“My turn now,” I almost laugh at the empty room as I recall the dark places littered with broken glass and sharp metal that I had to walk through barefoot. I drag myself out of the past and I push my magik outward from my palm and I form a thin shiv of ice that I wrap my hand around.

I squat down and rest on the balls of my feet before I place the tip of the blade against the wood underneath me. I put some weight behind it and it slides into the plank and after a inch or so I don't feel any more resistance so I withdraw it and move to the left and try again.

This time it feels like I hit another block of wood and I nod my head and look across the room to the opposite wall. Since I hit it there and not where I started the beams should lay in a way that will be helpful. I test it just to be sure and I line my blade farther into the room and satisfy my curiosity by hitting it again.

I stand back up and break the shiv back down into magik before I step out and place my foot above the beam and I gently shift my weight forward and walk across the room. The boards don't squeak at all and my soft leather boots muffle my steps as perfectly as they can, and I control my breathing while keeping my balance above my hips the entire way across.

“Who would have thought that all of those dance lessons would have a use like this,” Shiva sighs and I can almost feel her shaking her head. I have to stop my body from freezing up as I recall my nightmare instructor and her supposed queen like lessons.

I chase the thought away and I choose to pretend that I didn't hear that while I continue my journey. I reach the other side of the room completely silently so I reach out and I press on it a little to take the pressure of the latch before I twist the handle and pull the door open.

Mishka is standing on the other side and she raises an eyebrow at me for a moment before she lets out a low whistle, “That's spooky L. My hearings almost as good as those ears of yours and I didn't hear a thing.” I just shrug a little at her and she nods, “I can definitely see why you were offered a place with us. M's got potential as well.”

“Do you think so?” Melodiana asks and I look back to her and she seems a bit conflicted about that thought.

“I do or I wouldn't have said so,” Mishka nods and turns back into the room lets continue on with our tour for now though, and once we are done there are a few little games that you will play today.”

“Games?” I repeat as I follow behind her and Melodiana falls in line beside me.

“We are going to have all of you younguns challenge each other,” She explains as she opens up another door revealing a room cluttered with furniture, and other random junk, “It will be a good opportunity to work on your teamwork and meet some of your fellow Wingless as well.”

We approach the opposite wall an she nods her head and turns back to the room and says, “This is a good starting point this time.”

“Same thing as before?” I ask and she nods her head.

“Yeah just get across the room as quietly as you can,” She starts to walk back across the room but before she call out across her shoulder, “Try to keep your torso more stable M. Stopping your arms from making unnecessary movements will also help you control your center and you should be able to move better.”

“I'll do my best,” Melodiana calls out with a nod and she focuses on the floor for a few moments.

“Have you ever done any ballroom dancing?” I ask her and she looks at me before she shakes her head.

“No, why?”

“It is really all about coordination, foot placement, balance, and body control,” I sigh as I recall my own trauma, “All of which translate well into moving silently.”

“Is that how you learned to do it?” she asks and looks a little excited and I shake my head.

“No but it certainly did help,” I sigh again, “I'm sure if you wanted to give it a shot there are plenty of teachers we could pick from.”

“I'll give it some thought,” she nods and goes back to studying the floor, and she asks, “Can you go first this time? I would like to watch.”

I nod my head and look across the room. It is so cluttered that it would be difficult to use the beams again so instead I I take a breath and take a light step forward and balance with my heel in the air. I lift my other foot and place it in a clean spot and I slowly pick my way across the room while looking for short steps to take.

About halfway across the room I feel the plank in front of me start to give so I shift my weight back on my solid leg and look around. All of the other clear spots are so much of a reach that I wouldn't be able to stop mid-step if something were to go wrong with my choice.

My gaze stops on a nearby chair and I eye it foe a moment and ask, “So you think that it is stable?”

“It won't hurt to try,” Shiva responds quickly, “And if you are intending to properly teach the girl it will be good for her to see you take alternative paths so that she can start to think about them.”

I nod my head at the and look over my shoulder at Melodiana, she is watching me intently and I've been able to feel her gaze the entire time I've been crossing the room. I don't say anything to her and instead I turn my gaze back to my task.

I take a moment to assess my balance before I stretch up and place my foot onto the chair and hoist myself up by using the back of it as a anchor point. Once I am up in the air I hold still and listen but it doesn't seem like anything moved so I slowly let out the breath I was holding and I reassess my situation.

Now that I am up here it will be more difficult to step back down from right here so I look towards the small sofa to my right. It is close enough to take a small hop to it, the only real concerns I have are if it will creak when I land, or it might shift and scrap across the floor and the chair might fall over when I kick off of it.

There isn't anything to be gained from pondering the what ifs so I take a moment before I lightly spring off the chair and I aim for the front edge of the couch with the thought that I should be thicker. I land softly and try to absorb the impact with my knees so that there isn't any noise but even still the floor under the sofa gives a low moan and I shake my head at it, before I place my feet on the floor and continue my way back to the center room.

“Ah, well you can't be perfect all the time,” Shiva says and I can imagine her shrugging slightly as I reach out and open the door. I nod at Mishka and step into the room and close the door behind me and step to the side while I wait for Melodiana to cross the room. I hear the occasional creak and groan but given the right circumstances she should be able to approach a room with out any issues.

Mishka has us run through it several more times and she occasionally offers Melodiana some advice to help her along the way, until she is eventually satisfied, before she gives us a small break.

