*"Observation is key! Not just looking both ways to see that the road is clear. Seeing the prints in the road, the ruts of the carriages, the dust in the air, and knowing which carriages passed by when, to whom they belong, the speed they travel, where they are going, and if they will be back, what the weather was like when they passed and what it will be in two minutes. All this in a glance.
Listen to people! Not what they say... no one ever bothers to really think before they talk, and if they do they are concocting a story to cover up what they really should be saying... but how they say it. How they stand, where they are looking, what they are fiddling with in their fingers; for it could be the chain that will hang you.
Observe yourself! Listen to what you say, how you say it, where you are standing, what you are looking at, what you are fiddling with in your fingers, what you are wearing, and if it will be appropriate for the weather later on in the day. Others are watching you watching them, and your movements can give you away as easily as theirs gave them away. Know yourself and your actions. What you are thinking, and even... what you are dreaming at night. For there are some for which nothing is sacred, and can not only observe your actions, but also your thoughts and dreams. Your tongue may be silent, but you mind may be ratting on you and your kin.
Yes, even your dreams... especially your dreams, recognize which ones are yours, else someone else may replace them with theirs... "*
Awake with a jolt, a golden-furred woman lay back her ears and gazed around the room. The library of the Church of Austinian. With the gaze she took in everything, the arrangement of the books, the dust or lack there of on certain ones, and then Lioness collected her thoughts. As her mentor Lynx had warned her in her dreams of old memories this night, an observation and arranging of thought must be made. Where did the dreams come from and where are they going?
Tonight's dreams did not originate in her mind. Lioness knew her mind and could recognize her thoughts, and these dreams were another's. A few moments and she remembered the sands of New Thalos, and she knew their direction. Now for the nitty gritty analysis... why had another sent her their dreams this night?
*gods be mannies can't keep their thoughts to themselves*
Why indeed, there was a time when following a mannie's dream request would have meant a trap or certain doom, but those times were now behind Lioness, or so she hoped, and a mannie's dream request may not mean certain doom, right away anyhow. It was a simple fact of the thoughts left behind in her mind that this one meant no harm. One cannot enter another's dreams without leaving behind a clue to their purpose.
*"To be a good thief one must also be a good detective. Know what clues your actions will leave behind, that way you can remove them from the crime scene before the law arrives."*
There was no ill intent, only an honest request for help.. the sort of request Lioness dealt with on a daily basis... however even if no malice was intended, it does not mean there is not something more sinister lurking in the shadows that the innocent don't see.
*there is a sort of naiveté about that monk, her requests is honest; however through this naiveté, she has no idea who it is she asks for assistance from*
*which is why I must go, she is my friend, and will need someone to look in the shadows and watch her back*
*because something else already is*
A small silver dagger with a tiger-eye jewel set in it glinted in the light of the white moon, as a dark-cloaked, golden-furred yinn silently passed down the road to New Thalos, observing the prints and tracks on the road, the dust in the air, and what the weather will be come day.
*"One's senses will save you. Listen to them all, especially the one in your gut that tells you that all Hell is going to break loose. It's normally right."*