Power Plays for Beginners, Chapter 1:3

Looking At vs. Looking Through

Blue eyes, lightly crossed
In the most delicate fashion
Are useful tools

There is never harm done by appearing wiser than you are. The only harm comes when you prove the perception wrong by speaking like a fool. The answer is simple: don't speak.

Humans are a strange breed, speaking sense mixed with nonsense in a single breath, but a steady stare can cut through the words and lead your human into first confusion, then concentration, then finally, an attention to and respect for you.

The best placement for such a stare is from less than 18 inches from your human's face. Snaking your head out slowly to come nearly nose-to-nose with the human as she quiets is a very useful, but more advanced technique. The key to the stare is to have your eyes just slightly crossed. This way, if your human makes strange faces at you, you can ignore them with dignity. It also gives the impression that you are looking through them, not at them, and that what you see inside their minds is being considered gravely. A warning: do not cross your eyes too far, or you will appear ridiculous (more on this as a technique in a forthcoming chapter).

For the humans attempting to use this for their own benefit, I wish you the best of luck. It can work in your favor as well. I do suggest leaving the nose-to-nose practice to the experts, however, for this seems to cause undesired reactions in human power plays, often resulting in the one of the noses in question coming in contact with a heavy fist.