[Arai Shimako]

The majority of Shimako's sage meditation and training, she performed either just outside the village walls or atop her home, which she had over the years developed into a proper roost. The Raptor's Peak was far away, and while she visited often, her duties largely kept her at a distance. This was the next best thing in the world to that.

She did not want to take Shigeru to the peak at the initiation of his training. It felt more appropriate as a... pilgrimage, a reward once he had reached a milestone in his training. For now, the hawks would have to come to him when their guidance was required.

"Welcome!" Shimako greeted, brightly, when Shigeru arrived at her door, allowing him in to usher him up the stairs. They had the nervous energy of a parent dropping their child off at the academy on the first day. All pride, and a little anxiety. The glimpse of her home Shigeru was able to snap on the ascent, if he looked around, was one mostly filled with eclectic and colorful items. There was hardly any space not covered by some wall hanging or decoration, and it almost evoked the chaos and bounty of nature in a way.

"We're going to begin with the true essentials today, the building blocks of the sage. I need to familiarize you with the concept of nature chakra. What it is, its benefits, and its dangers."

On the roof, she was quick to take her seat on a small meditation cushion. For now she'd positioned two of them in the sun, though there also appeared to be a covered area for hotter days. There were perches all about, clearly for visiting hawks to rest upon when they were here with her.

"Most people don't know much about nature chakra. Have you heard of it at all?"

[Ōshi Shigeru]

It was the first day of his training with Shimako-sensei, and despite his calm expression, Shigeru was nervous. After all, he was training with one of the most important people in the village! It was still hard to believe that he was the one she’d chosen. His knocks on her door were firm, but not aggressive, and it only took a moment for her to open the door and admit him into her home. He didn’t get to look around much, as he was quickly escorted up the stairs, but from what he could see her home was as colourful and warm as the person themself. How fitting for Shimako-sensei.

Once they were on the roof, Shigeru took his seat in front of Shimako, setting down his sealing scrolls. It seemed unlikely that they would be doing any physical training today, but he didn’t want to assume and be without his weapons, either. Then, his new sensei began to speak, and he tilted his head curiously at her. Her words were quite serious. Dangers? Well, he supposed that was to be expected. Not many real sages existed in the world, so sage training surely wasn’t that easy. She also mentioned nature chakra, which sounded vaguely familiar… he wasn’t really aware of what it was, though. ”I think I’ve heard the term nature chakra used once before, but I didn’t have any context so I’m not quite sure what it is, sensei,” he responded, his words far smoother than he was actually feeling. He could probably hazard a guess based on the name alone, but it was probably best to let the master speak, here. After all, she’d spoken of both benefits and dangers alike. He was hardly stupid enough to assume things about something he knew nothing about.

[Arai Shimako]

The boy had heard the term before, but never in a detailed enough context to fully grasp it. Still, he was clever, so she figured he might have a good general grasp. She nodded slightly, carefully turning over how to phrase this next bit.

"The world itself has a chakra system," she decided on. "A river of energy runs through all things. It's especially powerful in the living - plants and animals - but even rocks and air have it. Everything is connected. You can think of these things, these touchstones, as the tenketsu of our world." She traced a finger across her palm as demonstration, an area well known to any shinobi as being a point of chakra release.

"It's very rare to be able to sense it at all. It's even rarer to be capable of interacting with it. Still, some few find themselves able to absorb it into their bodies. When you reach out to the natural world and collect its energy into your chakra core," she traced a line from her palm, up her arm, down to her stomach, "balancing it with your physical and spiritual chakras, that is what it means to be a sage."

She folded her hands in her lap.

"It's an amazing feeling, but it's also very dangerous. Nature chakra is powerful. All-consuming. When you open yourself to it it will try to rush in, and if it overwhelms your chakra core your body will return to the stone of the earth. So properly balancing these energies takes a lot of concentration, a lot of careful meditation. We'll be starting with that most fundamental skill. Do you have any experience with meditation?"

[Ōshi Shigeru]

Shigeru nodded along with Shimako’s explanation, taking his time to think over her wording. He thought he grasped the concept well enough to move on, for now at least. Her explanation of the dangers of it was taken very seriously, and Shigeru made a mental note of what could happen if he messed about without having a good grasp on these things. He’d known being a sage was definitely dangerous, but not to this extent. He would do his utmost to ensure he’d be careful whilst learning under Shimako.

Her next question was in regards to meditation, and Shigeru finally blinked for the first time since she’d started her explanation. ”I have not had much experience with meditation, though that’s largely in part due to the lack of a sensei who could teach the right technique to meditation. Is that what we’re doing today, sensei?” he asked, frowning slightly. He wasn’t against learning meditation at all, since the focus it granted would be useful for his bukijutsu as well, but he was unsure if he’d be any good at it at first. He was always thinking, and it wasn’t always the easiest to clear his mind of the things that ran through it.

However, he was still willing to try. This was only the first step to becoming a sage, he knew. If he couldn’t handle so much as practicing meditation, he would not be a worthy sage apprentice. And he simply couldn’t let that come to pass. Shimako was someone he looked up to greatly, and being her apprentice was something he wanted to continue more than anything. So he would practice, once given the proper instruction, and he would not complain. Shimako knew what she was doing, and he would trust in her to guide him.