Araluen

Exams

A fitting title for my life the past few weeks. Sorry for the delay, enjoy!!

An early night for the apprentices in particular, they wanted to soak up as much sleep as possible. Tahlia could see their reasoning, sleep was great, however she had the option as a twenty-two year old adult to function on six hours of sleep on a regular basis. This was convenient, especially for long and muddy nights. However she did love sleep, and the peace and relaxation it offered. Warm and cosy evening, under a mass of blankets and Jax, with the memorising fire crackling. The design of chimneys was greatly appreciated, and reduced the risk of her wooden home burning down in the search of warmth. 

Mornings like this were always filled with a mild anxiety though. She was confident in the apprentices ability to continue their training, despite its difficulty. They had clearly been taught well and contained a natural ability that was essential. However there was always a possibility for things to go wrong, and for a silver leaf Ranger, mistakes weren't inevitable if you were good enough. And so the pressure was on. If they failed, their talents would still be useful and they'd be capable of finding work. That still wasn't a comforting thought for Tahlia, and definitely not something the apprentices should be thinking, they needed complete confidence in their ability.

Saadha was one of the examiners, and true to the maintain the accuracy and limit the bias of the exams, she'd distanced herself from the apprentices and their instructors over the pass few days. Tahlia had still spotted her occasionally around the camp, in between tents and fireplaces. They had always shared a smile and wave upon seeing one another. It was nice to be around one another again. They had passed these same exams with flying colours not too long ago. 

Leaves crunched quietly under her soft leather boots. The sun was bright, although a few clouds floated through the sky. A breeze flickered and danced in the clearings, offering cool reassurance to the tense apprentices. This benign morning would be the one to decide their fate. Several rangers were to become gold oakleafs this year, essentially retiring from the Corps. It was an important trait to be capable of understanding when your own body had deteriorated to the state when remains in the Corps would be detrimental. Maddie and a few younger ones had a few more years of training, only being 17-18 But three apprentices would be graduating the apprentice program if they passed. She spied them having breakfast together, talking excitedly. Best to leave them alone for now, although they were sure to squeeze in some extra practice before their exams. Even now there was a large map spread in front of them, covered in notes and marking, the essential things to remember circled enthusiastically. 

Maddie was a little more relaxed, perhaps even over-confident.

"How are you feeling?" Tahlia posed the question with a raised eyebrow. Maddie grinned, and responded;

"It'll be a breeze, I've got everything covered". Tahlia's brow further progressed towards her hairline in disbelief. She hid a smile and instead subtly encouraged Maddie to rethink her statement.

"Not with that attitude at all. You're only in your third year, are you saying there's nothing more to learn? You're clearly not expecting the unexpected." Maybe not so subtle. The young girl seemed somewhat offended, but she was still an excellent Ranger, and accepted the criticism meekly. Tahlia calmed slightly, and seeing that her teaching had been understood, softened the blow "You did extremely well last year, and as long as you're prepared and monitoring your faults, you should be capable of achieving similar results."

Maddie smiled weakly, "Thank you? I should probably go practice a little more," Tahlia gave her a brief hug as she left, having eager-to-learn apprentices was ideal.

Another three quarters of an hour passed before Tahlia went to see Will and observe the practical exams. The camouflage was first, and half the apprentices had already hidden in the space allowed. There were several hides for silverleafs to watch from, and another designated for the examiners. She and Will found one with a fairly good view, that they'd be capable of seeing the sweepers nearly for their entire trek across the field. The duo had enough time to relax and quiet their conversation before the rest of the apprentices formed a line to begin sweeping. She assume they'd make some variation of the basic sweeping formation, in a long line stretching the field, capable of spotting any hiding apprentices. She heard Will give a soft murder of approval upon seeing the sweepers leave a few ten or fifteen years behind, to catch any who'd begun to move too soon following the first line. Clever. 

A few apprentices were found, and some made it across to the flag unspotted within the time frame available. After time was up, those who hadn't been found, nor made it to the flag were required to reveal themselves, having lost as well. Then the groups switched, the sweepers hiding and vice versa. The whole process was relatively rapid, interrupted occasionally by short cries of annoyance and victory as a Ranger was found. One of the annoyed cries came from Maddie, who clearly appeared to be ready to protest this treatment. Tahlia made a mental note to steer clear afterwards, Will and the examiners could sort her out. 

The rest of the trials passed with ease. Luckily the loss of the 'excellent' mark didn't overly faze Maddie, and she recovered quickly. Most of the exams weren't available for others to watch, as they were in closer quarters. But the obstacle courses, horse, and combat exams were all performed in clear view, with an eager Will, Gilan, and Tahlia following silently along, watching the apprentices approvingly. There was a good batch this year, and watching them all hard at work demonstrating their hard earned skills sparked something in Tahlia. Maybe Will had the right idea in taking on an apprentice. Of course it would never happen soon, but perhaps it was worth considering.