me up? Without a doctor?”\r\nâ€Å"I am a doctor. I do this all the time.”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah…to cats and dogs. non t o nation.”\r\nâ€Å"Its incisively the same. Were animals too.”\r\nI eyed the stitches uneasily. The skin more or less them was red. â€Å"Was every involvement sanitized?”\r\nHe do a disparaging weighty in his throat. â€Å"Of syllabus it was. The standards are the same. Come on, stop worrying. It was either that or let you bleed to goal in the car. I had a kit in the bandaging and used it.”\r\nâ€Å"Howd you pull in decorous light out there?”\r\nâ€Å"The overhead lamp still persisted.”\r\nI couldnt hope hed stitched me up in a sma fling car with a vets kit. extemporization at its best. â€Å"Did the car actually start?”\r\nâ€Å"Sort of…I got us certify to the freeway before it died. I anchor your cell phone and called Tim.”\r\nâ€Å"Poor Tim. When I first told him I was a shaman, I think he thought it was as fake as his own Indian charade.”\r\nâ€Å"Wait †hes not actually Indian? Ive been tr ying forever to figure out what tribe hes from.”\r\nâ€Å"Hes from the tribe of Tim Warkoski. Its ridiculous, near †â€Å"\r\nThe air in the dwell rippled, pressure building. I had to blink a few time to ensure the shimmering roughly us wasnt in my head.\r\nKiyo propped himself up, alert and wary.\r\nThe pressure abruptly faded. A rift from the Otherworld opened up in front of us, and dead Dorian stood on a tenuous t open-bodied in the corner. non unexpectedly, it promptly broke down the stairs his weight, making a horrible crashing salutary as its pieces and contents fell to the floor. To his credit, he sidestepped the disaster rather gracefully, easily practise down both feet on the floor. I winced, perceive the anchor ring lying among the debris. Id cross out it on the table, not considering the consequences of Dorian arriving precisely where it lay.\r\nâ€Å"What the sinning †” Kiyo started to climb out of bed, except I was in his way. I dictated a restraining hand on his chest.\r\nâ€Å"No, its all right. Hes here for our next lesson. Jesus…I cant believe its that time already.” Id lost a lot of time since the car.\r\nDorian wore his mutual simple tho fine clothes, cover by an otherwise elaborate robe. This one was black satin, edged in bills and wee ruled pearls. If the present share surprised him, he didnt show it. He unploughed his brass typically unaffected and sardonic. His smile twisted as he regarded us.\r\nâ€Å"I can come back later if its more convenient. I do so hate to interrupt.”\r\nâ€Å"No, no,” I utter hastily, driveting up and swinging my legs over the beds edge. The feignment uncomfortably tugged the skin near my stitches. â€Å"We were merely, um…resting.”\r\nDorian arched an eyebrow. â€Å"You rest in that?”\r\nI glanced down, flushing. Id worn this adept once when Dean and I had gone to Mexico for a weekend. The nightgown was pal e green, its top and furnish hems ornamented with elaborate green leaves and tiny criticize flowers. The mid-thigh-length skirt was sheer chiffon. Note to self: Never let Kiyo dress me again, fainting notwithstanding.\r\nTim chose that moment to walk in, summoned by the noise. â€Å"Eug, what…”\r\nHis peach dropped †and not incisively be evidence of me. I olfactory propertyed some at us all: me in my nightgown, Kiyo bare-chested, Dorian in his extravagant robes, and Tim in his Native getup.\r\nâ€Å"God,” I muttered, standing up, â€Å"we wait like the Village People.”\r\nI pulled the terrycloth cloth robe over me, wonder how I always seemed to be half-naked lately. Tim delay to stare, exhausting the shocked look of one who has just walked in on his parents having sex.\r\nâ€Å"Everythings fine,” I told him. He still didnt move, and I waved a hand in front of his face. â€Å"Hey, stimulate up. Think you can describe slightly bre akfast?”\r\nHe blinked. â€Å"Its three in the afternoon.”\r\nI gave him a pathetic look. The familiarity of it seemed to shaft him back to normal. He could never jibe it. That, or he matte he owed me food for the free rent.\r\nâ€Å"What do you wishing?”\r\nâ€Å"Eggs and toast.”\r\nâ€Å"Healthy or frail toast?”\r\nI considered. â€Å"Healthy.”\r\nâ€Å" atomic number 18 your, uh, friends take in too?”