# Aspire Arcadia: Chapter 4: Training

Author: Koda_The_Wolf
Tags: Adventure, Canine, Epic, Story Series, Wolf

The next morning, Patch woke up to the sound of restless
crickets chirping outside of his window. Thunder rumbled quietly outside as
rain steadily knocked against the glass. Juniper laid beside him, having
crawled from her bed in the middle of the night to join him in his. She slept
soundly beside him, her muzzle tucked up against his chest with a steady patch
of drool soaking the fur under it. He sighed and smiled, gently rubbing her
hair as he laid back down. They had to return to the hidden bay soon to start
their training again, but it was still early enough to take in the beautiful
scene. 
"You awake?" Patch whispered as Juniper began to stir, "we
have to head back soon."
"Five more minutes," she muttered, wiping her mouth against
his fur before closing her eyes again.
"Come on," Patch replied, sitting up, "we don't want to be
late. I'd really hate to find out what Reka would do to us if we were."
"Yeah... true..." she replied, pulling herself to her feet. 
Patch headed to the window and peeked out at the steady
downpour.
"No wonder I slept so well," Juniper said, approaching him
from behind, "it rained all night."
"At least we're well rested," Patch said, glancing back at
her, "you ready to go?" 
"Ready when you are," she replied, heading towards the door.
The two quietly navigated through the den, careful not to
wake any of the others up as they headed towards the front door. Except for the
rain and quiet thunder, it was pretty much silent. 
As they stepped outside, however, the rain and thunder
appeared louder, without the walls of the den to muffle the noise. Heavy wind
blew the trees around them and flung rain all over the place. 
"Whoa, it's chilly out here..." Juniper said as they headed
out into the storm, on their way to the main path. They trudged through the
flooded, muddy road, up the path and eventually on to the main road. In the
midst of the storm, they saw wolves from other packs, as well as sabertooths
and other predators, emerging from the forest and crossing the main road on
their way to the plains to hunt. The main road was empty of all traffic in the
direction Patch and Juniper were headed, except for a few animals that were on
their way to the city. The scene around them was rather serene, despite the
falling rain and violent wind.
"S-sorry for getting in your bed last night..." Juniper said,
breaking a long silence between them.
"No worries," Patch replied, "did you have a bad dream?"
"No," Juniper replied quietly, "I'm afraid of lightning...
stupid right?"
"It's not stupid," he replied with a calm smile, "I'm
terrified of spiders."
"But spiders make sense," Juniper replied, "they're really
creepy..."
"Lightning makes sense," Patch replied, trying to make her
feel better, "it can strike you."
"Don't say that," she sighed, staring at the path ahead, "we're
right in the middle of a storm you know... you're not making me feel any better..."

"Sorry," Patch replied with a small smile.
Eventually, they reached the dead end that led to the Hidden
Bay. As they entered the forest, the thick canopy prevented most of the rain
and wind from hitting them. They were able to traverse the forest without
getting further soaked by the showers or chilled by the wind.
"Welcome back," one of the pirate guards in the trees said,
waving at them.
"Good morning," Juniper kindly replied, "staying dry up
there?"
"Nope," he replied casually. 
They climbed through the thick forest, headed up the dirt
path, and eventually reached the Hidden Bay which was completely empty. All of
the crates that were there before had been moved to Eidous, leaving nothing but
the ship and a few cabins populating the bay. All of the pirates that usually
hung around outside had collected inside of the ship's empty cargo bay for
their morning meeting. 
"I wonder what's going on for today," Patch thought to himself
out loud as he started up the ramp leading to the deck.
"All of the cargo is gone, so I doubt there would be a lot,"
Juniper replied, following, "that might be good for us."
"A bunch of bored pirates itching to have a paw in our
training?" Patch replied, "I think we could be in some trouble."
The two joined the rest of the pirate crew in the cargo bay,
where Captain Keira waited with a few of her closer subordinates.
"There you two are," she said as they entered, "I was
beginning to think you had run off." 
She turned to everyone else.
