faderift | [Open] Training Montage!

WHO: Adasse Agassi and YOU
WHAT: Adasse making himself useful, or not.
WHEN: Most of Firstfall
WHERE: The Gallows
NOTES: Warnings for cursing, possible mentions of darker things (will update), and crime.

1. Training Montage - Part One

It starts with Adasse taking Beleth's words to heart - to helping someone else because she helped him. He saw some of the scouts trying to work on trying to sneak, and after swallowing a lot of laughter, he walked them through the basics of keeping out of sight.

From there, he graduated to expanding Ellana's lessons to others - how to pickpocket from an important mark without getting caught. Light fingers in pockets, off belts, how to snip off a purse with a dagger without being noticed. It was all about moving your fingers in the right way, and like Ellana, he had them do finger strengthening exercises.

The final step, lock-picking. He was sitting on the ground, with a half a dozen Scouts around him, showing them what he was doing, step by step. "See - you don't want to tweak it too hard - if you do you snap off the pick and the lock's jammed. Permanent. Locking mechanisms are delicate things."

There's plenty of room for someone to sneak and observe, or at least snark from the background.

Training Montage - Part Deux!

There's something - someone - moving very rapidly over the roofs the gallows. Along the high stone walls, high above the courtyard, over the top of the slopes that lead down to the kitchens, along the edges of the towers and then down to the cobblestones of the Gallows. Adasse, without a shirt, running up the side of staircases, dark eyes intent and sweat beading over his body as he moves as rapidly as he can. Up, down, sideways, leaping off and rolling. A few times - he goes to climb up to a second story window -- but instead of climbing, he holds himself there. Muscles straining, and for the first time, something that had just looked like a colorful blur comes into focus.

A vhenadal tree, done in a rainbow of colors, down his entire back. If one looks closely enough ...

Either way, he's not paying attention to anyone below him. He's focusing on gripping the windowsill, and pulling himself up slowly, then lowering himself down again.

And ...Rest.

Above the Gallows courtyard, if you're just one of those people who happens to look up, you might see a young elf sitting atop one of the walls. He's dressed lightly, and a sack of apples is sitting next to him. A small brown nug is sleeping in his lap, whom he is petting with one hand. The other is holding open a book that he is, by all accounts, reading with complete absorption.

He'll probably hear you if you call out. A few times, at best.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Well, that's the thing about cities, you know? They offer something up differently to everyone. Some people go to cities for fresh starts, others to seek their dreams, and others because it's their traditional home, and they seek their roots. Opportunity. Curiosity. Adventure. The cities will form to the things you want for your people, and they'll give you what you desire in return," he said, his eyes flicking up, past Adasse towards the sky for a moment.

"If you have the will and the determination, you can craft these things for yourself. Home is people, after all, not a place," he looked back down to Adasse. "Like I said, I have faith. Even the biggest trees started as seedlings, right?"

Adasse looked at him with wonder for a moment, before he let out a laugh, "You make it sound like we can rebuild New Arlavthan. With an entirely modern city the likes of Val Royeaux." He shook his head a little, "... and you're a human to boot."

"Why can't you?" he asked him, arching a brow. "If your people have the will, there is a way. I bet your sticky fingers could get ahold of some plans or two to get you on your way." He grinned and winked at him, but there was a sincerity there as well underlying it all.

He truly believed what he said.

"Well, for one, we'd need the land. And none of us have the land." He paused, looking thoughtful. "But if we could buy it ... we ... could build on that, I suppose. Enough for a small village to start."

"See? Where there's a will, there's a way," he nodded as if that settled the matter. If Adasse wanted further advice, he was happy to provide what he knew of such things, but it had always seemed to him that the elves had prided and they didn't need someone like a human coming in and saving them, or taking over. They were strong, they could accomplish it on their own, in their own way.

They really would not like the advice, and that meant that Adasse took the encouragement as it was meant. Not 'a human will save us!' more like, 'this human is not a complete wanker'.

Which was why he got another cheery smile.

"But I guess if we're sharing tattoos, I should share mine."

He grinned and reached down, pulling up the edge of his shirt to under his arm to reveal a dark black tattoo running down his left ribcage. It read, letters stacked atop each other, "NCC 1701" with a a symbol between made of a circle and an strange, oblong object and another shape cut out of it. Better known to Kirk as the symbol of Star Fleet.

"Oh now ... that's some lovely art, there." He leans in to brace his fingers against Jim's skin, over the tattoo with interest. "What is that?"

A small shiver runs through him where Adasse touches, the skin around the tattoo having always been sensitive.

“It’s the call number for my ship, back home, and the symbol is the emblem of the Fleet I serve,” he explained. “Her other name is the Enterprise, but that felt a bit long to be putting down my ribs.”

Adasse's fingers are careful as they trace along the curve of the tattoo, tipping his head to the side as his dark eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Seriously, this is fantastic work. 'Enterprise'. Where do you go with your ships?"

Kirk let him, not seeming to bothered by his proximity or his touch. The question has a pause as he considers what to say. Sam knew the truth, but Sam could be trusted. Not that Adasse was not trust worthy, but they had only just met a week or so ago.

“To new places,” he finally chose his words. “My ship was - is - in charge of discovering new lands and peoples, and extending the hand of the Federation to them, or making new scientific discoveries. We’re an exploratory vessel, basically.”

Adasse lifted his fingers away, looking up at Jim with curiosity and interest, dark eyes bright.

"Well that sounds jolly fun! Did you meet a lot of new people? See a lot of new lands and such? What was your favorite place?"

"It depends, but I've met a fair amount of new peoples in my time." On other planets, not continents or lands, but gentle fudging here. "There was this one place - it was red. Everything was red or white and it was really quite lovely. You would think all that single hue would hurt your eyes, but... walking through it was really like stepping into another world." And that was more truth than not.

"I wish I could have traveled that much - when I wasn't out running for my life." He sighed deeply, before he smiled warmly. "All the colors of red in the entire world."

[Open] Training Montage!

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