Ashan 69th of Arc 711
Many boots drummed on the underground. Bits and bobs jingled and jangled, buckles and clasps bouncing up and down. Conversation was nearly impossible, drowned out by all the noise. It would waste breath too, and most cadets did not have much to spare. They’d been traveling for hours now, sticking to the standard pace the military used for traversing large distances. It meant running at a sustainable speed for an hour, fifteen minutes of walking, another hour of running, and so on. While it was designed to grant the soldiers some rest in between the high intensity effort, it did little to alleviate the sweat worked up.
Wearing leather armor, the cadets had discovered rather quickly that the practice of this day and the next would not be pleasant. The pieces made their bodies retain warmth, resulting in especially sweat-soaked patches of clothes and fabric. Coupled with the weight of all the gear they had to carry with them, this made the non-stop movement all the more exhausting. The weather had taken pity on them, attempting to comfort the cadets with refreshing showers. A gentle drizzle that was deceiving in its ability to moisten whatever it touched. Unfortunately, it did not make things any easier.
Naturally, the thick canvas of the backpacks were treated to be watertight, and the leather of the cadets’ armor did not absorb water very well either. But the clothing underneath was all too happy to drink in the moisture, growing heavy and clinging to the body. The seams of boots were not immune to water either, providing a weak spot from where the rolling droplets and the occasional puddle could soak unsuspecting socks. The road, an unpaved path etched into the land by frequent use by all manner of travelers, turned into a muddy swamp. Puddles filled the uneven craters, and some parts became rather slippery. One could easily lose their footing. Rocks hid in the shallow waters, invisible. A badly placed foot on such a rock might result in a sprain.
Some of the cadets had already splashed into the mud, but none had injured themselves yet.
Yana wondered how much distance they’d covered. She wasn’t too worried about being physically unable to reach the finish line. Drillmistress Jeesa clearly believed all cadets were capable of it, else they would not be here. This was an escalation of a previous training exercise. Instead of a couple hours of running in full gear, now they had to do it all day. Jeesa thought they were ready, though no doubt it would be challenging. Physically, naturally, but mentally as well.
For one, it was very boring. Running, running, running. The landscape did change, but wasn’t terribly exciting. Even if the rain and darkened sky would allow a decent view of the surroundings. Secondly, ever-present clattering of gear in the background made conversation difficult, requiring more breath be wasted by shouting rather than talking. No entertainment to be found there either. Which left her to her thoughts.
Pleasant company in most cases, but not now. Too aware of her body now there was nothing else to focus on, Yana realized how tired her legs were getting. How sore the soles of her feet were. How painfully the straps of her backpack cut into her shoulders. How the constant clinking of the buckles and clasps and weapons annoyed her. How much she wanted to stop. Hadn’t they run for long enough already? Surely it was time for a break. The pace would still be brisk during the walking portions, but she’d be able to recover some. Also the back of her feet, where the Achilles tendon should be located in fleshlings, hurt. Maybe she was close to injuring herself. But that was ridiculous, she had no tendons to tear.
How much longer? Was it almost noon? Noon would bring a proper break, where they could sit down and eat. Actual rest.
It took another two cycles before midday finally came. The weather remained as miserable as it’d been since the suns had been in the sky, but very few people seemed to mind. They threw off the heavy packs with sighs of relief, rolling their aching shoulders. Yana plopped down in the wet grass, unconcerned for her clothes since they were already soaked. She rummaged in her backpack for rations. The portion consisted of nothing more than hardtack and jerky. One tough and most deserving of its name, the other chewy. Still, having expected nothing more, she did not complain. Food was food, all it needed to do was nourish her and provide her body with the energy required to keep moving. A sentiment shared by the Etzos military.
While eating, half an ear was turned to the conversation around her, while most of her attention was focused on glancing around, taking in the environment. They’d graduated from the green flatlands and rolling hills, now in a wooded area. Trees provided some cover from the weather, but mostly served as excellent back support. There were lots of bushes around, thick shrubbery that made up the underbrush. It was tall enough to more or less hide the bottom half of a person. Some of the men in the group used this to their advantage to urinate with some semblance of privacy. The women preferred to put some more distance between themselves and their fellow cadets.
