what you break is what you get {gwyn}

[Costin Dracula]

Costin never wanted to be bothered. That was hardly new. However, at the moment, being alone was growing increasingly tedious as each day went by. When he was alone, all there was to think about was his shortcomings, of the things he didn't have that he so desperately wanted, how every single breath he took brought him closer to the inevitable end that he dreaded so much.

His single worst fear was whether Dracula and Tulio might wait so long in their deliberation over his mortality that by the time they made up their minds, he would be some entirely undesirable age. Would he be satisfied, locked at fifty or sixty for all of eternity? Or would he have to inform them that he'd rather them just let nature run its course? It was a choice he wanted to have the liberty to make while he was still at an age he'd want to keep for eternity.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that nothing he said to them would change their minds. No matter of "practicing" would bring them to the decision he hoped they'd make. But he went walking at night anyway, walked confidently into the darkness surrounding the dorms, out into the streets, and he strode across the pavement, determined to prove that the utter blackness in the dark points between streetlights did nothing to intimidate him. This was his element. It was. He would prove it to himself, to…well, to anyone who would listen to him, and…

And suddenly he was on the ground, staring up at his precious darkness, wondering exactly what had hit him.

[Gwyn Locksley]

There was a quote, something about going to bed early and rising early making someone healthy and wise, but while Gwyn felt it had it’s merits, she didn’t put complete stock in it. Yes, a good night’s sleep was imperative, and she certainly did her best when she was well rested, but war did not wait for one to get one’s beauty sleep, nor did it only transpire in the daylight hours. She could fire an arrow, wield a sword and rumble hand-to-hand with the best of them, but sometimes war required sneakier, silent tactics. Perhaps not as honourable, but necessary.

That was what brought her outside after dark, long after most of the other students were tucked up safely in bed. She’d had to sneak out her balcony door - again - but that was good practice as well. Now she found herself creeping among the shadows, practicing her stealth, her silence. She had to move without sound, without notice, and she had to see without the aid of light. This was perhaps the most important. If she could not see an enemy coming, how could she defend herself, or warn her comrades?

So dark, so quiet was the night that Gwyn was taken by surprise when the sound of footsteps suddenly reached her ears and a tall, slim figure stepped into view. Pressing herself further into darkness, she watched him move, noting the familiarity but not truly recognizing him until one of the streetlights managed to partially illuminate his face before he retreated to darkness once more.

A sly smile spread across her lips.

She kept to the shadows, kept low to the ground. Of course it was a help that Costin was forever unobservant, always caught up in his self-involved thoughts, but Gwyn still considered it a victory when she managed to sneak up behind him and effectlively tackle him to the ground. Rolling him over, she pinned his arms to his sides and knelt on his legs, grinning down at him. Her first captive... well, besides Eddie, but he didn’t count. He was far from a challenge.

“You should always be aware of your surroundings,” she advised, still smiling victoriously.