"Now that we're all here, I only have a few things," she
announced, "all of the cargo has been traded and we turned up a nice profit. So
you'll all get paid by the end of the day today. Aside from that, we don't have
much to do. Take this time to visit family, see the city... whatever you feel
like. Just check in every now and then. And don't get arrested!"
She glanced at Patch and Juniper.
"Lieutenant Reka isn't here today, so I'll be handling your
physical training for today," she said with a smile, "don't worry, it'll be
fun. I'll also be having a few others teach you two some skills, since we've
got some time off. I want you to stay here and avoid wandering off for the
remainder of your training, since there might be some things we can teach you
overnight. After it's all done, you'll have time to go see your family before
you leave." 
Patch and Juniper nodded.
"Alright, that's all there is today," Captain Keira
announced, "Don't get too drunk on your time off, make safe decisions, and I'll
see you guys when you get back."
The crew cheered as they were released to do whatever they
wanted. Most of them headed out while other stayed behind and caught up with
friends. 
"We'll get right into today, so we can start your survival
training," Captain Keira said, approaching them, "in a couple of weeks, I think
you'll be good to go. It depends on how hard you two work together."
Patch nodded.
"We're ready."
Captain Keira's physical training method was a lot more
thorough... and painful... than Lieutenant Reka's. The two lifted and dragged heavy
supplies for hours while doing many different exercises in between. The idea
was to get stronger in a relatively short amount of time... which would prove to
be extremely difficult. The two of them supported and encouraged each other
while Keira put more and more pressure on them, adding more exercises and
heavier cargo to carry around. They were fitted with iron vests (that increased
their weight), and sometimes exercised with them on. After a break every now
and then, it was on to harder exercises. They were sent to run for miles, both
with weighted vests on. Afterwards, they swam against the current of the raging
river, which was even more violent as a result of the storm. When swimming
became easier for them, they did it with weighted vests on. Throughout the
rigorous training, neither one of them thought about giving up. Though it was
harder than any of them imagined, they were in way too deep to slow down now. 
"Alright, that's enough for the day," Keira announced,
approaching the edge of the river where Juniper and Patch swam, "I left you
some food on the coast. Grab some and meet Vector in cabin #2 on the bay when
you're done."
"Alright..." Patch replied, completely out of breath. The two
of them slowly made their way towards the edge of the river and climbed out,
barely able to hold their own weight with their fatigued legs. 
Juniper tried to catch her breath as Patch dropped his
weighted vest and headed towards the food that Captain Keira left them.
"And I thought Reka was bad..." Patch breathed, sitting down
beside the food.
"No kidding..." Juniper replied, still trying to catch her
breath, "I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack..." 
The two sat down to eat for a while before it was on to the
next training event. This time, they were in the hands of someone named Vector.

"Do you know him?" Patch asked, following Juniper to the
cabin.
"You mean her,"
she replied, "and she's kind of new, so I haven't really gotten a chance to get
to know her. Actually, I think I've only seen her a couple of times."
Juniper knocked on the door as Patch joined her on the
steps, to get out of the rain. 
"It's open," a quiet voice replied, "come on it." 
They entered to see a Vector, a small, female fox digging
through a box. She had short, red hair that covered most of her face as well as
shiny, orange and black fur.
"Oh, there you are," she said, glancing up from the box she
sorted through. Her voice was quiet and dubious. 
"I don't think this is the first time we've met, Juniper," Vector said, approaching them, "but either
way, my name is Vector. Captain Keira asked me to teach you two some escape and
evasion techniques that you can use while you're out and about, saving the
world from bad guys like us." 
She smiled sinisterly at Patch. 
"As disappointing as it may be, you won't always have the
opportunity to barge into your enemy's base and come out alive. Similarly, you
won't be able to take on a huge group of enemies out hunting you. This is where
escape and evasion training can help you survive." 
She climbed onto a nearby desk and sat down. 
