Teachin', Preachin' an' a lil bit o' Reachin'
There were about to be people in Sweetsong.
More precisely, there were about to be military people in Sweetsong.
Vega had agreed with Kura that she was going to train some of the Elements. She'd also told Kura that it needed to be here, in Sweetsong. She'd done that for a number of reasons that she considered now as she looked at the full-time settlers in Sweetsong.
"I'm trainin' them," she said to the folks all gathered around the central fire pit. "Some things I'm trainin' them in are things like .. well, bein' useful an' reactin' in a crisis. Also, some field craft, because honestly that's about usin' resources the best you can an' they need to do that an' finally, I'm goin' to teach them a bit about fightin' an' tactics. Anyone that feels like any of those would help, or that wants to sit in on a class is more than welcome." She explained the times and so on that she'd arranged. She'd purposely given the Elements who were coming here a full itinerary. It made sense to her to maximise their time here.
It had to be said, she didn't really expect anyone to want to and so, when Vega went to meet the bunch of Elements who were coming, she expected that she'd be teaching them and only them. Looking at them as they arrived, Vega knew the way that they were feeling. They were thinking that they were failures, that they'd been sent here as some sort of remedial thing. That was fine, she could work with that. So, she greeted them cheerily. "Wotcha. I'm Vega an' I'm goin' to be teachin' you. First, we need to get you set up with somewhere to sleep. The people here, we've set up a communal area for you an' I'll take you there now. We eat round the campfire each evenin' an' while you're here, you're one of us."
They didn't argue, which was good, but they also didn't say anything more. Vega gestured and led them to where they were set up and she watched them. They moved slowly, no sense of urgency or enthusiasm sped them up and there was a general sense of lethargy.
"Righteo! Lets move then, we're gettin' started right away. Follow me an' we'll go into the clearin' an' start."
As she led the Elements into the clearing she'd prepared, Vega had to admit to a level of surprise. She hadn't expected any of the settlers to want to be bothered with this but, there they were. "Who're they?" One of the Elements asked and Vega smiled. "They're the residents of Sweetsong."
"Have they come to witness us being taught by a non-soldier or do they just enjoy watching drills?" That was a different one of them and Vega started just as she meant to go on. "Well, if I were feelin' as belligerent as you're soundin' I'd wonder if they've come to watch people feelin' sorry for themselves, or maybe they just enjoy watchin' folks be rude." Vega met his gaze and he started to speak again. She ignored that and spoke over him. "But jus' maybe they're still reelin' from the attacks what happened here jus' days ago. Maybe they recognise that any learnin' is good learnin' an' they're not such rampant egos on legs. Maybe, jus' maybe, they took the time to know that I were a soldier for a year an' jus' perhaps they've got sense enough to realise that whether I'm a soldier or not don't matter. What matters is whether I've got somethin' to teach them an' whether they're prepared to learn."
The man who had spoken closed his mouth and looked at her half-shamefaced, half-defiant. "An' jus' maybe they've got better sense than to grumble at me because they know I won't have none of that nonsense. So, save it for someone what cares that you're feelin' hard done by an' lets start workin' together, shall we?" There were smiles from the settlers; those who knew her well were unsurprised at her reaction but Vega was pleased that there were also a few smiles hidden behind hands from the Elements. The one who'd spoken was, she surmised, a whinger who got on the nerves of his fellow Elements.
That was alright, she figured. He'd shape up in the next few trials.
Or, she'd punch him.