Essentia Animus

24-Shaded Tracking

Training continued for several more days since then, following the regime the Hunters had set out for them. However, finally their first day of rest would occur, giving the girls the freedom to explore other options.

Riyxia wasn't sure how much she wasn't really surprised. Combat training had evolved to martial discipline and wilderness skills, the latter putting her at yet another disadvantage among her friends who had spent their lives growing up in the wilderness of the woods. However, their introduction to rock climbing had returned a sizable advantage to her, introducing yet another advantage she might have. Even surrounded by trees, the other girls hadn't even been inspired to try climbing trees, Riyxia though seemed quite natural within the context of climbing. She was however far better at climbing without gear than with, being rather fumbly with all the strange pieces but amazing with her actual arms and legs. As a result, she had been provided special protective gear, special gloves and boots to keep her hands and feet safe from harm, with clothes that gave extra padding to her elbows and knees. Even that took some getting used to, but the design was well enough that her motions and contact at least felt natural.

There had been quite a strong push to have the three girls start to wear the Hunter's Uniform too, as if a guiding principle towards an eventual inevitability. It was fortunate that Sryine had a strong taste for fashion and style, she really didn't want to be caught wearing something with such plain colors in such a boring style. Even so, Riyxia still lost control of the situation by pressing the point too far, as now all three of them were wearing something of an independent uniform matching their own unique sense of style. Specifically, it seemed more akin to Sryine's unique sense of style. Adopting plenty of protective elements, following the urging of safety from the Hunters, such fabrics were adorned and embroidered with a vast repertoire of designs following each of their original color styles, but otherwise a perfect match of each other visually. An embroidered blouse with a tasseled vest, all dyed appropriate colors to match colored pants of some strangely durable fabric. It was actually surprising just how durable all of the material was, surpassing even the quality of leather but otherwise being very similar.

The element Riyxia felt she had lost the most with was in headgear, Sryine's custom beret adorning each of their heads, the embroidered emblem of a star scape not being missed. Flanking the golden expanse of stars was twin white overlapping spheres on both sides, equally set upon all of their heads. This had caused some confusion, as it wasn't symbolic of leadership as there were three identical versions, but also because it wasn't the typical triangles either. This combination resolved a compromise, seeming like a partial integration with a retained sense of individuality and identity. They were like hunters, but they weren't really hunters. Even so, Riyxia still sorta felt the hat had given away far more ground than it returned, leaving her a bit uneasy.

Sryine had also been doing a lot of communication with Hyusziq, sending text messages using her phone in her spare time. The two business partners had at some point come up with the wild idea of presenting the projector as a training aide, to have it demonstrate lessons from it's projected scene instead of basic entertainment. They had quickly run aground on this idea when it became clear that to have the instrument project lessons, Sryine would have to sufficiently understand the content herself. This just made the girl even more eager for the strange lessons of their everyday, and made the day of break also become a day obstructing further progress.

"Do we have to take a break? Certainly there are other lessons we could..." "Sryine, no. We are taking a break today, even taking a break tomorrow. Your little project can wait for when we've had some time to relax, thank you. Remember, we did have plans to research some of the city as well, and currently we've spent more days on the outskirts of the city by this point than inside the city itself. Remember, making Qeld wasn't your big goal here, you came here with the interest in learning more about the city instead." Sryine resumed pouting, fully aware how impossible Riyxia got when stubbornness beset her. She came here to find books, and her cell had provided her with an endless supply of such reading material. However, she did realize she also had an obligation to her family that remained yet unmet, something she was certain she could resolve with enough Qeld. Making enough, she could have a vast assortment of things transported to the village in order to improve quality of life there.