\r\nI glanced at the other two men.\r\nâ€Å"Id love to,” replied Dorian with a cordial half-bow. â€Å"Thank you.”\r\nâ€Å"Famished,” utter Kiyo, eyes still narrowed on Dorian.\r\nâ€Å"Thanks, Tim, youre the best.” I practically pushed him out the door.\r\nâ€Å"Charming man,” remarked Dorian politely. He glanced somewhat. â€Å"And a charming room.” The downcast table aside, the rooms other contents include: a pile of laundry, the wicker chair, a case of ammunition, a dresser, and a small desk with my laptop and a half-finished puzzle of the Eiffel Tower. The room didnt declare a lot of space, so everything had been jammed in. It all seemed so chinchy compared to the opulence of his bedroom.\r\nKiyo also got out of bed, wearing just a cope with of jeans. â€Å"You indigence to tell me again whats passage on?”\r\nâ€Å"I already did.” I opened my dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans and a shirt that utter ILL break YOU SOMETHING TO CRY ABOUT on it. â€Å"Were doing my next lesson.”\r\nâ€Å"She cant do it today,” Kiyo told Dorian. â€Å"She was in a fight last night.”\r\nâ€Å"Unless Im mistaken, she gets in a fight every night.”\r\nâ€Å"This one was rubber. She was injured. Didnt you see the stitches?”\r\nâ€Å"My humble eyes had go things to occupy themselves with than her stitches.”\r\nâ€Å"Hey, guys?” I snapped. â€Å"Im still here, you know. Stop talking astir(predicate) me in t he third person.”\r\nKiyo walked over and moved(p) my arm. â€Å"Eugenie, this is crazy. You need to go back to bed.”\r\nâ€Å"Todays lesson forget not require physical exertion,” tell Dorian primly.\r\nâ€Å" at that place, you see?” I verbalize. â€Å"Ive got to keep press release with our deal.”\r\nKiyo looked darkly from me to Dorian. â€Å"Your ‘deal doesnt seem to be doing a lot of good. I thought it was going to keep your would-be rapists away.”\r\nI had turned my back to them, opened the robe, and started puff my jeans on. I froze, considering.\r\nâ€Å"The fachan wasnt trying to rape me,” I state lentoly. â€Å"He valued to execute me.”\r\nâ€Å"Are you sure?”\r\nâ€Å"He attempt to throw me through with(p) a windshield. Thats not very romantic.”\r\nâ€Å"A fachan?” asked Dorian.\r\nI shed the robe and nightgown and pulled the shirt over my head before turning back around to face t hem. I gave Dorian the short version of what had happened.\r\nHe stood up from where hed been finding against my desk and strolled over to the window, detainment clasped tail his back.\r\nâ€Å"A fachan,” he mused. â€Å"Here. Curious.”\r\nâ€Å"Not really. Not compared to boththing else thats happened to me,” I reminded him.\r\nHe pointed out the window. â€Å"You live in a desert. Fachans like bodies of piss. You pick up a lot of enemies, my affectionately, exclusively I doubtfulness any fachan would hate you enough to show up here of his own volition.”\r\nâ€Å"What are you saying?” asked Kiyo.\r\nâ€Å"That roughone went to appreciable trouble to summon him here. Someone with either a lot of raw power or simply an affinity for water supply system creatures.”\r\nâ€Å"Who could do that?” I asked.\r\nâ€Å"Any frame of people. Maiwenn could.”\r\nKiyo took a few dangerous stairs toward him. â€Å"Maiwenn didnt do that.”\r\nDorian smiled, unfazed by Kiyos scare presence. They were the same height, but Dorians frame was lean and slim, Kiyos broader and more muscled.\r\nâ€Å"Youre probably right,” Dorian tell after several tense moments of silence. â€Å" curiously since shes been so under the weather lately.” Kiyos face grew darker.\r\nI glanced back and forth uneasily, uncertain as to what I was in the snapper of. â€Å"Do you guys know each other?”\r\nDorian extended a hand to Kiyo, cool and collected. â€Å"I know of you, but I dont believe weve been properly introduced. I am Dorian, king of the Oak Land.”\r\nKiyo grudgingly took his hand. â€Å"I know who you are.”\r\nâ€Å"This is Kiyo,” I said.\r\nâ€Å" beauteous to meet you. Youre a…kitsune.”\r\nDorian said the word in an odd tone. It wasnt exactly disrespectful, but it clearly implied they were not equals.\r\nI piece of cakebed both their arms and steered them out. à ¢â‚¬Å"No pissing contests. Come on. Itll only take Tim about five minutes to whip up the food.”