Aspire Arcadia: Chapter 4: Training
The next morning, Patch woke up to the sound of restless crickets chirping outside of his window. Thunder rumbled quietly outside as rain steadily knocked against the glass. Juniper laid beside him, having crawled from her bed in the middle of the night to join him in his. She slept soundly beside him, her muzzle tucked up against his chest with a steady patch of drool soaking the fur under it. He sighed and smiled, gently rubbing her hair as he laid back down. They had to return to the hidden bay soon to start their training again, but it was still early enough to take in the beautiful scene. "You awake?" Patch whispered as Juniper began to stir, "we have to head back soon." "Five more minutes," she muttered, wiping her mouth against his fur before closing her eyes again. "Come on," Patch replied, sitting up, "we don't want to be late. I'd really hate to find out what Reka would do to us if we were." "Yeah... true..." she replied, pulling herself to her feet. Patch headed to the window and peeked out at the steady downpour. "No wonder I slept so well," Juniper said, approaching him from behind, "it rained all night." "At least we're well rested," Patch said, glancing back at her, "you ready to go?" "Ready when you are," she replied, heading towards the door. The two quietly navigated through the den, careful not to wake any of the others up as they headed towards the front door. Except for the rain and quiet thunder, it was pretty much silent. As they stepped outside, however, the rain and thunder appeared louder, without the walls of the den to muffle the noise. Heavy wind blew the trees around them and flung rain all over the place. "Whoa, it's chilly out here..." Juniper said as they headed out into the storm, on their way to the main path. They trudged through the flooded, muddy road, up the path and eventually on to the main road. In the midst of the storm, they saw wolves from other packs, as well as sabertooths and other predators, emerging from the forest and crossing the main road on their way to the plains to hunt. The main road was empty of all traffic in the direction Patch and Juniper were headed, except for a few animals that were on their way to the city. The scene around them was rather serene, despite the falling rain and violent wind. "S-sorry for getting in your bed last night..." Juniper said, breaking a long silence between them. "No worries," Patch replied, "did you have a bad dream?" "No," Juniper replied quietly, "I'm afraid of lightning... stupid right?" "It's not stupid," he replied with a calm smile, "I'm terrified of spiders." "But spiders make sense," Juniper replied, "they're really creepy..." "Lightning makes sense," Patch replied, trying to make her feel better, "it can strike you." "Don't say that," she sighed, staring at the path ahead, "we're right in the middle of a storm you know... you're not making me feel any better..."
"Sorry," Patch replied with a small smile. Eventually, they reached the dead end that led to the Hidden Bay. As they entered the forest, the thick canopy prevented most of the rain and wind from hitting them. They were able to traverse the forest without getting further soaked by the showers or chilled by the wind. "Welcome back," one of the pirate guards in the trees said, waving at them. "Good morning," Juniper kindly replied, "staying dry up there?" "Nope," he replied casually. They climbed through the thick forest, headed up the dirt path, and eventually reached the Hidden Bay which was completely empty. All of the crates that were there before had been moved to Eidous, leaving nothing but the ship and a few cabins populating the bay. All of the pirates that usually hung around outside had collected inside of the ship's empty cargo bay for their morning meeting. "I wonder what's going on for today," Patch thought to himself out loud as he started up the ramp leading to the deck. "All of the cargo is gone, so I doubt there would be a lot," Juniper replied, following, "that might be good for us." "A bunch of bored pirates itching to have a paw in our training?" Patch replied, "I think we could be in some trouble." The two joined the rest of the pirate crew in the cargo bay, where Captain Keira waited with a few of her closer subordinates. "There you two are," she said as they entered, "I was beginning to think you had run off." She turned to everyone else. "Now that we're all here, I only have a few things," she announced, "all of the cargo has been traded and we turned up a nice profit. So you'll all get paid by the end of the day today. Aside from that, we don't have much to do. Take this time to visit family, see the city... whatever you feel like. Just check in every now and then. And don't get arrested!" She glanced at Patch and Juniper. "Lieutenant Reka isn't here today, so I'll be handling your physical training for today," she said with a smile, "don't worry, it'll be fun. I'll also be having a few others teach you two some skills, since we've got some time off. I want you to stay here and avoid wandering off for the remainder of your training, since there might be some things we can teach you overnight. After it's all done, you'll have time to go see your family before you leave." Patch and Juniper nodded. "Alright, that's all there is today," Captain Keira announced, "Don't get too drunk on your time off, make safe decisions, and I'll see you guys when you get back." The crew cheered as they were released to do whatever they wanted. Most of them headed out while other stayed behind and caught up with friends. "We'll get right into today, so we can start your survival training," Captain Keira said, approaching them, "in a couple of weeks, I think you'll be good to go. It depends on how hard you two work together." Patch nodded. "We're ready." Captain Keira's physical training method was a lot more thorough... and painful... than Lieutenant Reka's. The two lifted and dragged heavy supplies for hours while doing many different exercises in between. The idea was to get stronger in a relatively short amount of time... which would prove to be extremely difficult. The two of them supported and encouraged each other while Keira put more and more pressure on them, adding more exercises and heavier cargo to carry around. They were fitted with iron vests (that increased their weight), and sometimes exercised with them on. After a break every now and then, it was on to harder exercises. They were sent to run for miles, both with weighted vests on. Afterwards, they swam against the current of the raging river, which was even more violent as a result of the storm. When swimming became easier for them, they did it with weighted vests on. Throughout the rigorous training, neither one of them thought about giving up. Though it was harder than any of them imagined, they were in way too deep to slow down now. "Alright, that's enough for the day," Keira announced, approaching the edge of the river where Juniper and Patch swam, "I left you some food on the coast. Grab some and meet Vector in cabin #2 on the bay when you're done." "Alright..." Patch replied, completely out of breath. The two of them slowly made their way towards the edge of the river and climbed out, barely able to hold their own weight with their fatigued legs. Juniper tried to catch her breath as Patch dropped his weighted vest and headed towards the food that Captain Keira left them. "And I thought Reka was bad..." Patch breathed, sitting down beside the food. "No kidding..." Juniper replied, still trying to catch her breath, "I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack..." The two sat down to eat for a while before it was on to the next training event. This time, they were in the hands of someone named Vector.
