Surviving

[Skrapz]

The two girls left the dining hall and set a steady pace for the hiking trail. They passed the fire pit and Cabin C, where a guy in his early 20's leaned against the outer post, watching the two intently. Elle looked at the guy and then at Kit, "I'm getting a weird vibe from that guy. Do you think he works here?"  

[gatewaytotokyo]

Kit looked over at the guy then glared at him. "More than likely. Why would they hire anyone that's actually credible to 'help' us? Just save money and still get us to conform to what the world thinks is proper for us to be." she growled. "Come on let's get out of his line of sight before I get the urge to beat him into next Tuesday." she said giving Elle a gentle push.  

[Skrapz]

"That's fine be me." Elle increased her pace a little until the trees began to become more frequent. She spotted a wooden sign identifying this as the start of the 3 mile hiking trail. Elle scratched the back of her head, "Huh, three miles. You up for it?"  

[gatewaytotokyo]

Kit gave Elle a 'bring it on' grin. "Darn right I am, let's go." she said and started walking. "It's a good think this is our first day here or we'd have to be somewhere... right?" she asked turning so that she was walking backward so she could see Elle as they walked the mostly level track. She, of course, hadn't bothered looking at a camp schedule.  

[Skrapz]

"Probably," Elle shoved her hands in her pockets and kicked a pebble on the ground, "The brochure doesn't say much about what an average day is like. I don't know when we have to get up, what we do all day, or how intense the uh, 'activities' get." She scoffed, "I wonder if they have electroshock here."  

[gatewaytotokyo]

Kit blinked at Elle. "Electroshock? Y-you think they'd actually do that to us? Though it might be why so many of the other girls are already broken." she said, concern and a bit of fear crept into her voice. Just then her heel caught on a root and she tumbled over backwards with a yelp of surprise.  

[Skrapz]

Elle's eyes darkened and her arm shot out and grabbed Kit's forearm, pulling her forward with a rough jerk. She grasped her shoulders and balanced her slightly dazed body. Elle's eyes began to lighten as she exhaled deeply, "You okay?"  

[gatewaytotokyo]

Kit urked as she was jerked upright mid-fall. she blinked at Elle as she looked her over again. She did not look as if she had the strength to do what she'd just done. "I'm.. fine." she said hesitantly as she continued to look Elle up and down. "H-how did you do that? I've never seen anyone do that before." she said raising an eyebrow at her.  

[Skrapz]

Elle scoffed, "I'm not a superhuman, if that's what your wondering." She pointed down to her planted feet, "Good stance, fast reflexes, and 27 days at military school would teach you the same thing. Don't read into it. You never answered my question. Are you okay?"  

[gatewaytotokyo]

Kit looked down at Elle's feet as her cheeks flushed with color. "Said I was fine." she mumbled as she turned and started walking again. She shoved her hands in her pockets and kept her eyes on the trail ahead of her.  

[Skrapz]

Elle sighed and scratched the back of her head, and knelt down to tie her shoe, "I guess I've revealed what a jerk I can be, huh?" She said, already planning an escape route in case the conversation took a turn for the personal.  

[gatewaytotokyo]

Kit stopped, turned to watch her tie her shoe then sighed. "Sorry. If I'd been able to do that I'd have bragged about it too." she said grinning back at Elle. "So... only 27 days, eh? What'd you do to get kicked out?" she asked grinning mischievously.  

[Skrapz]

Elle smiled slightly at Kit's attempt to change the subject, "Well it was a combination of things really." She continued to explain her flop routine that led the staff to believe she was unteachable. She laughed, "You should have seen the look on the mess sergeant's face when he found me sleeping next to some hacked-up spuds."  

[gatewaytotokyo]

Kit sniggered at the image she'd conjured in her head. "I would have loved to see that." she laughed, her eyes on the trees now. They were about a mile into their hike when she spotted it, a huge oak that had plenty of handholds and nooks for climbing it. "Aw man, would ya look at the size of that monster." she said as she walked over to it and started to circle it, her hand brushing against the bark as she looked up into the branches.  

[Skrapz]

Elle tilted her head to the side and folded her arms, a thoughtful look crossing her face, "What? The tree?" She watched intently as Kit caressed the trunk. It was an interesting thing to witness; someone as strong and tough as she, showing such a gentle nature. It intrigued Elle, " Yeah, I guess it is pretty big. You, uh, interested in botany or something?"