All of the boys were surrounded by a large forest area, a good bit away from the camp.
small animals and insects three sizes too big were commonplace in any forest he'd been in so far, and Jairo was fearing that he was beginning to view them as common. Emory was in front of the boys, who had just done a twenty minute walk outside of the camp.
Jairo looked up into the trees and while they were beautiful, that fact they many soldiers were atop the branches and hidden just out of sight was off-putting. sure it was nice to not have them as enemies, but imagine seeing a beautiful forest and looking closer, seeing yellow dots appearing in the treeline or in a bush that you did not see before?
It was creepy.
Even worse than that was the fact that he did not eat during this twenty minute walk and he saw plenty of young boys who had rightfully packed extra food, or those who had gotten up early.
He could ignore them if he put his mind to it except for the fact that Gabriel was one of the people doing this. He casually pulled out dried meat and ate it in front of him. He was rather quiet, but after having not eaten and due to their close proximity he couldn't help but notice.
It was as if his ears and nose worked overtime to cause him as much misery as humanly possible.
'I should look away now, or risk making things worse.' Jairo didn't have the slightest clue how many times he had told himself that, but it clearly didn't register as Gabriel had stopped ignoring his stares and decided to eat while looking at him almost tauntingly.
"Is there a reason for you staring at me like this?" His tone was questioning in a pitiful and worrying manner, as though you were looking at a homeless person or someone having a manic episode.
Jairo quickly raised his head and his eyes cleared. "No I was...just hungry." Whatever lie or cover up he could have used, he simply didn't have the energy to make it.
Gabriel nodded, but his eyelids were still squinting. "A normal man would just ask for food I think." he quickly reached into his pouch and pulled up another piece of dried meat before handing it to Jairo.
"I only ask that you do not look at anyone else like that again." A bit embarrassed, Jairo began eating as he had got what he had wanted in the end. Gabriel kept looking at him however.
"That now makes two favors after only knowing me for a few hours." The words crashed onto Jairo like an anvil. "Surely you will be in my corner when I need a favor from you correct?" Gabriel said it with a joyful expression and closed eyes.
at first there was a hint of doubt, but it was squashed. "I assumed I already was." If he needed to pay back a debt, he would. If it was anything crazy, he would simply refuse it or not give the request the time of day.
All of the young boys went to a forest area surrounded by trees. everyone of each group was lined up. Emory was walking in front of them, reciting the rules. "all of you boys are a bit far away. your goal is to reach the next foot of the camp."
A smile formed on Jairos face as he leaned over to Gabriel who also seemed a bit less worried. "seems easy enough."
Emory seemed to hear that, as he looked in Jairos direction with a smirk. "men will follow you wearing deer skulls upon their heads. They are scattered randomly through the forest and begin chasing the first think they see or hear. The objective is to not get caught and make it back to base soundly."
'....Alright man.' Jairos mood soured almost immediately upon hearing that
Gabriel turned to him. "how easy do you think it is now?" a small smirk covered his face, and it only got bigger upon seeing Jairos unamused and deflated expression.
Emory trurned around and began walking away from the boys, taking confident and measured strides. "For some of you I have high hopes, but do remember that there is no pressure just yet." he then turned his head so that the boys could see half of his face.
"Perform too poorly however, and you will have to undergo more rigorous training to ensure that you at least match your peers. You may begin when you hear the signal."
Emory then ran, jumping away with surprising speed, so that one moment he was visible, and the next he had seemingly disappeared. a high pitched sound that sounded as though it came from a flute played.
It was time to move.
Jairo hadn't moved yet, and a few of the other boys had not either. 'is their a way to properly plan this other than getting chased down and caught by trained soldiers?'
Moreover, as he looked up, he had noticed that the men watching from before were not their anymore, meaning they definitely knew the direction all of the boys were bound to come from.
a few people however, Took the steps with ease. Jairo watches as Theon began full sprinting even when most of the boys did light Jogs, Appearing to be ahead of all of them.He bolted straight forward, unafraid and unbothered by what could be ahead.
Jairo knew that he was a dumbass, but the confidence and aggression almost made him want to follow in his footsteps. Almost.
soon all of the other boys began moving too, with many opting to simply charge only going in slightly differing angles. Jairo turned to look at Gabriel while patting his shoulder. "Hopefully they Get caught and save us the trouble."
Jairo began lightly jogging as well, with Gabriel going slightly faster than him. "I suppose, but however long we stay together depends on how loud you are."
Jairo kept his face forward, and his eyes always occasionally checked the top of trees and bushes. a small formed on his face. "You think you're sneakier than me?"
Gabriel kept his voice to a minimum and one could still feel the arrogance. "Not thinking so much as knowing."
"Not knowing so much as lying. To yourself at least." Gabriel looked as though he wanted to continue, but his face relaxed "Enough of this talking, I'd rather you surprise me."