"Do you know him?" Patch asked, following Juniper to the cabin. "You mean her," she replied, "and she's kind of new, so I haven't really gotten a chance to get to know her. Actually, I think I've only seen her a couple of times." Juniper knocked on the door as Patch joined her on the steps, to get out of the rain. "It's open," a quiet voice replied, "come on it." They entered to see a Vector, a small, female fox digging through a box. She had short, red hair that covered most of her face as well as shiny, orange and black fur. "Oh, there you are," she said, glancing up from the box she sorted through. Her voice was quiet and dubious. "I don't think this is the first time we've met, Juniper," Vector said, approaching them, "but either way, my name is Vector. Captain Keira asked me to teach you two some escape and evasion techniques that you can use while you're out and about, saving the world from bad guys like us." She smiled sinisterly at Patch. "As disappointing as it may be, you won't always have the opportunity to barge into your enemy's base and come out alive. Similarly, you won't be able to take on a huge group of enemies out hunting you. This is where escape and evasion training can help you survive." She climbed onto a nearby desk and sat down. "There's a couple of things we're going to be focusing on throughout the course of this training," she explained, "They're both in the name. First, we're going to focus on escape techniques. If you get captured or end up surrounded by your enemy, it's the method you'd use to get out of danger with as little damage to yourself as possible. After you're comfortable with that, we'll move on to evasion techniques. If you're undetected and behind enemy lines, or you've just escaped and your enemy is out searching for you, your evasion skills will keep you hidden from discovery. As you can imagine, they're pretty useful skills for pirates, criminals or anyone who's made as many enemies as myself. Generally, it's good to know just in case you need to use it." She hopped off of the desk and headed to the door. "Can one of you grab that box for me?" She said, glancing back at them, "we're headed to the jail cells in the cargo bay of the ship. It'll be a good place to start." In the rearmost area of the cargo bay, beside the engine room, were the cells. Four of them were lined up against the wall of the ship, each surrounding a small space with heavy, metal bars. "First, I'll teach you the basics, and then we'll go from there," Vector explained, entering the cell area, "lock picking is an excellent place to start. Pay attention because it can be a bit tricky." In the box was a series of tools they were to use throughout the course of the escape and evasion training. Among the tools were several different types of locks, commonly used around the world. In a thorough and informative lesson, Vector taught Patch and Juniper the components and operation of key locks, in a way to better help them understand how to pick or break them. She went through each one, taking it apart and explaining each of the components before putting it back together and demonstrating how to pick it. "You can use anything that can be shaped into a pick like this," she explained, showing them an example of one she made out of a pin, "though I'd suggest always keeping a hair pin or something with you that you can use in an emergency." After demonstrating the mechanics of several locks, she supervised them as they practiced with each lock, making sure they understood how to perform the task. They were to create and use their own picks to unlock each of the different style locks. After a few hours of practice, they mastered it. And went on to practice with other locks found on the ship. Locked doors, crates, even shackles were no match for them by the time they ended the first session of escape training. They even learned how to pick the locks in strange positons, simulating as though they had been imprisoned or detained in shackles. "Excellent," Vector said, returning all of the locks into her tool box, "that's an important skill you should always keep in the back of your mind just in case you run into trouble. Though once you get it, it's nearly impossible to forget. The next thing we're going to work on is cell escape. Sometimes you won't have access to the lock on your cell, so you'd have to find a different mode of escape. Granted, it's not going to be a 100% type escape method, but they will be good tips to look for if you find yourself confined." She climbed inside of one of the cells and closed the door. In the second part of the escape training, Vector taught Patch and Juniper how to search for weaknesses in the cells, something they could take advantage of to help them escape. She taught them how to feel for weakened iron bars and improvise the use of common items as tools that could help them escape. Though this training was a little less thorough, it was decent information they could find useful, if they ever found themselves in such a position to use it. "Like I said, it's not a 100% sure-way of getting out of jail," Vector said, closing the cell behind her, "but if you do the rest of the escape and evasion training correctly, you'll never find yourself in the position to need it. The next part of the training is one of my favorites. When you're captured, chances are, you'll be interrogated. There are several methods you two need to learn in order to avoid giving up vital information to your enemy, no matter what kind of painful shit they're doing to you. The key here is to make yourself useful long enough for them to want to keep you alive and for you to get a chance to escape. While at the same time, you should be focused on not giving up your partner or any valuable information. Basically, I'm going to teach you guys how to lie and keep your enemies confused without being so obvious with it." A few other pirates entered the cells, joining them in order to help with the training. All of the pirates were rather intimidating looking animals, all tasked with trying to extract some sort of information from them during the training. "They key is to look and sound confident," Vector explained, "That's the key to lying." For the next few hours, Vector explained, demonstrated, and helped them practice the art of deception. She taught them how to talk in circles and give bits and pieces of false information to their enemies. She also taught them how to read their enemy's body language, in order to determine whether or not their enemy is on to their lies or if they're being tested for honesty. "Sometimes, they'll ask you something they already know the answer to," Vector explained, "just to see if you're a reliable source to them. You've got to know when that's being done to you. If they determine that you're a liar early on, that'll be the end of you. In cases like those, you've got to offer up something to stay alive. That's the nature of the beast." She glanced