Chapter 3: Hide In Plain Sight
Shepard had never been hunted before, at least not like this. There were more than a few thugs who had ran after her, but compared to the challenge she was now facing they seemed inconsequential.
Selene hadn't given her further instructions, aside from the fact that she would be hunted by her and she would have to spot the hunter. Though she could use the lack of rules to her advantage. If she played her cards right she could confuse her mentor enough to spot her.
With that in mind she had sprinted as fast as she could towards the shopping mall which was opened around the clock. She was far from the only visitor, even at this time of the day there were countless visitors. The perfect place to hide would be among those crowds. Though she had to acquire a few things first.
She went into the closest clothing store and hastily looked through some cheap outfits, taking care to chose something that looked vastly different to what she was usually wearing. Thankfully she got a small amount of allowance from her guardians, otherwise there would have been no way for her to pay for these clothes.
The moment she had payed for them she put them on and headed out again. Now she only needed a wig and her disguise would be as good as she could make it within the small amount of time she had. Shepard conceded that she was possibly overdoing it, but she knew that she would need every advantage she could get to spot the other woman.
Besides, Selene often encouraged her initiative during her lessons. If Shepard had to take a guess, she would say that Selene would be pleased with her for thinking ahead instead of simply running off.
She stopped her musings once she discovered a shop that had a few wigs on offer. Shepard immediately dismissed those with unusual colors, she needed to blend in if she wanted to remain unspotted, and neon-green hair was anything but inconspicuous. In the end she chose a brown colored wig that was long enough to hid her own red hair without trouble.
Feeling confident enough to walk throughout the shopping centre she stepped out of the shop and mingled with the crowd as best as she could.
Trying to think of a way to spot her mentor she looked around herself subtly. She obviously couldn't just spin around herself till she saw Selene, no she would have to act smarter than that. Without making it obvious that she looked for someone following her.
Now, how do I do that? She thought to herself grumbling. A lot of the older womans lessons made her feel like she was thrown into the deep end and told to figure it out on her own. Usually she did but in this case a few pointers would have been nice.
Think, Shepard, think! She told herself vehemently. She wasn't just some homeless girl who had the fortune to be found by two kind people. No, she would prove that she earned herself her place both within their household and eventually within the Alliance.
She was still thinking feverishly when something in her peripheral vision caught her eye. She turned her head slightly to take a closer look and saw her own ghostly reflection staring back. Her eyes lit up as she realized what she was looking at. I can use the reflections in the display windows to check for Selene! She thought triumphantly. It wouldn't even look suspicious, to an bystander it would merely look like she was on a shopping trip.
She could feel how a small smile formed on her lips. Perhaps this was going to be more fun than she first thought. After all, no one ever got hurt while playing a little hide and seek. You could be the first. Her mind reminded her so very helpfully and she shook her head in annoyance to dispel such thoughts.
In doing so she nearly threw the wig off her head, which she hastily grabbed and readjusted. Having never worn something of the like before she didn't know how to make sure that it wouldn't shift on her head, thus she tried to avoid any hasty movements on her part. She just hoped that that would be enough.
Oh who am I kidding? She thought morosely and lowered her head slightly so that the brown strands of her disguise fell forward and partly hid her face, while she glanced around subtly and checked the reflections for any signs of her hunter. I can't win. She will find me in no time… but I think that she doesn't expect me to evade her for long.
With such thoughts in mind she decided to do the only thing she could do in this situation. Her best, hopefully it would be enough to satisfy her demanding teacher. With a shrug and a little grin she decided to make it as difficult for her Selene to spot her as she could. She stepped into the crowd that was walking through the shopping mall.
At first she tried to wiggle herself through the steady stream of people. In hopes of moving faster than the people around her, but she soon stopped her efforts with a sigh. Even if she managed to do so without causing too much obvious reactions from the people around her she would still stand out in due to her heightened speed. Thus she would undo all her previous attempts at discretion.
It wasn't as easy as she expected it to be, in fact it was quite tedious to blend in with all the others around her. For someone else it might have been easier, but she wasn't one of those who could easily become attuned to the people around them and essentially become one both with them and their surroundings. She managed to do so though, barely, and only by distracting herself with various thoughts that kept her mind off her predicament.
