Stealing Snacks

[Fell]

It was just before dawn - in other words, right when many of the higher-ranked kids, as well as the assistants and teachers, were going to sleep. The kitchen was closed up for the night, but Kio didn\'t intend to go to bed just yet. Not for a while, really. He wanted a snack, and then he planned on going to visit the ravens atop the West tower.

The kitchen.... Kio padded up to it silently, any noise he would have made rebounding in on itself and back into his cloth shoes. It was a useful trick he\'d learned from one of the apprentices in his house, and it made him, literally, soundless as he moved. It took concentration as well, but Kio had that to spare at the moment. He usually did.

As always, the doors were locked. Kio sighed, then listened behind him. No one - not even one from his own house. He would have known that magic. Regardless, with the coast thus clear, Kio crouched down to begin to pick the lock. The first thing he did was flick the small cat-bell he wore around his neck, making a high-pitched ringing noise. Instead of letting it out into the air at large, though, Kio directed the sound into the lock and listened.

Ahh... the white-haired boy thought, opening his eyes after the sound came back to him. It wasn\'t perfect, but it gave him an idea of what was in the lock. Always a helpful thing. With that initial knowledge gained, Kio could begin to actually open the thing. He drew a small lock-pick from what seemed like nowhere, then got to work on it, keeping an ear on the world behind him.

Kio was going to get those cookies, goddamnit... The ravens would probably appreciate a snack as well, the shifter thought as he worked at the lock, whittling down its resistance...

[Mayquiri]

Well, the corridors were almost deserted.  Kio may well know how to sneak silently using magick, but it took true skill to sneak without the ude of magick.  That or years of knowing that a single unintentional sound meant instant death.

Admittedly, Kio was cirrect in his assumption that the kitchen was empty.  the cooks had not yet risen in order to light the fires for breakfast, and many of the students slumbered peacefully in their beds.  But Venorik never slept well during the nights.

Part of it was because he knew venturing out into the daylight for long spans of time made him dizzy and nauseas.  He was getting better over the years, but the light still made him ill.  He sometimes wondered if he could ever overcome such a weakness or if it was as ingrained into his entire species as infrared vision was.

A suspicious youth might assume that Venorik was stalking them, an evil drow elf bent on destroying the lower level students.  Not that it never crossed his mind, but that was not the reason for Venorik’s sneaking about.  He had been practising outside under the stars, and got hungry.  It was as simple as that.  After all, even First Level students got hungry and snuck food.

Spying the younger student, Venorik paused, black robes and black skin bending in with the shadows.  Had Kio the will to look around instead of relying solely on his ears for any indication of another, he would have seen the white sash and slightly glowing red eyes in the darkness.  “Little late for a snack, isn’t it?” Venorik asked, voice but a whisper.

Had it been any other student then a confuto, Venorik might have raised his voice; but as masterful in the art of sound as these members were, Kio would not only hear the words, but the hissing accent over them.  And if he were truely talented in his house, the slightly playful tone under the words; a tone that a suspicious student would take for the Evil Drow Elf being cruel and devious, or a tone that few others would take for a higher level student simply being amused at finding another at such a late hour.

[Fell]

Kio started lightly when he heard the second voice, though he was careful not to move his hands. The white-haired boy glanced over his shoulder, noting the white sash and the glowing red eyes. Indeed, Kio thought he recognised the other boy. House.... Erudito, I think? No matter; that\'s what I get for using ears alone, the shifter thought, smiling softly to himself. He really did need to learn to use the small mirror he kept with him as well. Or rather, he needed to make use of it more often. That would prevent situations such as this. Everything provides a chance to learn, Kio thought as he turned back to the lock.

"Late? That depends on when you sleep," the white-haired boy responded softly, this time keeping an eye out behind him, as well as an ear. Did he think the man behind him was going to try to kill him? No, not particularly. Fighting between students was allowed, yes, but not killing, and as far as he knew, he\'d done nothing to offend the man standing behind him. It didn\'t bar caution, no, but it didn\'t invite conviction either. Just simple suspicion, though Kio could guess that the other boy was here for the same reason he was.