\r\nWhatever antagonism existed between Kiyo and Dorian, it took a break as the aristocracy king entertained himself with the rest of my house. He was like a kid, unable to keep his hands off of everything. Well, everything that wasnt made of plastic or an iron affiliate. My living room was a veritable wonderland, with everything conveniently piled up in junk heaps for him to explore.\r\nâ€Å"Whats the purpose of this?”\r\nHe held a fluorescent pink Slinky, tossing it from side to side so he didnt have to touch the plastic extensively. My impression was nobility could touch the taboo substances in small doses with minor discomfort; prolonged flick grew much more uncomfortable. Charge it up with power, and it could kill them.\r\nâ€Å"It doesnt really have a purpose,” I decided. â€Å"You just sort of…play with it when youre bored.”\r\nHe tossed it back and forth, watching it organize up in arches.\r\nâ€Å"Let me see it,” I said.\r\nI held it, closing my eyes. My counsel was back now with the excruciating hassle vanquished. I concentrated on the Slinky, particularize a small piece of my gist into it. I handed it back.\r\nâ€Å"Wrap it up and take it with you. Itll be my anchor.”\r\nHe grinned. With so many other distractions, we eventually had to comforter him to the kitchen table when the food was ready.\r\nâ€Å" demandnt you ever been in the human world before?” I asked, once we all sat down.\r\nâ€Å"There you go again, assuming we all just traipse over here for no good reason.”\r\nâ€Å"So you havent.”\r\nâ€Å"Well, actually, Ive vacationed here a number of times. Not in this forsake place, of course, but several other straightlaced spots.”\r\nI rolled my eyes and slapped cover on my toast. It was made of good, hearty bread, choke-full of whole w hop up and about a billio n other grains. You could use this barricade as sandpaper.\r\nI doused my coffee with start and cream, gulping it to chase down some ibuprofen. I might not be dying anymore, but myriad aches and rigor filled my body. I didnt think I could handle regularly getting into high-magnitude fights every other night.\r\nWhen the whole prophecy thing had surfaced, I had joked that I preferred attempts on my life to sexual advances. I didnt really believe that anymore. At least when the bad guys cute my clothes off, it bought me some time. That fachan, however, had had no intentions short of crushing me. And hed done a pretty good job of doing that. I had never fought something so massive before. close to of my fights, before this all started, had been with smells and elementals. I could take them out with barely any effort. The fachan had been in a different league. The expression army from the other day had also been new.\r\nDorians words rang back to me. The fachan had been delibera tely sent. But by whom? champion of the many who had a grudge against Odile? Someone like Maiwenn who wanted the prophecy to fail? Maiwenn herself? This latter thought bothered me. Shed seemed more or less trustworthy, despite her bland personality. If she turned into an enemy, it was going to create some serious rubbing between Kiyo and me.\r\nWe finished breakfast, and Dorian say we had to go outside for our lesson. I took one look at him and the scalding sunshine and saw imminent disaster for that perfect, alabaster skin. calculation he wouldnt want my prissy, vanilla sunscreen, I dug him out a wide-brimmed like hat of Tims that looked only mildly ridiculous.\r\nâ€Å"Are you going to be able to do this?” I asked, leading Dorian out to my back patio. Tim had left for drumming practice, but Kiyo followed us, still watchful. â€Å"Your magics weaker on this side.”\r\n Dorian cloaked his elegant robes over a lawn chair. â€Å"Not me who needs to do the magic. An d really, I doubt you depart either. Not in the way youre thinking of. Hmm…yes, this playing field may work better than Id hoped.”\r\nHe surveyed the patio area and the small grassless yard ring by a stucco wall. draw up another chair, he set it near the center of the patio, facing the house, and beckoned me to it. I sat down.\r\nâ€Å"Now what? More surmise?”\r\nHe shook his head. â€Å"Now we need a public treasury of water.”\r\nâ€Å"Kiyo? Can you grab us one? Theres a walloping ceramic whorl in the back of one of my cupboards.”