Slowing when she steps inside, Carmen looks down to Helena, Sparte, and Korka with a lopsided grin. A quiver over one arm and a notebook tucked under the other, Carmen - and her leathers - are faintly coated with dust. Having not made time to fully clean up before now, she self-consciously dusts off before plopping down at a desk near Waldemai. "Good seeing you. Seat taken?" The desk doesn't look particularly comfortable for the strikingly tall mercenary; she slouches forward, arms folded on the edge of the desk to listen to Helena's lecture.

Carmen has joined the a variety of desks arranged in a semicircle.

Glory, Doreen arrive, following Klaus.

Cabbit, a nub-tailed tabby cat, Laudine, a stern middle-aged maidservant, 2 Whitehawk Guards arrive, following Tabitha.

Glory have been dismissed.

Doreen have been dismissed.

Alessandro enters the Hall just in time! At least, hopefully the lecture hasn't started yet. He starts toward the desks, choosing one that's empty and settling down as he nods to those present. "All ready to become that much more perceptive?" he asks, with a smile to Carmen and Waldemai who are already seated, before he lifts a hand to wave at Helena.

Armani has joined the a variety of desks arranged in a semicircle.

Alessandro has joined the a variety of desks arranged in a semicircle.

Pudds, the fluffy white kitten, Arwa, the seamstress' assistant arrive, following Aerwyna.

After waiting for the attendees to take their seats, and after much smiling to and greeting of those who smile and greet her, Helena moves to the podium and smiles, looking a little nervous as she scans the faces in the little crowd. "Thank you so much for coming today. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Helena Redrain, one of the Associated Teachers here at the Academy. Today's lecture is on perception."

"First, I wanted to begin with a quick discussion of what perception is and what factors into it. To improve it, we obviously need to understand what it is. So, let me begin with a question -- what comes to your mind when I say perception?

Aerwyna quietly makes her way inside, quickly making her way towards a desk to be seated.

Aerwyna has joined the a variety of desks arranged in a semicircle.

Tabitha has joined the a variety of desks arranged in a semicircle.

Klaus has joined the couches embroidered with an ivory rose.

Warrior, a skittish pygmy goat kid arrives, following Felicia.

Settling at the desks for herself, Armani leans forward, forearms on the desk. "Noticing the unnoticeable," she calls out, helpfully. Well, she /did/ ask.


Klaus Thrax is present, and for once without any form of animal companionship with him, so perhaps he is here in earnest and for knowledge and to listen to others, and not to do anything Klaus like. However, he has never intended anything Klaus like in the past, so there is no guarentee there.

Carmen shoots Alessandro a friendly but appraising look before she tips her head affably to him and the empty desk he's claimed. "Always said Princess Helena could work miracles," she mutters to him as Helena begins her lecture. She leans her bow against her chair before resuming her slouched lean into her desk. Helena's question has her calling up wryly, "'Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Did you see /that/?'"

Waldemai is listening, truly he is. "Seeing and hearing," he guesses. "Probably touching, tasting, and smelling."

Having found a place to take a seat at a desk, Tabitha brushes out the moonstone-blue silk of her skirts and sits with her spine held relaxed but straight -- evidence of lessons in dance and comportment that has instilled her form with good posture over the years. She waits until Armani has spoken then quietly offers, "Um. One example would be the use of one's senses and critical thinking skills to gather and organize information from one's environment. Intuition may play a part in this analysis as well."

Alessandro chuckles at Carmen's offering, nodding and gesturing to her as though to indicate agreement. Armani, too, gets a nod, and then Waldemai, but he does not offer anything of his own for the moment, instead listening to the others.

Carita has joined the a variety of desks arranged in a semicircle.

Warrior, a skittish pygmy goat kid leaves, following Felicia.

At Carmen's words, Helena cants her head, a merry laugh rising from the Redrain princess, before she looks impressed at Tabitha's words. "I think maybe you and I should swap spots, Lady Tabitha," she says, with a little dip of her head for the Whitehawk lady's astute comments.