Just as he said those words, the lock came undone. Kio smiled softly, thinking that even if he couldn\'t be perfectly aware, at least he could still pick a lock. "Are you also here for a snack?" Kio asked, turning a little bit so that he was sideways in the doorway. It was a simple, polite and good-natured question. Besides, if he was also here for that, perhaps he would like to join him in his small meal. Kio had never had a chance to speak to the... drow (Kio thought, thinking back to his studies) boy before, and it might be enjoyable.

[Mayquiri]

No fear?  well, that was a new one.  Especially in one so young.  but it was refreshing too.  The young man was good for a fourth level.  Very skilled with his art, considering his level.  “I sleep when I tire.” He replied simply, shrugging as he walked up to Kio, silent not out of the will to sneak, but out of habit.  When the lights were low, or non-exsistant, Venorik had a habit of sneaking.

And Kio might have been right about killing being illegal, but it had happened before, and the teachers didn’t seem to make as big a fuss about the whole ordeal as they probably should have.  Nodding slightly, Venorik turned to the door.

“Nice job on the lock.  But next time you might wish to employ non-magical means of opening the locks.  noboy really cares, but they can track it back to your house.” He said as he opened the door, entering the kitchen quietly and without answering Kio’s question.  at least not immeaditly.

“no, I’m on patrol for students out past their curfew.” He said after a few moments, turning to look back at Kio.  from the tone in his voice and the expression on hi face, it was impossible to tell whether or not the elf was kidding or serious.

[Fell]

Kio smiled softly at the other\'s reply. "Then it must not be late yet," the shifter said quietly as the dark-skinned boy approached him. He moved silently, Kio noted, and not with magic. Then again, he is a 1st level, he thought. It did make sense that he\'d be that skilled. I\'ll have to work on that, Kio thought, adding it to his mental "to do" list with an underline.

Kio bowed his head slightly at the compliment, then chuckled when the other cautioned him against using magic. "I didn\'t," Kio corrected, producing the lockpick he\'d used oncemore, and still seemingly out of thin air. Kio had seen people track magic back to houses before, so he tried to employ it only on himself or in highly short-lived ways. They probably couldn\'t figure out who\'d done what in a house, but it was better to leave no trace.

Kio\'s eyes followed the drow as he walked into the kitchen, then turned and spoke. Kio weighed the chances of that being the truth for a couple moments before shrugging and deciding it didn\'t really matter; he had little to no curfew anyway. Only the younger students in Confuto did. The older you got, the freer you were. Kio had been up all night training, and he planned to sleep through the day shortly. He smiled a little bit, then followed the other into the kitchen. "So long as you\'re looking for curfew-breakers and not thieves, assuming you\'re looking for anyone at all, I\'m not worried," Kio responded, his voice gently playful.

The elf probably knew full well the curfew policy for Confuto, and if he didn\'t, then he was either a) kidding or b) only searching for those of his own house. Either way, Kio\'s statement held. "Cookie?" the white-haired boy asked congenially, opening a drawer and removing an oatmeal cookie. He was no longer using his magic to silence his steps, but was doing his best to be silet anyway. Kio wasn\'t doing so badly, either, though a sharp listener would be able to catch his footfalls. But that was the point of practice... mess up now to succeed later.

[Mayquiri]

“Almost dwan.” He replied, looking about cautiously before finding his way to the fresh fruits and vegetables area.  “almost time for me to sleep.” He then added on, looking over at the lockpick.  “I felt the magick you used in the lock.  but it’s almost gone now.” He said, nodding contentedly.  This child was really quite good.  If he were the kind of kid who puts his mind to a task properly, he could excell.  Or he could develop into a serious threat.

but at the moment, he was still just a child.  a lower level student who, if not for being a member of Confuto, should have een in bed long, long ago.

Catching on to what Kio was doing, Venorik smiled to himself as he began munching on a raw button mushroom.  They didn’t have the best flavor, but they weren’t bad raw.  “i’ll try one.” He said, grabbing an oatmeal cookies before the drawer closed.  Venorik had never had these before.  they looked like they could either be delicious or repulsive.