She claps her hands to get our attention while we finish eating a light lunch, “Alright once you finish up we will start our first game. The rules of all of the games are simple, first you can use any of the three connected buildings, but you cannot leave them. Second no attacking other teams, I feel like I shouldn't have to say it but every few years we get a fool that figures they can get away with it.”

“Third no destroying the rooms to achieve your goals,” she sighs a little before she opens the door and Melodiana and I stand up as she waves a few more groups into the room. I give them a quick once over.

Every one is dressed in plain clothes while most of us are carrying a weapon there are a few that appear to be unarmed. It is hard to say if they are carrying hidden weapons or catalyst from a distance though. I can feel a few of them sizing us up as well but that is to be expected.

“I hope everyone had a good lunch,” one of the men steps forward and claps once, “Because now we want to evaluate all of your skills against one another. The first game will be hide and seek, each team will take turns as the seeker and will be given half-an-hour to locate the hiders. Hiders will be given five minutes to find a spot to bunker down.”

“Half-an-hour for a patrol sweep is quite a bit of time for a small set of buildings,” I murmur, “Although I suppose that only allows for ten minutes per building.”

“There is also three floors with several rooms on each one as well,” Shiva adds her thoughts to mine as the man points to one of the other groups.

“You will be our first seekers,” He says and the two of them nod their heads. He produces a small hour glass from his pocket and sets it on the table, “Everyone else will begin hiding on my mark. And go.”

He immediately flips the glass over and everyone scatters. Melodiana follows along beside me as I exit the room and I nod to her, “So what do you think the point of this one is?”

“It's probably to teach us to look for intruders,” she responds echoing my thoughts and I nod my head again.

“I agree, but it will also let the others learn how to avoid patrols as well. For now we should learn more about the building for when we get to patrol.”

“Do you think we should split up then?” she asks and I pause as we come to a junction while I give that a thought. Another person runs passed us and I nod my head.

“That's not a bad idea,” I tell her and I point to the right, “Remember that you don't have to stay in one spot but if you are going to move make it fast and quiet.”

“I understand,” she nods and runs off to the left and I make my way down the corridor and I spend a few minutes running around trying to learn the layout, until I run back to a set of stairs and I head up into the attic.

I open the door and look at the layer of dust and I glance around and smile at the human shaped thing that is covered by a sheet and I make a trail in the dust on my way over to it. I pull back the sheet to reveal a dress mannequin and I nod my head.

“Oh dear just what are you up to?” Shiva asks with a sigh as I channel my magik and start to draw a sigil onto the chest of the mannequin.

“Just a bit of harmless fun,” I laugh as I form the shape that I want to fit over top of it. It takes me most of the rest of my hiding time but once I finish I step back and admire my handiwork for a moment.

I've made a fairly decent looking decaying corpse stuck in an upright position and I nod my head to it. It wouldn't hold to any actual scrutiny and I don't have enough time to make it more convincing but it should be good for the initial shock factor alone. I throw the sheet back over it and carefully retrace my steps to the door and close it before I hoist myself up into the rafters.

It is just as dusty up here and I have to fight the urge to sneeze as I carefully look for a spot to observe the sheet from. I eventually settle on the dark corner and I make myself comfortable while I monitor the sigil.

“What are you going to do if nobody comes in and investigates,” Shiva asks, “It might be to obvious and warn everyone off.”

“Don't say that,” I mentally stick my tongue out at her, and I shift and wait.

I am eventually rewarded for my patience and the door to the stairs opens with a slight creak.

“Wow, it is quite dusty in here,” A man says as he steps into the room.

“Ah but look there are tracks,” A woman replies and follows him in and points at my obvious trail.

“It's probably fake,” he responds to her and shakes his head, “To try and make us waste our time while we could be searching other rooms.”

“Ah but that is what they want us to think,” she argues and walks towards my trap and I can feel myself smiling in anticipation as she reaches out, “And so they think that if they make it super obvious that we won't bother to ch-AHHHH.”

She lets out a shrill scream and stumbles backward as she pulls the sheet away and I am instantly gratified for waking up this morning as she lets out a second even louder scream when the mannequin falls toward her.

The man has already stepped forward and caught it. He looked reluctant about grabbing it at first but now that he has a hold of it his face changes in realization as he recognizes that it is fake, and he just gives out a tiny sigh.

I can hear some boots running up the steps and the instructors step into the room and take a quick look around before they calm down. “Everything is fine,” the man explains to the instructors, “Just a fright is all.”

“A-A Fright,” the woman shouts and points from the floor, “I-it's a b-b-”

“It's a fake,” the man sighs and puts it to the side before he bends down and takes the woman's outstretched hand and pulls her up, “A simple illusion to frighten us and let whoever set it know that it was found and draw more attention. Crude but effective.”

I can't see her face but I watch the woman ball her hands up and she stomps out the door without looking around and the man follows along behind her. Several of the instructors chuckle a bit before they follow the group out. All except for one Elfin woman.

She steps over to the mannequin and walks around it for a few moments while examining it before she stands still and starts to look around the attic. She gives everything a glance before he gaze moves up into the rafters and she spins around.

Her gaze goes passed me before she stops turning and reverses to look over at me and our gazes meet. I can still feel myself smiling so I just wink at her a blow a kiss at her and she gives me a tiny shake of her head before she turns towards the door, but as she looks away I can see a tiny smile on her lips.