If she hadn't distracted herself she would have been far too tense, jittery and all other kinds things that would have given her away. She had no idea how she was supposed to stay calm when she knew that she was being hunted. For now distracting her mind worked but she knew that her mentor would want her to find a way to calm herself while staying completely alert eventually.
She nearly jumped when the sudden hollering of a few drunkards filled her ears with uncomfortable volume. It took her another three seconds to realize that they were hollering at her, and pretty much every other attractive woman they could see. The people around her acted like nothing out of the ordinary happened safe for a few eye rolls and muttered curses. She however had frozen up for a couple of seconds before she composed herself enough to step back into the crowd and follow the stream.
She briefly entertained the thought of using the drunkards as some sort of vicinity alarm against Selene. Though she discarded the thought almost immediately. They shouted at every attractive woman that happened to catch their eye. Thus it was more likely that the constant false alarms would drive her mad with anxiety rather than actually aid her quest of spotting her mentor.
Not that she wasn't anxious enough as it was. She had subtly looked around, checked the reflections of every display window she could see and still couldn't see any sign of the dark haired woman that was hunting her. What made it all the more frustrating was that Selene most likely had changed into her rather eye catching get up of skin tight leather suit with a, in Shepard's opinion, really cool black leather coat.
One would think that someone clad like that would draw attention, but she had seen before Selene simply disappeared into a crowd, despite her get up. And here I fail to do the same thing while looking as ordinary as possible. Persephone thought with a small scowl. However before she could continue with scolding herself within the confines of her own mind she felt a chill run down her spine.
She suddenly felt vulnerable, exposed, like a mouse who got caught in the gaze of a falcon, about to dive down and kill her. Or perhaps to put it more simply, she felt like prey and to make matters worse she didn't know why. She hadn't spotted anything that indicated that she was in danger or that she was hunted aside from Selene's claim. So why do I feel like this? She asked herself, taking calming breaths, hoping to return her heartbeat to a more mundane frequency.
Even though she tried to stay calm, she couldn't help but think of one particular piece of advice her mentor had gifted her with. Trust your instinct, there is always far more to see than our consciousness allows us to notice. If you feel threatened then there is a reason for that even if you cannot discern that reason. Your subconsciousness is warning you, heed it.
Hearing Selene's stern voice in her mind helped her to focus on something else than the unease that lurked at the corners of her mind. Thus she tried to subtly spot a reason for her unease, but no matter how much she looked for a sign of her mentor in her surroundings and the reflections in the nearby windows she couldn't find a sign of her anywhere.
If I can't find her let's see if I can't lose her. Shepard thought grimly and renewed her efforts to become one with the environment. It didn't take her long however to notice that no matter what she did, the feeling wouldn't disappear. As if someone had locked onto her like a homing missile. A rather chilling comparison but also fitting in her opinion. If she failed to remove the 'lock on' she would lose, simple as that.
So instead of simply walking through the crowd with a target painted on her back she decided it would be better to try and put some distance between herself and the crowds. Easier said than done, unless of course she wanted to run to her newest destination, a narrower passageway with few people. Hopefully it would be enough for her to slip in there and break the line of sight between her and what was, undoubtedly, her mentor.
She let the crowd take her as close to the passageway as it could and then decided to throw all notions of subtlety out of the window and ran straight into it. She didn't stop there, even though her instincts told her she was safe for the moment. She ran right into the next larger hallway and once again mingled with the crowd. That should do the trick. She thought with a relieved smile that slowly left her face when she felt the predator's stare on her once more.
Even though Selene would never put it that way she could imagine her teachers stoic stare, eyes as mysterious as ever before telling her. "Nice try." She sighed in exasperation and lowered her head. There was apparently no escaping her mentor, so she could at least try to spot her somewhere.
The most obvious choice to start looking was of course the passage she had emerged from. After all if Selene had followed her she must have passed it as well. So once she had checked the passageway, and came up empty handed, she started to look for her teacher in the near vicinity. As time went on and she still hadn't found any trace of Selene, she got rather annoyed by her own inability to find such a eye catching person.