“You’re lucky you’re in here making that noise.” Venorik said as he finished his fungus, waiting for Kio to start the cookies beforehe trusted it.  “Had you been in the Underdark, even a nise like that would have attracted the Glin Treema.” He whispered, traslating the last two words as best be could, “Hook Horrors.  You would have been dead already.”

[Fell]

"Me too," Kio said as he somehow took the cookie from its wrapping without making a noise. He gave it a delicate sniff, then bit off a corner. Oatmeal cookies... his favourite to be sure. Kio wondered if it was because of the bird in him. It seemed to follow that since a bird would like grains, he would enjoy them as well. Not to mention the fact that they were delicious.

Ah, he meant the searching sound he\'d used. That was why it hadn\'t connected... The noises sent in and out again faded within a minute or so. The same with most of the attack sounds he used. It was very convenient, really, and made it all the harder for people to figure out what had happened. Being unseen, silent, still... They were good things. "You meant the finding," Kio said, giving the ground before him a small, sheepish smile. "Yes; I like it because it fades so quickly," the white haired boy said softly, feeling a mite silly for not having known what the drow had been referring to. But, again... Fail now, in training, so that one could succeed later.

Kio caught the look in the drow\'s eye - the one that wondered whether the cookie was going to be horrid or delicious - and chuckled silently. "Well, I like them at least. If you like grains..." the white haired boy said, letting the sentence hang loose with but a small shrug to finish it. Kio took another small bite of his cookie, listening as the first-year student went on.

It amused Kio, a little bit - not what the drow was saying, but the fact that he was telling him that he was being too noisy to survive in the Underdark. Telling being the operative word there. "I know. I\'m still learning. But had we been in the Underdark all this while, acting as we had, we both would be. If footsteps draw them, I\'m sure voices do as well," Kio said softly, with a little bit of a smile. "Fortunately for us, we haven\'t been, though I\'m sure you could well traverse that landscape well if you needed to," the white haired boy added, the last part not at all facetious. He simply hadn\'t wanted the older student to think him insulting his abilities in any way. Kio really was sure he\'d be fine there. That was the home of the drow, and the 1st-level student before him was sure to be more than capable of navigating the dangerous area.

That said, Kio grabbed another cookie or two and pocketed them to share later. He would be sleeping soon enough, yes, but he wanted to greet the flock of ravens above the West Tower before he did. Maybe go for a morning fly with them. It was good exercise, and it would surely prepare him well for bed.

[Mayquiri]

Once he saw Kio eat a bit of the cookies, Venorik bit into his own as well, content that it wasn’t poisoned.  It would have been suicide for Kio to poison just random cookies in the drawer, then reach in at random the the dark of night without knowing which were safe and which weren’t.

The cookies certainy wasn’t bad.  It wasn’t great, being a bit to sugary for venorik’s tastes, but certainly not bad.  A good treat for a human child.  Quickly finishing his cookie, Venorik turned back to his mushrooms, preffering the savory, earthy taste over the overly sweet grainy flavor of the cookies.

“Noise draws them.  Tey’re hunters in the underdark.  Good hunters.  Bipedal creatures similar to a Drow in shape, but over eight feet tall.  They have a hard outer shell that’s imperveious to anything but the strongest Adamentie weapons, and for hands, they have twelve inch curved hooks.” Venorik said, shuddering fainly as his mind reconstructed an infrared vision of the monsters before he regained composure.

“As we are, yes, we would both have been dead long ago.  But Drow are taught two lanugages from birth.  One is of normal speech in our native tongue.  the other is a language of gestures and signs, a silent one created so we can comunicate without the need for sound, improving our chances of surviving when in a hunting party.” He explained softly, nodding slightly.

“I can, and I have.  I wouldn’t want to do it again though.  At least not alone.  It would be dangerous even for a Grand Master.  why are you stealing cookies?”  Her asked, suddenly noticing Kio take a few cookies and pocket them.

