Practise Makes Perfect (closed)

[Chamaeleon]

She allowed him his poking and prodding, holding back her reaction to the physical examination he gave her. The brittle nature of her current body gave her a reason to not wrench away or grow tense. She could break easily, and it was only at the hand of another that she realised her own physical frailty. She felt almost like he was violating her by his careful movements, as though having her anatomy memorized was a trespass on her identity, but she understood what was going on and forcibly ignored her own insecurities nagging at her. Even so, when he released her she held back a sound of relief as she withdrew from him.

Then she watched with a growing hunger as he used his knowledge.

A chill crawled its way up Chamaeleon's spine as she watched the human shift his body. Her Symenestran vision allowed her to see clearly, thanks to the light slanting across his twisting arm. The pallour of her own skin, laced with thin, delicate veins covered his own body as he manipulated it. He thinned, became awkward in appearance as his arms lengthened, ending in the tapering claws of his fingers. To her eyes, as young and inexperienced as they were, he looked the part of a Symenestra male. His eyes were the red colour of blood, his hair a sleek, shiny black, and his elongated body the compact, graceful shape of a Widow's.

It both impressed her and creeped her out, but that was the way of Morphing.

This time after he spoke, Chamaeleon did stick out her tongue and moved forward, cranking her neck to observe the extent of his transformation. If this was what she could do one day with the right kind of knowledge, she truly did believe she could go far. She reached out and tested the brittleness of his shoulder, amused that he had even gotten the bone definition correct.

"That is amazing," she said as she moved back again and just stared. "Is it easy to forget when you have shifted yourself so completely?" She wondered if he had venom in his teeth, or if he even knew there was venom in them. She tested her tongue against her fangs tentatively, finding them in their elongated state due to her desire for this knowledge. Disconcerting to realise that hunger for knowledge could also coax her predatory nature to be more outspoken, but that didn't matter currently.

She listened to the silence that followed now and wondered if the deer still stood outside the tent and if it would still be there when she and Wrenmae emerged from their lesson. Perhaps she, Chamaeleon, would be hungry enough then to not mind the slaughter of a deer to study. Well, she wouldn't eat the whole thing.

"My turn now, Wrenmae?" She asked, her tone sly.

[Ana Sol Starris]

Creeping into the Crimson Edge camp, Ana was making her way back to her and Wrenmaes tent for a type of 'safety' from the clutches of Sunberths bloody thirsty nights. Eyes becoming somber at the thought of Shroud being in control once more, Ana was really beginning to get sick of his heckling of her frailties. Even after everything she tried to do, whether she failed or not, it just didn't matter.. She was just an amusement.. despencible. What ever was keeping her alive, away from his murderous knives and eyes and hatred that boiled at her, every irritated glance, every annoyed sigh.. She had no real clue as to why.. Maybe Wren still did have some power? She couldn't do enough for Shroud to make him happy though.. and yet, she was compelled to stay.. For Wrenmae. Halting a few yards away from her own tent without fully realizing how quiet her movements had been, she had only just seen the man huddled outside the cloth sanctuary, peeping inside it. Was Shroud or Wrenmae in there? What was so interesting to be spyed on.. This was her time to shine whether by moonlight or sunlight, Ana would not be damned to let some buggar investigate on him. Sliding the wooden practice weapon shakily out from her pink and midnight blue tye-dyed sash and holding it at the ready. Raising it up above her head in a crude position of what could have been acting as a club to be swung down hard at the intruders head with ferocity but lack of good aim. Ana would only have one chance lest she fail misearbly with the surprise attack and not have this second chance. When she was only a few feet away, eyes focused hard on him and decided it would be funny to watch his eyes maybe "hey, what the hell are you doing?!" Shouting she swung with as much force as she could down at him, most likely missing her target by a mile with the practice wooden weapon Zandelia had given to her their first training session down onto the peeping man, Anas eyes however had missed the deer next to him oddly enough. OOC : Hey, I know I don't have shortsword XP in my CS at the moment but my character would know the weapon IC'ly due to two formal training threads including it (one on the 12th, one on the 18th of Spring), I spoke to Arch about this, as long as the first training thread is turned in before this one (ie sequencing the threads) then its fine. x_x or so that is how I percieved it. So that means, before "Practice Makes Perfect" is turned in, my training thread has to be turned in before this one. Izaya, I leave it up to you to decide whether you dodge or not.

[Lusa]

WHat were they doing in there? She could hear talk of identities, and shifting, but on the whole the conversation meant little to her. She figured she could take the meaningless words to someone else, and they would be able to figure them out. As much fun as she was having with this game, she honestly didn't know what to do with 'intelligence.' She had no idea how Zandelia turned the words she heard into useful things. She was pondering the possibilities when a new person approached the tent. A fellow snooper? She briefly enjoyed the pet on the head he gave her. Things were quiet for a moment as she and her fellow spy eavesdropped, until she was scared nearly out of her hide when a blonde suddenly sprang from the darkness, shouting and swinging a wooden weapon at the man next to her. She had a true deer-in-the-headlights moment, frozen in panick.

