rock and roll |Nell/Private|

[gopher]

One word could be used to describe the insanity Milo and Nell had been plunged into: endurance training. Well, it was actually two words, but they might as well have been one. Milo had been a bit skeptical of this particular exercise, but in the end he decided that a weekend spent in the wilderness pushing themselves to their limits wasn't nearly as bad as physical sparring. He had never been fond of hand to hand combat, much preferring to strike from afar to avoid any unnecessary injury to himself. The people in his class had been given the option between sparring, meditating, and a sojourn into the forest surrounding the school. Milo wasn't sure how their professor had gotten the OK from the head of the Academy, but since he and Nell were now in the middle of - basically - nowhere, it would seem the permission was given.

Their assignment wasn't too complicated. Their professor had allowed them to chose a partner and Milo had very quickly snagged Nell. It wasn't that she was the most powerful person in their class - though she certainly wasn't the weakest - but Milo was not about to spend the weekend with some crazy nut, especially if there was the potential for life threatening danger. He was pretty confident he could handle himself, but the addition of another person made things difficult. With Nell, he knew that she would be able to look out for herself and still cover what few mistake Milo might make. Plus, she was a pretty chill person, unlike some of the more bubbly water elementals in their class. A total of six groups - twelve students - had decided to take the trip. There had been a few more that changed their minds when they realized they would have to pair up with people who weren't in their Alliance. Milo couldn't blame them. It was dangerous enough with the wild animals around; dealing with the possible backstabbing just wasn't something any of them wanted to deal with.

One they'd paired themselves off, the professor started with a speech about the potential for danger and all the necessary cautionary advice - information Milo ignored, allowing Nell to listen and fill him in later if it was important. Then came the actual assignment. They were going to be competing against the other groups in a marathon of sorts. The groups would all start from the same location in the forest - a location that they received at the end of the briefing. Once the first two group arrived, the race would begin. It was pretty much a straight up sprint to get to the first section of the race. The professor was pretty vague about it, but he did say it would require a fair amount of strength. From there, the groups were allowed to fight with each other using their respective elements only. The second part of the course involved stamina, not much more information was given. The professor briefly stated that there were a total of four events, but the last two were apparently a mystery as he had then told the class to gather around for the location of the beginning of the race.

Milo and Nell had been the second group to get there, so they didn't get a change to breath as they set off for the first event. Neither group really knew where they were going, but Milo wasn't about to lose to them. They were a pair of fire elementals. Two very large, very strong looking individuals who Milo found to rather brutish. The pair of fires were the first to find the giant slabs of rock precariously balanced on very weak looking benches. Milo kept pace with Nell, not wanting to expend too much energy before the first event. He was glad he did. The instructions were printed on a sign that had been placed near the slabs:

Student's will not use their powers for this exercise. Groups must work together to move the slabs from their current location to a destination a mile from here. The route is clearly marked with white flags. Good luck.

Milo gave Nell a look of disbelief. "He's got to be kidding..." The two fires weren't in the mood to embrace the insane either and stood looking blankly at the giant slab of stone they were supposed to move. There was no way any group could lift the stupid things, and they were shaped in a frustratingly awkward way so that rolling them would be incredibly tedious. Milo didn't really see any other options other than trying to push the things, which was something he wasn't sure was possible. "Any ideas, Nell?" She was an earth elementalist. It was entirely possible she understood something about the exercise that he was missing. The fact that they couldn't use their powers was both a disappointment and an incredible handicap on their ability to complete their assignment.

At this point, the two fires had been desperately trying to lift their slab. A slough of expletives cascaded from their lips each time they tried the lift. If Milo hadn't been so preoccupied with his own dilemma, he would have found the whole scene quite comical. As things were, the noise was just annoying. He shot a glare in the direction of the other men who returned the gaze with an equal amount of loathing. The fires were wasting valuable energy in their attempts to move the rock, but he and Nell were wasting even more valuable time. He could hear the shouts of approaching groups in the distance, and Milo wanted to at least make some kind of process before the others arrived. "If those hot-heads can't lift it, there's no way we're going to be able to." He frowned at the stupid mass of stone before giving Nell a shrug. "So... roll it?"

[NELL DOE DALE]

[atrb=style, width: 300px; height: 20px; background-color: #908184;] [atrb=border,0,true] [atrb=style, border: solid #ffffff 4px; width: 300px; float: center; padding: 10px;] if somebody's got soul. if nell knew one thing, it was survival. in her childhood, when she'd walk to the library, she picked out the tip books along with her biology textbooks and her kafkas and kants. she studied everything she could, because that was what her life had been--survival. each day was another day she could have lost her life, and so instead of despairing, she studied up on it. she honed her knowledge, and yes, it occurred to her that she could just run, but so many things stopped her. instead, she was adrift on a raft drinking fluids from fish she snared with a hook and some flesh with her leg. her life had been the equivalent of a shipwreck. but that was the past, and though she didn't need it anymore, she still retained the information. that was why things like this came exceptionally easy. she wasn't afraid to be thrown out in the wilderness. in fact, she was excited for it, and excited that she could spend time with milo. she loved all of her friends like they were an extension of herself, and he was no exception. as an earth elemental, she viewed their exercise as a way to get more in touch with her element. growing up in the big city, she didn't know much on woods an the forest. living in british columbia, the hollow, had changed a lot of that. she loved the hiking trails and exploring, and simply going places she'd never been before. and she loved harnessing her powers, thought that could not be easily done out in the open. instead, the wilderness that stretched out further than she even know provided training grounds for her, while the lake were the training grounds for the waters. as for the others, they had the cliffs, and fires had...fireplaces? whatever they could find, as long as they didn't light up the wilderness. she listened to the professor intently, always a proficient student. busy as she was, she felt determined to keep her grades up so that she didn't fall behind in her studies. all she knew from what had been said was that there would be four events, and they would be sent out in the wild. nell did not even mind the other students who were walking with them, never judging a book by the cover. after all, she was engaged to a fire elemental. and she never liked to be biased. even the sign didn't faze her, not exceptionally surprising considering she was rather unflappable anyway. she looked at the stone and lifted her eyebrows, tilting her head like she were inspecting a rare gem. "that sign is printed from a computer, this is legit," nell said facetiously. this was where she excelled, at least. innovation and creativity. moving a rock? all right, she could do that. milo asked if she had any ideas, probably put out that she couldn't just roll it along or otherwise easily transport the slab with her powers. maybe..." she murmured, turning to watch the two huge students try to lift their slabs. it was too heavy for them to lift, and so she figured it was too heavy for her and milo. not that the water was on the weak side, which she was in some aspects. she played a lot of sports, so she had good physical endurance, but she was also very small. he spoke her thoughts aloud, and it seemed they would be working well this way. "rolling it seems to be our only option. or....flipping it. but it will take a long time if we're not quick enough..." there had to be a way to speed it up. in considering away they could just pull it, she thought of the jacket she was wearing. taking it off, she placed it on the ground and shoved the slab onto it. it was heavy, yes, but it would be easy to pull rather than carry. she wrapped it up and tugged it by the sleeves, smiling at milo. "we can take turns if either of us get tired," she said. "this will hopefully be faster if everyone else gets the rolling idea, too." she didn't care about her jacket getting dirty, she could wash it. or get a new one, since she was desperately in need of it. the jacket she was now using to drag the slab--still slowly thanks to its heaviness--was two years old.

[/td][/tr][/table][/center]