BONG!! BONG!! BONG!
Severus jerked awake, gasping hard. The clanging bell echoed in the dark of early morning. Around him, Severus could hear the other's in his bunk moan and growl in response to the wake-up call. Severus's ears rang as his muscles protested. He didn't even think yesterday was all that taxing.
After the rousing introduction, they had all been dismissed to a celebratory dinner. Except for Severus and Regis; they stayed behind to complete the five punishment laps. Regis had been silent the whole time, staunchly staring ahead as they had jogged steadily around the circumference of the arena.
Severus had tried to initiate conversation, but the young Dog had simply increased his pace. So Severus gave up and ran along beside him in silence. The exercise wasn't hard. All it really did was whet Severus's appetite, so, when the smell of bubbling meat and fresh baked bread hit his nose as they approached the cooking pits, his mouth watered.
He had sat with Max, who had saved him a bowl of steaming stew and a hunk of warm bread, and fell on the food like a starved animal. Never had he tasted something so divine, and the savory flavor nearly brought tears to his eyes. When eating was done, John doused the fire and gave a quick lesson on using stars and moons to navigate in the dark.
From the way he talked, this was not the first lesson he had given on this, and Severus got the sinking feeling he would be playing catch-up to a lot of things. Then they had been dismissed for bed. Max and Severus had been shown where their communal barracks were, flipped onto empty bunks, and promptly passed out.
And now this.
"Rise and shine, gentlemen!" came a familiar boom. Severus rubbed sleep from his eyes to see a grinning Gervasius. "Good to see you, Severus. Glad you decided to join. Now UP!!!" Severus scrambled from his sheets, confused on what to do. Gervasius thrust a paper package and a brush into his hands. A quick sniff told Severus the package held soap. Dread pitted in his stomach. Oh no.
"First order of business is the showers," Gervasius Said, grinning wickedly. "And the hot water goes fast. So get to it!" He turned to Max, who was still snoring. "Up and at 'em, lazy bones!"
Max sat up like lightning. "Yah take that back, sah! Ah ain't nah lazy critter, no sah!!" he roared, wagging a finger in the older Dog's snout. Gervasius calmly gripped the finger and pinched on the first joint. Max's face went white with pain.
"And you should be up at first bell, 'sah,"" Gervasius growled.
"Yes, sah," Max said weakly. "Undahstood greatly, sah." Gervasius released the finger and turned back to Severus.
"Hop to!" he boomed, and Severus sprinted out the door. He'd rather face a hundred, snarling Wolves than deal with Gervasius's wrath.
Severus staggered from the communal showers, cold and dripping. Gervasius had been right: the hot water went fast, and it apparently ran through the ladies' showers first. Severus had gotten only a short blast of warmth before it quickly dipped into icy cold. His skin was red from how quick and hard he had scrubbed himself with the course brush, but he smelled fresh and clean for the first time in years. Severus hated bathing. Maybe it was just the Dog side of him, but being in the bath--or shower--simply made him miserable. And this would be everyday? That was pure
torture.
He shook water from himself, letting water droplets spray everywhere. Returning to the barracks revealed three, brand-new uniform tunics on his bunk. Grinning excitedly at the unexpected gift, he pulled one on and belted the wide leather belt that came along with it. It was cotton and breathed easy on his skin. It was comfortable, though Severus knew that, after a day drenched in sweat, it would cling to his skin like sap. But it was nice to have new clothes.
He walked briskly to the cooking pits, where the cooks were already hard at work making breakfast. The sound of sizzling sausage and the smell of frying eggs made his belly growl. He licked his chops and collected a plate. The cook, a cheery she-Olander, held up a sizeable portion of sausages and eggs. Severus was about to ask for them when he was bumped aside.
"Hey!" he said. The rest of his protest died in his throat. The vicious Dog from the other day glared at him.
"What?" the Dog snapped dangerously. Severus gulped.
"You bumped into me," he replied quietly.
"And?" the Dog sneered. "Should | not go before a bottom-ranked loser?" Severus frowned.
