Sneaking 101, Thursday

[suitably_heroic]

"So, today we're actually getting into the nitty-gritty parts of breaking and entering," Atton said. "... Uh, I mean, sneaking. Which is completely legal."

Just... covering his bases.

They were standing at the front of a large room which was clearly a part of a larger mansion. There wasn't anyone there; there were some doors lining the walls, and multiple glass display cases.

"For this exercise, we're just going to assume you managed to pick the lock on the door," he said, jabbing his thumb back in the air towards it. "There's another way to get into this house, but you're not going to hear from me about it. You'll have to figure it out yourself when you tackle this place at the end of the course."

He made a wide gesture towards the room at large. "Today, we're dealing with the very basics of stealth," he said, "Visibility. You don't want people to see you. Sometimes you can get by pretending to be someone who belongs wherever they're at - that takes confidence. Or shapeshifting abilities." He threw a glance at Raven if she was there.

"In a place like this, though, that won't get you far. This is someone's private home, and when I activate the sim, there'll be guards and waitstaff. Everyone here knows exactly how many people are supposed to be here, and what they look like. So you need to stay out of their line of sight. And be quiet, but we'll cover that more some other day."

He stuck his hands in his pockets. "Now, there's no way to learn instinctively how line of sight works besides through practice," he said. "So I'm going to throw a switch and get the guards in. For our purposes today, they'll be deaf, but they won't be later. I want you to get to the stairs on the other end of the room, using no tools but what you've got naturally. If a guard spots you, you'll be jumped back to the start of this floor. Then at the end, we're going to get all heart-to-heart and you can tell me what you learned. Go."

Comments

Snack Room

[suitably_heroic]

...Upstairs you'll find a cosy living room with several bowls of nachos on the table.

"Congratulations," Atton said dryly. "So, what did you learn?"

Re: Snack Room

[boneyard_girl]

"Houses are weird and don't move, and for being full of useless shit they sure don't have many good places to sneak," Ada grumbled, grabbing a bowl of nachos and squinting at it to see if it was just the cheesy kind or had meat in it. "Why do people like to live like that? How do they breathe?"

Re: Snack Room

[suitably_heroic]

There was a variety of nachos; she could take her pick, even if Atton didn't understand the point of vegetarian options personally.

"Well, I don't know entirely about this world," he drawled, "But usually homes have a couple of holes here and there to funnel in oxygen."

Re: Snack Room

[boneyard_girl]

YES no meat!!! Ada grabbed nachos with just cheese and green onions and took a big bite. Vegetarian options were really important when you had, um, meat allergies.

"That's not what I mean," she said, waving a chip with cheese for emphasis. "Don't they get, I dunno, claustrophobic or whatever? With all those heavy walls and stuff everywhere?"

Re: Snack Room

[suitably_heroic]

Atton shrugged. "One of my many job descriptions is 'starship pilot'," he said, "For me, this is way more space than I'm used to. No claustrophobia here."

Re: Snack Room

[tigerundercover]

"It's way easier to scale wood paneling when you have claws."

Re: Snack Room

[suitably_heroic]

"That it is," Atton agreed. "And you don't even have to shapeshift them if you find the right gloves. By the way, nice use of blind spots there."

Re: Snack Room

[gavegoodface]

Face was not one to turn down free food.

"It's easier to sneak by if you know the guards' patterns," he said around a mouthful of nachos. "So surveillance beforehand is a good idea."

Re: Snack Room

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy was all to glad to claim a heaping plate of nachos, piled high with meat and veggies both. She ate about half of them before she answered Atton.

"Sometimes it's better to just go and do something than waiting for the perfect moment," she said, thinking of how she'd gotten caught in the kitchen. "It's possible to be too cautious and then you miss your shot."

Story of her life, honestly.