Sorry that this chapter is so much shorter than the others, I hope you enjoy it!
Jesper acted like he had been woken like everyone else by Gort. He was thankfully successful in hiding his amusement at everyone's startlement when they first heard the clanging of the iron hoop that woke them up. He acted just as bleary eyed and tired as the other boys as they pulled on their their shoes. He shivered slightly as he stepped out into the chilly air of the morning. He felt a glow of pride as Gort appraised their tent. Jesper had figured that neither of the other groups had slept dry the night before. If he was being honest, he would have built himself a hammock or something. There was no way he would have been able to put together the materials into the structure that Hal had.
The water from the creek they washed in was icy cold, and definitely woke up anyone who was still sleepy. Jesper huffed as Gort made them double time to the small field from the other day that was to be the brotherband training ground. Three days ago he had fought a two headed dog. It was about the same size as the average hellhound. Jepser was pretty sure it was Orthrus. The dumb dog had surprised him from behind, at its claws caught a glancing blow on his left calf. The cut was shallow, but it was fairly long and painful. It was all Jesper could do to not limp when he walked, and walking double time just made it worse. He huffed again. It was bad enough that he always felt the pain of the knife that killed him and the effects of malnourishment, but to add new injuries to the bargain? So inconsiderate.
Jepser noted with satisfaction that the Herons were the first group to arrive. He smiled when he saw the food awaiting them. Jepser closed his eyes blissfully as he bit into the fresh bread. He had learned to cook for himself over the years, and while he wasn't terrible, it certainly wasn't going to win any awards. He cooked to stay alive, not to test different seasonings. Most of the bread he ate was stale, as he would normally steal it from the local bakery. He usually didn't treat himself to a fresh loaf.
Jesper smirked as he watched the other two brotherbands stumble into the field, stiff and wet. He raised his mug to Tursgud as he came in. the burly boy glared at him. Jesper was unaffected. He had seen much worse.
"Hey there, Tursgud! Look who's here before you? Hal Who and Hal Who's Herons, that's who!" Jesper laughed with the other Herons at Stefan's cheerful greeting. He noticed that a few of Rollond's band members laughed as well. That was good. It meant that the Herons weren't hated by Rollond's group.
Jesper watched with interest as Tursgud forced two of his teammates to share their bacon with him. They did so reluctantly. Jesper was sure that someone in the group would have offered to share with him, had he waited longer. In his impatience, he had begun to alienate his followers. Glancing to the side, Jesper saw that Hal had also seen the little scene. Hal was smart. Jesper figures he had come to the same conclusion.
Jesper was just as surprised as Stefan when Hal told him to stop making fun of Tursgud. It was clear, at least to him, that Stefan admired Hal and was making fun of Tursgud on Hal's behalf. It was good that Hal didn't want to put other people down without a necessary reason. It made for good character.
His lips twitched upward in a slight smile when Sigurd told them they made a good choice in their skirl. He listened attentively as Sigurd explained how the events on the parchment he handed Hal worked. They weren't in order and they were either individual or as a group. Jesper hopes he didn't get stuck with it. While his dyslexia was better, it was still difficult to read in something other than Ancient Greek.
"You can read them later!" Sigurd said, annoyed as Stig and Edvin crowded Hal, trying to see over his shoulder. "There's no set schedule for these tests. We might ask you to do one tomorrow, or next week. Or the week after. We might ask you to do tasks two days running, then nothing for several weeks. In between, we'll be assessing your skills and teaching you more of them. You might care to know, however, that you've already had your first test."
Jesper was almost 100% positive that the first test had been building the shelter. He listened as Hal asked the question, and was pleased that he was correct (not that he showed it).
Sigurd cleared his throat. "Head back and tidy your living quarters. Then get your kit together. We'll be assessing your skills today so be back here with any weapons you already have in twenty minutes."
Jesper had a saxe knife and a small hunting bow that he used to hunt for food. He also had his sword, but he clearly wasn't going to show anyone that. He had to be careful, because unlike Earth, chapstick was not something that had been invented yet, and would not put Jesper in anyone's good books.
He grimaced as he began packing up his kit. The stabbing pain in his side was definitely worse today than it had been yesterday. He was glad that there wouldn't be one of the events today, but he wasn't exactly thrilled they would be working with weapons either. He gave a mental shrug. He would be in pain no matter what he did.
Jesper watched as Stefan questioned Hal on whether or not it was necessary to be in two file lines. He knew Hal wasn't very comfortable giving orders, but he needed to get there soon. It wouldn't do to have a skirl who was nervous with how his crew would react. Jesper had to see if he could stage something to help Hal along with gaining more confidence.
He glanced approvingly at Hal when he told Stig to call double time for them as they jogged back down the field. As much as he knew it would hurt (and be difficult to cover up the fact that he hurt), it was good if they started to act like a team. It would also win the approval of the adults.
Jesper was pretty sure that when they arrived, Rollond was annoyed that he had not thought of coming down to the training field that way himself. He knew it looked a lot better than just arriving like a cluster of minnows.
As good as Rollond was, Hal was better. By far. Jesper couldn't read minds, but he was pretty good reading body language, and he was pretty sure that although their group was the smallest, they were also the ones who were closest to being a crew at this point in training. He was also pretty sure that everyone in the Herons brotherband would rather be here than in another brotherband. He knew he did.