™'Bottom-ranked'?" he repeated. The other Dog flicked his head, and Severus followed the motion to a large wood panel. Names and numbers were ranked on it, with John at the top at "1." He went down the list. There was his name, at "18," right below Max at "17," with both at a score of zero.
"I'm currently eleven," the Dog said smugly. Severus looked at the name at number "11." Silvermane, it read. He glanced back down, remembering the silvery gleam on the Dog's scruff. An appropriate name, Severus thought.
"Understand your place now, runt?" Severus shook himself awake and glared at Silvermane. The Dog didn't seem to like to be challenged as he growled threateningly in reply.
"Give it a rest, Silver," a graceful voice sighed. Severus glanced up and felt his breath whisk away. It was the female Cat, only now he could appreciate her details up close. She was lithe and graceful with a slimmer frame than him. But her hips curved sexily, and her thighs were toned and powerful. Even her loose dress couldn't hide her curves. She had short black hair that framed a round, cute face and bright, sapphire eyes. She had a small, cute nose and plump, "kiss-me" lips.
She was the also most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
"The newbie should learn his place," Silvermane grumbled.
"The ranks are only for the lieutenant positions," the Cat reminded him. She popped a berry into her mouth and chewed it for a moment before swallowing. Severus faintly wished he could be a berry. "They don't imply a hierarchy amongst the rest of us." Silvermane snorted.
"You only say that because you're four," he retorted. Severus's eyes flew back up to the board. Maryam. It sounded like the most beautiful name in the world to him.
"And as your possible future Lieutenant Commander," she said, leaning down to Silvermane's level, "shouldn't you listen when she tells you to back off?" Silvermane growled at her, but she stared unflinchingly back at him. After a moment, he broke away, turning instead to Severus.
"We ain't finished, punk," he sneered.
"Remember that." Then he stalked away. Severus breathed a sigh of relief. He accepted the plate of food from the cook and turned to find a seat when he found Maryam standing in front of him. Staring at him. His heart throbbed.
"Don't let Silver get to you," she said, giving him an encouraging smile. Gods, she has a pretty smile, he thought, but instead, he just said, "I'll try not to." She nodded and walked away to her own table, her tail swaying behind her mesmerizingly. Dazed, he stumbled to a different table and sat down with Max.
"Yeh alright, laddo?" he asked through a mouthful of berries. He frowned. "Yer all red and 'ot. Comin' down wit a feveh?"
"I'm fine," Severus mumbled, hastily shoving egg into his mouth. The tasty food made him brighten after such an atrocious start. As he munched on more and more food, he noticed that all Max was breakfasting on was a bowl of hot oatmeal and fruit.
"Is that gonna be enough?" he asked through a mouthful of sausage.
Max smiled with twinkling eyes. "If Ah know wot kinda Commandah John is goin' tah be, yeh'Il keep tha' breakfas' easiyah with sumin simple like thes." At that moment, John appeared with Gervasius at his side.
"Let's get going!!" he shouted.
Thus began the longest day of Severus's life. They started with a group run around the inner wall of the barracks. Compared to the five laps around the arena, this was summer and winter. Halfway through, Severus was Starting to pant, and the sun burned down on him. He started to lag right as the end came into sight, and Max was able to nudge new life back into him. When they came to a halt, Severus felt as if he had just crossed the entirety of Olander City. He bent over, gasping to catch his breath. But that was just the start.
From there, John ran them through a number of exercises: push-ups, curls, pulling up on a bar, deadlifting iron weights, throwing lead balls, and standstill and running leaps. The last two Max excelled at in particular. In the standstill leap, he seemed to explode from the ground to leap forward just over four meters. In the running leap, he cleared six. Both had earned him cheers and slaps on the back, especially from Severus.
Severus, however, lagged behind further still. After completing a dozen push-ups, he had promptly vomited up his breakfast. Unable to clean it away, the smell alone had nearly caused him to puke again.
He swore to never make the mistake again. His stomach aching and growling now, he had raggedly run through all their tests. He was so exhausted for his own jumps that he had barely cleared a single meter. But when he had finally finished, John rang the bell and announced lunch.
