Capítulo 11: Professor Gemstone and the red clad stranger. (11)
"Graces can be used in a less limited manner in the forest. Different areas have different regulations. Make sure to always take note of those regulations before using any skill."
Their little group was making their way in the forest. Dereck was opening, Ezera was tailing them, along with Ming who didn't want to stray away from him. In the middle were Ashera, Suzuka, Saemi, Shuna, Hiro, Ilun and Shanon.
Ezera found it was easier to keep an eye on all students while allowing them their autonomy when their number was reduced. Plus, most of these kids were calm ones. It was only that Ashera had a tiny bit of a temper, Saemi was prone to panic, Shuna often took offense around others, and Shanon was devious. Perhaps the better word was Quiet.
Ezera was surprised that Dereck hadn't taken Izack and Yuga. From what he understood of their specialties, a good old hide-and-seek in the forest would have done them some good. But both boys were quite strong-headed, and better dealt with separately. Yes, Izack too, even if he didn't look the part.
Dereck was speaking.
"No one will blame you for using passive abilities, nor will many people recognize it, which means you have to make use of it. For instance, this over here is a poisonous mushroom. Some of you should be able to recognize it easily thanks to their Graces. The potioneer, the clerc and even the healer. It might also be useful to you, Ilun was it? As a tamer, you have to be careful what your future companions will sniff and nip at, they might kill themselves off before you even train them. Even if, in reality, their natural instinct will stop them from eating it unless you give it to them. You have to be careful about that sort of thing."
Ming turned his head to one side or another, smelling and hearing things that even Ezera's sharp senses couldn't keep track of.
"There should not be any potential enemy inside this forest, it's too close from the palace. However in a real situation, both the archer and the sniper, Ashera and Suzuka, should always keep track of the moving shadows. Mostly you have to find some leveled space where you can quietly climb to to be able to watch your surroundings better. It should hide you from others but reveal them to you. That is something you will have to learn for yourself."
After some time spent walking in the forest, it seemed they had at last reached a small clearing where a few rays of sunlight pierced the greens. Saemi, the clerc, had absolutely no stamina, and had already broken a sweat.
"What's wrong?" Ezera gently helped her sit down.
"Just... Just an ache," she rasped out, holding her side.
Ezera winced with sympathy. He remembered these pains from when he was a child doing laps. They were no fun. He wished he could help her.
"Breathe slowly and deeply. Rest for a few minutes, you'll be fine."
He patted her shoulder comfortingly. He made eye contact with Dereck, who had as expected already taken note of the problem. Ezera had a feeling the next class they would go through would be building stamina.
He mentally shrugged. That had the merit of taking sportive education classes off of his workload.
"So what will we be doing now that we are here?"
Dereck smirked. Ezera felt as thought this man was an instructor who liked to torture his pupils, metaphorically speaking.
"Let's work on your survival skills, everyone. Listen up. Imagine you setting camp in this area. Go and bring up whatever you can find that will be useful. Shooters and draconic masters included. I'll be telling you more when you come back. You have twenty minutes."
"Don't stray too far," Ezera reminded them before they took off, some more enthusiastic than others.
"Do you want to participate?" Dereck suggested.
"No thank you, I'd rather let them have all the fun. I'm more of a book kind of person, you know?"
"Funnily, no, I took you for the physical kind."
"I used to jog every morning before school. Not the same as gallivanting in the forest, I'm too old for that."
"If you're old, then what must I be?" Dereck burst out laughing.
They sat in companionable silence for a dozen minutes before Dereck called back the children.
Ezera really shouldn't have been surprised when only seven came back.
"Where is Ashera?" He felt tired already.
Saemi and Suzuka exchanged a nervous glance.
"I... I dropped something and he-he volunteered to help me. Because it was high. In a tree."
Ezera hummed.
"But he should be back now," Dereck frowned.
"I'll go look for him," Ezera immediately started moving, if only leisurely. "I'm sure he's not far."
He waved at them before entering the shadows between the trees.