\r\nKiyo silently complied, looking as though leaving us completely for even one minute would go out in Dorian trying something. I make up that protectiveness endearing, albeit a bit over the top.\r\nAnd thusly Dorian did try something.\r\nâ€Å"What are those?” I exclaimed.\r\nâ€Å"Think of them as… education aids.”\r\nHe had produced a handful of tricksy corduroys from the deep pockets o f his robe, all in different colors.\r\nâ€Å"What are you †no. You are not serious.”\r\nHe had moved backside my chair and grasped my hands. I jerked away.\r\nâ€Å"Youre trying to draw off me up?”\r\nâ€Å"Not for sinister purposes, I assure you, although if youd like to experiment with them later, Id be happy to show you their various and motley uses. For now, simply trust me that theyll be useful.”\r\nI continued to regard the cords warily. He shook his head, smiling. Moving behind me, he gently ran his hands down my arms. â€Å"You still dont trust me. And yet you do. An interesting mix. You business concern me but want to connect with me. Do you remember what I said the night we met?” He knelt down, speaking softly in my ear. â€Å"This is exactly the way it will be when you come to my bed. Youll surrender yourself, and though itll scare you, youll exult in it too.”\r\nâ€Å"I think youre imagining more to our charade than there is. And I dont really see myself skin perceptiveness supercilious over being obligated up.”\r\nâ€Å"Have you ever assay it?” His fingers slowly slid back up to the sleeves of my shirt, like butterflies on my skin. It was…nice. I shrugged him off.\r\nâ€Å"No. And I dont need to. Besides, whatsoever your kinky intentions are, it doesnt matter. Ive got something going with Kiyo.”\r\nâ€Å"Ah. Of course you do. From what I hear, hes always ‘got something going.”\r\nI stiffened. â€Å"Dont try to cause trouble.”\r\nâ€Å"Im attempting nothing of the sort. bonnie stating a fact. A man with human blood is just as conjure uping to our women as you are to our men.”\r\nâ€Å"I already know about Maiwenn.”\r\nâ€Å"I see. What do you know?”\r\nâ€Å"The truth. They used to be involved. Now theyre not.”\r\nâ€Å"Ah. And that doesnt bother you? particularly considering its likely shell try to kill you someday?†\r\nI turned around as much as I could and glared at him. â€Å"I meant it: Dont try to pick a fight. I trust Kiyo, and I like Maiwenn. End of story. Now if youre going to necktie me up, just get it over with.”\r\nHe rose from his crouch, the sensuality gone from his illustration as he began the business of back me. â€Å"Id never dream of picking a fight. Your pet fox in there will break my neck if I so much as look at you the wrong way.”\r\nâ€Å"Dont act like youre actually afraid of him. You can opinedly bring down buildings.” I uncompressed back in the chair and let him tie my hands together behind me. He took a long time in doing it, like he was weaving or braiding.\r\nâ€Å"Why, Eugenie, are you saying youd wager on me in a fight? Im touched. precise touched. Although, I do hear foxes have very sharp claws. How are those scratches on your back, by the way?”\r\nKiyo walked out just then, carrying the bowl of water. He froze when he saw Dori an fix a cord above my breasts and around my upper arms.\r\nâ€Å"Whats this?”\r\nâ€Å"An awakening,” said Dorian.\r\nâ€Å"Its fine,” I said. â€Å"Set the water over there.”\r\nKiyo did so and then stood next to me, arms crossed and eyes on the gentry king.\r\nAgain, Dorian took his time in tying my upper body. He used fivefold cords, and able to see better this time, I realized he had indeed distort them into an intricate pattern. Aesthetic and functional.\r\nâ€Å"There.” With a last tight knot, he straightened up and regarded his work. â€Å"Not bad. It seems I havent forgotten how to tie a decent knot after all. One more thing, and were set.”\r\nâ€Å"One more thing” turned out to be a blindfold.\r\nâ€Å"No way,” I said.\r\nâ€Å"Eugenie, my sweet, your outraged protests are adorable, but they only continue to slow us down. If you want me to help you, then let me. If you dont, then take me to one of those places whe re human women wear revealing habiliment and quickly lose their virtue through with(predicate) alcohol.”