I am missing something. She suddenly realized and furrowed her brows in concentration. She felt like she hadn't considered all possibilities, as if there was something obvious she was overlooking. I cant see her anywhere here, still feel as if I am being watched. She thought in annoyance and closed her eyes. When I ran through the passage I lost her briefly, but she found me again pretty fast. No matter where I look I can't seem to find her. It's almost as if she had… a bird's eye view.
Persephone realized, her eyes snapping open in comprehension. Immediately she began to scan the surrounding rooftops which were excellent vantage points. Why didn't I consider that sooner? She asked herself furiously, still turning round to find a trace of her teacher.
Ultimately her hiding spot was rather obvious, since she didn't even attempt to hide herself from Shepard's eyes. When she stared straight up the tallest building she could see the outline of Selene head staring down at her as the moon shined brightly behind the older womans head. With a few hand gestures that were barely visible to her eyes she told Shepard to meet her in passageway she ran through. The teenager nodded once in reply and made her way to their meeting point. Feeling for all intents and purposes like she failed in a rather spectacular fashion.
Her mentor awaited her, which made Persephone wonder just how she had gotten there so fast, the only way she could think of was that she jumped but that was impossible otherwise Selene would now sport a pair of broken legs. Aside from the question of her suspiciously fast movement Shepard wasn't surprised to see her there. She looked exactly like Shepard had expected.
Dark leather coat, skin tight leather suit and combat boots. Her face was the impassive mask she had grown accustomed to. Selene rarely let down her guard and then only in front of those she trusted enough. She didn't know if she was among the selected few yet or if she had just gotten lucky to get a glimpse at the woman beneath the mask due to Michael's presence.
Right now those mysterious brown orbs gazed deeply into her soul, or at least that's what it felt like, as Selene stood there, utterly silent and simply looked at her. Shepard grew nervous by the lack of conversation and slowly but surely began to fidget under the gaze that seemed to strip her soul bare.
"S-so… how did I do?" She asked nervously playing with her hands until she realized what she was doing and dropping them to her side. Still the desire to do anything but stand still was hard to suppress, and it grew worse with every passing moment.
"What do you think about your own performance?" Selene asked back and raised one eyebrow at her fidgeting. That wasn't one of the things Shepard had expected. A neutral nod, a disappointed shake of her head even an annoyed snort, although the last one was unlikely, but none of her imagined scenarios featured Selene asking this kind of question.
"I…" She stopped to think about what she was going to say. She certainly hadn't done too badly, at least she thought that she did adequately, but it was far from perfect. "I am unsatisfied with my own performance." She ended up saying and stood straighter under the appraising look of her teacher.
"Truly? And why is that?" Selene asked impassively, neither her expression nor her voice gave any indication of what she truly thought about this answer.
"I completely forgot about the rooftops, which was plain stupid since they are the best place to keep watching someone around here." The younger woman admitted and hung her head in shame. "Aside from that I think I did… adequately."
"You are right, your oversight of the rooftops was a grave error." Selene agreed with her with a nod, and Shepard felt the shame starting to heat her face in the face of such words. "However, your other tactics were more than adequately, few would think of such a disguise the first time they were put into such a situation."
Persephone couldn't help but let out a relieved breath, happy that she hadn't disappointed the black haired woman in front of her. Now her face was glowing not with shame but with pride.
"Tell me what you have learned today." Selene commanded and leaned back against the nearby wall, arms crossed in front of her, eyes fixed on Shepard's face. In response the teenager nodded once and began her tale. About how she ran to the shopping mall in hopes of finding some kind of shop that could supply her with something at least akin to a disguise.
She went on to explain how she had used the reflections in the shopping windows to watch out for her and how she had tried to blend in with the crowd to avoid being spotted, this giving herself a greater chance of finding her hunter. Selene listened to her explanation expressionlessly, despite that Shepard wasn't too worried, after all Selene had already told her that she did better than adequately.
"Then you have learned more today then I first anticipated." Selene said at long last and caught her eyes with her ever intimidating stare. "However you would do well to blend into the environment while being aware of it. You have to find a way to calm your nerves that doesn't leave you as vulnerable."
