OPEN // eye see you

It was the quiet days, Klaus had found, that were oftentimes the best to test others on. Unlike the guild members, the royal guards had little of importance to do on a day to day basis. There was no more constant influx of quests, or dungeons to explore, no requests to fulfill and items to fetch from the wilderness. What missions they did have were of far more importance usually, and could be quite dangerous in their own rights, but by and large, despite the expectations and requirements of the guards being so high, the life itself was far less work and stress. Klaus tried, in some ways, to remedy this, and while he had no wish for his guard to be stressed or overworked, he had no wish for them to be complacent or to tire and grow bored, whether intentionally or simply from lack of active work before them.

Some of that could be remedied by training exercises and regiments, by drills and mock battles. Such was not really Klaus' business, those matters were better handled by their own officers and general, though he made a point to check in, or on rare occasion, watch them himself to see how things were going. Some of that however, required a different approach. Klaus spoke to the general of this idea before, but he found it didn't hurt to occasionally take to enacting it himself. It was good for him to get out sometimes, and better if he could use the chance to check on those assigned to patrol the castle and make sure all was quiet and well.

And of course, if Klaus already planned to check-in, then it seemed only fitting to make sure he was testing them as well. It was more efficient that way, and the unexpected nature of his visit to start with would make sure the element of surprise was not spoiled. It was beneficial to both himself and to them, to make sure they were vigilant, and to let him have a chance to learn more about the people he was trusting his protection to. The last thought always made his tail twitch slightly, a hint of a frown on his features, but it was gone just as quickly, his expression steady and even.

Torio was fond of shiny things Klaus had been told, and was a bit of a hoarder. It was a simple task to find a small silver mirror, and the day was sunny, even if not quite warming into the summer months that lay ahead of them. It didn't take much work to manage to locate the ghost type, the mienshao, nimble and silent on padded feet with only a fine and simple violet cloak clasped at his breast and flowing away from him adorning his person, and for a few minutes he would trail them on their patrol from a distance. Around a corner the mirror was angled to catch the sunlight and flick it across some of the flagstones, the shimmer sharp and contrasting. It wasn't quite the same glimmer as an actual metal object, but the mirror's effect was enough to make it glimmer at least, a minor illusion of sorts, if one will.

Enough to catch the ghost type's attention. Klaus flicked the mirror away silently as the Guard almost immediately changed course to investigate, seemingly puzzled by the sudden vanishing of the effect. When they continued, Klaus followed again, and after a short interval, repeated his little trick. Again they immediately broke to rush forward, and again he flicked the mirror back, the reflected light vanishing just as suddenly as it had appeared. This time, they spoke, seemingly having realized it was not a natural occurrence. There was hesitation, and a stutter there, as though perhaps intimidated, or failing to find appropriate words, and there seemed to be no clear direction to their attention, just the knowledge that someone else was there.

For a moment, Klaus considered his observations. Then, an ear flicking slightly, he assented to the ghost type's demands, finding he had done enough of the light tricks for now, the Mienshao's whiskers and tail flicking gently as he moved forward, approaching the phantump directly. "Are you trying to scold a child with those words?" Klaus rumbled, the phrase almost one that smacked of a joke, but his voice decidedly not giving any hint of laughter, even and smooth as his scarlet gaze. "You are observant at least. But quite distractable. I was told you had an unusually strong fondness of shiny things." He held the mirror idly in his paws, one trailing against its rounded head, as though considering it, though his gaze looked directly towards the Royal Guard member, studying them.