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Post by Brent Yaxley on Jul 14, 2013 4:11:12 GMT
Brent kept his brow raised as he stood by the door, his feet falling loosely into his shoes, he bent over a little, tucking his shoe laces down the sides rather than tying them. "Come on then." He said, waiting for Tiff to leave the room before him.
Turning his head to Illsa he watched her for a moment before speaking directly towards her "Stay. Be good."
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Tiffany Lestrange
i'm not a fool, i just love that you're dead inside, i'm not a fool, i'm just lifeless too.
Posts: 869
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Post by Tiffany Lestrange on Jul 14, 2013 4:14:49 GMT
Illsa cackled, tilting her head back with the force of it, then dipped her head to rest it on her paws, tail thumping against the ground as she desperately tried to sit still like he'd asked, despite wanting to leap up & follow them out.
Shaking her head in amusement, Tiff headed out & down the stairs, fingers reaching for the railing that she hadn't needed to use since she was younger. She felt her legs shaking under her own weight & didn't trust herself not to fall down & break her neck out of the pure shakiness from adrenaline. She headed down the remaining steps & out the door with Brent, staying quiet for so long that she wasn't sure she'd be able to speak once she did open her mouth again.
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Post by Brent Yaxley on Jul 14, 2013 4:25:32 GMT
Brent followed behind her, his gaze fixed on the way she moved, picking up on the way she was acting, picking up on how nervous she seemed. He sighed heavily as they reached the front door. Stopping in his stride her folded his arms and set his jaw, his expression unreadable before he spoke. "How do you think you're going to amount to anything when I can practically feel the negative vibes coming off of you from here and you're not even doing anything yet. You have to remove the feelings from it Tiffany. You need to block out everything and focus. You can't let your concerns take any of your focus. Your focus has to solely be on what you're doing." He wasn't trying to be cruel, for a change, but rather offer constructive criticism.
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Tiffany Lestrange
i'm not a fool, i just love that you're dead inside, i'm not a fool, i'm just lifeless too.
Posts: 869
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Post by Tiffany Lestrange on Jul 14, 2013 4:28:55 GMT
"I'm sorry, I -" God, the blush built up again & she immediately turned to try to keep walking, "I'll fix it." she said instead, her tone serious & determined. What was she supposed to say? I don't want you to think I'm an idiot? Sorry, more of an idiot?
"I'd just rather get this out of the way now instead of when it's really important." she hoped she sounded logical, mature, even. She had no idea how she came across to other death eaters, anymore. She could barely hear herself when she talked - it was like she zoned in & out of real life.
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Post by Brent Yaxley on Jul 14, 2013 4:38:33 GMT
"Don't be sorry, damnit. Sort it out." He answered sharply as he started walking down the garden path. "You need to remove your feelings from your kills, whether it be fear or adrenaline, because although the latter sounds like it's helping it doesn't. It makes you feel like you're on top of your game and you should never feel like that. Be ready to expect the unexpected. Feel nothing. Go in with an empty head and you'll make it out alive. Anything else and you're just playing with time until you're taken out. You hear me?" He spoke seriously, reciting like a true soldier and in his defence he had three years of outdoor experience and he'd come close to being caught more than once, hence why he took a more ruthless approach nowadays.
"Don't try and place importance on any aspect of this job. It's all equally important, Tiffany. You need to realise that. It's kill or be killed. We're not playing around anymore. They're not going to just stand there whilst you decide if you can take them out or not."
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Tiffany Lestrange
i'm not a fool, i just love that you're dead inside, i'm not a fool, i'm just lifeless too.
Posts: 869
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Post by Tiffany Lestrange on Jul 14, 2013 4:41:29 GMT
She immediately nodded when he asked, feeling a lump rising in the back of her throat before she skittered, speeding up to keep up beside him, listening intently to every word he said, hanging on to each one as if her life depended on it, soaking it all up.
As they reached the edge of the forest, she stepped into the shade a little & turned to look back at him curiously, not even sure where to start or what to do, what he expected of her or what he even planned to do.
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Post by Brent Yaxley on Jul 14, 2013 4:46:33 GMT
Brent nodded firmly as she seemed to just accept what he was saying. He didn't have time for her to start battling him on the ins and outs of what he had to say. He'd spelt it out simply and that was all he could officially offer.
Standing beside her, he folded his arms before gesturing into the forest with one first head gesture. "What do you usually do when you get here?" He questioned, taking a step forwards. "I'll be behind you, pretend I'm not here. I want to observe."
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Tiffany Lestrange
i'm not a fool, i just love that you're dead inside, i'm not a fool, i'm just lifeless too.
Posts: 869
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Post by Tiffany Lestrange on Jul 14, 2013 5:05:40 GMT
She felt nervous, twitchy. Like she was worried that her every step would be judged. Stepping away from him enough to no longer be able to hear her breathing, she tried to relax herself & get into her element, before taking another few steps forward.
The evening air was cooling down considerably & the forest was dark enough during the daytime, even less so when the sun started to lower in the sky. A warm glow filled her peripherals to her right, & her head snapped to look, eyes darkening angrily. Fireflies. The rage that bubbled up inside of her threatened to make her explode, her eyes darkening & her fingers tightening around her wand in her holster.
