Lucia
The peal of the training bell made me fall out of my chair.
Elle snorted as I clambered rather ungracefully back to my feet.
"Be quiet, you." I snapped back, grateful no one had been around to see that.
The mare merely blinked at me and snagged another mouthful of hay.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" I frowned at her. "We have training to get to."
She blew at me, as if to say, lead the way, then!
I huffed. "Fine. Come on." I spun on my heel, braid flying out dramatically as I did so. We made our way out of the barn, where Olvan and Tyler had offered to let Elle stay while I worked on passive state.
I'd never really been in a barn before that. Well, of course I've been in a barn, but not one like this. This one has a packed dirt path, and rusty iron hinges that squeak on all the doors. But I don't really mind. Elle likes it. And that's saying something.
The horse's hooves sounded behind me as we headed out onto the courtyard's cobblestones. She nosed my shoulder and I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll see about that ride after training, okay? I don't know what we're doing today."
She snorted again.
I shook my head, but stifled a laugh. "This way, you goof."
We rounded the corner and nearly collided with another Greencloak who was leaving the gymnasium through the outer exit. I narrowly avoided them, mumbling a quick apology before we ducked inside.
The others were standing on the opposite wall. Well, I say standing, but that's a generalization. Zay was leaning against the wall, scowling– I swear she looked even angrier when we made eye contact! Niko was leaning against it too, but he was actually relaxed. Tazi stood next to him, giggling and glancing around expectantly. Navia was kneeling on the ground with her wolverine, whilst Sabien and Sasha both stood off to the side in silence. I was quick to join them.
I crossed the room and stood against the wall with the others, returning the quick grin that Niko flashed my way.
I'd barely been there a minute before the doors opened, revealing Ryan and Tyler. They wore matching cloaks, but where Ryan was smiling, Tyler just surveyed us with an unreadable look.
"Welcome to our first ever group training!" Ryan stopped in the middle of the room.
We'd all snapped to attention when they entered, nervous excitement buzzing through the air.
"Most of you have already been working with some senior Greencloaks, on combat and on your bonds." Tyler took over. Although he didn't speak as loudly as Ryan did, his authoritative tone seemed to ring more deafeningly in the quiet room. "Today's first exercise is merely a test of what you've learned."
That seems unfair. I thought to myself, sure, I wouldn't have that big of an issue since I wasn't the last one who'd arrived, but Zay had been there for almost half a year already. If I was to believe Tazi and Niko's gossip.
Ryan clapped her hands, drawing back our attention. "So! For the exercise." She proceeded to point out the large canvas bags that hung from the ceiling.
My eyes followed her finger as it indicated the wall across the room as well. I couldn't help but smirk, just a little bit. I was good at running exercises. I always used to win races back home.
"We'll go in two groups." Tyler called as they stepped back, out of the way of the runners. "Navia, Sasha, Tazi, Niko! You're up."
I followed the rest of the group off to the side, a tad bit relieved to not go first. The wolverine, ostrich and jaguar all followed us, each with eyes only for their summoners.
Niko shook out his shoulders and cracked his knuckles, backing up so he was flat against the wall beside the others. I couldn't miss the dirty look Sasha threw him.
"Go!" Tyler's shout rang out, and they were off.
I found myself holding my breath, unable to look away as Niko sprinted past, across the room. He had a determined look on his face as he flew by, quickly drawing ahead of Navia and Tazi. Sasha wasn't so easy to shake, however.
I'd heard that the jaguar summoner had trained as a warrior, but only now did I actually get to see him in action. His strides were long and measured, carrying him just out of Niko's reach. They reached the wall a hairbreadth apart.
Sasha paused at the bottom and sprang up, slapping it as high as he could– a good two times his height.
Niko, however, took the more nimble approach. He leapt when he was still a pace or two away, kicking off wall to gain some more height. He ended up about half a metre above Sasha.
Then they hit the ground and were running again. Sasha reached the bag first, having lengthened his lead while Niko was still in the air. He rammed into it with his shoulder, grunting with surprise when he merely bounced off. The bag barely even swung.
Niko arrived at the bag next. He shot a look over at Sasha, clearly surprised. He then doubled his speed and took off with both feet, slamming into the bag with his full body. It swung a little bit, but not enough for me to be certain. The poor boy fell to the ground with a groan.
A sharp growl from beside me made me jump. It was Navia's wolverine– Cerco, I think? He was staring at the running girl with fierce eyes as she approached the bag as well. At the last possible moment, she dropped to a slide and kicked it from underneath, with both feet.
I was surprised when it bounced a little.
She rolled away just as Tazi ran up. He did the same as Sasha, hitting it with his shoulder, but with even less success.
"Good job!" Tyler said as they stumbled over, panting and wincing. "Next group!"
I stretched out my arms and gave Elle a quick pat. Then I lined up. Alright, we got this.
"Go!"
