The next day, Shane, Alice, Michael and Veronica found themselves outside. The entire field smelled of violets and charcoal, a result of the forest candle that burned all throughout the night. Duncan stood in front of his new trainees, stern frown plastered on his face and hands clasped behind his back. He let the silence simmer for a bit before talking.
"Last night gave me quite a bit to think about" he started walking around the four. "The first thing that has caught my attention is the lack of cohesion in this unit. The second thing, is that you all seem to think your problems are of some significance, let me remind you" he stopped dead in his tracks, staring all four in the eyes. "We are at war. Our enemies are powerful beyond our comprehension. They have genocided our race and have no plans to stop". Duncan's gaze lingered, before he stepped backwards into the field. "Come forward, official introductions are in order".
Shane gulped, walking with his new comrades towards Duncan. Duncan put his hand forward, halting their movement. "State your names, introduce yourselves to one another".
He pointed at Shane. "Go".
"My name is Shane Fletcher, I am a soldier of Invictus, my dream is to become a ranger, sir!" Shane saluted, shoulders stiff.
Duncan pointed to the one next to Shane.
Alice mimicked Shane. "Alice Kleia! After graduating, I aim to join the Invictus Science and Technology department!"
"Next"
"Michael Dreshet. I guess I want to own a house? Eh, never really thought about what I wanted" He rubbed his chin.
Duncan sized up his last trainee. 'This one's trouble'.
Seeing as she was the last one, Veronica spoke. "Veronica Varcossia. Soldier"
Duncan's unwavering stoicism faltered, he narrowed his eyes. 'Varcossia...Adam, you son of a-'. He inhaled deeply, restoring his impassive glare. "Good, everyone is acquainted with each other?"
Shane saluted, Alice nodded, Michael shrugged and Veronica stared off into the distance. Duncan sighed, he had a lot to work with.
"Your training starts now. Your first assignment: do the laundry"
.
.
.
Shane trudged through the overgrowth once again. The emerald expanse of verdant trees overwhelmed the land, preventing others from seeing beyond. He smiled as the lustrous rays of the sun fell on his face, purely enjoying nature. He would enjoy it more if he didn't have to drag around an iron bat.
"How much does that weigh?" Alice stared at the hefty stick of steel.
"A lot, but, it's not too bad" Shane strained, continouing forward. "You know, this is a very nice change of pace though, a lot better than the usual stone and iron we see everyday".
"You can say that again" Michael joined in, putting an arm around Shane. "Invictus is so suffocating~, I'm glad that we can have this little break from it all".
A sharp snapping of wood turned the heads of everyone. Veronca glared at Michael. "This isn't a break, this is training. Take it seriously".
"I second that" Alice sided with Veronica. "Even though this place sucks, we have to take things seriously".
Michael pouted, taking his arm off of Shane and hanging both of them loosely. "Oh come on, you sound just like my private instructors. "Michael, do this. Michael, do that", its such a drag"
"Well, they do have a point, Michael" Shane said. "But, the task seems pretty simple, lets just get it over with. What could go wrong?"
Alice slapped her forehead and groaned. "You just jinxed us!"
As a testament to the ill omen that Shane unleashed, a bush started shaking. The four tensed up, readying their weapons. As the rustling grew louder and louder, it suddenly stopped. Then POP, out came a small, furry creature with large puffy cheeks. Shane let out a sigh of relief as did the others.
"See? Its nothing" he smiled, getting an angry look from Alice. Michael was oddly relaxed and Veronica was impassive.
"Your going to be the death of me, Shane" Alice shook her head. "Come, follow me, I remember the way to the stream"
* * *
A little while later, the made it to the stream. Upon reaching it, the trees let up, revealing a bountiful land of green, a rapid current of water streaking it blue. It was the same body of water that Shane and Alice had happened upon before.
Shane's eyes darted everywhere, searching for any danger. "Stay cautious, guys. Last time me and Alice were here, things got intense"
Veronica nodded, sword in hand, ready.
"I think we're good" Michael had his hands behind his head, sitting down on a nice looking rock. "So, does anybody know how to do laundry?"
Alice slapped her forehead again. "For the love of...ok, how sheltered has your life been?"
"My life has been the opposite of sheltered, I'll have you know" Michael corrected her. "I know a bunch of things, I just don't know how to do laundry"
Veronica rolled her eyes, taking out large amounts of clothing from the equally large backpack she was wearing. "Whatever, just don't get in the way".
Shane lugged the metal stick forward, pulling with all his might. He dragged it near the lake and sighed with relief. "Ok, what now?"
"Duncan told us to wash the clothes with that stick, that we should alternate between duties. One person watches for danger, one person sets up a drying rack and places the clothes on it, one person cleans it and the last person watches over the candle and recovers clothes that fall into the lake" Alice recounted.
Shane whistled, impressed at his comrade's capacity to remember things. "Nope, I got everything! I guess I'll wash the clothes first". Shane seemed outwardly confident, but when he tried to lift the metal paddle, he nearly popped a blood vessel. "I guess not" he awkwardly laughed.
Wordlessly, Veronica walked forward and took the paddle from Shane. Rolling her eyes, Veronica pulled the paddle up, or at least she tried. With a new tint of color on her cheeks, she tried again but with more effort, managing to lift the paddle up and above her head.
Shane grinned, happy to find out that his cold companion wasn't so indomitable. "Your pretty strong!"
Veronica glared at him, eyes blazing. "Shut up and hand me clothes".
"Alright, I guess I'll be the clothes dryer" Shane smiled.
"I'll watch the candle and the clothes" Alice volunteered.
Michael groggily got up from his rock, it looked like he was having a light nap. "Perfect, I'll be on look out" he yawned.
Tasks assigned, they all got to work, unaware of a creeping shadow beneath the waves.