She barely even registered taking her first shot, a bright orange band that shot up into the darkness of the leaves, missing & sending a small cluster of birds flying outward into the open air. Catching herself & realizing what she was doing, she took her second shot, much more concentrated, now, & hit two of the birds in a single curved swipe, their small bodies falling like rocks & hitting the ground, the second bouncing with a small roll & landing a few feet from Brent's boots in the dirt.
The angry shakiness was gone from her hands, now, her muscles relaxing as she let the adrenaline pass out of her system, trying to remember everything Brent had told her, eyes flickering around for another possible target. Something to redeem herself with.
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Post by Brent Yaxley on Jul 16, 2013 5:31:27 GMT
Brent stood behind, his body resting back against a tree as he watched her expectantly. He wasn't really sure what to expect from her, he didn't usually watch her long enough to know if she had any skill, any talent.
As the brunette missed, he raised a brow, he didn't speak, nothing erupted from him apart from a small amused grunt, as though trying to annoy her into doing better. Moving his hand from his side, he scratched at the back of his neck whilst continuing to watch her, expecting her to do something correctly.
As the birds fell at his feet, his eyebrow raised again, jaw locking, he didn't look impressed, his boot moved effortlessly, kicking the dead birds away from his feet with one swift movement. "C'mon Tiffany, two birds? You could have more than two people coming at you."
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Tiffany Lestrange
i'm not a fool, i just love that you're dead inside, i'm not a fool, i'm just lifeless too.
Posts: 869
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Post by Tiffany Lestrange on Jul 16, 2013 5:37:00 GMT
"Give me a minute." She hissed, blushing nervously & refusing to look back at him just yet, "just.. give me a minute." She took a few more steps, trying to seek out any other creatures nearby.
"There are a few deer families out here." She looked back at him expectantly.
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Post by Brent Yaxley on Jul 16, 2013 6:02:28 GMT
"You don't have a minute when it comes to the real thing!" He retorted somewhat angrily at her tone.
Kicking at the ground, he looked at her with the same expectant expression she was giving him before holding his arm out to gesture deeper into the forest, as though to ask 'what are we still doing here, then?'
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Tiffany Lestrange
i'm not a fool, i just love that you're dead inside, i'm not a fool, i'm just lifeless too.
Posts: 869
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Post by Tiffany Lestrange on Jul 16, 2013 6:16:35 GMT
Needing only that look as an answer, she gave him a sharp little glare & spun on her heel, boots crunching the leaves beneath her feet as she headed off of the beaten path & between some of the thicker, more close together trees. The deer would be able to hear them coming, at this rate, but she had faith in herself to be quicker than him.
When she stopped abruptly, she shot a hand up, hitting his chest softly as he walked closer to her to stop them both from moving, going dead silent for a moment, her head whipping around to the sound of a branch cracking on the ground nearby. She took a small step forward, the crunching leaves sending a buck that had been separated rushing off into the clearing & toward the trees. This time, she didn't let her adrenaline get to her, aiming perfectly & flinging a sparkling band of deep blue light at the creature. For a moment, it kept running - or rather, it's body did, the head sliding cleanly off & hitting the ground with an echoing 'thud' that sent the birds in the nearby trees flying.
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Post by Brent Yaxley on Jul 16, 2013 6:45:46 GMT
Following silently, Brent figured his expression was probably enough to get her through this. He didn't need to throw harsh jibes her way, knowing that'd just make her lose focus whilst thinking something petty up in response to him being a general ass.
He stopped as he felt his hand take contact with her hand. Exhaling softly he folded his arms and waited expectantly, his heels digging into the ground. Watching, he set his jaw before his head tilted just a little. As the buck moved, as it's head slid off, he didn't change his expression, he just raised his eyebrow once more. He wasn't going to praise her, no, he didn't want her to think that she'd done enough to win his praise just yet. A couple of birds and a buck? It'd take much more than that for him to actually be impressed.
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Tiffany Lestrange
i'm not a fool, i just love that you're dead inside, i'm not a fool, i'm just lifeless too.
Posts: 869
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Post by Tiffany Lestrange on Jul 16, 2013 6:51:24 GMT
Oblivious, she looked up at him hopefully, before catching herself & shaking the look off of her face. Looking up through the trees at the birds vanishing, too far & too high for her to aim properly, she lowered her wand to her side for a moment & sighed in defeat as she tried to think of something else to hunt down. The creatures in this forest were too few & far between for her to get into a good rhythm.
"I want something bigger." she complained softly - the buck was larger than her & Brent combined, it clearly wasn't just physical size that she was talking about. She stepped closer to the severed head on the ground, eying it almost angrily, like it had offended her. She wanted something complex. A person. A deer wouldn't run at her to protect it's family the way a human father might. Birds wouldn't dive in front of one another to save someone they cared about. A squirrel wouldn't draw it's wand on her in an act of vengeance.
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Post by Brent Yaxley on Jul 17, 2013 4:28:01 GMT
Brent shifted forwards, falling into step beside her as he let out a heavy sigh, his head tilting as he shook it softly. "Target practice here isn't going to make you any better." He answered simply as he clicked his tongue against the top of his mouth thoughtfully.
"Then find something." He responded simply. "If you want something, go get it. You're a witch, you can have anything you want, Tiffany." Shifting on the spot he made a move, walking further into the forest, clearly expecting her to follow. "You'd be better with an enchanted forest, these animals are nothing, you need something that's stronger, something that has awareness of our world. Birds and deer are nothing, they're not expecting it."
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