at Juniper. "And don't be afraid to use that body of yours," Vector added, "trust me, it's useful for keeping yourself out of harm's way. You'll be ruined for the rest of your life, but at least you'll be alive." After hours of practice and training, it was time to demonstrate what they learned. Juniper and Patch were separated into two different areas, both rather far from each other. There, they underwent tough interrogations by the pirates, who were aiding their training. "Don't be afraid to hit them," Vector said to the pirates as they pried for information, "just don't hurt them." The two performed as they were trained. Patch talked his captors in circles and casually fed them misinformation while Juniper changed the subject, stalled, and also fed them misinformation that the two had predetermined. In the end, their first three training sessions were a success. "Very good, you learn quickly," Vector said to Patch, "I already told Juniper that your last task before the break is to free yourself from your handcuffs and meet me back in the cabin in an hour. If you can make it out quickly, you'll have a break. If you can't within the hour, you'll have to do the lock picking training again." She headed up to the main deck. "Good luck," she said, closing the door. "Heh, yeah right," Patch muttered, climbing over his arms to bring them in front of him. He shook a pin he has stashed in his hair down into his lap where he fashioned it into a pick and back working the lock. In a few seconds, the cuffs snapped off and he was free. "Easy," he thought to himself, standing up and heading to the deck. Outside, it finally stopped raining. It was a bit early in the afternoon, which was surprising as he didn't realize so much time passed. On the deck, Juniper waited patiently for him to arrive. "Nice, looks like you passed," she said with a smile, "you were right, this is kind of fun." "Told you it would be," he replied with a smile, "I always wondered how picking locks worked. Now we can pretty much pick any lock anywhere... not that I anticipate we'd need to." "You never know," Juniper replied, shrugging. "Hey, why don't you show me your room?" Patch asked, glancing at her, "we're on break and we've got plenty of time." "What?" Juniper asked with a nervous smile, "there's nothing special in there..." "Still, my curiosity is killing me," Patch replied, standing up, "If you don't take me there, I'm sure I can find it." "It's locked," Juniper replied, licking her tongue out at him and forgetting about their lock pick training from earlier. "So?" Patch replied with a smile. "O-oh, right," she muttered, "Well, if you want to see it... then okay. Don't say I didn't warn you though." She stood up and led him below deck, onto the residence deck where most of the pirates lived. For the most part, the lowest ranking members of the crew shared three to four per room. The other, higher ranking pirates either had their own or shared a room with one other. Juniper had her own. "It's right down this way," she said, passing by several rooms. A few of the rooms had someone resting in them, while the others were empty. "Everyone sure cleared out of here fast," Patch said, noticing the empty rooms. "They're probably visiting family," she replied, stopping at one of the rooms, "either that or they're headed to the bar. Or both." She unlocked the door to the room and entered, followed by Patch. "Here it is," she said, as he entered. Juniper's cabin wasn't very big, unlike what he expected. A circular window facing the forest-side of the bay was built into one of the wooden walls, and was surrounded by several pictures of different locations around the world. The room was furnished with a small bed and a nightstand beside it as well as a desk that sat at the opposite side of the room. Her bed was neatly made with a small stuffed dragon sitting atop the covers. Several books were stacked on top of the desk along with stationary and a few pictures of her when she was younger. "I didn't know you liked this series," Patch said, glancing at the books on her desk, "my sister, Luna, and I love it." "Are you kidding? I love adventure novels!" Juniper said with a smile, "It was one of the things I looked forward to when my father used to come down and visit during the winter. He would always bring me the next book in the series as a gift." She sorted through them, each book bringing back a specific memory from her childhood, while Patch glanced at all of the pictures she had on her wall. "These are beautiful places," he said, scanning through each of them. "Thanks, they were given to me by my father," Juniper replied, joining him, "his new position lets him travel to all sorts of new places. Whenever he ends up in a new place, he'd take a bunch of pictures for me." "Nice," Patch replied, "hopefully soon, you'll get to see these places for yourself." "That's what I'm counting on," she said with a quiet smile. Patch yawned and climbed into her bed. "I hope you don't mind," he said quietly, curling up at the foot of her bed, "if I don't catch a quick nap, I might pass out..." She chuckled, "is this why you wanted to see my room in the first place?" Patch shook his head. "I was genuinely curious," he replied, resting his head on his legs, "the opportunity just so happened to present itself." He slid over a little bit, opening up some space for her. "Nothing like a power nap to keep ourselves sharp," He said, closing his eyes. Juniper sighed and smiled. "Why not..." She said, climbing into her bed beside him. She carefully curled up and rested her head on his back. They both laid together in silence for a little while. Patch had fallen asleep, but Juniper couldn't. Instead, she listened to the steady sound of his breathing while glancing at all of the pictures on her wall. It was still unreal to her... that she'd get to see all of those places in real life. By the time she calmed down a bit and fell asleep, it was already time to return to their training. "Hey, are you up?" Patch asked, shaking her awake, "our break's up." Juniper moaned as Patch slid out of bed. "Did you get a good nap in?" He asked as she pulled herself up. "I just fell asleep... like ten seconds ago..." she replied with a frown, "I couldn't sleep..." "Oh..." Patch replied, following her out of her room and back to the main deck, "well... at least you'll sleep like a baby tonight." They eventually rejoined Vector outside, where she waited beside the entrance to the dense forest. "Looks like you guys were at least able to escape the handcuffs," she said as the two approached, "that's a very useful skill to know, especially if the cops are after you." Vector glanced in the tool box she had with her. "Let's see... we went over lock picking, cell and building escape, interrogation... I think that about does it for the escape part of your training. I only have time to give you general training. Depending on the situations you find yourselves in, you