"There's a couple of things we're going to be focusing on throughout
the course of this training," she explained, "They're both in the name. First,
we're going to focus on escape techniques. If you get captured or end up
surrounded by your enemy, it's the method you'd use to get out of danger with
as little damage to yourself as possible. After you're comfortable with that,
we'll move on to evasion techniques. If you're undetected and behind enemy
lines, or you've just escaped and your enemy is out searching for you, your
evasion skills will keep you hidden from discovery. As you can imagine, they're
pretty useful skills for pirates, criminals or anyone who's made as many
enemies as myself. Generally, it's good to know just in case you need to use
it." 
She hopped off of the desk and headed to the door. 
"Can one of you grab that box for me?" She said, glancing
back at them, "we're headed to the jail cells in the cargo bay of the ship.
It'll be a good place to start."
In the rearmost area of the cargo bay, beside the engine
room, were the cells. Four of them were lined up against the wall of the ship,
each surrounding a small space with heavy, metal bars. 
"First, I'll teach you the basics, and then we'll go from
there," Vector explained, entering the cell area, "lock picking is an excellent
place to start. Pay attention because it can be a bit tricky." 
In the box was a series of tools they were to use throughout
the course of the escape and evasion training. Among the tools were several
different types of locks, commonly used around the world. In a thorough and
informative lesson, Vector taught Patch and Juniper the components and
operation of key locks, in a way to better help them understand how to pick or
break them. She went through each one, taking it apart and explaining each of
the components before putting it back together and demonstrating how to pick
it. 
"You can use anything that can be shaped into a pick like
this," she explained, showing them an example of one she made out of a pin,
"though I'd suggest always keeping a hair pin or something with you that you
can use in an emergency."
After demonstrating the mechanics of several locks, she
supervised them as they practiced with each lock, making sure they understood
how to perform the task. They were to create and use their own picks to unlock
each of the different style locks. After a few hours of practice, they mastered
it. And went on to practice with other locks found on the ship. Locked doors,
crates, even shackles were no match for them by the time they ended the first
session of escape training. They even learned how to pick the locks in strange
positons, simulating as though they had been imprisoned or detained in
shackles. 
"Excellent," Vector said, returning all of the locks into
her tool box, "that's an important skill you should always keep in the back of
your mind just in case you run into trouble. Though once you get it, it's
nearly impossible to forget. The next thing we're going to work on is cell
escape. Sometimes you won't have access to the lock on your cell, so you'd have
to find a different mode of escape. Granted, it's not going to be a 100% type
escape method, but they will be good tips to look for if you find yourself
confined."
She climbed inside of one of the cells and closed the door.
In the second part of the escape training, Vector taught
Patch and Juniper how to search for weaknesses in the cells, something they
could take advantage of to help them escape. She taught them how to feel for
weakened iron bars and improvise the use of common items as tools that could
help them escape. Though this training was a little less thorough, it was
decent information they could find useful, if they ever found themselves in
such a position to use it.
"Like I said, it's not a 100% sure-way of getting out of
jail," Vector said, closing the cell behind her, "but if you do the rest of the
escape and evasion training correctly, you'll never find yourself in the
position to need it. The next part of the training is one of my favorites. When
you're captured, chances are, you'll be interrogated. There are several methods
you two need to learn in order to avoid giving up vital information to your
enemy, no matter what kind of painful shit they're doing to you. The key here
is to make yourself useful long enough for them to want to keep you alive and
for you to get a chance to escape. While at the same time, you should be
focused on not giving up your partner or any valuable information. Basically,
I'm going to teach you guys how to lie and keep your enemies confused without
being so obvious with it."
A few other pirates entered the cells, joining them in order
to help with the training. All of the pirates were rather intimidating looking
animals, all tasked with trying to extract some sort of information from them
during the training. 
"They key is to look and sound confident," Vector explained,
"That's the key to lying."
For the next few hours, Vector explained, demonstrated, and
helped them practice the art of deception. She taught them how to talk in
circles and give bits and pieces of false information to their enemies. She
also taught them how to read their enemy's body language, in order to determine
whether or not their enemy is on to their lies or if they're being tested for
honesty.
"Sometimes, they'll ask you something they already know the
answer to," Vector explained, "just to see if you're a reliable source to them.