"There's a lot of definitions of course. Mine is this: Perception is the ability to become aware of something, usually through our physical senses. And we have a certain finite ability with some of those -- how well we can see, hear, smell. But perception is also affected by our ability to give our attention to something -- or many somethings -- our expectations, our learning, and our memories," she says. "What perception isn't necessarily truth, as perception is subjective, and our perception is based only on what we can *notice* -- so the key to improving it is to improve what we pay attention to, what captures our notice," Helena says. "Being curious helps -- I would say it's the main reason I tend to be perceptive."

Helena picks up a tray full of pretty ribbon candy in the bright colors of pink, red, and violet. "Try to determine what flavor this is. It might help to close your eyes, focus on the taste. I promise it's not poison. I'm not Lenosian." There's a small smirk from the Northerner at any of the Southerners in the room.

Carita's guards are left outside the door, her assitant being the only one she brings with her, the pair of blondes are quiet as they separate - almost ritualisticly, one going towards the nobles, the other towards the other assitant types. Wrapped in a haunting black gown, the skirts have an etheral quality about them as she settles, smiling warmly at those that look her way, and dipping her head repsectfully to those she knows. Her blue-eyed attention shifts towards Helena as she begins speaking.

Waldemai looks dubious at the joke, and this causes him to eye the candy with even greater dubiousity. "I'll try the violet if there aren't any other volunteers," he says.

Tabitha checked perception at difficulty 15, rolling 9 higher.

Waldemai checked perception at difficulty 20, rolling 9 lower.

Tabitha checked perception at difficulty 20, rolling 9 higher.

Carmen checked perception at difficulty 20, rolling 9 lower.

Armani checked perception at difficulty 20, rolling 3 higher.

Alessandro checked perception at difficulty 20, rolling 11 higher.

Carita checked perception at difficulty 20, rolling 10 lower.

Sparte checked perception at difficulty 20, rolling 4 lower.

Aerwyna checked perception at difficulty 20, rolling 11 lower.

Armani snorts indelicately at the jest against the southerners, eyes glinting. She takes a piece of candy and crunches it loudly - no sucking on the sweet for her it seems.

Alessandro lets out a little snort of amusement at the mention of things not being poisoned, shaking his head as though regretful. "It's not //really// fun unless someone could die," he remarks, though the humor is evident. He takes one of the candies, popping it into his mouth and tipping his head to the side, before adding, "An herb. Interesting. Basil?"

Sparte accepts one of the candies from the tray, rolling it between two fingers before sniffing it. With a shrug, he pops it into his mouth with a curious expression angled at the ceiling as he tries to place the flavor. "...Candy grass. Didn't expect that."

Aerwyna reaches for a piece of candy and eyes it before tasting, her face immediately scrunching a bit as she smacks her lips a few times to get the taste.

Carmen's smile grows, just a little, with Helena's laugh. But then the real work is starting and she flips open her battered notebook and snags the quill from her desk to take notes. The offer of candy - and promise that it's unpoisoned - has her searching out the bowl to pop one into her mouth. She works her lips to one side, chewing over it literally and figuratively, before saying in a flat tone. "It takes like grass." She must not like grass. And then adds something under her breath to those sitting nearest her.

Carita takes a piece of candy, pops it in her mouth and squints, but is clearly puzzled. She glances Alessandro's way, "Is it basil?"

"Basil. Hm, yes," Armani agrees. "Strange taste for a candy. Not /bad/ ... Pretty, too." She grins up at Helena.

Waldemai sucks for a bit on the candy. No, well, it's not candy. "I expected something sweet, but it's not, so I'm not sure what it is."

Helena leans against a desk, then sits, crossing her ankles and watching as the taste test occurs, looking rather pleased at the perplexity in some faces.

"The point of the candy experience is that you were expecting the flavor to be something we associated with candy and also the colors that we associate with certain flavors. Our experiences informs our expectations -- you expected cherry, strawberry or grape, most likely, so your mind was confused by the flavor. If you hadn't looked at the color before you put it in your mouth, you probably would have been able to discern that it was basil, which has a distinctive flavor. So what are your takeaways from this experience? How can you use this lesson to inform how you look at other things in the world?" she asks.

