Welcome to Gaia! ::

She had been studying the existing floor plans available on the database - though she was convinced they were nowhere near as detailed and accurate as her own - and had been impressed to learn that some of the training areas were outfitted with simulation equipment for stealth training (in addition to other forms of training that interested the girl much less). She entered one of the designated rooms quietly, surprised but intrigued to find it in use, and by a person not much taller than herself at that; the only other individual she had encountered of such a height was the scientist Nyx.

"My apologies," she said in a hushed tone, the appearance of the room stimulating a reversion to her thief's instincts. She was curious, however, of how this person would perform. "Would you object if I wished to watch?"

She was somewhat surprised; she had expected to be ignored, or perhaps told to leave, but certainly she had no qualms against introducing herself. "My name is Aila," she stated with her habitual curtsy. "May I ask your own?" Now that he was facing her, she studied the boy more carefully. She felt she had perhaps passed him in the hall once or twice, three times at the most, but otherwise she could not place his appearance.

She accepted the handshake with a faint smile of her own. It had been some length of time since her attempt at the Jinko Museum, and she had just begun to feel out-of-practice. "Certainly," she replied, "if you would not mind my company." She approached to stand at the same point as Liam and turned to him, awaiting his prompt to begin.

Aila sprinted forward swiftly yet quietly, shifting into her former mindset. Horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lasers, was it? She had seen something similar at the museum in Jinko, but it was by and large fortune that enabled her to pass them wholly undetected. She was already forming plans for the pressure plates, and she would deal with the glass barrier upon reaching it.

All that was left was to see just how much her skills had dulled.

Was it her uniform, perhaps? She knew she should have worn the formal uniform today rather than her altered casual one. Something was slowing her down, be it her clothing or her skills - that much was certain.

Aila swerved as she approached the laser grid, ducking against the corner to evade the horizontal lasers and a majority of the verticals, weaving around the diagonals where they intercepted her path, all the while maintaining her speed to the best of her ability. Even if the challenge was issued nonchalantly, it still stood as a challenge.

She slowed only slightly as she approached the pressure sensors, pulling a pokeball from her waist holding it only briefly to her lips to utter the words, "Work time." A press of the release switch found an Ivysaur at Aila's side, and she gestured to the floor. "I require passage," she stated, a faint urgency, residual from the adrenaline boost, clinging to her voice. Fleur understood automatically, having offered her aid in similar situations in the past. Vines snaked forth, seizing her human's small body carefully and lifting her to the other side of the affected floor.

Aila touched down on the opposite side of the pressure sensors and dashed forward, skidding to a stop beside the case just as a Psychic glow surrounded and lifted it. Liam was not too far behind, and she assumed it was his final desperate bid to reach the prize. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she pounced forward and stuck the button with her palm. A small whirring, and a slip of paper was spat out of the display podium that housed the button, bearing the words 'Simulation successful.' and a list of statistics evaluating the run.

The girl spun her heel, wearing what was easily the first genuinely happy smile she had sported in veritable years. "I had not expected such fun. Truly you were a worthy adversary, and I thank you for allowing me the honor of competing with you." She reached to straighten her hair slightly, the arch of her lips never slipping.