LOG: Welcome to The House

[skyward_eyes]

Who: Nida (OU), Theta (Native), Any Ai family members
What: Finally at the Ai home as a guest, with packing
Where: Ai Household
When: Wednesday Afternoon 1/20
Warnings:

Nida, invited over and with express orders to see that Theta behaves and starts his packing for the family's move, waits at the door after he's rung the bell. In his hands rests a box of assorted cookies from the store bakery, in his backpack some games in case the littlest ones he's heard about need distracted, and on his lips a small smile. Finally he can check in on the little guy for real.

Comments

[trustandfireworks]

'Oh. So why does folding clothes like that mean obedience?'

[skyward_eyes]

"It's... hard to explain. Discipline is self control. It's performing how you should when you should. Going on even when it's hard because you know eventually you'll get it. It's not easy."

[trustandfireworks]

'Doesn't sound easy.' He burrows down a bit into the blankets. 'So the folding clothes... does that help with the self control stuff?'

[skyward_eyes]

"Yeah," Nida agrees. "It's like with martial arts. How I was teaching Sigma to stand. It's more than just proper form. It's learning to control your body, your mind."

[trustandfireworks]

'I think I get it now,' he says, nodding. 'Control and precision, yeah?'

[skyward_eyes]

"Control and precision of yourself," Nida agrees. "Like you give yourself with skateboards. You work hard, right? To learn tricks?"

[trustandfireworks]

'Yeah, you gotta keep practicing and get the technique right.' Once again, parallels between skateboarding and fighting.

[skyward_eyes]

"The way you dedicate yourself to learning, that has to do with your self-discipline."

[trustandfireworks]

'So you can do it to yourself?'

[skyward_eyes]

"Do your brothers focus hard on the things they love to do?" Nida asks. "Or do they get distracted and rush off to something else really quickly?"

[trustandfireworks]

He doesn't even need to think about that one.

'They focus.'

[skyward_eyes]

"The way they focus, even when they're tired or bored or don't want to, that's discipline. They've learned it. They know how to get things, whether they like them or not."

[trustandfireworks]

'Like doing homework?' He doesn't like doing that and it's often boring. Does that make him disciplined for doing it anyway?

[skyward_eyes]

"Like doing homework without complaint, because you know it should be done."

There's a difference.

[trustandfireworks]

'Oh. Then I only have self-discipline sometimes. Can that happen?'

[skyward_eyes]

"Yeah," Nida admits. "But learning more is important. Learning to be good and dependable is important. Especially when you have little siblings."

[trustandfireworks]

'I help look after them sometimes,' he says. 'D said I was old enough to be trusted after I stopped Eta trying to get in the oven.'

[skyward_eyes]

"Uh, yeah," Nida says, shocked. "Yeah, that's important too."

[trustandfireworks]

'She was really little, she didn't know it was dangerous.' He feels the need to point that out. 'Does that count as discipline?'

[skyward_eyes]

"I think self-discipline is more you come home from school and no one has to tell you to do homework or watch over you to make sure you did it. You do your homework, make your bed, all those kinds of things, because you know you need to do it."

[trustandfireworks]

'That sounds hard.' Sure he makes his bed, but it's mostly because Omega would get annoyed if he didn't. And he does his homework, but he doesn't want to.

[skyward_eyes]

"It is," Nida agrees. He can remember how hard it was for him. Learning it must be even harder if your weren't raised like he was.

[trustandfireworks]

'How long does it take?' He's been making his bed sincce he had his own and Omega still has to remind him sometimes.

[skyward_eyes]

"It's... more than that in my experience," Nida notes. "Like... discipline is important. But the way it was taught to me was pretty serious. If you didn't do your bed in the morning, or you did it wrong, you did push-ups or have to clean bathrooms and stuff like that. In a military you need to know that everyone will obey, will do what they're supposed to do. They'll be where they're supposed to be. Predictability is important."

HOw do you explain it to a kid?

[trustandfireworks]

'So you're always learning it?' he asks. 'And you get punished if you don't do it right? What if you go back and do it right before the punishment? Do they let you off then?' He doesn't think he'd do very well in the military.