In a flash, Abey's thoughts were focused on the ground beneath her feet and the rhythm of her breathing as the team jogged down the backside of yet another grassy slope. Abey was immediately able to tell that she was in good form. That she had zoned out over thoughts of her brother was a sign that her mental state was focused early in the event, and she wasted no thought on projections of the hardships to come.
Abey was just behind Carlo and Geric as the two leaders guided the team over another grassy hill. Tempi moved to her side at the top of the hill and pointed into the distance before them. "I think I see someone running out of sight, it looked like the back of a Green Environmental Suit." Tempi said as she indicated with her head toward a figure in the distance.
Abey nodded as she navigated her way down the backside of the hill. "I've been watching them for some time. They're close enough to pass if we want. But I agree with Carlo and Geric's idea of maintaining our current speed is wise."
"Of course you agree with Carlo." Tempi said with a smirk.
"Keep your focus on the Course, Tempi. We have twenty five day cycles of Challenges. Getting though this intact is all you should be thinking about." Abey chided Tempi as she gently bumped her friends shoulder with hers, causing both girls to grin.
As the team crested the next hill Tempi nudged Abey and indicated she should look to the rear. Abey wordlessly followed her direction and saw that several Academy teams had caught up to Derinshal Academy far behind them. "It looks like our pace has put us half an houras ahead of the closest pack leaders. Not counting Edphol and Sakous, of course. We're off to a good start." Abey said with a simle.
"Did you doubt our team's abilities, Abey?" Sari said as she jogged from behind the two girls, rudely interrupting their conversation.
"You three should be saving your energy for the run, and not wasting it talking." Geric yelled back at the three girls. "Gemma, Sari, sprint ahead of the team and see if you can catch up to Sakous. That will give us an idea of their condition."
Sari kept pace at Abey's side, which allowed her to see a cloud of contempt cover Sari's face after hearing Geric's order. "Geric, I am not on your team, so I don't have to follow your orders." Sari said with a withering tone toward Geric.
"As long as our two teams are together, Geric and I are co-leaders." Carlo barked sternly at Sari, looking over his shoulder briefly as he continued running. "We need a relay team to scout ahead. You and Gemma are excellent runners, so follow instructions and get on your way."
Sari looked briefly at Carlo's back before she followed Gemma at full speed away from the rest of the team.
"Let's pick up the pace a bit, we want Sakous and Edphol to know we can pass them whenever we chose." Carlo said with intensity.
Geric nodded once and began running faster, matching Carlo's new speed. The rest of the team immediately adjusted to the team leaders.
At two houras past midday the team had yet to catch up with Gemma and Sari. Abey found herself looking back in an attempt to catch sight of the teams trailing them. She once caught sight of what looked like a forward scouting pair. The colors of the Environmental Suits were those from the zVare Academy, but the distance was great enough that Abey couldn't be sure.
When looking back at the other members of the Retros team, Abey could see that Tam and Mari, their Course Instructors seemed to be completely at ease. To Abey's eyes, the pair seemed to be enjoying a leisurely day out, there was no indication they had been running for the past several houras, their faces were relaxed and their breathing was even. Looking at the two them was a reminder to Abey of how intense Ranger training was, and the sight of them was clear proof of the difference between a citizen of the Federation and those few that had achieved the status of a Ranger.