“We are fed adequetly, after an evening snack, one shouldn’t need to steal from the kitchens.” He said sharply.  It was one thing to take a few cookies late at night and eat them as a snack.  It was quite another to take and hoard even more cookies after the belly was full.

[Fell]

Kio searched his memory, but had only a faint recollection of a mention of the beasts the drow was describing, and that hadn\'t been very detailed at all. Given that, the white-haired boy soaked up the information like a sponge. It was vitally important to know these things, for one never knew where one would have to go. And if Kio ever ended up in the Underdark... Well, such things would be good to know. "Does movement draw them as well, or are they blind?" the boy asked curiously, clearly interested in the subject.

"Though I suppose movement couldn\'t... not if you use sign-language to avoid drawing them," Kio mused quietly, tapping his lower lip with the remains of his cookie. Sounds like a very harsh enironment, he thought. It would be.... interesting if he ever went there, though he boubted anyone but Masters and perhaps their High Apprentices were ever assigned jobs in such places. To send a normal apprentice seemed as though it would be more likely to be a waste of life than anything else. Venorik\'s next words confirmed Kio\'s thoughts and more. Kio didn\'t doubt him much when he said it would be dangerous even for a Grand Master, though he realised that he would need to research it further to form a conclusion he trusted. Still, nothing wrong with learning from others as a supplement.

"Why are you stealing cookies?" the drow demanded, his voice sharp. Kio was about to answer, but the other boy went on. Respectful of rank, Kio waited until he was done. "They\'re not for me," the lower-ranked student explained calmly, not taking his words offensively in the slightest. Had he been simply gluttonous, he would well have deserved the reprimend. "I bring them to the ravens when I go speak to them. They enjoy oatmeal cookies as well," Kio continued, smiling softly as he thought of his feathered friends.

Indeed, the ravens would probably be quite upset if he didn\'t bring them a treat. They were a bit like children at times, and they considered it their due reward. What, exactly, the reward was for had always been in question, but Kio didn\'t mind bringing them some cookies when he went to visit.

[Mayquiri]

This made Venorik laugh.  He couldn’t help it.  He knew that as far as education about the Underdark and other highly dangerous areas was more then lacking, but this was absurd.  “It would if they could see in the Underdark.  Go into a closet.  Close your eyes if the closet is not completely pitch black.  then wave your hand in front of your eyes.  If you can see it moving, then you can see in the Underdark.”  Shaking his head, Venorik began putting the kitchen back in order so the cooks wouldn’t realize someone had snuck in.

“We use the hand language to avoid anything.  One never knows what might be hiding around the next corner.”

When Kio explained himself, Venorik gave pause.  He knew what ravens were, it just took a moment for the name to connect with a picture.  Had it been owls, Venorik would have been able to tell everything about the breed.  He just never really saw ravesn close up often.

“The black birds that hide in the towers?  How long have you been here?” He asked softly as he began heading for the kitchen door.  The sky was already graying, and soon it would be dawn.

[Fell]

Kio cocked his head to the side just a little bit in a decidedly bird-like gesture. It was his "listening" pose, and listening he was. One thing about Venorik\'s explanation didn\'t make sense, though. "How did you avoid hitting things, if you couldn\'t see?" Kio asked curiously. They must have had some method of sight, given that they had clearly evolved eyes. Kio could tell that Venorik was using them, too, just from the way they moved around the room. They were functional, not vestigial. Perhaps the drow had some form of sonar...? Looking at his ears, though, Kio doubted it. They didn\'t look like the right shape, nor large enough. Besides, sign language required sight... So the Drow had to have some way of detecting each other\'s movement, including subtle movement. And if the drow could do it, then Kio didn\'t think his question was a very silly one at all.

Still, he wouldn\'t bother with that part of it. It wasn\'t important for learning, and Kio doubted that Venorik would appreciate his stream of logic anyway. Best to leave the boat un-rocked whenever one could, and right now, Kio could. Besides, he really was curious about all this. It was always good to learn. Kio helped Venorik erase any traces of their presence while he waited for an answer.

