fandomhigh | Stealth and Deception, Workshop #3, Wednesday Morning at Cafe Fina

The students, upon arriving at Cafe Fina, were given a nice breakfast of croissants, pastries, and muffins; then ushered off down a series of twisting corridors, down a series of stairs where a number of symbols had been neatly and cleverly covered up, and then finally pushed into what appeared to be a large dojo.

Alfred was standing there, waiting.

"Good morning, class. Today we're going to discard theory for something a little more practically fun."

He grinned. "Today I will teach you how to move stealthily and, most importantly, silently.

Alfred stepped to the side and let the class get a better view of the floor behind him. The space had been seperated into a number of square sections, all of which had been given different floor coverings. Sticks, dry leaves, hard metal, shag rug, and, in one case, a very tastful hardwood design.

"Some teachers might try to break you in by showing you on something that naturally does not make much noise. Say, the reagular floor of this dojo. However, I'm of the opinion that all the training I give you will be completely pointless if I don't show you how to use it in a real life situation. I might as well be teaching you knitting at that point. Now, class, if you'll please follow me and keep on the dojo floor."

Alfred walked over to the first prepared square (hard wood) and stepped out onto it, still in his dress shoes. There was no audible sound at all. Alfred continued to lecture as he walked around the various surfaces in otherwise complete silence, explaining the proper way to move, where to place your weight, that your footfalls should always be toe first, instead of heel first.

As he stepped off the last panel (dry twigs) he picked up a cup of tea from a nearby panel and sipped at it. "If there are no questions," he said. "Feel free to practice this all on any of the test squares I have set up. If you need help, talk to me or someone who appears to be doing well, as I'm quite sure that some of you already have this skill." He nodded to Setsuna, Briar, and Walter.

_{[[Wait for the OCD. Have fun kids! Yes, you are now technically in the butler-cave, but there is absolutely nothing there that could connect it with Batman. Alfred made quite sure of that.]]}

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Sakurazaki nods, and does as asked, although she performs the task a little slower this time, for observational purposes. Still pretty quick and fluid and silent, although there is a small moment of unbalance and hesitation before the sticks panel, due to the awareness of being watched making her a little nervous.

"You seemed unsure before the panel with sticks," Alfred said. "Why?"

Sakurazaki considers, looking back toward the panel as she plays her run through her head quickly. "A moment of doubt, I suppose," she responds after a moment. "I'm not accustomed to performing like this under close observation."

Alfred nodded. "Well, that's something to work on. As I mentioned in the first class, part of being able to sneak around effectively is keeping in a mindset of paranoia. Where someone is always actively looking for you."

Sakurazaki's nod progresses into a small bow, still all formal and stoic. "Of course. Thank you, sensei."

But, of course, internally, she can't help but roll her eyes a little bit at the irony of someone suggesting that she be more paranoid. But perhaps the problem was that she had been loosening up signficantly lately. Hmm. This required some meditation.

"Sakurazaki, if I may ask you something?"

Sakurazaki's shoulders straighten significantly, a little surprised by the request. Questions with regards to this sort of thing always made her nervous. But she makes a small sound of affirmation and nods. "Of course. What is it?"

"How much training of this sort have you had, exactly?"

Sakurazaki blinks, her body going stiff with panic. Was he asking because he felt she should be doing better? Were her skills not as up to par as they should be?

"I've been training in this field my entire life, sir."

Alfred noded. "So, tell me. Do you find things a little boring? Have I taught you anything new, or am I just re-teaching you what you've already learned?"

Sakurazaki takes a good moment to consider the question. "Well, I have been enjoying the workshop a great deal. And while I sometimes rather feel I don't gain much from the actual excersizes, I feel that I do gain much from your demonstrations and lectures. I understand, too, that the class compromises of students with....varying levels of experience..." Her mind is decidedly attaching Jude to this detail, with a slight wince "...so I really took the class as a way to keep my skills in practise, rather than improve on them. You see, since I came here this summer, I haven't had much chance to keep them up, and was mostly hoping I could keep them from getting rusty by taking your course."

Stealth and Deception, Workshop #3, Wednesday Morning at Cafe Fina

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