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Something nudged him. Axel cracked his eyes open blearily. It was the mare. He shut his eyes tightly. Maybe if he pretended to be dead, he would be dragged off to the nurse and this horrible day would at last be over.

The horse's snuffling nose moved closer to his face and Axel jumped to his feet with surprising speed. He didn't want to get bitten in the face by the damn horse.

The mare didn't protest as he climbed up into the saddle, and set off at an easy pace around the walking course. To Axel's utter astonishment, they reached the end without any bites, falls, or other disasters. The mare must feel guilty about trying to kill him. He sat perfectly still in the saddle and felt his head, wondering if he had cracked his skull on that last fall and was imagining this now.

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It was kind of lame that everyone else was trotting around like a grand equestrian jumping hurdles and so forth, and his greatest achievement yet was managing to stay aboard a horse for five minutes without falling off. Also he didn't like Preacher laughing at him and kind of didn't want her to remember him as being by far the most pathetic trainee of the day.

His confidence bolstered by that single successful ride, Axel set the mare off around the walking course again and booted her, hoping that maybe she would at least gallop impressively. Instead, she tried to buck him off. Axel managed to hang on, but only just.

With a bit of gentle, and calm coaxing, Mykanos was able to successfully bring Comet out to the field with the other trainees and horses. It was a little bitter sweet being around them, having had to sell his own to a neighboring family before leaving for the military. But he knew they'd take care of his old dear friend. Giving a pat along the stallions neck, the hunter walked along the large beasts side, and hoisted himself up onto its back with ease. There was some initial reaction from Comet, adjusting to his new rider, and the two of them getting comfortable with one another, but the ungulate seemed accepting of their pairing. An encouraging nudge against the back of the ribs was given in order to get the two of them going into a light trot. Since he had ridden plenty of times back home, Mykanos thought it may be crucial to try testing himself with something he'd never really had the chance with; the hurdles. While there were overturned trees that had to be cleared from time to time back home, it wasn't often that leaping was involved during his rides. Come to think of it... would it really come up when they were out there doing their duties? what did he know.

Leading Comet to the hurdles, he waited his turn, before giving a confident command to set his steed forward. After watching others go before him, Mykanos tried to imitate their movements, and how they'd handled the jumps. It required some getting used to. The first hurdle was the most foreign, of course, but as they went on, Mykanos was able to keep up with the spirited beasts gung-ho nature. From time to time Comet would stop to shake his head roughly, or nod it abruptly. But they got through the course in one piece!


[ mod: 0]

Alec stood himself up, brushing off and even from his position on the ground he easily lifted himself back up onto the saddle as he planted his weight in the stirrups and swung his leg over the horse. Settling he sat up and gave a little click as he trotted over to join the small group.

"I dunno, I let go since I was laughing. I should know better I've ridden enough times." His cheeks were flushed, coughing to clear his thought."Ohh! Apple Crisp sounds good. I'm game." he agreed nodding his head. "I'll go stable up this mare, and we'll go look into that sure thing." Maybe they'd have to step off base if the kitchen was too busy, but they were free for the day now that training course was over...so what could it hurt to make new friends? He looked sheepish given he'd laughed his head off like a crazy person, but really the three trainees didn't make him feel bad or anything about it. So by his books, Alec was content to joke along and have fun.

Ervette took the horse once the red head hopped down, she was satisfied what the misstep was recovered from and offered a sly wink of acknowledgement to the lot for having finished. All in all she was immensely pleased. "You guys got a good hand on this, I'm proud. keep it up." She bolstered grinning at the little group before excusing herself needing to keep an eye on the other trainees for the now.

Ervette had lead the class away from the military compound, heading off grounds into a wooded areas. Behind those gathered was an open field, while in front are large trees that seem to go on forever. It is mid day, part of the day had been spent trekking to the off site location. All the needed supplies and gear for this week's lesson were readily on hand, including food and water. Trainees have been handed their supplies and groups assigned. Ervette sits crouched down by a makeshift gathering for a fire. It doesn't take her long, she explains the importance of how to create, and properly maintain a fire for those interested. She expects everyone to begin their lesson while she sets up their base camp in the mean time.

Busy at work, if called for she would attend to those looking for her. With groups assigned she went about her own business in the mean time.

Shakuntala was quite reluctant to leave her horse friends and carry on with the next task of the week. She cast maroon eyes to the mare she had come to know so well over the course of two riding sessions and the others she would never come to know at all. Even as Ervette spoke and informed her and her other fellow trainees of their new duties to come, she kept her eyes pinned to the arena and the horses being led back to the stalls as she followed the group until they disappeared out of sight altogether behind the thickets surrounding the compound. Now that her mind was torn from its distraction, she shifted her attention fully on the green-haired instructor, but not without giving a passing thought to how wonderful of a horse Scout was.

