Osho woke up with a start.
He was feeling a bit excited about what was to come, so he woke up earlier than usual, but he didn’t mind.
He let Gale sleep in a bit more as he did his usual morning routine of washing up and getting his clothes ready. Then he poured some food for Gale and looked at the time.
Nodding to himself, he urged the bird to wake up, and after a few seconds, Gale stirred and yawned.
As usual, Osho felt the annoyance of being woken up early, and he doubted Gale would ever like it, but at this point, the bird understood that it was the norm, so he didn’t throw a fuss.
The same happened when Osho showered him, though the annoyance from the shower seemed to surpass the annoyance at waking up early.
He did find it amusing how Gale kept trying to nite bubbles out of the air whenever he got washed.
Soon, Osho made his breakfast while Gale helped himself to his food. As he ate, Osho checked his phone and saw a few messages from Ellie that were sent this morning.
[Today is the day! Are you ready?]
[That’s a lame question, of course, you’re ready, you’re always ready.]
[Well, when we get there, make sure to protect me. Can’t have a girl on her own in a big, scary forest.]
Osho rolled his eyes.
[Yeah, right, I’m sure your father probably sent some people in the shadows to protect you from afar.]
Almost as soon as he sent the text, Ellie replied.
[Tch. So what? I can choose who I want to protect me.]
[How do you always reply so fast?]
[What do you mean? Texts are meant to be replied to fast. Taking your time to reply to them just defeats the purpose.]
[Does it, though? I mean, they can be read later for a reason, right?]
Osho chuckled at the emoji.
[Okay, fine. Anyway, I’m about to get going so...]
[Fine fine. But don’t be late. Oh yeah, Mrs Jane has a surprise for us!] Osho raised a brow at this.
[What sort of surprise?]
[If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise now, would it?]
Osho nodded and decided to pocket his phone as he washed his plate and Gale’s bowl.
He stretched, and Gale hopped on his shoulder. Then, together, they left the apartment.
True to his word, Osho hadn’t taken off the weights, so Gale was still wearing them as they headed out. Ordinarily, he shouldn’t be able to carry Gale on his shoulder with how heavy the weights were. But Gale was passively reducing his weight by supporting himself with wind, so there was no strain at all.
He got on his bike and started riding to school. By the time he arrived, the time was 7:30.
To his surprise, he saw several large armored vehicles that looked like specially customized buses. There were 9 of them, and each was longer than a normal bus. They were fitted with dark, heavy armor, and the windows were covered up with metal bars, and each window was several inches thick.
There were automated turrets on each bus, and on the front was a mean-looking ram that seemed capable of ripping through anything it came into contact with.
Moreover, there were four more vehicles that weren’t simply modified vehicles but straight-up military vehicles. But these were more armed than the buses and seemed to be there for protection purposes, with two on each end of the column.
Osho couldn’t help but whistle. He kept his distance from them as armed guards were standing around them, so he doubted he could get close if he wanted to.
’Seems like they aren’t pulling their punches. That’s good.’ He noted with approval and continued to ride his bike until he reached the training field.
To his surprise, he saw all the classes and teachers gathered together instead of in separate parts of the field like usual.
Curious, Osho parked his bike and walked over. Luckily, they were arranged somewhat neatly, so he was able to find his class, which was at the front.
’Oh? Everyone is here already.’ Osho noticed. Seems like everyone was early today.
As soon as he approached, his classmates noticed him, but Ellie was the first to approach.
"Oshoooo!" She ran up to him and tried to hug him, but he sidestepped her.
"Hey!" Her nostrils flared, but Osho just gave her a deadpanned stare.
"Ugh, you’re no fun." She pouted and looked at him before turning her attention to Gale, and her eyes widened slightly.
"Oh? Is that why you weren’t in school yesterday? You were getting Gale some armor?" She teased, but her words drew the attention of their classmates as they focused on the metal things on Gale’s body.
"It’s not armor. They’re training weights." Osho explained, and Ellie’s eyes jumped.
"Weights? Seriously?" She was genuinely surprised.
"Well, yeah. Gale is fast, and I want to capitalize on that speed, so I got him training weights. I spent the day getting him used to them." Osho said, saying half the truth.
"Oh, so it’s like, a training montage?" Ellie asked as she observed Gale curiously. On her shoulder, Sugil also looked at the bird, but for some reason, she seemed... wary.
"Hm, also, is it just me, or did he get a little bigg–"
"Alright, everyone." Before Elkie could finish her sentence, Mrs Jane’s voice echoed through the field and everyone turned to look at her.
She stood with her arms folded, still wearing her usual beast-tamer attire.
She looked over everyone before speaking.
"Today is the day. This will be the first time you guys take a step outside the Citadel and enter the wilderness, and I will not lie to you, there is a chance you can die." Her blunt words caused many of the students to flinch.
"However, while that may be the case, the chances will be severely reduced if you listen to what I’m about to say. So pay attention." Everyone snapped to attention, Osho included. Like most of them, he’d never been outside the Citadel, no amount of theoretical knowledge could hold a candle to the experience someone like Mrs Jane possessed.
"We will spend a total of 5 days in the wilderness. There is a base camp that will act as your home for that time. While we are there, you lot will learn how to navigate the wilderness, how to observe beasts, and learn their behaviors while staying hidden from their senses, how to use your beasts to your advantage in these situations, and so on." She paused for a second before continuing.
"The teachers will be there to watch you all and guide your actions. But for the most part, you will be doing things on your own. We will step in in case there is danger, but we will not baby you. Your goal is to earn practical experience in navigating the wilderness, so you must prepare your minds. This isn’t going to be the same as your normal education, it will be hard, and many of you will feel like you’re under immense pressure. But if you can’t handle that, then you aren’t cut out to be a beast tamer.
"That said, you won’t be left alone completely. If you have questions about something you don’t understand, we will always be open to explain. If you encounter a situation you cannot handle, bring it up to us. We are going there to train you, not leave you to get killed. Moreover, if any of us takes the initiative to point something out to you, keep that thing in mind, it could save your life. Is that clear?" There were numerous nods and mumbles, but everyone seemed to get the message.
Seeing this, Mrs Jane nodded
"Alright then. Now, each class should line up." As she said that, a few cargo trucks drove into the field and parked their backs to her.
The students saw boxes arranged in the trucks and all got excited.
"What are those?" Osho couldn’t help but ask and Ellie smiled.
"It’s the surprise I told you about." Hearing this, his brows furrowed.
"What surprise?" Ellie froze.
"... The one I texted you about this morning." She said and looked at him with a frown.
"I didn’t get a text from you this morning..." Ellie’s eyes widened.
"What? But... but you replied to me!" She said and started taking out her phone, but Osho couldn’t hold it in anymore and started laughing hysterically.
Ellie realized she had been pranked and her face flushed as she punched his shoulder which caused him to laugh harder.
"Ugh, you’re so... UGH!" Ellie threw her hands up in defeat and Osho took a moment to catch his breath. Teasing the girl was simply too funny.
"Okay, but real talk, what is it?" His amusement was gradually replaced with curiosity and Ellie just snorted and pointed at the front of the line.
There, Osho saw the first student to come up was taken to the side and a one of the large boxes was opened, when he saw what was inside, his eyes lit up.