The Ranch

Character Development (3)

They continue playing tag for the next couple hours, until two of the three can no longer exert any more energy. The stamina filled Tih stares at the two children wheezing on the floor.

During the game, the three got to observe each other in great detail. The two were able to develop new skills to combat overwhelming strength, but this was only possible because they are child geniuses. If it were anyone else, they'd probably be in despair over the gap between themselves and Tih.

Tih was also able to observe the two and learned many of their habits and expressions. For example, he knows what Basile looks like when he's about to use a feint. The one thing Tih couldn't figure out was where Basile pulled food out from, and it seems like there's an endless supply too. He also couldn't figure out who Abel keeps talking to. He can't sense a presence or breath from the direction Abel looks into.

The two used a lot of moves from their classes, Jeet Kune Do and Capoeira. They used this chance to practice and improve their techniques. They were also able to combine and create a few new moves under pressure.

Tih was able to test his proficiency using the grappling gun in a real life situation. He was able to utilize and manipulate the gun's strengths and weaknesses to his advantage throughout their game, testing his current limits and accuracy.

It's almost at a point where the gun is a part of him, but it's not there quite yet. Currently, it's almost the same as an extra limb.

By the time their training session finished, it was dark. They decided to split up and go back to their apartments.

Tih leaves with a lollipop in his mouth, given to him by Basile. He takes a shower and brushes his teeth, getting ready to sleep, all the while, listening to Kai's reenactment of what he did today.

Tih wakes up the next day, dressing in a lavender hoodie. He no longer has to go help Private Scott and Major Jax and is free to do whatever he wants.

So, after breakfast, he heads to the mountains to train. Well, most people would consider this training, but the things Tih do are mostly habits from when he lived at the orphanage.

To an outsider, it would seem like an intense workout to train the body and mind, but Tih mostly does it it for fun and boredom.

He travels around the extensive mountain range for a couple of hours. During which, he spots many soldier and Instructors doing their own thing. He decides not to bother them, bypassing them without them noticing.

He eventually comes across a familiar face. One he's known for a while, but hasn't spoken to much. The other seems to not like talking, finding the act a bother.

Tih walks through the grass, up to Lucien leaning against a boulder and holding a flat device. The device seems to have two part. A physical part with a bunch of flat squares and a holographic part like the boards seen around the island. Tih watches as Lucien repeatedly presses his ten fingers on different squares at a speed that should be visible to the naked eye. Tih, who's special in this aspect, can see exactly which finger is touching which square and the specific order.

Tih appears in Lucien's field of vision, his eye right above the holographic screen. Tih decided to squat in front of the blue see-through screen to get a better view. His toes balance the rest of his body as he hugs his folded legs to his chest. Static blue eyes watch white symbols appear on the blue screen.

Lucien ignores Tih, instead focusing on his keyboard and holographic computer screen, but eventually finds the boy distracting. His eyes reminding Lucien of the bottom of a frozen lake. Vast emptiness.

"...can you move to the side a little." Lucien tries to speak up.

Tih moves to a side with a relatively good view, only, he has to angle his head in a certain way. Laying on his side, Tih lays his head against the grass, looking through a gap between Lucien's arm and his thigh.

Once Tih moves out of his view, Lucien put him out of his mind and got back to work. Lucien doesn't like talking and Tih is mute, resulting in the creation of a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

Wind occasionally rustles the nearby trees and a squirrel runs through the green grass every once in a while. Lucien's typing is silent and Tih is like a cat, curiously watching Lucien's fingers fly over the flat board.

As the sun starts to set, Lucien presses the final key in a grand gesture. He fists pumps in the air while silently exclaiming," Yes!"

It looks like a weight has been lifted off his hunched shoulders as he relaxes, stretching his stiff body from sitting in the same position for a whole day.

He ends his stretches by cracking his knuckles and looking around, spotting Tih. He flinches, unaware that Tih has been there the whole time. "You stayed?" He asks in a whisper.

Tih nods.

"The whole time?"

Tih nods once more.

Lucien pauses, contemplating something. Seemingly resolving himself, he asks," Do you want me to explain what I'm doing?"

Tih blinks, turning to the screen. He ended up focusing on the movements of Lucien's fingers and ignoring the screen full of scribbles he couldn't understand.

Lucien takes Tih's look as confirmation, inwardly quite excited to explain his passion. "So, I coded a program that will send me files on Sherlock, Kai, you, and me when they are entered into the headquarter's system. But to not get found out, I had to hack into the code and install a virus that work alongside the program to hide it from the system's security system.

Unfortunately their system was too complicated, I could only sneak out four files. Any more and I would be caught. I'd never imagined that there was such advanced malware in this world."

This is the first time Tih has heard Lucien talk this much. If Sherlock was here, he would also be surprised for the same reason.

Lucien looks at Tih's confusion and decides to give up on continuing. "I have to go find Sher. You were with him during the murder in the market, right? He asked me to look into that. If I put it off any longer, he'll get too annoying." Lucien complains before getting up and leaving.

By the time Tih returns to his dorm, it's already dark. In the end, he didn't understand anything Lucien had said, but the speed of his fingers interested Tih greatly. On his way back, he collected three spherical rocks and started twirling them around his fingers in an orderly fashion.

Tih will continue to do this whenever he's not doing anything. The number of rocks will also increase as time goes by. With this, his hand speed will increase without the child realizing it.