While he tracked the kids' steps on the ground, he wondered. Generally speaking, Ashera was a careful person. Sometimes a bit too much. The only memories he had of Ashera losing his temper was when people insulted his family. When it happened, the boy lost his head and the cold blood he prided himself with. At any rate, as a careful person, Ashera never took unnecessary risks, always relying on an authority presence when he could – which wasn't often.
Probably nothing happened, he told himself, or Ashera would have gone back with the others. But why then did he take so long to pick up an item and come back?
He found Ashera further into the forest than he thought the boy would be. The brown-haired child was staring fixedly in a direction opposite to Ezera.
As Ezera's steps sounded against the dry leaves on the ground, Ashera whipped his head toward him surprised. Now that the man could see his features, he noticed they seemed uncertain.
"Professor," Ashera greeted.
"Ashera, you've been here for some time. We were worried. Saemi said you were helping her?"
He frowned, confused, before his mouth formed an 'o'.
"Right. The hairpin. I forgot about it."
"Mh... So? What is it that distracted you?" Ezera inquired good-naturedly.
It seemed as though Ashera suddenly came out of a transe, all confused and lost and more alert, but a bit slow to answer.
"Oh, that... Was probably nothing. I just thought I felt something... But that's stupid."
"If you felt it, then it's not stupid."
Ashera met his eyes again, abruptly, with a heart-tearing surprise in his own. Ezera smiled, reassuring.
"Sir Dowmrish did stress that nothing dangerous roamed the area. But he can be wrong. And even if it's not anything dangerous, one shouldn't neglect their instincts."
He stepped closer, and Ashera turned away, lips pinched as Ezera pressed his hand gently on his head.
Most of his children had trust issues.
It was his role as their teacher to show them not all adults were cruel or disbelieving. And he wouldn't be a neglectful teacher.
"I'll go check later. But for now, it's better we get back to the others. There is a time for everything."
Ashera nodded, seemingly feeling better as tension drained from his body.
"Do you have Saemi's hairpin?"
Ashera perked up once more, finally some energy returned to him.
"The hair - oh no.. I forgot about it! Uh, where was the tree-"
Ashera cut him as he started to move around frantically. He chuckled.
"Don't worry, it's fine. I'll take care of it later. Do you have anything sharp?"
Ashera lent him an arrow – Ezera had no idea where he hid it or why – which the man used to mark the tree. Like this, they made their way back to the others. It was a calm walk, during which Ashera insisted he gathered more resources, since he had lost his previous prize.
Ezera noted with an attentive eye what Ashera privileged in term of resources. Wood both long dry and still fresh, probably for two different uses. He collected eatable herbs as well as a rather dubious looking one.
As they arrived in the clearing, the first thing Ezera noticed was Ming, sitting in a tree. Ming was also the first one to spot them, along with Dereck.
Ezera ushered Ashera to the little group hunched close to Dereck. The knight seemed in the middle of an explanation about this or that herb that could sustain a man for half a day. Ezera watched them for a few seconds before he smiled up at Ming.
"Hi, you" he said.
Ming hummed.
"Hi," said he, with a petite voice.
"Why are you up there?" Ezera questioned, amused.
Ming hummed again, non-commitally.
"Come over here, boy. I can see your eyes if you sit so high."
"Then jump."
Ezera barked a laugh.
"Sorry kiddo, I'm strong but not that strong," he tilted his head, worried. "Did something happen?"
Ming shook his head, rocking himself on the tree branch.
"It's loud," he explaned succintly.
Ezera frowned. Did his new Grace affected his senses so much? Ezera didn't find their group was very loud. Then again, Ming had never gotten used to the noise in the classroom. It was something to think about.
However, he noticed another thing. Ming was looking far ahead seemingly unfocused, but Ezera recognized the hints of hyperawareness. Pivoting, it dawned on him that Ming was staring in the same direction he and Ashera just came back from.
His eyes narrowed.
Something was there.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
IlnaHers
IlnaHers Me: First mini arc, start!!!
Readers: Can't believe it! Something's finally happening!
Me: Uh. Yeah.
So, do you think the danger Ashera felt is the 'red clad stranger' mentioned in the title?
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