might... no... you'll definitely have to improvise on the spot. This general training will help you make rational decisions on what to do. For the last part of the day, we'll work on evasion techniques. That is, I'll teach you how to avoid being captured by enemies. This one might be a little messy." She motioned for them to follow her into the woods. "Us being canines, we've got an acute sense of smell," she explained, climbing over fallen logs, "which is a good and bad thing. Good, because you'll be able to catch the scent of an unknown animal nearby, and bad because they could catch yours too. If you're being chased, your scent is your worst enemy." She approached a pit of mud that had developed as a result of the rainfall earlier. "When trying to evade capture, there are a few considerations you want to think about," she explained, glancing back at them, "first, you want to throw them off of your scent. Second, you want to stay out of sight and cover your tracks. Lastly, you want to stay hidden until you're clear. This is the most important part of the lesson, so pay attention." The training was as thorough and difficult as it was important. Vector led them through the forest, explaining different ways of covering up their scents in the event that they were being pursued. She demonstrated a few of the methods as well, covering up her own scent to prove that the methods were effective. "Anything with a powerful scent will mask yours," she explained, "however, if you use too much of that, your pursuers will get suspicious." After going through several different ways of masking their scents, Vector watched as Juniper and Patch practiced on their own. Afterwards, she enlisted the help of a few remaining pirates to determine if their scent masking was effective. It took a few tries to perfect, but they ended up succeeding in the end. Dripping with filth and covered in mud, the two returned to Vector for their next lesson. "Good, you guys are already ready for the next lesson," Vector said, glancing at them, "we're going to work on the second consideration, staying out of sight and covering your tracks. This one isn't too difficult... rather, it rests on common sense. You won't be able to hide your tracks while you're running away, so you jump off of the path and head to where your tracks won't show up in the first place. Things like that. Staying out of sight is a fancy way of saying "Find a place to hide". Assuming your scent has already been masked, finding a hiding place is a lot less difficult than you would think. It should be an area where, your pursuer's wouldn't notice or even think to look. First, you want to get a good distance away from them in a different direction than you were running from them. Give yourself time to find or create a hiding spot and COMMIT to it. Don't be like a puppy and switch between hiding spots every few seconds, that's how you get caught." She turned and headed deeper into the woods. "Let's practice that a little," she said. The last two considerations were pretty much one in the same. After they hid, they just had to stay in one spot for a while, until they were sure that their pursuers were a safe distance away. Vector instructed them to mask their scent and hide somewhere while the pirates she hired combed through the forest searching for them. "It helps to split up too!" Vector announced, loud so the two of them could hear her wherever they were hiding, "I know you two would hate to be apart for more than a few minutes, but it'd be better for only one of you to get caught than both of you!" This part of the training took a while to complete as Vector had them practice in different locations. Once she was certain they were proficient in the training, she brought them back to the hidden bay. "Good job today guys," Vector said as they reached her cabin, "I know it was a long and difficult day of training, but it could possibly save your lives one day. Always look for ways of improving your skills and do your best out there. I think this may have been the shortest training topic out of all of them, so be prepared." "Right," Patch replied. "Thanks for taking the time to teach us," Juniper replied, wiping mud from her face, "I hope we won't ever need to use it though." "You never know," Vector replied, entering her cabin and closing the door behind her. Juniper yawned. "Gosh, where did all of my energy go..." she muttered, staring at the ground with tired eyes. "Probably left it in the mud pit," Patch replied with a grin, "I'm going to wash this off..." "Me too," Juniper replied, following him, "and afterwards, I think I need a nap..." The sun was just setting as they headed towards the edge of the river. A few of Vector's pirates returned from the forest and headed out of the hidden by for the night. A few birds returned to their nests as the insects began chirping, signaling the start of the early evening. As the two climbed into the river to wash their fur off, they were met by Captain Keira, who was fishing nearby. "There you two are," she said, raising her hat from her eyes, "looks like it's been a busy day of training." "It was..." Juniper replied, yawning. Patch nodded, dipping his head in the water. "That's good," Keira replied with a smile, "make sure you take the training seriously. It'll help you on your final task before leaving here." "Final task?" Patch asked, shaking water from his fur. "That's right," Keira replied, "I want to make sure that you've actually learned all of the training you're receiving. Think of it as a final exam." She laid back in her chair and yawned. "Oh, right," she said, glancing back up at Patch, "I had your room set up in the cargo bay. It's a comfy little spot that I think you'll enjoy. It's nice and quiet, plus the ship's rocking would put you right out." She smirked. "I hope you weren't expecting to stay with Juniper in her tiny bed," she said with an evil grin, "I know what goes through adolescent puppies' minds." Patch's face reddened. After they bathed in the river, the two returned to Patch's room in the cargo bay to hang out for the evening. Captain Keira had a small hammock set up in a corner of the ship's cargo bay for him. Next to it was a small lantern sitting atop a small wooden crate that read "dry food". A couple of water bottles sat beside a water bowl that had the word "Squid" scratched on it. "Comfy," Juniper said as they neared Patch's "room". "Squid?" He wondered out loud, glancing at his water bowl, "somehow, I'm beginning to feel like someone's pet..." "It's what they call new pirates," she replied, sitting on top of a nearby crate, "in a sense, that's a good thing. At least they don't hate you." "True," he sighed, trying to find a way to climb inside of the hammock. "Have you ever slept in one of those?" She asked as he struggled to climb into it. "Nope," he replied, shakily settling into it, "I just hope I don't fall out." He adjusting his pillow under his head as he slowly laid down.
