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"Oh yeah pressure. Sorry I guess I would have let you bleed out. Good thing this is practice." Farvardin said hanging her head. She sat back on her heels and looked back up. "Well guess it's your turn. Um... mine is on my right arm." She said pointing with her left to her upper arm.

Farvardin sat patiently while Shun wrapped her imaginary wound. "I'd imagine you'd have to cauterize if there was no other way to keep someone from bleeding out, especially if they lost an arm or leg." She said with a small shudder. She certainly hoped she never lost a limb.

When he was done she looked at the bandage. It was done far more nicely than hers. It was tighter and even looked neater. "Wow. You're so much better at wrapping than I am."

"Trainees. Welcome to your fourth and final week of your survival training. It's been a long, rough road, but you've gotten this far. That's something to be proud of. It's an accomplishment in and of itself."

Ervette crossed her arms over her chest and offered everyone a smile. There was a gleam of pride in her eyes.

"This week is important. I might even consider it the most important - because no matter how well your shelter is built, and no matter how good you are at first aid - if you haven't got food, you haven't got a prayer. If you can't watch for the signs of inclement weather, you haven't got much hope. You've got to be able to find and trap your own food. You've got to be able to be aware of your surroundings at all times."

Ervette inhaled deeply before continuing.

"The first part of this is relatively simple. A lot of it has to do with learning how to handle yourself when various weather hits. There will be a quiz that comes along with this - nothing difficult, and you don't have to pass to graduate this class - but what you do have to do is take the knowledge I've given to you and apply it in the future."

Ervette takes a moment to pass out a small pamphlet to everyone.

"Read through it. Take the quiz in the back. Keep the pamphlet, and use it to brush up on your skills. Your life will depend on it."

The pamphlet is small, but contains information regarding different types of bad weather and your best bets for surviving it.






Once everyone finished their quizzes, Ervette ordered the trainees to follow her. They headed towards a big thatch of forest a fair distance away.

"All right. Listen up. This is going to be the hardest part of this week's training. The quiz? The quiz was easy stuff. Weather is just common sense. Gathering food, and knowing which food is edible and which isn't - this is the important stuff. Knowing how to build a trap to catch a rabbit. Knowing how to clean the rabbit. Knowing how to cook on a fire that has little to no smoke so you don't draw the attention of the titans. This stuff is important. The sun rises east to west. Important to know, sure - but if you drink some bad water, you're going die. If you eat some bad berries, you're going to die. I don't want that to happen. That's why you're here."

Ervette crossed her arms over her chest, and took a moment to look at the trainees that stood before her.

"I could sit here all day talking until I'm blue in the face, but I think you'll just have to learn on your own."

As Ervette passed out pamphlets and explained the quiz, Hwan flipped the paper over a few times in his fingers deep in thought. What kinds of climates were out there past the walls? Was it different than life inside or very much the same? Brown eyes scanned the information to absorb it in. Although it didn't seem important, his goal was the Survey Corps. This could save his life out there and so he did his best to take it seriously. Learning how to fire a rifle was optional in his mind, surviving another storm was not. Whatever was waiting out there for him would likely turn his world upside down if he wasn't careful. He took a seat on the ground and began to compare the questions to the answers in the little booklet.

'If only I'd known this earlier.' He thought to himself, his body tensing up as he finished his third read through. His face was grim and focused for once, not at all like his normal energetic and rowdy self. Letting out a breath he'd been holding, he shot a glance in his brother's direction before turning back to his paper with renewed motivation. He sprinkled his answers with his own personal theories and opinions even if the material didn't explicitly state those things.

show spoilerhide spoiler

1. What is the most important thing to do if you find yourself stuck in a snowstorm? Building a shelter to keep warm. Keep as warm as possible but don't do anything risky. It's best to wait it out rather than keep moving in hopes of escaping the storm.
2. What is one thing you should do when you find yourself in a lightning storm? Why do you think that is? Find a safe place to take shelter immediately. Look for places that are low or that have taller landmarks sort of nearby. Avoid being near anything tall. You want to be the smallest thing because lightning goes for tall things.
3. Should you keep your head covered in hot weather? Why, or why not? Yes, it will help your body regulate your temperature. It will also protect skin from burning.
4. In hot weather, when is the best time to travel? Why? Travel by night to avoid the heat from the sun. Daylight hours should be spent remaining still and conserving energy. Be wary traveling in the dark though with hindered vision and avoid doing anything to draw attention to yourself.
5. If a lightning strike is imminent, what should you do? Rest on the balls of the feet and stay still. DO NOT INHALE. Remain as calm as possible.