She listened intently to the instructions required of shelter and first aid. Unfortunately, her knowledge when it came to camping was on par with Hwan's. Having lived under a roof that she dared not step much out of during her youth, she didn't know where construction began and ended for a temporary shelter. The materials provided did not raise her spirits either; they seemed flimsy and incapable of withstanding the artificial downpour that was to come. Shakuntala glanced to the face that spoke her name and chagrined slightly at the fact she was always seeing double when it came to the twins. This was reflected in the slight thinning of her lips -- which she forced into a welcoming smile upon his introduction.

"Y-yes, I'm Shakuntala... Nice to, um, n-nice to meet you, Hwan..."

Having learned that Hwan too was unfamiliar with outdoor survival upped her uncertainty tenfold. She took his compliment in stride as she followed after him; the silence on her lips a product of her hesitancy when it came to the task. She immediately thought of going to Ervette for pointers and even kept her eyes pinned on the woman as they descended into the forest to find a spot. Glancing about at the area Hwan brought her to, she gave him a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"Sure, i-it works," Shakuntala replied with a nod, before giving a clueless blink to the wink he directed to her. Was that a signal for something? Did he want something? Did he tell a joke? Was she supposed to laugh? Was she not supposed to laugh? What did that mean? It took a good, lengthy while for the meaning of Hwan's implication to register in her mind as, and she had bent at the waist to pick up the tarp and unfold it, it dropped limply from her gloved hand when she stiffened from a flush.

"I... Uh... Um..." Shakuntala choked nervously at him, eventually forcing out. "Let's... L-let's just make the shelter, o-okay?"

Yamashii

Sure, dice rolls sound like fun. : D And it is alright. xD

Zinnia was feeling very enthusiastic about the newest stage of their survival training classes. Hand-to-hand combat had been fun but painful. Horse riding had just been painful (so to speak). But this-- this would be like camping, right? She'd never gone camping before, but she loved nature so it would definitely be fun.

Leaving the compound with the rest of her class had been exciting. The trees behind the compound were huge and seemed to go on forever. She hoped that they would be able to spot some wild animals in the field or forest; she didn't see many other than birds, horses, and insects back at the compound.

She listened with interest to Ervette's instructions on how to build a shelter and fire, as well as the basics of first-aid. Her heart leaped when she heard her name paired with Lenore's; this couldn't have gone better! This would definitely be the best class; if she was working with her friend, it was sure to be a lot of fun. She immediately turned her head, trying to make eye contact with the younger trainee, but she held herself, quivering with eagerness, at attention until Ervette had finished calling names and turned them loose.

"Lenore!" Zin said, skipping to her side immediately. She continued, speaking at a mile a minute, "Hi! How are you? Have you liked the classes so far? This is going to be so much fun; I've never built a shelter before! But how hard can it be? I sure hope that we do a good job and don't get soaked; that would suck. I wonder if a bucket of water is a good representative of rain. Sure, sometimes it rains pretty hard, but... Oh! Let's grab our supplies! And we have to find a spot, quick, before everyone takes all the good places." She rubbed her hands together, her eyes darting around as she tried to decide what to do first.

Axel listened to Ervette's instructions closely, his spirits lifting with every word. This. This. He could do this. He would be on solid ground, not handling any blades or finicky gear, and no horses would be involved whatsoever. For the first time in quite a while, Axel felt bright and happy and supremely confident that he could complete the assigned tasks without making a total a** of himself in front of his classmates.

Then partners were assigned.

Axel's bright mood dimmed significantly. It wasn't exactly that he dreaded working with Preacher. It was more that he dreaded humiliating himself in front of Preacher. Her laughing at him over his spectacular failure with the horse was bad enough. If he kept screwing up her opinion of him would sink even lower, and Axel was pretty sure Preacher's opinion of him was already at rock bottom.

He had to try to think positive. Preacher had confided in him recently. They'd had a Touching Moment, even if she had laughed at him while riding horses. And if her opinion of him was already as low as it could possibly go, there was nowhere to go but up!

Hooray?

That positive thought in mind, Axel picked up the tarp, bedroll and rope, and carted them over to meet Preacher. "Hello, Preacher!" He gave her a sunny smile. Positive! Think positive! He wasn't going to screw up this time, and Preacher was going to be impressed by his ... his adequateness. Or something.

Axel had never been camping in his life and hadn't a clue what to do. Preacher would know, of course, because Preacher was a very clever girl who had all kinds of tricks up her sleeve. He could at least do the bedroll. Axel knelt, spread the bedroll out on the ground between them and looked at her expectantly, awaiting further instruction.