"Other than that, it is pretty-" Suddenly, he lost his balance as the hammock twisted under him and caused him to fall out. He smacked the floor with a dense thud, knocking the lamp over and dropping his sword with a loud clatter. Juniper covered her mouth and giggled as he pulled himself off of the floor. "I'll get used to it..." he sighed, sitting against the wall nearby while Juniper picked up the lamp. "Try not to hurt yourself," she said, picking his sword up and sliding it back in its sheath before handing it back to him. "Th-thanks," he replied quietly, "I'll try not to." The two sat in silence for a while. It got darker outside as the sun disappeared behind the horizon, leaving only the light from the lantern (and some from the pier lights outside) illuminating the cargo bay. "We should start thinking about our first move," Patch said, glancing up at her, "I'm thinking we should check out nearby territories... like Incarnadia or Navanna. Maybe even Caniridia." "Incarnadia is definitely closer," Juniper replied, "we could go there first and then cross over to Caniridia." She glanced down, hiding her smile. "What?" Patch asked nervously, sitting up. "N-nothing," Juniper replied, brushing hair from her face, "it's just... exciting..." Patch chuckled and sat back. "It is isn't it?" He asked with a small smile, "I never thought we'd be seriously considering this... yet here we are." They sat in silence, both in their own imaginations. "I'm exhausted," Juniper finally said after a while. She stood up and stretched, "I think I'm going to get some sleep..." "Me too," Patch said, standing up, "I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be pretty long." "Don't say that..." Juniper replied as she headed up the stairs to the residence deck, "goodnight patch." "Night," he replied, focusing on climbing into his hammock. The rest of their training would go by in the same manner as that day. The two woke up early in the morning to meet Captain Keira (or Lieutenant Reka, when she returned) for their morning exercises. At the beginning of each training week, Lieutenant Reka strapped them to the ship's iron anchor and had them try to haul it out of the water together. "This is to gauge your strength," she would say as they struggled to move it out of the water, with no luck of course. Afterwards, they would perform their morning exercises, focusing on strengthening different parts of their bodies each day. They would alternate between running, swimming, weight lifting, and muscle specific exercises before they were given a break to eat breakfast. At that time, they met with their new instructor for that week. First, it was Vector who taught them Escape and Evasion. Second, it was a saber tooth tiger nicknamed "Fangs" who taught them how to hunt in a single pair rather than with an entire pack. "Focus on prey you two are capable of bringing down on your own," he said as they would head out into the forest, "that, and prey that can fill you both up for a while. Energy is the key to survival, and fresh meat is where that energy comes from." Their next training week was a series of simple tasks, such as negotiating, trading, and foreign customs. The week after, they were given medical and first aid training, in case one of them were injured in the midst of their travels. The medical training was handled by the pirate nurse, Tracey, who was a Valkyrie (a short, humanoid species with large wings and a long, furry tail) with light brown hair, green eyes, and a calm demeanor. Among other things, she taught them how to splint and maintain injured appendages as well as how to recognize and treat common viruses, diseases, and infections. "Acting quickly can save your life," she would explain to them, "knowing basic first aid could give an injured animal a better chance at surviving his or her injuries. Also, make sure you always have a medical kit with you, just in case." As they learned more and more, their training became more comprehensive. Most of it became reliant on what they learned before, such as their survival training. It was taught by Hallow, the wolf they had met before. Here, they learned how to survive in harsh environments. Though they were far from the environments they were trained to survive in, the information was good enough for them to replicate, should they need it. He taught them how to determine if water was safe to drink or if scavenged meat was safe to eat. They also learned the type of plants they could use as medicine or as remedies for minor illnesses. Hallow taught them how to build shelter and keep warm in cold or rainy environments, as well as how to stay cool and hydrated in arid ones. He taught them how to dig temporary or long-term dens to live in and how to make them hidden in plain sight. Among other tasks, he taught them map reading, land navigation, and stealth movement techniques. At the end of that training, they were given a comprehensive exam that was the most difficult out of all of them. Having worked together and supported each other through the course of the exam, they passed without issue. "Your survival depends on how well you can exploit your environment," Hallow explained at the end of their exam, "if you maintain the skills I've taught you, you should have no problems surviving wherever you go."