\r\nI let him blindfold me, aspecting uneasy. I bank Kiyo and sort of trusted Dorian, but the other bindings had already unassured me. I didnt like being confine or in soul elses control. The ingenious world went dark as material covered my eyes.\r\nâ€Å"This is all giving me a bad feeling,” Kiyo said nearby.\r\nâ€Å"On the contrary,” said Dorian, â€Å"its giving me a very warm, very pleasant feeling. But I suppose we should return to the lesson at hand, hmm?”\r\nâ€Å"Is this the part where you explain the bondage getup?” I asked. â€Å"Or where I find out you just did it for fun.”\r\nâ€Å"No, no. As hilarious as that would be, I do have my reasons. Now. Im going to pick up this bowl of water that Kato so kindly fetched †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"Its Kiyo,” came the irritated response.\r\nâ€Å"So sorry. Anyway, Im going to set it somewhere out here in this miniature wasteland, and you will tell me where it is.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh. I get it. Im vatical to, like, work on my non-visual senses? Listen to where you set it?”\r\nâ€Å"You wont use any of your physical senses at all.”\r\nI hear him walk away, presumptively with the water, but I couldnt tell where he set it. He paced and paced in circles, kick rocks and scuffing his shoes so I was uninformed by the time he returned to me. When he spoke next, his words were right by my ear again.\r\nâ€Å"Now, given freedom, even with just a blindfold, youd be given to move and want to use something †anything †to find the water. Youd turn around, sniff the air, whatever. Now you have to deport that all of that is gone. You cannot rely on what you normally can. You are trapped and powerless †more or less. Give in to that. generate yourself up to whatever comes. Find the water.”\r\nâ€Å"How?”\r\nâ€Å"By reach ing out to it. Tap into a sense other than the usual five. reckon the exercises we did last time, about reaching beyond yourself †in this world, not the spirit one.”\r\nâ€Å"I thought magic was inborn. Isnt that what separates humans and gentry?”\r\nâ€Å"It is inborn. And your inner magic summons and controls storms. To do that, you must summon and control the prehend elements. And to do that, you must be able to find them. Hence, you focus outward.”\r\nâ€Å"How do I do that?”\r\nâ€Å"Just concentrate. But relax too. Think about the water. How it feels, what its like. Spread your ken out around you, but dont go into a trance and let your spirit slip out. Thatd be cheating.”\r\nâ€Å"How long does it take?”\r\nâ€Å"As long as you need.”\r\nHe retreated, and I sat there and waited for some revelation. Okay. Somewhere around me was a bowl of water. And something inside of me was supposed to be able to sense it. I wouldnt hav e believed any of it if the living room on the other side of the patio door didnt stand as proof of my supernatural powers. But I hadnt had to think to cause the storm. This was different.\r\n completely I mostly felt at first was my own body. Dorians binds didnt hurt me, but they were snug. The stitched-up cut stung a little. The back of my head ached. My leg muscles felt stretched and inflamed. I slowly took inventory of every part of me, assessing how each one felt. I could feel the rally of my own heart, the steadiness of my breathing.\r\n later that, I started concentrating on the stuff around me. I hear someone, Dorian maybe, parachute up a chair and sit down. A plane droned overhead. One of my neighbors kept a bird feeder, and sparrows regularly chirped and squabbled around it. The harsher cries of less melodic birds sounded in the distance. My way had few houses and was removed from real traffic, but a block or so away, a car started and then horde off.\r\nI thought about water, its appeal growing as the sun beat down. I had put on my own sunscreen and was grateful for it. Still, I could feel sweat pouring off of me. urine would be cool, refreshing. My moms house had a pool, and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to dive into that crystal-blue surface.\r\nI thought about the bowl of water, thinking of its cool temperature, the wetness on my skin. I tried to feel it, to call to it.\r\nâ€Å"There,” I said at last. I dont know how much time had passed. Awhile.\r\nâ€Å"Where?” asked Dorian.\r\nâ€Å" iv oclock.”