[Izaya]

Izaya was disappointed to hear ten minutes more of silence. In that time, he thought about how he could use this information. Probably getting them to do something. Or possibly selling the information. That idea appealed to him a lot. But finding a buyer would be hard. Who would pay for the information, and for what gain? He was sure it was someone who would just turn around and blackmail them. It couldn't be one of the anti-magic zealots--they would turn on him just as quickly for demanding payment for it. He decided to simply file the information away. Perhaps he would be forced to blackmail them after all. He should start coming up with things he could get them to do. With their morphing abilities, perhaps they could infiltrate one of the gangs--his hypnotism might be able to get them models from the three major streetgangs. It was a good idea. He'd just have to remember where this tent was...he was about to look around for some landmarks he could recognize the place by when a shout interrupted his thoughts. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" He leapt away from the sound reflexively, and was glad that he had when the wooden short sword aimed for his head slammed down on his knee instead. He leapt around on his other leg, holding the hit knee and shouting, "Shyke! Shyke! Shyke! Ow! That hurt! Ow! Ow!" comically. In all honesty, it didn't hurt that much, but by now he had shifted his focus. He just needed to get out of this situation now. He knew nothing about this woman--girl, really, now that he looked at her--so he chose his emergency, all purpose plan. While hopping around, he made sure to look the girl in the eye, a bit of a "why did you do that?" glare, while smiling to show he wasn't really angry. At the same time, he used his Hypnotism to suggest that he was trustworthy, and to instill a bit of humor into the situation. He didn't have any weapons, and wasn't a great fighter, so he'd have to rely on this plan to save him.

[Wrenmae]

Her eyes were hungry, blazing with the kind of lamplight desire that came with all magic. Yes, Djed was about the manipulation of reality, the willful perversion of its rules. Mankind seemed to hunger for these dangerous arts, playing palette with the canvas of the body and the paints of the blood. Why, it was the very mind that one bent when practicing these arts. So dangerous, so dangerous...ah but how could things be interesting if not with a little risk? Shroud relaxed the morph, his form flexing back towards his own. Skin lightened, flushing with strange flesh colored pallor till his long body was hued his own again. Black hair receded, shimmering brown like oil dropped in water, spreading over the top. His stature shrank, everything becoming denser, stronger, harder. His bones were no longer brittle, his form no longer sinuous, and his narrow chest even grew out a few inches, a testament to how eerily thin the Symenestra were. His eyes winked out in the darkness, flooded with darkness once more, extinguishing the red light of his eyes. The fangs, venomless, shrank back into canines and his fingernails became clear, sinking back into fingers that, in comparison to the form he wore before, seemed thick. Blinking, letting the changes settle, he opened his mouth to speak when Ana's sharp voice interrupted the solace of silence within the tent. Shroud's first reaction was anger, taking the long dagger from its sheath and throwing open the flap. His intention, then, had been to hit the girl, teach her discipline with a heavy hand or dagger pommel. But instead he was surprised to find a stranger in their midst. Oh...and the petching deer. That petching RANDOM deer that either had been born without instincts or was the poorest acting morpher he'd ever seen. It just stood there, staring blankly at what was unfolding. But he had no time to chide woodland creatures. Instead, a crouched figure dodged away from the brunt of Ana's practice blade, hopping like a fool and making far more noise than a blow to the shoulder should cause. Wordlessly snarling, the Hypnotist strode toward Izaya, blade brandished outward. Chameleon was behind him and Djed rose within him like a slowly breaking wave. If the spy tried to run, Hypnotism would be his weapon of choice. Either way, another body wouldn't hurt anyone...anyone worthwhile anyways. But mostly, it stung his pride that he'd allowed himself to be spied on so easily. What had he seen? What did he know? It was safer just to leave his body bleeding in camp, but the burning question of 'what' remained in his thoughts. "Surround him," he commanded, not caring who was listening, "I do so hate uninvited guests, especially those cowards who crouch behind doors." His blade gleamed. "So...spy," he said at last, quietly, "What did you see?"

[Chamaeleon]

It was quiet for so long, the quiet murmur of their own voices the only sound other than the wind. It was therefore only logical that, with the eruption of noise just beyond the flap of the tent, the woman would curse in her native tongue. The stream of profanities that spat passed her pale lips was unknown to her. She could only assume that the words belonged to the woman whose form she wore.

As a flurry of activity followed the sounds, the Symenestra lurched out of the tent after Wrenmae. Before her stood a man and a woman...

And the doe.

What was wrong with that doe?

Chamaeleon dismissed the animal from thought for now, instead focusing on the apparent spy that could ruin both her and Wrenmae entirely if they didn't somehow stop him. It didn't surprise her then when she stepped forward to circle behind the man at Wrenmae's command. She grasped the Symenestran Lash and drew it, the long coil dropping to the ground, ready to be used if Chamaeleon deemed it prudent.

She watched now, silent and sharp-eyed.