For the next few weeks after that, they focused on both armed and unarmed hand-to-hand combat with Captain Keira and Lieutenant Reka. Aside from the weapons they were strongest with, the two were trained on others as well. "It helps to always have a general knowledge of other weapons too," Reka explained as she trained them on dual blades, "there may be a time where you won't have your short sword, Patch, or when you run out of arrows, Juniper. Whenever that time comes, you still have to protect yourself in some way. I'm not expecting you to become masters in every weapon imaginable, but I do expect you to at least get a feel for most of them." Out of all of the training they received, this one took the longest to pass. All of the training in general was extremely demanding and intense, especially for wolves as young as they were. The two of them had very little time to rest before they were forced into the next iteration of training (after their morning exercises). There were times where one or both of them failed, but ended up passing after practicing and assisting each other. Though difficult, the intense training forged a tougher bond between the two of them. Having covered themselves in mud to hide from improvised enemies, chased deer through the plains, practice medical examinations, trudged through the survival training (among other things), and fought back to back with several different weapons, the two learned of each other's strengths and weakness. More importantly, they learned how they could assist each other in their weakest abilities. After the specialty training was completed, their daily focus shifted on exercise. For weeks at a time, they spent entire days with either Captain Keira or Lieutenant Reka, who forced them through demanding, daily exercise schedules to help them strengthen up. Sometimes, the training would last until nightfall and begin a few hours earlier than usual. Altogether, they spent several weeks running, swimming, and doing muscle specific exercises until one morning when they appeared on the deck to perform their final strengthening test. "The key is to pull the anchor from the water and hold it out for one full minute," Lieutenant Reka explained to them, "if you can do that, then you're physical training will be over. Last week, you came close. If you fail again, it'll be another week of waking up early... for me and for you... so focus." "You ready?" Patch asked Juniper as he tightened the straps of his harness. She nodded, staring at the ground in front of her in anticipation. "Okay, go for it," Reka said, stepping back. Together, they dug their claws into the wooden deck, scratching up traction as they slowly pulled the anchor's chain along. Last time, they were able to pull the anchor out of the water, however, were only able to hold it up for about forty seconds. After towing the Anchor's chain for a little while, they reached a point marked on the deck, indicating that the anchor was completely out of the water. "Okay, this is it," Patch said, trembling from the weight. Juniper adjusted her shoulders and legs. "Just a minute right?" she asked, taking a breath, "longest sixty seconds of my life..." They both lowered their heads, transferring the weight of the anchor onto their shoulders. "We still have to plan our next move don't we?" Juniper asked, trying to take her mind off of the pain. "Y-yeah," Patch replied, staring at the ground, "we were thinking about Incarnadia first right?" Juniper nodded, staring at the ground as well. "Maybe we could stop by and see your father," Patch added. Juniper smiled and nodded again. The two stood together for what seemed like hours, sharing the sheer weight of the anchor between the two of them alone. "It usually takes eight guys to pull that thing up all of the way," Reka said, watching them, "you should be proud of your improvement." She stood up and pulled the lever on both of their harnesses, releasing the anchor and sending them both flying forward onto the deck. "You passed," she said casually. In total, they spent four months in the hidden bay, undergoing relentless training without a single day off. They had to hunt together for food and endure short nights of rest and long days of training. That was over now. Finally. "Now the real fun begins," Reka said, headed below deck, "since you're already well rested, I think it's time for the final exam." The final exam was a comprehensive test of skill that would outline everything they learned over the course of the four month training period. If they passed, Captain Keira would allow them to set off together on their journey. If not... well... they weren't waiting to find out. "So you passed the physical training then?" Captain Keira called out to them, appearing from below deck with Lieutenant Reka, "I'm impressed." She stood at a distance, observing them before continuing. "You both used to look like skinny little malnourished pups," She said with a smile, "now you two look like you can take on the world. I guess we'll see about that. Are you ready for your final exam?" "Of course!" Patch demanded confidently, "we've been waiting months for this!" A small grin flashed across Captain Keira's face. "Alright then," she replied, snapping her finger, "good luck then." Suddenly, a bag covered Patch's face, and the arms of a larger pirate wrapped around his neck and squeezed, cutting off his air. Before Patch could struggle free, he blacked out, collapsing on the deck along with Juniper, who had also been knocked out. "Let the games begin," Captain Keira said, headed below deck.