"I believe so," Alessandro says with a nod to Carita, before whatever Carmen says at the table causes him to look her way with a widening smile. His eyes move back to Helena then as she speaks, falling quiet again a little more thoughtfully.

Tabitha beams at Helena and nods gently! She didn't say anything stupiod, and now she gets candy! Taking one with a smile, she gives it a polite sniff, then pops it into her mouth. After a bit of time, she notes: "Hm. herbal and gardeny -- culinary. It tastes a little like the garnish in a tomato sauce, or infused oil. Basil, I agree." She looks over to Carita with a nod.

"Things don't always appear as we think they will. Or might be more to something." Aerwyna says, eyes still a bit squinted from the candy.

Waldemai offers, "You shouldn't guess about something until you've looked at it properly?" He shrugs. "I don't know...If I see metal glowing red hot I'm going to keep guessing it's plenty hot."

Little subtlety to her, Carmen clearly decided to spit out the grass candy into her hand and discard it into a wad of paper. She wipes her hand on her leg and resumes her diligent notetaking. "Assumptions make you dumb."

Sparte considers a little while, but before he gets to saying anything he finds himself nodding to Carmen. "Accurate and with less words than I would've used."

Tabitha nods at Carmen and Waldemai. "Looks can be deceiving."

With a quirk of the corner of her mouth, Carmen points her quill at Sparte approvingly without looking up to him and goes back to writing.

Korka returns to the hall after having been pulled away. She looks to the person she's randomly sat down next to, Waldemai, and asks, "What did I miss?" In a hissing whisper.

When Korka sits down, Alesandro replies, motto voce, "Basil candy."

Tabitha seems to have enjoyed the candy anyway, the weirdo. She looks to see if there's another one.

"All accurate and wise comments," Helena says, with a grin to Waldemai. Next the princess moves to the flat rectangle covered in cloth that she had leaned against a wall earlier. She pulls the sheet off of it, revealing a painting.

"When it comes to observation, we need to think about blind spots and where we put our focus. Look for what doesn't want to be seen, look for that which is obscured by that which draws our focus immediately," she says, gesturing to the painting.

The oil on canvas is a scene of a forest. An owl perches on one limb of a tree in the foreground; a pair of luminous gold eyes peers through the brush in the background, though it's hard to see what creature those gold eyes belong to. The thickness and closeness of trees, the play of shadow and light -- all make it difficult to see any details rendered within.

"Besides the owl, there are ten other creatures in this painting. Can you find them? You're free to examine it more closely," Helena says, moving out of the way to sit on a desk once more.

Korka looks over to Alessandro, "Thanks! And... gross? Or minty? Good? Hrm." She looks back to the others, noting Tabitha searching for a candy, and takes the one that was slated for herself, and hands it over. "Here you go." With that, she looks back to Helena attentively.

Carmen has rolled a critical success!
Carmen checked perception at difficulty 15, rolling 16 higher.

Waldemai checked perception at difficulty 15, rolling 3 higher.

Korka checked perception at difficulty 15, rolling 6 lower.

Alessandro checked perception at difficulty 15, rolling 4 higher.

Armani checked perception at difficulty 15, rolling 3 lower.

Carita checked perception at difficulty 15, rolling 3 higher.

Tabitha checked perception at difficulty 15, rolling 8 higher.

Aerwyna checked perception at difficulty 15, rolling 7 higher.

Armani rises at once to approach the painting, peering at it with her eyes narrowed. She hums to herself as she looks, occasionally upscaling it when she thinks she spots something.

Aerwyna moves to take a closer look at the painting, leaning this way and that in examination.

Sparte checked perception at difficulty 15, rolling 5 lower.

Saying something to those nearest her, Carmen pushes back her chair to the scrape of wood and unfolds to her full height. She stays a little back from the others so as to not block the view of the painting, but even still she studies it like a hawk, vibrant green eyes alert.