You've got to know when that's being done to you. If they determine that you're
a liar early on, that'll be the end of you. In cases like those, you've got to
offer up something to stay alive. That's the nature of the beast."
She glanced at Juniper.
"And don't be afraid to use that body of yours," Vector added,
"trust me, it's useful for keeping yourself out of harm's way. You'll be ruined
for the rest of your life, but at least you'll be alive." 
After hours of practice and training, it was time to
demonstrate what they learned. Juniper and Patch were separated into two
different areas, both rather far from each other. There, they underwent tough
interrogations by the pirates, who were aiding their training. 
"Don't be afraid to hit them," Vector said to the pirates as
they pried for information, "just don't hurt
them."
The two performed as they were trained. Patch talked his
captors in circles and casually fed them misinformation while Juniper changed
the subject, stalled, and also fed them misinformation that the two had
predetermined. In the end, their first three training sessions were a success. 
"Very good, you learn quickly," Vector said to Patch, "I
already told Juniper that your last task before the break is to free yourself
from your handcuffs and meet me back in the cabin in an hour. If you can make
it out quickly, you'll have a break. If you can't within the hour, you'll have
to do the lock picking training again."
She headed up to the main deck.
"Good luck," she said, closing the door. 
"Heh, yeah right," Patch muttered, climbing over his arms to
bring them in front of him. He shook a pin he has stashed in his hair down into
his lap where he fashioned it into a pick and back working the lock. In a few
seconds, the cuffs snapped off and he was free. 
"Easy," he thought to himself, standing up and heading to
the deck. 
Outside, it finally stopped raining. It was a bit early in
the afternoon, which was surprising as he didn't realize so much time passed.
On the deck, Juniper waited patiently for him to arrive.
"Nice, looks like you passed," she said with a smile, "you
were right, this is kind of fun." 
"Told you it would be," he replied with a smile, "I always
wondered how picking locks worked. Now we can pretty much pick any lock
anywhere... not that I anticipate we'd need to."
"You never know," Juniper replied, shrugging. 
"Hey, why don't you show me your room?" Patch asked,
glancing at her, "we're on break and we've got plenty of time." 
"What?" Juniper asked with a nervous smile, "there's nothing
special in there..."
"Still, my curiosity is killing me," Patch replied, standing
up, "If you don't take me there, I'm sure I can find it."
"It's locked," Juniper replied, licking her tongue out at
him and forgetting about their lock pick training from earlier.
"So?" Patch replied with a smile.
"O-oh, right," she muttered, "Well, if you want to see it...
then okay. Don't say I didn't warn you though."
She stood up and led him below deck, onto the residence deck
where most of the pirates lived. For the most part, the lowest ranking members
of the crew shared three to four per room. The other, higher ranking pirates
either had their own or shared a room with one other. Juniper had her own. 
"It's right down this way," she said, passing by several
rooms. A few of the rooms had someone resting in them, while the others were
empty. 
"Everyone sure cleared out of here fast," Patch said,
noticing the empty rooms.
"They're probably visiting family," she replied, stopping at
one of the rooms, "either that or they're headed to the bar. Or both." 
She unlocked the door to the room and entered, followed by
Patch.
"Here it is," she said, as he entered.
Juniper's cabin wasn't very big, unlike what he expected. A
circular window facing the forest-side of the bay was built into one of the
wooden walls, and was surrounded by several pictures of different locations
around the world. The room was furnished with a small bed and a nightstand
beside it as well as a desk that sat at the opposite side of the room. Her bed
was neatly made with a small stuffed dragon sitting atop the covers. Several
books were stacked on top of the desk along with stationary and a few pictures
of her when she was younger. 
"I didn't know you liked this series," Patch said, glancing
at the books on her desk, "my sister, Luna, and I love it."
"Are you kidding? I love adventure novels!" Juniper said
with a smile, "It was one of the things I looked forward to when my father used
to come down and visit during the winter. He would always bring me the next
book in the series as a gift." 
She sorted through them, each book bringing back a specific
memory from her childhood, while Patch glanced at all of the pictures she had
on her wall.
