set it free soon

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

Inspired by the latest Ludo games, and several recruits lacking in basic stealth precisions, Deimos had taken over a small portion of the market square, with merchants’ permissions, to hold some measure of war tactics. While the civilians were allowed to come and go as they pleased, and he wouldn’t have thought it’d put any pause on their activities, there had been a small gathering of onlookers beginning to meander through and around as he stood in front of the small collection of soldiers.

These eight had been assembled and singled out, due to their unfortunate measures in the latest run of makeshift duels and skirmishes. Glancing over them, there hadn’t been any real pinpoint conjectures over why they’d failed so miserably; rather a combination of things. Some hadn’t given an ounce of thought over their figure. Some hadn’t utilized their attuned proportions or incantations. Some lacked experience. But they were about to receive some now.

Hands behind his back for a moment, he gave out clear instructions. “Four of you will hide amongst this area,” mapped out and sectioned off accordingly, with only a span of several stalls, alleys, and buildings in between. “And four of you will seek the others out. The goal is to practice your covert skills.” A pause, tilting his head, studying them all for a moment. “Each of you have the ability. Use your cleverness, shifts, items, and magic.” Mimicking real-life tactics, should they ever have to put them into battle. Pointing at a bench, occupied by an older woman knitting, “This is your goal. You want to make it back to Mrs. Lupine before you are spotted.” The aforementioned lady gave a hearty wave, with a Cheshire grin to match. There were a few snickers from passersby to follow suit.

Taking a breath, and nodding to those opting to conceal themselves first, he gave the call. “You have two minutes. Your time starts now.” There was a great flurry of movement and motion as the warriors scurried in various directions, and Deimos instructed the remaining four to turn around. He did the same, minding the time, nodding to those passing through.

BERYL

Originally, Beryl had only intended to have a quick stroll through the market. But when she saw the small crowd of onlookers, curiosity got the better of her. Intermingling with the crowd, she watched as orders were given and some of the men scattered.

It was an interesting idea indeed. Though it did seem somewhat flawed in practice. But that was none of her business, now was it? Then again, she profited from the safety the guards provided as well. She took a step closer, to get a closer look at the one she recognized as the newly-appointed general. "If your seekers try to 'win', they could just stand in a circle around the goal." Her words accompanied by a shrug, she nodded in the direction of the woman on the bench.

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

Words flickered and flowed around the gathered – spectators watching and listening, already handing out advice to some of the participants. He was not to be ignored either, and before long a woman he didn’t recognize offered her own, to which the General nodded and indulged with a small smile. “Perhaps. It would be a decent strategy.” And he wouldn’t condone them the efforts, but that wasn’t how the real world worked. “However, it also depends on the coverts’ abilities, and if I would allow such things.”

Which was to clarify, essentially, that he wouldn’t.

When the two minutes were up, he gave the next round of orders, turning to the assembled seekers. “You may begin. As previously noted, you will have to do more than just linger nearby. Find them by using your wit and skills.” A few wrinkled their nose at the inclusion, but bounded off anyway, scattering amongst themselves rather than using any fundamentals as a collaborative team.

Another impression made for his mind, and any further calculations and machinations for the group. Looking upwards, simply seeing if he could spot any of the hiding foursome, he couldn’t help but snort at the picture of a very loud colored parrot settling on one of the market stalls’ roofs. “Some clearly need more help than others,” and he jutted his jaw towards the Attuned – visibly sticking and standing out in a world of white.

BERYL

All of this seemed interesting enough to continue watching. It wasn't like Beryl had places to be today, and she'd find work for the day twenty minutes later just as well. And as such, she waited for the time to run out and watched the seekers set off. Somehow, she had expected them to make at least some sort of plan. This was a team excercise, right?

But with her attention quickly drawn to the same parrot Deimos had spotted, Beryl wasn't surprised anymore. It seemed like these recruits needed a lot of training. She furrowed her brows slightly. These recruits couldn't be that bad, right? "Maybe a diversion? One obvious so the other few can get to the goal easily while the seekers are distracted?" she muttered to herself, although she didn't care if the people around her heard her either.

Instead, she kept an eye out for other directions better hidden hiders could be coming from. They couldn't be that bad, right? At least she hoped so, for the safety of Halo and everyone living there.

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

“Perhaps,” he mentioned, attention drawn to the movements around the scene. Watching, waiting, speculating as to what they’d do – and how best to aid them later, when there would be discussions and discourse around their attempts. For now, it would be best to see how they did in the environment without his support or aid, so he tilted his head, a study in parallels and unyielding, unbending fragments.