((OMG I love Shun's quiz. That was the funniest damn thing, Blade Kuroda.))

((OMG Shun rofl Forgot we have some illiterate trainees.))



Zinnia quickly read through the pamphlet twice before beginning her quiz. She was surprised by a lot of things that she'd seen on the pamphlet; her parents hadn't told her anything about those types of weather conditions, and she certainly hadn't learned any survival tips at school, where it was forbidden to discuss leaving the Walls. She figured the only people who might know everything on the pamphlet were those who had lived in the forest villages. She considered each question on her quiz carefully before answering.

Shakuntala bobbed her head as she took one of the pamphlets and found a location where she could read it thoroughly. It covered a large array of information the girl had not known due to her domestic lifestyle, but there was something that concerned her about what was provided: Yes, it talked of the survival of humans, but what about the horses? Didn't their lives matter too? Her mouth drew to a thin line and, as she got up and returned the pamphlet in favor of a quiz, she was sure to right this wrong and prove the importance of those hoofed quadrupeds.



With that, Shakuntala got up from her seat and slipped the slice of paper toward Ervette. While she knew the quiz wasn't of importance, she felt liked she'd get at least a decent grade on it. Horses were as important as humans too!

leon_a_darkangel

Turning in my completed quiz!
Character name: Shakuntala Tischendorf.
Link to quiz: [x].

(( Omfg, I died at Shun's quiz. rofl ))

Shakuntala guided her eyes upward toward the intertwined canopy of trees above and let out a sigh. It seems this part of the week was another solitary task and, while she thought gathering food would've come easier when everyone was together aiding each other, that wouldn't always be the case when out in the wilds. While they fought with each other, one's hunger was something they had to satiate themselves. Casting her glance to other trainees descending into the thickets to rustle up some grub, Shakuntala became one of them, and headed out into the bush.

A short distance from where she had made her first step, something made a quick dash through underbrush and bounded in the direction of a tree. Shakuntala gave a small yip in surprise before trekking further and noticing a familiar pair of appendages twitching cautiously in her direction. Rabbit ears. Another step caused the small mammals to bound deeper into the forest and disappear out of sight altogether. The girl let out a sigh. If they were spooked so easily, there was unlikely chance she'd catch them. Pinching her chin between forefinger and thumb, Shakuntala thought long and hard of a possible way to snare them, and then that's when the moment struck.

A snare! She snapped her fingers at the sudden epiphany. Now let's see...

Fashioning a number of crude looking traps with branches, Shakuntala wiped her brow and nodded her head with a smile. That looks good!

Leaving the snares to their lonesome, the copper-skinned trainee turned the other way to scavenge while she waited for any of the rabbits to be caught within her traps. Unfortunately, the forest wasn't a high-class tavern that served delicious meals to its patrons. Some work had to go into it and, unless she got down and dirty, there was no way she'd fill her stomach. The first item that piqued her interest was a bushel of flowers with wide leaves. Grabbing the plant by its base, she pulled, and tilted her head at it.

It looked like something a horse would snack on. Dandelions? she wondered as she stuffed it into her sack. It looked like the infamous weed, but she was still unsure. Whether they were edible or not was another matter altogether.

Near the flowers was a bush bursting with bright, ripe red berries. Brushing her hand onto it, a few of the morsels dropped off. Plucking them off the ground, Shakuntala turned one about in her hand curiously. There was obviously some dangers when it came to berries as she had read, so she dare not pop one in her mouth to test. Instead, like the flowers, they were given a spot in her sack.

As she walked further into the forest, she tripped upon a stray root, and tumbled into a collection of ferns. Grunting in pain from her fall, Shakuntala weakly peeled an eye open before pushing herself up. Turning to see what had tripped it, that's when she noticed that she had uprooted the plant that did. Bending over to it, she pulled the root fully out of the dirt, and examined it.

Look like a 'tato... she thought. Guess I can eat this? Maybe?

Whether she could or not would be decided later, into her sack it went. Figuring she had collected enough naturally grown foods, Shakuntala rose to standing and went to check on her snares. Much to her chagrin, it seemed she had caught a rabbit. Two, in fact. As she approached both traps, the copper-skinned girl felt her eyes fill with tears. She covered her mouth and suppressed a sob.