Using the wall for an extra push, I took off at a sprint, racing to the other wall. I could barely hear anything over the thunder of my own footsteps. Zay appeared in my periphery, drawing even and then passing.
A sudden, piercing whinny cut through the noise. It was clear and steady, and somehow bolstered me. Invigorated, I launched myself at the wall, smacking the bricks as high as I could. I spun in midair and landed on my feet, taking off immediately.
The bag was the next challenge.
You've got a strong punch, I reminded myself, and decided to use it. I barely even saw Zay hit the bag, or even knew where she was anymore. There was just me and this challenge. It came up faster than I expected, so all I could do was react. I punched it as I ran past, barely even pausing to see if it moved.
My knuckles stung and I slowed, breathing hard. I turned to Elle, who twitched her ears. She looked pleased with herself.
"That was great!" Ryan praised as we made over way back over. "What did you feel when Elle whinnied?" She turned to me.
I licked my lips, catching me breath before answering. "It was like... like I had the wind in my back. It felt like I could do anything!"
Tyler nodded approvingly, then looked around. "Anyone else?"
Navia raised a hand. "When Cerco snarled, I felt like... I knew what to do. That I should kick it. I didn't have a plan for it until then."
Tyler smiled. It seemed to crack open his face, making him about ten years younger. "That was you gaining an understanding. Bonding." He explained.
I reached over and buried my fingers in Elle's coat. She met my gaze with a huff. He was right, somehow we were closer.
"You should do it!" Niko interrupted. He had his arms crossed, but was grinning good-naturedly.
"Should I?" Tyler chuckled.
"Yes!" I joined the cry of agreement, excited now.
"Okay, okay." Tyler raised his palms in defeat. He pulled up his left pant leg, and summoned an enormous black bear. It sat down with a thump, and we all stared open mouthed.
"That's huge!" Tazi gaped.
Tyler scratched the bear's head. "Charlie prefers to be lazy rather then any thing else. But right now, I need you." He unclipped his cloak and handed it to Ryan to hold. He then lined up at the same wall we had.
Charlie sat at attention.
"Go!" We chorused.
He raced off, strides so long that he was practically leaping.
At the other wall, he launched himself up, slapping the wall way higher than any of us.
Pushing off it, he landed on his hands and feet, running on all fours. Getting to the bag, he straightened and rammed his shoulder into it. The bag jounced and quaked.
"Whoa..." Niko's mouth fell open.
Tyler walked back to us. "What did you think?" He asked, his quirked brow bordering on cocky.
"That was... amazing!" Tazi said, awestruck.
"It certainly was." Ryan laughed and handed back his cloak. "You showoff."
Tyler grinned back at her. He shook back his hair and patted Charlie's shoulder, earning a grunt of approval. "Now, for the next exercise."
Niko
I nodded, understanding as they explained.
Six more Greencloaks had come in. They walked over to us. I recognized Dylan, the cheetah summoner who had been helping me with private training ever since I'd gotten here. He tied a blindfold around my eyes and I heard Jesse being lead away.
"Take a breath and focus." Tyler instructed.
It was odd to hear just his disembodied voice, but I obeyed nonetheless, inhaling deeply.
"Dig deep and let you animal guide you." He continued. "Once you feel them, point."
I searched my senses, trying to figure out where Jesse was. I felt a faint tug toward my left and slowly raised a finger in that direction, still unsure.
"Navia, that is great. Nearly there, Sabien." Ryan jumped in, "sorry, Sasha, but you're way off."
"Really good, Lucia." An unfamiliar voice agreed. "Not quite, Tazi."
"Almost, Niko." Tyler startled me with my name. "Zay, that's super close."
I smiled slightly, relaxing. My senses guided me to the pull of Jesse, moving to my right. I raised my finger again, less hesitant this time.
"Navia, Lucia, that is fantastic," Tyler congratulated. I squashed down the jealous spark as he continued. "Sabien, you've nearly got it! Nice job, Zay."
"Hmm, no, Sasha." Ryan added apologetically. "Way better, Niko and Tazi."
"Great job, everyone, you can take your blindfolds off now." Tyler said.
I pulled off my blindfold and followed my still pointing finger. Jesse stood across the room from me, a few paces to the left of my finger. I grinned, honestly surprised at how well it had gone. He bobbed his head at me in agreement.
We all gathered back around the guardians, awaiting instructions. "Alright, for the next exercise-" Tyler was cut off as a young Greencloak ran into the training room.
"Olvan wants to see you." They addressed him at first, then paused and glanced at the rest of us. "All of you."
"Or not." Ryan laughed and started to follow them back out, "let's go."
Hey guys, I hope you're liking this so far, yes I know how terrible it is. Stick around for the next chapter, it'll be up soon!
edit: 09/04/21
ok i knowww it's been a hot minute i'm sorryyy
but! here's a hella long chapter to make up for it (seriously it's like almost 2000 words wtf)
anyway, have a great day/night and stay safe my lovelies xx