[Ana Sol Starris]

The petch is he doing.. Ana thought to herself as she watched the funny man hop on one foot, she held the practice weapon at the ready in case he decided to attack. Even if it was wooden, she could probably achieve a few lucky whacks to the guy if she managed to fumble in time. But he did not, he only looked at her funny and Ana couldn't help but giggle at his supposed pain, covering her mouth to supress it and holding the weapon firmer towards him. Taking a step closer to poke Izaya with the weapon, she jumped away when she heard Wrens snarl.. Or was it Shrouds? Head swivelling to look at her now agitated companion wielding his long knife, in the moonlight, Ana saw just about everything. An expression akin to embarresement and surprise at his less than covered demeanor, then to the woman behind him.. still dressed. Looking away from the two and blushing as the familliar tone of Shrouds voice barked orders to no one in particular. Ana obeyed without a second thought, she knew better than to go against what he wanted. Quickly taking a spot so she would also surround Izaya, shaking ever so lightly with a bubbling anger. The look on her face gave sign to the sparking madness, he had a woman in his tent, yes Ana was also a woman! But Wren was naked.. naked, maybe not the woman yet.. but what if they were going to do.. Explicit things? She couldn't bare the thought of being in the same tent, at the same time, (though maybe Shroud would have kicked her out for privacy..) and then she would have to sleep in the open.. Or some other persons tent.. Whos, she was not sure of at that moment.. But if this was the case, then this guy in front of her was just a peeping tom, a pervert. Expression now grim with anger flaring up in her amber eyes, she hoped that if the man did have a weapon, a possibility to be considered in Sunberth, that he would not choose Anas direction as she was rather unprepared for any attack, with a wooden weapon or not. Her defence was weak and her stature showed that with her only now just filling out features. Why ever did he not run when he had the chance..?

[Lusa]

Lusa's ears were pinned back to her head as she watched the snooping man hop about, holding his knee and making a lot of noise. She didn't like a lot of loud noises, and wrinkled her nose in distaste. Why didn't this guy just run away? It was what Lusa would have done if she had been attacked, and Izaya had three scary people surrounding him! Granted, Wrenmae was naked. That somewhat dampened his intimidation factor. Even though she spent a good deal of time in her human form, she still found its lack of fur or other natural protection disconcerted her. Her skin in human form was so easily broken, so easily made cold. No wonder humans wrapped themselves in so much cloth. So, she was not embarassed by Wrenmae's nudity, but rather worried for his vulnerable skin. He may have been severely irritating her, but he had rescued her from slavery, and she wouldn't let this spying fellow cause him harm. It was that reasoning that led Lusa to huff angrily, then move forward suddenly, bringing her teeth around Izaya's hand with all the force required to grind through tough, fibrous plants. She really was in a bad mood now.

[Scott]

scott, who had been making his way to the crimson edge camp came around just in time to see the doe bite the mans hand. He almost laughed out loud but caught himself In time to keep it at a snicker. He was holding his scythe on his shoulder in a somewhat relaxed but ready for use way. He called out "is there a problem here." then noticing the symanestra's and the man's lack of clothing, he thought to add a vulgar comment but decided it might be best to leave it at that.

[Izaya]

Petch it! Izaya thought. If it had been only one person, that might have even worked. Perhaps testing an emergency plan for the first time in an actual emergency was not the greatest idea in the world. But, with a little thought, another hope appeared to him. He faked trying to stifle a laugh at the fact that the couple was naked. It really was funny. He had not expected it at all, although in hindsight, perhaps he should have. Morphing would, he supposed, be easier and safer if you didn't have clothes on. But still, completely naked? Really? It did, at least, give him some sort of alibi. "I-I didn't see nothin', I swear!" he exclaimed, making sure to glance every so often at the now-human woman's naked body, not that he cared--frankly, he didn't have the time or the patience for sex of any kind--but because he felt the character he was now forced to portray would. The character, of course, being a sniveling street wretch who may or may not have stooped to peeping for thrills. "I swear, I didn't even know you and the-the lady were in there!" he gestured at the symnestra-turned human, again, glancing away a little. "I-I'm sorry if I...um... interrupted you...I was just looking for my friend's tent... he snores, you see, and I was listening for that. I-I've only been here a few minutes, I swear! Please don't hurt me!" He hoped that worked, but he still wasn't confident in his acting ability. He became a little more desperate after he spent a moment focusing on the man's aura--he was also a Hypnotist. Well, probably. It was that or he was symnestra, Izaya couldn't yet read auras well enough to tell the difference. Frankly, he had no idea why they looked so similar to him. And then the deer bit him. This time he shouted in real pain. "Shyke! Mother petchin' son of a whore vagik! Gah, that hurt! Ow!" This day just kept getting better and better, didn't it. And then, of course, another guy came around a corner to see them. Was the whole city going to get up to watch him make a fool of himself? Of course...well, if the whole city did, then he could tell them the symnestra and the man were morphers and then escape as they burned them...so it might just make sense to make as much noise as possible. Izaya saved this as a last ditch plan. He didn't want to resort to that just yet.