"Yes, those are the ones. And I\'m been here for.... 8 years," Kio whispered back, thinking about it for only a moment before replying. Yes... he\'d been 6, and now he was 14... So that made sense. "Why?" he inquired curiously. The two questions didn\'t seem well-related to the shifter.

[Mayquiri]

And Venorik didn’t mind explaining.  this kid seemed willing, if not eager, to learn, and he wasn’t asking completely stupid questions.  “A few creatures developed to not need sonar, or ways of listening.  Drows, along with a few other species can see in the dark.  I can’t use it right now properly, but were it black in here, I could see you quite clearly.  Everything gives off heat, and for us, that heat registers in different colors.” He explained softly, smiling fantly to himself as he continued to assess the younger boy.  

He was smart, and he listened in class.  For the most part.  but he was only a child, and human children’s mind tend to wander no matter how interested they are.  He could definately pose a serious threat one day.  Venorik would have to keep tabs on him.

“Birds are skittish creatures.  but you’ve had eight years to bond with them.  Had you been here less, I would have doubted your explination.”

[Fell]

"Ah... Like rattlesnakes," Kio murmured when Venorik continued to explain. He remembered learning about the fascinating creatures when he was younger, and their ability to "see" heat had always fascinated him. Drow must have a much more refined version of that if they could sign to eachother, though. It must also be very useful as an assassin. But then, most people had something that was advantageous to them - some just not so clearly advantageous as Venorik.

Kio listened politely while Venorik denounced avians as skittish. It was a fair assesment to make, as most of them were very much so. Well, to most. Kio wasn\'t exactly "most" when it came to birds of any sort. "It doesn\'t take very long, if you listen. Ravens are the most intelligent of birds, which is why I spend my time with them rather than other sorts," the white-haired boy said, his voice both soft and pleasant. In truth, Kio didn\'t need to meet with a flock for longer than a couple of days before they stopped being wary of him and began to be curious, even friendly. Kio decided not to share that, though. It wasn\'t terribly important, and Venorik would probably think he was lying anyway.

Cocking his head to the side, Kio considered Venorik for a moment. "Would you like to meet them someday?" the younger student asked politely. Perhaps he wouldn\'t, in which case Kio was sure he would say so, but there was a chance he would be interested as well. One never knew, and it was always polite to extend an invitation.

[Mayquiri]

Perhaps it was like rattlesnakes.  He knew of their venom, but as far as the living creatures went, Venorik was once again lacking in information.  After all, all he cared about was their venom, why should he learn about heat sensors?  Listening in on Kio, Venorik shrugged.

Birds were birds.  They might be smart for birds, but they were no where near the same level as humans, much less, drow.  "Perhaps one day.  The sun is beginning to come up now.  You should see your….friends….. and then get back to bed.  Even if you are in confuto, you should have classes in the morning.  Every house does."

[Fell]

Every house? Yes, but not at every level... Kio thought. But to be fair, it wouldn\'t make sense if Venorik knew the intimate ins and outs of another house. More eerie than anything else, actually, because that would mean that he had been watching someone in it. And when an assassin was watching someone... Well, at any rate, Venorik didn\'t seem to know, so he probably wasn\'t watching. The thought that he could be trying to lull him into a sense of security crossed his mind, but Kio dismissed it as just *slightly* over-paranoid, given his level and the fact that Venorik wasn\'t even working yet.

"I will," Kio replied simply, ghosting over to the door. Even if he didn\'t need to be up until later, the 4th level student liked sleep and liked it quite a bit, even if he had taught himself to sleep lightly. Dreams were fun, and a good amount of rest left one feeling very good for the day. It was odd that Venorik knew him to be in Confuto, but not entirely out of place. After all, Kio had recognised Venorik to be from Erudito without having to stalk him first.

Kio turned at the door, smiling at the older boy. "Let me know if you\'d ever like to," he said, halfway turning before he looked back, giving Venorik a pleasant look. "And sleep well!" Such politenesses now completed, Kio left the room quietly. He would have done up the lock again, but Venorik still needed to get out. Kio trusted that he would be more than capable on his own. A good start to the day, the shifter concluded happily as he made his way across the grounds and to the Western Tower.