There was movement around the bottom of the stall the parrot sat upon. Subtle, but nuanced; layers of cloth maneuvering, and not by the wind. Someone hidden, tucked underneath a veil of incantations? The bird had seen it however, eyes widening for a moment, and it crept over to the middle of the kiosk, eerily silent. The Sword’s eyes narrowed, before extending a whisper to the stranger. “A lookout?” Capable of sending out a warning to another Attuned nearby?

And suddenly there was another motion nearby – a whirlwind of earth rumbling beside the bench, and a mole popped out from the nearly frozen landscape, morphing into a human form soon thereafter – recognizable as one of the four hiding from before. The woman placed her hand on the artifact, before sitting down, quite smug, while the General gave a distinct rumble of laughter. “Better than I thought,” he mentioned to both nearby, but thereafter, he stuck his hand out towards the other individual watching. “Deimos,” by way of introductions. “You are welcome to join the next round,” by way of some teasing enterprise, the smile angled in the corner of his mouth.

BERYL

Deimos's introduction had been surprising of sorts. Then again, Beryl had been talking to him over the last few minutes, in a way. She took his hand for a shake. "Beryl." With a short hum, she looked over to the designated area for the hide-and-seek practice. "Unlike your recruits, I don't have any abilities which would be helpful for such an effort." Which was neither a yes nor a no. She could go a day without work. But with Deepfrost inching closer, stocking up would be a good idea as well. In the end, she shrugged.

"Looks like a good training method to me though." With people watching, the recruits were eager to show what they were made of. Nobody wanted to fail in front of a crowd. "Seems like this new general is a smart guy." she said with a sideways glance at Deimos, a slight smirk on her lips.

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

Committing the name to memory, he glanced out over the designated grounds once more – amused by the antics off to the right. The puff of air near the kiosk had become prevalent, so much so that it seemed to be whipping near the parrot. The bird’s feathers went askew, eyes narrowing, perhaps caught, found out, and –

A hand reached up, grabbing it firmly. ”Got ya!” segmented from one of the seekers, chortling, laughing wildly, as the avian squawked indignantly. Thereafter, they shifted once out the perpetrator’s grasp, shuffling over to sit on the sidelines with a resolute pout. Deimos snorted, but made note, amused at the unraveling and unfurling of powers, machinations, and proportions.

At Beryl’s ambivalence, the General tilted his head a fraction. “Depends on your abilities.” Considering even the smallest contributions could go a long way, especially in games and tactical measures, he wasn’t about to let someone feel as though their capacities and potentials were without prowess.

Though the compliment wasn’t expected – given the briefest widening of his eyes, and then the rogue smirk intertwining, probably to cover up the surprise. A self-deprecating notion began to settle behind his teeth, but he’d been working on worth and acceptance, so he bowed his head a little instead. “Thank you.”

BERYL

Watching the continuing game play out, Beryl smiled slightly. It reminded her of childhood days when games of hide and seek were one of her usual pastimes. Though maybe there was a part of this child remaining in everyone, she thought as she watched the caught recruit sit down and pout.

With Deimos's comment, her focus returned to their conversation. "I've got two legs, two arms, and a - hopefully - decent head on my shoulders."  Still, watching the game or training - or both -  unfold, she decided other plans could wait for the moment. "And I think I might try my luck at joining in next round."

Deimos

Dare we know the halo's hanging low

He laughed at the comment, the rumble coming out as a short bark, exuding from his chest back quickly, defiantly. “Fair enough.” And sometimes even those things were worth their weight; especially the sharper minds.

Piercing gaze returned to the activity around them though, listening as the crowd began to mull and point. He followed the directions of their movements, noticing the warrior crouched down around the corner, likely checking to see if there were any adversaries nearby, before they made their pursuit for the bench.

But as it so happened – another watched and waited too.

There was a burst of air, like that of rustling wind, manifesting around them – a swirl of snow lifted, and another had been snagged in the confusion and melee. While the pursuer crowed in victory, cupping their hands around their mouth and howling, the unfortunate hider, now thoroughly sought, went and sat down next to their pouting companion. One remained, concealed amongst the fold.

Amused, and content to see how well they were beginning to work, his smile grew when Beryl agreed, granting consent with a nod. “Of course.”

And so, it continued on and on, trading incantations and motions for training implementation - a rewarding day for all involved.

{FIN}