Tabitha flashes a bright smile at Korka, pops the funny-tasting candy in her mouth, then daintily rises to her feet so that she can approach the painting. She tilts her head this way and that, as though appraising the art as much as anything else. The artist's expression is thoughtful and even a little admiring before the candy is finished. She also aims a little smile back to Carmen, quite pleasant, before lifting a finger to point in the direction of the painting. "Oh, look! A red squirrel! A little Princess Sally Acorn! Aww."

Waldemai has to lean forward to make out anything, but he's not going to get up and plant his fat butt right in front of the painting when other people are trying to see it. "Is that a bluebird, up there, behind the nest maybe?"

Korka lets the others stand between her and the painting, squinting, peering at the painting from afar. "Is that one of those goopy fish?" Unlikely.

"Something like that," Alessandro replies to Korka with a nod, before saying something more quietly at the table with a chuckle that follows it. He looks toward the painting then, his eyes narrowing a little bit as he searches for other things. After Tabitha and Waldemai, he seems to locate something, and says, "A lion, with golden eyes."

Aerwyna pokes her finger at the painting, looking delighted, "A nlue butterfly there!"

Carita's eyes the painting for a few long moments, and as others find animals she points towards one of the trees, towards it's upper branches. "A raccoon!" Though she'd meant to be more sedate about it, her excitement is evident.

Sparte looks at the painting quietly. He isn't pointing out animals, just taking his time considering it. After a little while he opts to speak again. "What pigment did they use for the yellow in the eyes there?" He isn't even on task.

Atreke, a severe-looking scribe arrives, following Rinel.

"There. There." Carmen points over heads toward the edges of the frame, the knuckles on her hand scraped. "Not-a-squirrel in the tree. Murder crow up in the shadows." Tipping her head politely to Helena, she stage-whispers to Sparte in passing, "You see a pig?" She nudges him teasingly with her shoulder on her way back to her desk.

Helena watches for a while, waiting for perhaps a couple more items, but when no one finds them, she goes to point out with a quill a little dark brown moth, camouflaged in the bark of the nearest tree, and a dark, mottled frog down in the moss of the forest floor. "It's called a chipmunk," Helena says with a grin to Carmen. "But not-a-squirrel works, I suppose."

The Redrain continues, "But sometimes... it's about our perspective, we see and what we don't. Changing how you view something lets you see something you might not have from your usual standpoint." Helena grins, and lifting her skirt, climbs up onto one of the desk, gesturing for the small class to do the same. "Stand up and look down on the painting, and tell me what you see."

The painting has been cleverly, artfully crafted so that looking downward on it allows a hidden image come into focus: the shadows and light, when viewed from above, reveal the entirety of the forest creates the silhouette of a unicorn. The lion's luminous eyes become the unicorn's eyes; the highest point of the highest tree becomes the unicorn's horn.

No sharpness of hearing or insight is needed to perceive Rinel Tern's arrival. She is, as always, accompanied by her walking shadow Atreke, and she is--as always--making something of a racket with the clattering of her cane. "Yes, Atreke, I /do/ think woodland excursions more useful a metho--we're here." The woman looks about before limping over to a nearby couch and sitting down on it with a wince. Atreke goes to inspect the painting silently. Rinel does not.

Rinel has joined the couches embroidered with an ivory rose.

Tabitha has left the a variety of desks arranged in a semicircle.

Laudine, a stern middle-aged maidservant have been dismissed.

2 Whitehawk Guards have been dismissed.

Cabbit, a nub-tailed tabby cat have been dismissed.

Armani scrambles up onto her own desk without hesitation and peers down at the painting. After a moment she gives an absolutely fascinated, "Hah! That's some clever, fine work!" she crows. Not an artist really, but she can be inpressed by the artistry, and the impressed look is turned towards Helena as she settles back down. She shakes her head. Not that she'd ever /say/ that she feels like an untutoured child, but something in the little blush spots in her cheeks suggests it.