It was unclear how long he had been out, but it had to have been for at least several hours. He felt weak. His stomach growled angrily and his mouth was dry. When he regained consciousness, he was blindfolded. Both of his arms had been handcuffed behind his back and he was seated in a chair with his legs shackled. "Good evening Patch," Lieutenant Reka's voice said from behind, "it's time for your final exam." She readjusted herself so that she was right in front of him. "Here's a practical exercise," she explained, "you and Juniper were travelling along when you were abducted by evil pirates, hoping to hold you hostage for a ransom or something. You've been tied up and blindfolded for two days without food or water, and decided that now was the optimum time to escape. Your task is to do just that. You and Juniper will escape this pirate ship without being captured and brought back. You can do it however you please, but if you're captured again, you'll fail. And if you fail, you can kiss your chance of adventure with Lady Juniper goodbye." She stood up. "The ship is full of patrolling pirates who know that you're here, but don't know exactly when you will try to escape, so it's as real as we can possibly make it. Luckily, your equipment is right here in this room. Use all of the training you were given to make your way to the "safe zone" designated on your map. There, you will remain undetected until sunrise. Good luck. And remember, you and Juniper must both escape to pass." He could hear her disappeared from the cell, closing the door behind her. This was it. Carefully, he felt the edges of the chair that he had been tied to. "Wood," he whispered to himself as he began clawing a small splint out of an edge of the chair. Once obtained, he carefully fashioned the splint into the shape of a pick. Carefully, he inserted the pick into the keyhole on the handcuffs and began working the lock. As soon as he came close, the wooden pick snapped in half. "Dammit," he muttered, clawing for a new one. His heart raced as the pressure of escape descended on him. He could feel his paws trembling as he carefully scratched off another piece of wood. "Calm down," he thought to himself as his trembling caused him to drop another piece, "relax..." One he secured another improvised pick, he immediately went to work on the lock. To his relief, the second attempt was a success. One side of the handcuffs click open as he quickly removed his blindfold. He had been taken to the jail cells below deck, where he and juniper received their first level of escape and evasion training. He glanced around, making sure it was clear before working on the shackles around his legs. It took several more tries than before (since the ankle shackles were more difficult to pick), but he ended up successfully freeing himself from the chair. He quietly rushed over to the stack of equipment left for him. Along with his sword and a few lock picks, he was left with a compass and a map of the region. Quickly, he stashed his gear in a bag left for him, rushed over to the door of the cell, and began working on the lock with the picks that were provided. Just like before, the lock to the cell clicked open and Patch slipped out of the jail room and into the cargo bay. Judging by how dark the cargo bay was and the tiny amount of light shining through the windows, he could tell that it was in the middle of the night. He switched on his optics gene, an ability that caused his eyes to glow and granted him perfect night vision and contrast, and started through the area. A few pirates patrolled the cargo bay, which he quietly navigated through. On his way, he caught sight of Juniper, who had escaped from the engine room. She had an iron collar around her neck, which she quietly unlocked, removed, and hid before exiting the engine room. Quietly, Patch beckoned to her, trying to get her attention without alerting any of the patrolling guards. Luckily, she caught sight of him. He pointed towards the corner where his 'room' had been set up. He passed that area to get to where he was now. He knew there weren't any pirates there. Juniper nodded and headed that way as he climbed down to join her. "Hey, glad you escaped," she whispered as they converged on their meeting point. "You too," Patch replied quietly, "we've got to find a way out of here before they notice one of us is missing." "We should avoid the main deck if we can," Juniper replied, "I heard a bunch of footsteps up there earlier. No doubt they've got that exit covered." "Any other places we could escape from?" Patch asked, glancing around, "there aren't many alternatives that I can see." "There are only two, conventional exits out of the cargo bay, that I know of," Juniper explained, "One leads to the main deck, the other is a mechanical door that opens up the side. We can't use that one because it's loud, and we can't use the deck because of patrols... but there is another exit... that I noticed..." "What is it?" Patch whispered, "Whatever it is, we're going to have to take it." "Something called a 'capsize exit'," Juniper explained, "for propeller repairs at sea, there is a small hatch in the engine room that allows maintenance to get to the propellers from the bottom, rear of the ship through an airlock. In our case, it'd allow us to escape. It'd be the quietest method of escape, though pretty dangerous... there isn't any diving equipment in there." "So we'll have to do it the old fashioned way," Patch replied, "you up for it?" Juniper nodded, "I guess there isn't any other way..." They quietly headed towards the engine room, which was right beside the jail cells. Inside, the massive electric turbine engines of the ship laid mounted next to each other along with all of their other components. The airlock that led to the outside of the ship near the propellers sat at the furthest wall, between the massive drive shafts that drove them. Without wasting time, the two rushed inside, shutting the heavy, iron door behind them.