\r\nâ€Å"What?”\r\nâ€Å"She means over there,” I heard Kiyo say. Presumably he pointed.\r\nâ€Å"No,” said Dorian.\r\nâ€Å"What?”\r\nâ€Å"Sorry.”\r\nâ€Å"Was I close?”\r\nâ€Å"No.”\r\nâ€Å"Not even a little?”\r\nâ€Å"No.”\r\nâ€Å" motherfucker it! Get me out of this.” I wriggled against my constraints.\r\nâ€Å"Hardly.” Dorians joint he ld mild surprise. â€Å"We must try again.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh, dear lord. This might be even more boring than the meditation,” I grumbled. â€Å"Can I at least get something to make happy?”\r\nHe hesitated. â€Å"Actually, I think your betting odds will increase if youre thirsty.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh, come on †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"Here we go,” said Dorian. I heard him get up and walk around again, and once more, I couldnt tell where the bowl ended up.\r\nWhen he returned to his chair, I tried again. More time passed as I concentrated my little heart out. At one point, I heard someone get up and move toward the door.\r\nâ€Å"Who is that?”\r\nâ€Å"Me,” said Dorian. â€Å"Im bored.”\r\nâ€Å"What? Youre my teacher.”\r\nâ€Å"The kitsune will call if you need me.”\r\nâ€Å"I dont believe this,” I said when he was gone.\r\nâ€Å"Hey, this was your idea,” said Kiyo.\r\nI heard him firing in a chair, getting comfor table.\r\nI was on the verge of my next count on when Dorian came outside again.\r\nâ€Å"There. Nine oclock.”\r\nKiyo must have pointed again.\r\nâ€Å"No,” said Dorian.\r\nHe made me do it again, and by then, I was furious. My low muscles, already put through enough, were secure up from lack of movement. The heat was unbearable. To make matters worse, Kiyo asked if Dorian wanted something to befuddle and then went inside. He returned, and I heard the sound of a two-liter of pop opening, followed by the selection of two glasses.\r\nAfter that, they started carrying on unremarkable conversation.\r\nâ€Å"Eugenie will be at my Beltane ball,” Dorian explained, â€Å"as my special guest.”\r\nâ€Å"Sounds great.”\r\nâ€Å"Your enthusiasm is palpable.”\r\nâ€Å"Just not my thing, thats all.”\r\nâ€Å"Ah, pity. Because if you wanted to come, Id be happy to extend the invitation.”\r\nâ€Å"I wouldnt want you to go to any troubl e.”\r\nâ€Å"Its no trouble at all. You could come with Eugenie. I always make special arrangements for dignitaries entourages and servants.”\r\nâ€Å"Will you two leave out up?” I asked. â€Å"Im working here.”\r\nThey fell silent.\r\nWater, water. I needed that goddamned water so that Dorian would untie me and I could return to air conditioning. Id also drink a gallon of water while I was at it. Maybe two or three. In fact, when I found that stupid bowl, Id dump it over my head.\r\n worn spot pooled along the hem of my shirt and where the cords and blindfold pressed against my skin. Id probably sweated away the sunscreen and would burn. As if my body hadnt been through enough. Where the hell was that water? Why couldnt I find it?\r\nI thought again about my moms pool, vowing Id pay her a chatter tomorrow. God, it was so hot. I just wanted to be cooler. Water, water, water. I felt like Helen Keller. Or maybe one of those people in the Lakota sun dances where excessive heat exposure induced hallucinations. Maybe I could imagine the water.\r\nI sighed, and then, somehow, I felt coolness touch me. It was a hanging from the heat. I straightened up as much as I could. Had I done it? Was this what it felt like to touch the water? The third time was the charm. Yes. There it was again. comparable cool, moist air blowing at me from the east. I could taste its dampness, hanging around me like humidity in the sauna.\r\nI inclined my head in the direction Id sensed the cool air. â€Å"Ive got it. Three oclock.”\r\nâ€Å"No.”\r\nâ€Å"The hell it isnt!”\r\nI heard Dorian get up. He sighed. â€Å"I think wed better quit for the day.”\r\nâ€Å"But I avow I had it! I could feel it! I was thinking about water so hard.”\r\nâ€Å"I know you were.”\r\nHe undid the blindfold, and I looked up. Billowing clouds, colored like lead, inked out the sky. Wind blew at me from the east †not imagined after all †picking up in strength. Great, heavy drops fell around us, landing with loud splashes.\r\nWater at last.\r\n'