The Art of Subtlety (private w/Roisin)

[Grayson Albus Luminum]

Grayson decided to spend his afternoon in the library. Enthralled by a spy fiction novel, he sat down at a remote desk far from any other students. His gloved hands turned a page as he continued reading the book, which he was about halfway through at this point. Grayson bookmarked the page, having finished another few chapters of the novel. He tucked the novel away in one of his larger pockets on the inside of his bridge coat before walking away from his seat. After only taking a few steps, his eyes wandered towards the restricted section of the library, which was left completely unguarded.

Seems like Beacon could use a bit more transparency with their students. I think it would be a great idea to advocate for such a cause right about now... Grayson pondered before skulking his way into the restricted section. He waited for a brief moment, scanning the room with his back pressed against the wall by the entrance. Considering he wasn't followed and heard no footsteps, Grayson took the time to use Bioforge, making his form invisible. He had to wander about slowly as to not interfere with his Semblance's ability to maintain invisibility. Who knows what he might come across in such a quiet area of the library?...

[Roisin Treacy]

‘Peace’ and ‘quiet’ were two words that rarely appeared together on Rose’s radar. The only exception was when she needed to escape some kind of scuffle that she had usually caused. After a scrap with a student in the courtyard, Rose had bolted to the library. Surely the staff couldn’t think she was guilty if she was studying. It was a foolproof plan!

Rose was keeping her head low, pretending to be buried deep in a book when she noticed the restricted section of the library was wide open. There was even less chance of being spotted if she was somewhere they wouldn’t look. The red-head eye’s darted left and right before she darted inside. As she hurried deeper inside the twisting passages of bookshelves, she suddenly found herself hitting an invisible force.

The Faunus yelped as she fell backwards, almost landing on her tail, as she rubbed her head in confusion.

“Urgh...did I just hit a forcefield or something?” she muttered to herself, eyeing the space in front of her. All she saw were books, shelves and...was there something there? Or someone? “...Hello?”

[Grayson Albus Luminum]

Grayson stealthily made his way further into the restricted section, his back against a bookshelf. He turned around to peruse the titles once he made it to the corner of the bookshelf.

Hmm... Nothing interesting enough here... Grayson thought as he heard rapidly approaching footsteps from the entrance of the restricted section. Before Grayson could even think about getting away, he collided with someone and stumbled backwards into the bookshelf. A shimmer of what appeared to be a series of fractal polygons emanated from Grayson as the sudden, rapid movements interfered with his Semblance's ability to function properly. Fortunately, the bookshelf remained standing. Unfortunately, he failed to maintain his concentration on his Semblance, and his form materialized at the bottom of the bookshelf, sitting upright against it.

Good, she's not one of the professors... he mused as he observed the Faunus girl that was in front of him.

"Shh!" Grayson sounded as be quickly brought a finger up to his lips, telling the Faunus to quiet herself. After that, Grayson stood up silently and adjusted his stylish getup.

[Roisin Treacy]

As Rose brushed her hair back in place, she noticed another student had materialised out of thin air, almost as if appearing from behind a holographic projection. He was a tall, well-dressed young man. Too prim and proper for her liking. To top it off, he was insisting that she be quiet? The annoyance was clear in Rose’s expression as she flipped him the bird before stumbling back to her feet.

“Don’t you ‘ssh’ me boyo,” she replied irritably, although she noticeably kept her voice in hushed whisper to avoid attention. It wouldn’t do to be caught sneaking in the restricted section. It would blow her whole plan to keep a low profile. Clearly this guy was apparently worried about being caught too.

Rose kept crouched in a stance to help stay hidden from view, listening for any approaching footsteps. Her blue eyes surveyed the room for signs of trouble but nothing happened. No professors or library staff had crashed the party.

After a quiet few seconds, Rose breathed a sigh of relief before quietly asking, “Who are you hiding from?”

[Grayson Albus Luminum]

The nerve on this one... Grayson thought as she gave him the one finger salute.

Grayson's brow noticeably tensed in irritation at her reaction. She at least understood the need for subtlety, though her attitude certainly warranted readjustment. Grayson felt his fist clench, but then realized that he had a notable advantage over her: his Semblance was in its element. Should things go haywire, Grayson would have an easier time hiding than her. Upon this realization, Grayson's fist loosened up with that in mind, as well as knowing that staying angry wouldn't benefit either party.

"Whether you like it or not, we're in this pickle together now." Grayson whispered in retort. He assumed a lower, stealthier stance and took a moment to listen for footsteps like the Faunus.

"Only those who would take offense to students in the restricted section, and you?" Grayson quietly asked in kind as he peeked around the corner of the bookshelf his back was against.

[Roisin Treacy]

Rose’s first impression of this guy was less than ideal - too serious and uptight - and it didn’t improve much when he spoke. He sounded like one of those posh Atlas types. Certainly looked like one too. She wrinkled her nose at his statement. Gross. She hated pickles. He was right though; they would both be in trouble if they were caught. Best to work together for now.

The pair remained quiet, hunkering in place for a moment to keep out of sight. It seemed like the boy wasn’t hiding here like she was. It sounded like he’d come here on purpose to read or something. Okay, maybe he had a bit of a cool side after all.

For her own explanation, Rose sucked air through her teeth, as if reluctant to say. “I might have started a fight in the courtyard. Some dumb brick of a guy didn’t think I would stand a chance against a Grimm. I proved him wrong, buuuut the professors probably won’t see it that way.”

She gestured to the shelves around them and the lack of people nearby. “Figured this would be a good place to hide for a bit.”

[Grayson Albus Luminum]

Taking a moment to observe her body language, Grayson could tell that she did not like him. He noticed her nose wrinkle at one point, only adding to her distaste. He felt as though she was observant, reading him like a book, on the surface at least. Perhaps if he took a different approach, he could sway her opinion of him. After all, he'd rather walk away from this encounter with another friend rather than an enemy.

She seems like a feisty one, but honest, albeit reluctantly. Maybe mirroring some of her own qualities would get me into her good graces... he pondered.

"It's not necessarily a bad place to hide..." Grayson replied. He would have elaborated further, but she did not seem like the type to take kindly to taking advice from him.

"The professors are buzzkills like that, they never understand us. Sounds like you gave that prick a good ass-kicking though." Grayson spoke, wondering if his new strategy would prove effective.