Sterling: Knight Quests

WC: 409

+1c rosewater, 1c pippet

“Recruits!” the Lieutenant smiled. “Welcome to your first day as Brouzets newest drift. You will train together over the next two years, and go out into the world with an unbreakable bond, and as a team to be reckoned with.”

We shifted anxiously and awkwardly at this- we barely even knew one another! Surely it was a bit soon to proclaim our forever friendship?

Lieutenant Rosewater could obviously sent our doubts and laughed softly, clicking her beak.

“You don’t believe me now,” she said, “But just wait and see, when you’re looking back on this moment, years from now… but we have to get you to that stage first. How about we start with some scout training?”

We murmured excitedly as she explained our task- a treasure hunt! A map to follow, and clues to find. It was in part a test of our skills, and in part an icebreaking activity, to get us talking together and working as a team.

As she explained I felt anxiety leaving my body. Not only was I well versed in this area of the desert, but I had been studying maps since I was a young plume- and I enjoyed it too!

I left Dawn at the outpost, and the five of us set off. I quickly became the leader of this particular task- my learned and inherited knowledge quickly becoming handy, and we completed the hunt with ease- I admired Peep’s quick thinking and Darkest Night’s physical power during the hunt.

When we returned victorious from our task, barely a couple of hours later, she was at first surprised by our great speed. To my joy and surprise, Pip was standing with her as we returned to the base, and as she whispered to the Lieutenant, understanding dawned on her face. She smiled in new respect and nodded to me, and a warm feeling blossomed.

That was the second small victory of the night: the first was that, as the Lieutenant had predicted, the activity was an excellent icebreaker. I had learnt the names of my drift-mates: Percy, Peep, Darkest Night and Kevin Frederic Calvin, and as I stumbled exhausted into my bed in the barracks , Dawn moving from the base of my bed to snuggle inbetween my arms, his breath in sync with mine, his gentle floral collar moving as I exhaled, I felt certain I was in the right place, and that we would become a lifelong Drift.