Shell games (Daria)

[Silus Xilarian]

"And friends are the only people who can stab you in the back."

Silus cut a bit of a smirk...

"Im not saying its good to be overlly suspicious. But dont let anything surprise you."

[Daria Nytherciria]

“It’s difficult. Everything here is new to me. Up until a couple of months ago I couldn’t even speak this language, and had no idea I was going to be… whisked away to learn some sort of … magic.”

Daria looked helpless for but a moment.

“… However I have learnt my lesson – trust no one.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Not even yourself. People can be their own worst enemies..."

Silus paused for a moment, then started back up, cutting off any chance of Daria responding.

"Now have a seat by the fire and get cozy.....we're gonna be here awhile."

[Daria Nytherciria]

As instructed, she sat. Cross-legged on the floor, she watched the dancing flames a moment before looking up at Silus. Her first flicker of curiosity about him came at that moment, but she dismissed it, filing it away for some later retrieval when they were not busy.

[Silus Xilarian]

"Close your eyes and clear your mind..."

Silus spoke, as he started around to the opposite of the fire.

"Your mind is capable of performing a thousand tasks at once, or one task a thousand fold...."

Silus backed up a few steps and leaned on the wall behind him...

"Use your mind to see, not your eyes. Focus on the room around you, and picture it."

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria calmed her breathing and, as Silus had asked of her, closed her and eyes. Picturing what was around her seemed like a simple task at first, but then she got onto thinking – did he want her to see everything in the room, even things cloaked in shadow? In the end, it was of little consequence. She could do what she could do, and no more, until she had been instructed otherwise.

With this silent resolve, she began to piece together the sewer in her minds eye. There she sat, at the fire. The walls fleshed themselves out easily, as did Silus stood beside them. It was difficult to give finite details to everything, and the further she looked the more focus seemed to slip and blur objects at their edges.

“… Now?”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Your body is calm, but your mind is tense. Keep quiet and dont scramble to grasp everything. You're working on a new level of thought, become comfortable with it. Your mind dictates the way your senses translate the world around them. That is how I made you think that people were there that really werent. The stronger your mind is, the harder it will be for others to affect it, and the easier it will be for you to affect others."

"Let everything come into focus, until you feel as though you're comfortable with your grasp of your surroundings. Then I want you to stand up and take ten steps backward."

[Daria Nytherciria]

This reminded her of another kind of training. It took her mind back to a time when she had stood in a forest, in complete darkness, and began instructed to wander until she found a nebula orchid. The forest was littered with pitfalls and her only means of avoiding them had been to see with her mind, not her eyes. The method which the Doz’rah hunted was also vaguely similar; being that radar-like feedback was given to the hunter as the debilitating waves ebbed out from their person.

She stood, confidently, and took her first step backwards. In her mind, she was the fire moving a little further away, and physically she felt the warmth lessen some, affirming where she was going. A couple more paces, and she could tell there was a slight dip in the ground, and made sure to watch her footing as she took her final steps.

[Silus Xilarian]

As she took her final step, a wooden staff that had been placed in the corner flew from its resting place and to Silus' hand. He reached forward with his free hand and moved it to the side in a quick waving motion. At that moment, the campfire in front of him was disturbed as if an invisible hand had swiped through it.

Red hot ashes flew into the air, and flaming sticks scattered across the floor in front of Daria.

"Don't open your eyes until you hit me."

With that command, he lobbed the staff at Daria, sending it straight for her forehead.

[Daria Nytherciria]

She had jumped initially, her own perception of the world around her somewhat slower than reality. Still, she could see the staff coming for her and ducked down in time to avoid a hard knock to the head. As she bent her body to avoid it, the staff was left to go careening on towards the campfire. With skill, however, she managed to pluck the thing from the air, and twisted with its momentum.

Daria turned the staff in hand, and perceived the world from another angle. The flames of the fire were not so bright now. Silus stood ahead, but she could not tell how far. Her depth perception was askew, and she had to give the staff a good few shifts of position and swings before she was entirely sure.

Edging a foot forward, she gave a test swung, lunging forward at him.

[Silus Xilarian]

The odds he had placed Daria in were severely against her, which was the plan. Her aim was pretty good for having her eyes shut, but Silus was already moving to dodge as she swung.

He sidestepped and did a half circle, keeping just out of her striking range, to force precise hits. If she just flailed the staff about she was bound to get a lucky hit.

This test was more or less to gauge her willingness to learn, and to see how well she applied her emotions in her exercises.

"I didnt say for you to stand there and swing that little branch around, I told you to HIT ME!"

[Daria Nytherciria]

A little surge of anger in Daria, and she almost opened her eyes. This time, she moved. Her whole body went with the staff, as she made a jump off to the side – aiming to land a skull-cracking hit right on the head.

[Silus Xilarian]

The move put a smile on Silus' face, for the sheer fact that it nearly got him. At the last possible moment, he shifted his stance, causing the staff to whiz by micrometers from his face. The wind from the swing burned his eyes slightly.

He quickly backstepped, fully expecting another attack aimed to catch him in too close. As soon as he got a few feet between them, he gave Daria a nudge with the force. It wouldnt even be enough to unbalance her in the slightest, just enough to raise her ire a little....

"Come on now, you're blind til you hit me....."

She was responding well to anger, and her frustration was fueling her attacks. Even more impressive was the fact that her last move would have worked well strategically, as it wouldnt have been easy to mount a counter attack against it, which would have put Silus strictly defensive.

[Daria Nytherciria]

As if it wasn't bad enough that she was having to engage in melee combat, the use of such an unwieldy large weapon was setting Daria even more on edge. She steadied herself and got her bearings once again – finding the world was so much crisper and clear now that she was angry.

The Doz'rah gathered herself as the plan for her next attack formed in her mind. She could not repeat the same maneuver, yet she needed something powerful that was difficult to defend against. She had aimed high before, now she would aim low. In one fluid motion, she slipped down onto one knee, and drove the staff upwards in a lunge aimed at Silus' solar plexus.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus caught himself thinking too far ahead. If he dodged one way, he stood the chance of her sweeping his legs, if he dodged the other, she could rise up and catch him dead square in the face. Instead, both hands came down to grasp the end of the staff. It drove into his stomach, but with his own strength against it, he was able to soften the blow enough so that he could take it.

He stumbled back as it hit and immediately he reached behind his back.

"Good Job, I guess you earned your eyesight...."

[Daria Nytherciria]

Triumphant, a smile spread across her face as she opened her eyes to look upon Silus. She twisted the staff, resting it against the ground, as her chest puffed out with complacent pride.

"I am a quick learner."

[Silus Xilarian]

"Dont get too cocky. Just because you react well in a controlled situation doesn't mean you're ready for anything."

With her staff resting on the ground, Silus removed his arm from behind his back, taking a non aggressive posture.

"And just in case you have any delusions about this city, I'll give you a word of advice. Stay armed, there are a few nasty individuals who call this place home."

Silus turned around and started to walk off before pausing once more...

"And make sure all this fire is out before you leave. I'll be contacting you soon."

A few stray logs that still burned with a low flame were pushed aside as Silus walked off, making a clear path for him into the shadows.