I feel like a murderer...

"I-I'm so, so... sorry..." she apologized to the two rodents as she pulled their bodies from the snags. Both hung limply in her hand, already having passed from their struggle. Wiping her tear-filled eyes on the sleeve of her jacket, she pushed the two rabbits into her sack and turned on her heel, returning to Ervette. She could mourn her actions lately, it was time to be evaluated.


Come rate my scavenging!!
I've scavenged:
1. 12 - Leafy greens with yellow flowers. Dandelions?
2. 14 - You've successfully set a snare, and captured a rabbit.
3. 3 - A handful of bright red berries.
4. 2 - You've successfully set a snare, and captured a rabbit.
5. 18 - Some sort of wild tuber. Potato?

Zinnia wasn't at all sure what she was looking for, so she tried to find a bit of everything. She spotted a bush bearing bright red berries; they looked edible. She picked a handful and added them to her gathering bag before moving on. She next came across some mushrooms growing on a rotting log. She remembered eating mushroom soup back at home, so she picked some of them as well. She kept going until she spotted some flowers that she believed were dandelions. She remembered someone mentioning dandelion salad at one point or another, so she picked a few of them. Even if they weren't edible, at least they were pretty; she could appreciate dandelions, among the most stubborn of the weeds. It brought back memories of toiling with her mother in the garden, one of the few places she was happy at home...

She shook off the thought quickly. She remembered Ervette mentioning trapping rabbits, and while she didn't think they were expected to catch meat in the short time they were given to gather food, she did think that giving fishing a try couldn't hurt. She'd never gone fishing before, but she knew the basic idea. With a silent apology to the tree, Zin snapped off a young branch and stripped it of its leaves. She also tore off a few strips of bark and kept them in her pocket. She snapped off the tip of her branch and used her pocket knife to whittle it. Luckily, the bark was still soft, and within a minute she had a passable makeshift hook. Using the strips of bark as a line, she created the hokey-est fishing pole she had ever seen. She doubted it would work, but she'd gone that far and decided she had to at least give it a try.

She wandered back to the rotted tree stump where she'd found the mushrooms. If she knew one thing about the wild, it was that she knew where bugs hid. She kicked the moist log open and, sure enough, thousands of ants scrambled away from the light. She spotted her true target, a few fat grubs. She snatched them up before they could escape. Following her ears, she soon came across a slow-moving river. Hopefully there would be fish there. She whispered an apology to the first grub before spearing it on her hook and tossing it into the water. Within seconds, she felt a sharp tug on the line. Startled, she pulled it back up-- and saw an empty hook. There were ravenous fish in the river, but she'd have to act quicker if she hoped to catch one. Her hook wasn't sharp enough to pierce their lip with only a bite. She speared a second grub, and a third, but came back empty each time. She considered herself lucky that her hook hadn't been swallowed and the line hadn't broken yet, but if she didn't catch a fish soon, she knew that she would run out of time.

On the fourth grub, she jerked her pole up sharply the moment she felt the slightest tension. At last, a silver fish sparkled in the sunlight, attached to the end of the line. A wide grin spread across her face and she quickly brought it to the shore, where it flopped and struggled. Her smile quickly turned to an expression of horror. Killing insects was hard on her, let alone an invertebrate. But wouldn't Ervette be impressed? If she really were out in the wild and starving, this fish would provide more calories than the rest of the things she'd gathered put together. She grit her teeth and seized the fish before it could flop back into the water. She slit where she guessed its throat was with her knife and watched with a potent mixture of horror and guilt as its flopping grew weaker and weaker until it finally stopped.

She held back her tears as she added the fish to her sack. She was almost out of time, so she grabbed the next thing she saw-- small purple flowers. She doubted they were edible, but killing the fish had proved exhausting, and she questioned whether it was worth it at all.

By the time she'd gotten back to Ervette, her attitude had improved somewhat, and she showed the contents of her bag hopefully.


Come rate my scavenging!!
I've scavenged:
1. A handful of bright red berries.
2. A bunch of brown, spotted mushrooms.
3. Leafy greens with yellow flowers. Dandelions?
4. You construct a fishing pole, and successfully catch a fish from a small pond.
5. Small purple flowers.