This time, Severus paced himself with a light sandwich and some fruit to satisfy his unhappy belly. After lunch, John assigned half of them partners to
spar with and the other half went with him to work through the obstacle course in a game of tag, where one side pursued the other while the other tried to avoid capture. Maryam had gone with John's group, and Severus stared at her, sighing dreamily as he watched her elusive frame slip past foes and obstacles alike. Then, something rapped his hand, and he yelped at the sudden pain.
"Pay attention!" Regis scolded. Severus scowled at him in response. They had been paired up by Gervasius, and the younger Dog was not going easy on him. Nor was his attitude much better from yesterday. Severus balled his padded hands into fists. Now he was focused, and his blood bubbled for a chance to prove himself. Regis settled back into a waiting stance. Amoment passed. Then another. Then Severus broke forward, swinging a huge right hook. Regis saw it and swayed back. The blow whistled through the air. Severus felt a sharp rap to his liver, which sent him to his knees in paralyzing pain.
"C'mon, Trooper, Regis taunted, "Il remember you better than this!" Severus felt his blood boil at the old nickname. Regis had once fought bullies for calling Severus that, and now he used it himself?! It was the last straw. He staggered to one foot and then shot his other out, quick as a snake. His boot slammed into Regis's shins, causing him to buckle. Severus put all his strength into his other leg and swung into an uppercut. He caught Regis just like the City Guard recruit: as he fell forward. This time, his fist bashed under the Dog's chin, snapping his head back and sending him tumbling ear over tail. The small Dog cartwheeled twice and flopped over, obviously unconscious. Severus panted, his side still radiating pain, but the solid impact of his fist into Regis's chin had felt glorious.
"Well struck!!" Severus glanced over to Gervasius, who was grinning with pride. Max, who had his opponent in an armlock, also called out a cheer. More applause came from behind him, and Severus turned to find several Olander soldiers who had witnessed the strike as they passed offering their praise as well. He blushed, but a spark of delight ignited under his skin. He actually enjoyed being praised for fighting. For winning. It was... glorious.
Regis groaned. Severus quickly hurried over to him as he rolled over and rubbed his quickly bruising chin. He extended a hand.
"You got your's in," he said sharply. "Now | got mine. We good?" Regis gave him a look, a mix of irritation and new approval. Severus inched closer.
"We cool, Little Brother?" he repeated, dropping his tone like he was dealing with a street punk. Regis's expression cleared, and he sighed. He grabbed Severus's hand.
"We cool," the small Dog agreed, letting Severus haul him up. Then, he smacked Severus across the temple with the pommel of his sword. Severus let him go and fell back, blinking away stars.
"Always keep your guard up!" Regis chided. Severus shook his head to clear it, jumped up, and went on the attack again. They continued to spar, but, now, they both were smiling grimly through it all.
At last, the bell recalled them to supper. Severus groaned as he ate. Putting a forkful of chicken up to his mouth caused every muscle up and down his arms to burn. Even chewing was painful from how swollen and lumpy his face had gotten. Even though he had put some good marks on Regis, the other Dog had more training and had left Severus far more colorful and lumpy. Max chuckled as he sat next to him.
"Yer a fine sight fah poor, bonny lassies," he teased, though he himself had a swollen, black eye and split lip. Severus chuckled and then winced.
"You're just as pretty a rose as | am," he retorted. Max laughed at that and then winced himself. They both noticed, laughed, and winced together before returning to their food.
After dinner, John once again held class, this time pulling out maps and metal figurines. For two hours, the group sat and walked through a pretend battlefield, each member outlining different strategies their fake troops could do and what circumstances best fit each strategy.
Severus kept quiet after speaking a time or two, and both times resulted in John giving him a concerned look while Max groaned into his hands. He slid down into his seat, trying to hide his embarrassment. Once he was satisfied their imaginary army was safe, John rang the bell again, signaling lights out. Severus stumbled to his bunk, already half-asleep, and sank into his pillow, drifting off into a dreamless sleep.