"Yeah, I expected you would say something like that." Persephone chuckled and rubbed the back of head only to stop alarmed when she caught a faint twitch of her mentors lips. A twitch that was caused by barely suppressed mirth, which in a situation like this could mean that she just made her life more complicated.
"Excellent, than I expect you to find a solution for this predicament in no time." Selene said with a straight face, though Shepard was reasonably certain that she was laughing on the inside, probably already planning to tell her husband how Shepard got herself into this mess.
"Right… you know I learned something else today as well." She couldn't help but point out slowly. Gracing her teacher with a grin when she cocked her head curiously. "I need to learn when to shut up."
This time the twitch in her lips was more pronounced though it still was a far cry from an actual smile. "To know when to stay silent is a most useful skill to have, unfortunately few people actually bother to learn it." Selene replied, and the teenager that accompanied her was certain that the older woman was close to rolling her eyes, before she continued more seriously. "Never make the same mistake as all those movie villains and talk with your enemy when you have already won, you are just giving him an opportunity to recover."
"Got it. So rather terminator like and shoot them up without talking." She suggested with a grin and let loose a chuckle. The glance she received from Selene thought was completely serious.
"Better that then get killed." Her mentor answered solemnly before taking a deep breath. "I apologize, Michael told me that I should relax more. He is probably right."
"You want to relax?" Persephone couldn't help but ask surprised. It wasn't that relaxing was something that only teenagers were privy to, but Selene pretty much acted like she didn't even know what the word meant most of the time.
"From time to time, yes. Why, is that so surprising?" Selene shot back and looked at her student with her trademark unreadable expression.
Shepard's first instinct was to shout a resounding 'yes', but figured that it probably wasn't exactly the most diplomatic way to tell the woman that she could be rather… driven. "Well… yeah, I guess." She eventually replied weakly. "I mean given the way you train me you seem just a little like a… workaholic?"
When all she got in response was a slight chuckle Persephone seriously considered that someone was just posing as her teacher. She couldn't remember the last time she had heard her laugh or chuckle. "Yes, I suppose I can be quite intense." Selene admitted with a wry grin before her face returned to its usual stoic expression. "I apologize if I have demanded too much of you in too little time… its been sometime since I had an apprentice."
That admission caught Shepard by surprise, she had thought that Selene had had lots of students given the way she always seemed to be in control, that quiet confidence that she always found reassuring. To know that her mentor wasn't as confident as she had thought was strangely calming. "No, no. I didn't mean to imply that. I think you are doing just fine." Persephone was quick to point out and rounded a corner. "In fact I can't think o-"
She was interrupted when Selene grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back behind the corner. One hand pressed over Shepard's mouth to keep her from screaming. "Quiet!" She hissed and risked a quick glance around the corner before returning her gaze to the teenager. "I want you to go back to the clinic now! Do you understand?"
The moment the black clad woman lowered her hand Shepard began asking questions. "What? Why? Is-"
"Dont question me." Her mentor shot back and dragged her deeper into the passageway they had just walked through. "Its very important to me that you get back to the clinic now, understand?"
"Yeah…" Persephone muttered back surprised at the sudden change in her teacher. "But what should I tell Michael?"
"Tell him that I am checking on a few of my old acquaintances." Selene answered cryptically before giving her a shove in the other direction. She stumbled for a few steps surprised by the strength her mentor had put into such a little motion and turned around to check on said mentor. To her surprise she seemed to have disappeared.
However at the end of the passage stood a group of three people, all of them clad in a outfit that was disturbingly similar to the one Selene wore. They didn't seem to pay any attention to her and continued on, but Shepard couldn't shake the feeling that these were the so called 'acquaintances', Selene had mentioned and that they weren't here just to catch up.
Without sending another glance in their direction she ran, back to the clinic and to Michael. Hoping that he would prove to be more informative than his wife.
Author Notes:
Nomad-117: I cannot apologize enough for the long wait. I am sorry, I truly am. However at long last I found time, inspiration and motivation to write chapter three. I hope that you consider it adequate and hopefully there are no more grievous spelling or grammar mistakes. Hope you enjoyed it at least.
