[Open Class] Sneaking and Sparkling [Brenley]

[Smerdle]

attempt 6

He scurried back under cover, briefly reaching down to rub at his legs. This 'class' was really starting to get to him.

Quote:

12-19: You found a good hiding spot, and you're pretty sure you weren't spotted getting there. Pass.

 

[Smerdle]

Oh. Right. He still didn't have a pen.

Quote:

11-14: You didn't see the stack of worksheets on your way in. Or you forgot your pen - or the ninja vulpes lifted it silently. Either way, you can't turn in what you don't have ... Fail.

 

[Smerdle]

attempt 7

Bren scrabbled around the area looking for one, but as soon as his arm left cover, it got the shuriken treatment.

Quote:

10-11: You found a good spot, but some portion of your body is showing. The vulpes put a couple of shuriken into the exposed bit to let you know you're visible. You should probably go before they circle around and find other bits of you to assault. Fail.

 

[Smerdle]

attempt 8

Okay. So, no pen. He could write with... dirt, he supposed.

"Idiot vulpes," the boil muttered, pressing the first finger of his right hand into the mud.

Quote:

12-19: You found a good hiding spot, and you're pretty sure you weren't spotted getting there. Pass.

 

[Smerdle]

Bren hurriedly scribbled a description of the next student he saw onto his thoroughly maligned worksheet, even adding a little fingerpainted picture.

Quote:

6-10: You saw someone arriving, but you don't see them now. Still, you scribble down their name/description on your paper. Pass.

 

[Smerdle]

The next student got the same treatment.

Quote:

15-19: You spotted someone. You write down their name/description and note their hiding spot. Pass.

 

[Smerdle]

And then Bren was forced to sit...

And sit...

And sit.

He saw no one else for such a long time that he began to wonder if he had been teleported to another reality where no one existed except himself. He was about to try simply turning around a leaving, but someone took that decision from him. One moment he was expectantly sitting in the bushes, his hands caked with mud, and the next, he had been knocked unconscious. He woke in the hall of the reaper dorms outside of his room, barely able to recall what he had been doing that afternoon, let alone how he had gotten so filthy.

With a huff, he opened the door to his room and shuffled inside, careful to remove the worst of his stained clothing before he had taken more than a couple of steps.

Quote:

1-5: You can't for the life of you spot any other students. Are you sure you're not the only one here? Fail.

 

[Smerdle]

attempt 9

Another handful of days went by before something managed to spark a memory of what had gone on out in the woods. Brenley returned to his room after picking up a couple of books on scrying incantations in town to find a note at his door, stuck between it and the floor.

SO, YOU WANT TO BE INVISIBLE?

it said, which wasn't entirely true, but the words brought with them a vision of a shifty little ninja vulpes and... mud. Gallons and gallons of mud. Why didn't he remember? Scrying incantations quite abruptly took a backseat to the boil's curiosity.

Bren ventured back into the trees later that afternoon, looking for what he had forgotten, and found it in the form of a familiar table and stack of worksheets. He had a pen this time, several pens in fact, and he took a sheet with no hesitation, slipping into the trees with it promptly after.

Quote:

12-19: You found a good hiding spot, and you're pretty sure you weren't spotted getting there. Pass.

 

[Smerdle]

As he settled in and honed his concentration, Bren was reminded of a certain spotless warehouse and its hundreds of bizarre costumes. The differences between that place and this one were obvious and numerous, but they still both somehow shared an educational aura. It was odd to feel as though he was picking up knowledge by crouching under the cover of shrubs and spying on his peers, but he supposed the instructors here knew best. He had known long ago that Amityville was the best school... the only school he could possibly attend, and he trusted their methods, even if they weren't his own.

Movement in the trees pulled him from thoughts of his past and present education. Brenley slowly raised his worksheet and pen so he could see roughly what he was writing without looking down. It was a bold move, considering the white paper made him more visible as well, but the majority of his clothing was dark today and it didn't attract the attention of the ghoul in front of him.

Quote:

15-19: You spotted someone. You write down their name/description and note their hiding spot. Pass.