Not possessing conventional biology, Yana’s body didn’t really dispose of waste in the same way as those of her comrades. To bend in however, she had to pretend otherwise. The Yludih finished her meal, drank some lukewarm water from the waterskin, and set out to mimic the actions of other female soldiers.
“Wait, I’ll come with!” someone called out. One of Yana’s roommates. A cheery girl with a penchant for being talkative. Too talkative. The Yludih didn’t like her. She clicked her tongue, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned and started walking.
“Hey! I said wait! I’m coming too!” Her footsteps came closer fast. “You’ve got perfect timing, you know? I didn’t want to go alone, so I’m glad you have to go too! Oh, you’re taking your sword? You think we’ll need it? Maybe it’s better to be prepared, right? I’ll go grab mine real fast. Go on ahead, it’ll take but a sec!”
She bounded off, and Yana quickened her pace. Maybe she could shake the girl. Ignoring her clearly didn’t work. Neither did powerwalking apparently, as the girl rushed back to her side a few moments later.
“Phew! You’re a fast walker! Rayna, right? I’m Nicole, but most people call me Nico. I sleep on the bunk under yours--”
“I know.”
“—You do? Oh, wonderful! You haven’t talked to us since we became roommates—actually, I don’t think I’ve heard you speak, like, ever? We thought that maybe you were mute. Or that you didn’t like us very much. I mean, we’ve tried talking to you a couple times and stuff, but you always ignore us. So yeah, we figured either you don’t like us much, or you need your space, or maybe you don’t like talking?”
She paused, looking at Yana expectantly. Seconds passed, and she just kept her eyes on the Yludih, who did her best to ignore the existence of the annoying one. Nicole just repeated the question a couple times, making it clear that it wasn’t rhetorical. So many times, in fact, that Yana could not continue to ignore her. The only way to shut her up was to reply.
“Yes,” she said, briefly looking at the girl, then ahead again.
“Okay!” Nicole beamed brightly, “So you don’t like to talk much. That’s okay, I can talk for the two of us. You can just listen if you want, you don’t have to speak if you don’t want to!”
“Yes to all three,” Yana clarified. “I need space, and I don’t like you.”
Nicole looked hurt for a moment, but her smile returned a moment later. “Well at least you’re honest. That’s a good trait, you know. My mother always said that honesty is the best policy. ‘It’s better to be disliked by an honest person than to be liked by a liar’ she said. Well, not like that, but something along those lines. And honesty is the foundation for a healthy relationship! Why don’t you like us? We could get along, I’m sure! We just need to get to know each other!”
“Pretty sure we won’t. I don’t want to. You’re too loud, you talk too much, you’re disorganized, and you’re forgetful. And inefficient. Everything you do takes three times longer than it should. All the things I hate, packaged neatly into a single person.”
“See! You do know a lot about me. Only the bad things, but you’ve taken the time to get to know me in your own way! That’s a good thing! And you’re candid. I’m sure if I’d ask the others what they dislike about me, they wouldn’t name a single thing, let alone list off so many! And now I know what kind of person you are, what you value! I think we well get along just fine! I’ll just have to show you my good sides!”
Yana didn’t say anything, as interacting with this person clearly made things worse. So she faced forwards, and kept her lips sealed.
“You’re awfully grumpy today. More so than usual. Is it because we had to wake up so early today? You were fast asleep, I can imagine being shaken awake from deep sleep really ruins the day before it’s started, huh?” She nodded sagely. “I understand completely, I’m not a morning person either. And with all the rain today--”
“Nicole.”
“You said my name! Oh, I’m glad. You can call me Nico, by the by. Did I mention that?”
“Nicole!”
“Yes? What is it?”
Yana had positioned herself behind a thicket, and was in the middle of removing her faulds.“Shut up and keep an eye out. I’m going to pee.”