"Scared?" Patch whispered, activating his optics gene to be able to see through the murky water. "Terrified," she replied, turning hers on as well, "let's get this over with before I lose my nerve..." Patch pulled a lever in the airlock that was labeled 'Fill', allowing the airlock to fill with water. "See you on the other side," Patch whispered as the water level in the airlock began to rise. It was a tiny area being completely filled with water. Not really the safest place to be. Juniper took a deep breath before they were completely submerged in water. Quickly, she twisted the door to the exit until it slowly popped open, exposing the outside of the ship. Both of the propellers sat motionless as they swam through them towards the river bank. The airlock sat several feet below the surface of the river, so they had to swim for quite a while before reaching the surface. After a terrifying dive in the pitch-dark, freezing river, and nearly running out of breath halfway through, the two surfaced outside at the rear of the ship. The flowing of the river and the symphony of chirping insects that populated the forest filled the area with ambient noises as they swam to the riverbed. With the exception of a couple of pier lights, it was pitch dark outside too. "Let's never do that again..." Juniper sighed, catching her breath, "did you get a map?" "Yeah," he replied, unfolding the waterproof map that he had received with his equipment, "did you get anything?" She shook her head, "they took my stuff to the main deck. It would have been too risky to go after it." "Right," Patch replied. "In order to get to the 'safe area', we're going to have to cross the bay," he said, glancing at the map, "the most hidden route would be right around where the cabins are." "Let's get going then," she replied, standing up, "they could notice us missing at any time and lock this place down." Patch crept up the side of the riverbed and glanced at the activity on the pier. Luckily for them, there were only a few guards that patrolled the area. "There's only about four or five of them," Patch whispered, "it doesn't look like they suspect a thing yet. If we stick close to the cabins, we should be able to make it without being spotted." "Right," Juniper replied, following him. They snuck up the riverbed, towards the cabins where they determined the most concealment would be. As they neared the forest line, Captain Keira's voice flashed on the intercom. "Attention," she announced, "our two prisoners have gone missing. All personnel on high alert. Find them, now!" Juniper and Patch's hearts dropped at the announcement. "Things just got a lot harder," Juniper sighed. "We can do this," Patch replied, "It was bound to happen anyway. Follow me." The bay became louder with pirates out searching for the two of them. Spotlights lit up the bay and river as they quickly scanned the area looking for them. At least twenty more patrols rushed from the ship and into the area, covering every inch of the area surrounding the ship. Patch quickly led Juniper behind the cabins and, when it was clear, into the forest beside them. With their night vision activated, they could see another group of pirates patrolling the forest they were in. Behind them, the other patrols had lined up to comb the forest in the other direction. "They're headed right for us," Juniper whispered, "at this rate, we'll be caught right in the middle of them. Let them pass," Juniper whispered, quietly digging into the leaf-litter of the forest to bury herself, "we'll have to assume that the mud from the river did a decent job hiding our scents..." "Alright," Patch replied, sneaking a short distance away before burying himself under the leaf litter too. "They couldn't have gotten far," One of the pirates said to another, passing by Juniper without noticing. "Probably still on the ship," the other replied, "no one got out through the upper deck. I can't think of any other way to get off aside from that." The other patrols converged on each other before continuing. One side reached the bay while the other side went deeper into the forest before turning around and combing back through a second time. As they passed, Juniper and Patch waited a while before regrouping. Once the patrol column had returned to bay, they quietly emerged from their hiding spots. "That was close," Juniper said, rejoining him, "one of them stepped on my tail a couple of times... How much more do we have to go?" "Not very long," Patch replied, "the safe area is only a few miles northwest of here... though once we get to the safe area, we'll have to remain undetected until sunrise." "We can build a hidden den," Juniper replied, brushing some leaves off of her fur, "they won't find us there." Patch nodded and advanced deeper into the forest, Juniper following. It was obvious that the pirates didn't anticipate Juniper and Patch escaping so quickly. Although a forest patrol had been set up, most of them went off and aided the search in the bay area. This gave the two enough time to make it to the safe area undetected. Juniper searched for a large-rooted tree to dig under while Patch kept watch. "I honestly thought this was going to be a lot more difficult," Juniper whispered, "You know that we were out for two days?" "That would explain why I'm so hungry," Patch replied, keeping his ears up, "and thirsty too..." "Found one," Juniper said, digging under the roots of a large tree, "it might be a tight fit though." "Find by me," Patch replied, "as long as we'll stay hidden for a while." Patch kept watch as Juniper hollowed out enough space for them to fit under the tree branch. She then hid the freshly excavated dirt a safe distance away before coating their den in fallen leaves and moss. "Nice," Patch said as she put on the final touches. "Now we wait," she replied, climbing inside. There was just enough room for the two of them to squeeze uncomfortably inside. Once in, Juniper covered the entrance with more fallen leaves, completely hiding them away. "You know, maybe this really would have been difficult, except we were a lot better prepared now than before," Patch whispered, getting comfortable. "That's got to be it," Juniper replied with a light smile, "I guess it was a good idea dragging us through all of that training." "I'm certainly glad we did it," he replied, "after tonight, it'll finally be over too." "Then the real fun begins," Juniper replied, with a smile. The two laid together in silence for a few hours, every small sound outside jerking them awake before they had a chance to fall asleep. Being knocked out for a couple of days didn't really help either. With the fear of being discovered always looming above their heads, neither of them were able to relax for a while. Eventually, the forest around them fell silent, with the exception of a few insects. No evidence of patrols came by for a while, allowing them to finally drift off to sleep. The rays of the morning sun pierced through holes in the den's cover as Patch slowly woke up, not too much time after he had fallen asleep. The sound of cicadas buzzing in the forest filled the air as he slowly dug through the covering of the den. "Hey," he whispered, shaking Juniper awake, "we made it." Juniper's eyes opened slowly and she quickly covered her face to protect her eyes from the bright sun. "We passed," Patch whispered with a smile. "We did, didn't we?" Juniper replied with a smile. She tried to hide the pure joy that filled her heart at those words. There was no more training, no more tests... it was just the two of them and the world now. Months of painful, rigorous, and exhausting testing came to this moment. The moment where she would be free to chase her dreams with Patch. Tears poured from her eyes as Patch laid down beside the tree trunk. "It doesn't even seem real does it?" He asked, laying back against the tree, "like... is this really happening?" He glanced over at Juniper, who tried to hide the fact that she was crying. Her face was covered in tears, but with a big smile on her face. Before Patch could say anything, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, burying her face in the fur on his neck. Instead of saying anything, he hugged her back. "We did it," Juniper repeated to herself. "We're free..."