"These are beautiful places," he said, scanning through each
of them.
"Thanks, they were given to me by my father," Juniper
replied, joining him, "his new position lets him travel to all sorts of new
places. Whenever he ends up in a new place, he'd take a bunch of pictures for
me."
"Nice," Patch replied, "hopefully soon, you'll get to see
these places for yourself."
"That's what I'm counting on," she said with a quiet smile. 
Patch yawned and climbed into her bed.
"I hope you don't mind," he said quietly, curling up at the
foot of her bed, "if I don't catch a quick nap, I might pass out..."
She chuckled, "is this why you wanted to see my room in the
first place?" 
Patch shook his head.
"I was genuinely curious," he replied, resting his head on
his legs, "the opportunity just so happened to present itself." 
He slid over a little bit, opening up some space for her.
"Nothing like a power nap to keep ourselves sharp," He said,
closing his eyes. 
Juniper sighed and smiled.
"Why not..." She said, climbing into her bed beside him. She
carefully curled up and rested her head on his back.
They both laid together in silence for a little while. Patch
had fallen asleep, but Juniper couldn't. Instead, she listened to the steady
sound of his breathing while glancing at all of the pictures on her wall. It
was still unreal to her... that she'd get to see all of those places in real
life. By the time she calmed down a bit and fell asleep, it was already time to
return to their training. 
"Hey, are you up?" Patch asked, shaking her awake, "our
break's up."
Juniper moaned as Patch slid out of bed.
"Did you get a good nap in?" He asked as she pulled herself
up.
"I just fell asleep... like ten seconds ago..." she replied with
a frown, "I couldn't sleep..." 
"Oh..." Patch replied, following her out of her room and back
to the main deck, "well... at least you'll sleep like a baby tonight."
They eventually rejoined Vector outside, where she waited
beside the entrance to the dense forest. 
"Looks like you guys were at least able to escape the
handcuffs," she said as the two approached, "that's a very useful skill to know,
especially if the cops are after you."
Vector glanced in the tool box she had with her.
"Let's see... we went over lock picking, cell and building
escape, interrogation... I think that about does it for the escape part of your
training. I only have time to give you general training. Depending on the
situations you find yourselves in, you might... no... you'll definitely have to
improvise on the spot. This general training will help you make rational
decisions on what to do. For the last part of the day, we'll work on evasion
techniques. That is, I'll teach you how to avoid
being captured by enemies. This one might be a little messy." 
She motioned for them to follow her into the woods. 
"Us being canines, we've got an acute sense of smell," she
explained, climbing over fallen logs, "which is a good and bad thing. Good, because you'll be able to catch the scent of
an unknown animal nearby, and bad because they could catch yours too. If you're
being chased, your scent is your worst enemy."
She approached a pit of mud that had developed as a result
of the rainfall earlier. 
"When trying to evade capture, there are a few
considerations you want to think about," she explained, glancing back at them,
"first, you want to throw them off of your scent. Second, you want to stay out
of sight and cover your tracks. Lastly, you want to stay hidden until you're
clear. This is the most important part of the lesson, so pay attention." 
The training was as thorough and difficult as it was
important. Vector led them through the forest, explaining different ways of
covering up their scents in the event that they were being pursued. She
demonstrated a few of the methods as well, covering up her own scent to prove
that the methods were effective.        
"Anything with a powerful scent will mask yours," she
explained, "however, if you use too much of that, your pursuers will get
suspicious." 
After going through several different ways of masking their
scents, Vector watched as Juniper and Patch practiced on their own. Afterwards,
she enlisted the help of a few remaining pirates to determine if their scent
masking was effective. It took a few tries to perfect, but they ended up
succeeding in the end. Dripping with filth and covered in mud, the two returned
to Vector for their next lesson.