 

[Smerdle]

She was tall, thin, and very purple, and the ghoul was perhaps even worse at hiding than he was. Bren wished he knew enough about other races and species to identify what she was without asking, because his first impulse was to step out of cover and question her. The only thing that stopped him was his certainty that doing so would leave him once again peppered with a hundred tiny shuriken. Instead, he watched as her narrow black eyes scanned the area. He tried his hardest to take down all aspects of her appearance and bearing without making a sound, finally breathing again when she moved on.

One down.

The next student to show up also lacked stealth, at least at first. Bren took note of his features—pale skin, green hair, scaly forearms—as the boil picked up a worksheet of his own and disappeared into the trees. Impressive. He could only hope he'd looked a little like that when he'd arrived.

Quote:

6-10: You saw someone arriving, but you don't see them now. Still, you scribble down their name/description on your paper. Pass.

 

[Smerdle]

For a long while after nothing happened, and Brenley found his mind wandering again, back to the things he'd learned and the knowledge he still hoped to gain. While his top priority had always been and always would be his research regarding enchantments and potions, he was newly intrigued by hunters as well, after meeting one face to face in the haunted house. Ever since he'd arrived at Amityville he'd heard copious rumors regarding the malicious humans and their renegade weapons, but so far he'd seen no evidence of them doing much of anything at all. Obviously they were dangerous—the man he had met hadn't hesitated to attack him and even seemed to take pleasure in it—but there had to be more to their motivations than base murder. They would have been wiped out long ago if there were no brains behind their brawn. He couldn't help but wonder what their endgame was.

Beyond that, he knew he should be training his body as well as his mind, a goal that was proving both easier and more difficult to achieve than he had imagined. Easier because his body just seemed to do more physical things now, like running and throwing and stabbing and hitting, and more difficult because when he actually focused on moving in a tactical and dangerous way, he immediately morphed back into a lumbering hazard. Like everything else, it would take practice to master.

Then, there was Piper.

Brenley sighed, standing up straight and looking around guiltily when he realized he was still hiding in a bush having a go at being stealthy. Pressing his lips together in a frown, he continued riding his fractured train of thought, paying more attention to his surroundings as he did.

The reaper ghoul confounded him immensely, leaving him delighted then frustrated in the span of several minutes. He wished the reason she held such power over him was as easily explained as "she's nice" or "she's pretty," but his feelings were nowhere near as straightforward as any of that. Piper was a force of her own, so much more vibrant and influential than he would ever be, and from the moment he had read the first letter she had ever taken time out of her life to send him, he had been overwhelmed by her acknowledgement. She had given him importance and acceptance that no one outside of his family had ever granted him before. He told himself he was not chasing notoriety or trying to quell some base, boyish lust, Bren simply enjoyed basking in the light of her favor when she turned it on him, and he longed to hold that feeling close for as long as he could.

And maybe sometimes when he was deep in his studies and his subconscious was left free to roam, he wondered what it might be like to kiss her. Once. For research purposes.

He cleared his throat and ducked a bit when a nearby boil looked his way. Thankfully, the other didn't see him, leaving Brenley free to take down his information as he pushed his more treacherous thoughts deep inside.

Quote:

15-19: You spotted someone. You write down their name/description and note their hiding spot. Pass.

 

[Smerdle]

And with that, the assignment was complete. Brenley looked at his worksheet with mild surprise, checking over what he had written before glancing back at the table that had marked the start of this exercise. He guessed it was the end as well. Taking a deep breath, he darted out of cover and hurried over to the dropbox. His sheet safe inside, Brenley slipped back into the trees, astonished that he hadn't been caught. Was this the secret of stealth? Flagrant distraction? The boil doubted it, but there was probably something to be said for clearing his head of overly complex plans and remaining calm.

Quote:

16-20: Nobody saw you put your worksheet into the box, but it's certainly in there. Congratulations, you've passed this session!

 

[Smerdle]

The reaper nodded, checking to make sure no one was nearby before stepping out of his hiding spot for the last time. Feeling a little foolish without a teacher around to dismiss him, Bren lingered for a moment, then hurried back to his room.

Quote:

1-98: Nope. You don't see him. Is he even here?