Carmen holds up her arms helplessly, laughingly to Helena - what does she look like, a priest? - but then Helena is inviting everyone to stand on desks and Carmen is so very down to do that. She hops up with surprising agility given her size, dusty leathers creaking, and looks down at the room and then the painting. Her brows shoot up, impressed. "Damn."

Waldemai waits his turn to go up and take a long look. "Oh, yes," he says. "That's really interesting."

"I did not paint it, for the record. I do not have that sort of skill," Helena says quickly, not wanting to take any undue praise.

Sparte paces around the painting, giving a small oooh sound as he examines the visual trick. "I'll have to work on my handstands. Compliments to your artist."

When Alessandro realizes the illusion, he lets out a laugh, part incredulous and part enjoyment. "Lovely," he says. "If you know who //did// paint it, send them my appreciation."

Tabitha flicks a fearful look up at Helena, as though concerned that the Redrain Princess might fall and hurt herself. The desk of her own she then peers at with suspicion, before lifting her skirts ever so slightly and gingerly ascending to the surface so as to get a better gander at the painting. Once she's balanced, she takes a good long look before her eyes widen. "Ooooh! That really is clever. An optical illusion! Goes to show that perspective is a tricksy thing too. It can be dependent on one's point of view."


Klaus has turned his head this way and that, scracthing his head even. He even jumps up and down then shakes his head in defeat. "It has color."

Rinel checked perception + investigation at difficulty 50, rolling 4 lower.

Tabitha also frowns and quietly asks, "Could someone help me down now?"

Hopping back down with a quiet thud, Carmen shoots a look over to Tabitha and Alessandro before stepping over to offer them a hand down if they choose to use it. "No broken skulls today."

Helena hops down from her own desk, agilely enough, given that she looks like she might faint at any moment from exhaustion most of the time.

She leans back against the desk, nodding to those who compliment the artist and a nod for Tabitha's artistic perspective on, well, perspective.

"We can only perceive what we take in, but information comes from above, behind, beneath, left, right, without, within. If you can't find what it is you're looking for, try to change your position -- physically, emotionally, or mentally -- and maybe you will find what is you seek," the Redrain scholar explains. "And that is all I have for you today. Thank you for coming. Let me know if you have any questions!"

Rinel stands with a wince to look at the painting. She cocks her head to the side. Her brow furrows. Atreke glides over to the woman and whispers in her ear. Rinel's eyebrows raise in quiet appreciation, and she tilts her head to look at the painting in a new light. "Revelatory," she murmurs.

Waldemai nods his head with another look at the hidden unicorn. "That was plenty, thanks," he says. "I've never seen such an interesting painting."

Aerwyna nods her head a few times, grinning some, "Very interesting indeed!"

Tabitha smiles gratefully to Carmen, then accepts the tall woman's assistance in getting off the desk. "Oh, thank you so much!"

Alessandro does take the hand down when Carmen offers, since he is many things, but particularly agile is not one of them. "Thank you," he says with a grateful nod to her. "I should know better than to attempt such things, since I'm the most likely one to end up with a broken skull." There's some amusement in his tone, though he doesn't sound like he's joking particularly. He turns to Helena then, with soft applause. "Thank you, Your Highness. Very engaging."

Armani has barely sat down again when she is hopping up again at the end of the lecture to applaud. "Fine stuff," she tells Helena, approaching the top table. "Thank you!"

Carmen settles Tabitha to her satisfaction and gives an easy, dismissive shake of her head as she does the same for Alessandro. "You did just fine. Feeling more perceptive?" She shoots Helena a smile over her shoulder. "This was great, your Highness. Thanks for opening it up to everyone."

"Thank you, your Highness. I have learned some new things today." Aerwyna said with a smile to Helena before dipping to a curtsey.

Helena looks pleased when people thank her, nodding her thanks to each as they make their way out. "Mistress Carmen. I do owe you dessert one of these days. I have not forgotten," she says with a grin for the Crimson Blade.

Korka hops up from her chair to go and look at the painting more closely. "The bigger picture. Hrm. I should have thought of that. Ooooh. I see the lion now!"

"Quite," Alessandro confirms with a grin to Carmen.