"Good, you guys are already ready for the next lesson,"
Vector said, glancing at them, "we're going to work on the second
consideration, staying out of sight and covering your tracks. This one isn't
too difficult... rather, it rests on common sense. You won't be able to hide your
tracks while you're running away, so you jump off of the path and head to where
your tracks won't show up in the first place. Things like that. Staying out of
sight is a fancy way of saying "Find a place to hide". Assuming your scent has
already been masked, finding a hiding place is a lot less difficult than you
would think. It should be an area where, your pursuer's wouldn't notice or even
think to look. First, you want to get a good distance away from them in a different direction than you were
running from them. Give yourself time to find or create a hiding spot and
COMMIT to it. Don't be like a puppy and switch between hiding spots every few
seconds, that's how you get caught."
She turned and headed deeper into the woods.
"Let's practice that a little," she said. 
The last two considerations were pretty much one in the
same. After they hid, they just had to stay in one spot for a while, until they
were sure that their pursuers were a safe distance away. Vector instructed them
to mask their scent and hide somewhere while the pirates she hired combed
through the forest searching for them. 
"It helps to split up too!" Vector announced, loud so the
two of them could hear her wherever they were hiding, "I know you two would
hate to be apart for more than a few minutes, but it'd be better for only one
of you to get caught than both of you!"
This part of the training took a while to complete as Vector
had them practice in different locations. Once she was certain they were
proficient in the training, she brought them back to the hidden bay.
"Good job today guys," Vector said as they reached her
cabin, "I know it was a long and difficult day of training, but it could
possibly save your lives one day. Always look for ways of improving your skills
and do your best out there. I think this may have been the shortest training
topic out of all of them, so be prepared." 
"Right," Patch replied.
"Thanks for taking the time to teach us," Juniper replied,
wiping mud from her face, "I hope we won't ever need to use it though."
"You never know," Vector replied, entering her cabin and
closing the door behind her. 
Juniper yawned.
"Gosh, where did all of my energy go..." she muttered, staring
at the ground with tired eyes.
"Probably left it in the mud pit," Patch replied with a
grin, "I'm going to wash this off..."
"Me too," Juniper replied, following him, "and afterwards, I
think I need a nap..."
The sun was just setting as they headed towards the edge of
the river. A few of Vector's pirates returned from the forest and headed out of
the hidden by for the night. A few birds returned to their nests as the insects
began chirping, signaling the start of the early evening. 
As the two climbed into the river to wash their fur off,
they were met by Captain Keira, who was fishing nearby.
"There you two are," she said, raising her hat from her
eyes, "looks like it's been a busy day of training." 
"It was..." Juniper replied, yawning. 
Patch nodded, dipping his head in the water.
"That's good," Keira replied with a smile, "make sure you
take the training seriously. It'll help you on your final task before leaving
here."
"Final task?" Patch asked, shaking water from his fur.
"That's right," Keira replied, "I want to make sure that
you've actually learned all of the training you're receiving. Think of it as a
final exam." 
She laid back in her chair and yawned.
"Oh, right," she said, glancing back up at Patch, "I had
your room set up in the cargo bay. It's a comfy little spot that I think you'll
enjoy. It's nice and quiet, plus the ship's rocking would put you right out." 
She smirked.
"I hope you weren't expecting to stay with Juniper in her
tiny bed," she said with an evil grin, "I know what goes through adolescent
puppies' minds."
Patch's face reddened. 
After they bathed in the river, the two returned to Patch's
room in the cargo bay to hang out for the evening. Captain Keira had a small
hammock set up in a corner of the ship's cargo bay for him. Next to it was a
small lantern sitting atop a small wooden crate that read "dry food". A couple
of water bottles sat beside a water bowl that had the word "Squid" scratched on
it. 
"Comfy," Juniper said as they neared Patch's "room".
"Squid?" He wondered out loud, glancing at his water bowl,
"somehow, I'm beginning to feel like someone's pet..."
"It's what they call new pirates," she replied, sitting on
top of a nearby crate, "in a sense, that's a good thing. At least they don't
hate you."
"True," he sighed, trying to find a way to climb inside of
the hammock.
"Have you ever slept in one of those?" She asked as he
struggled to climb into it.
"Nope," he replied, shakily settling into it, "I just hope I
don't fall out." He adjusting his pillow under his head as he slowly laid down.

"Other than that, it is pretty-"
Suddenly, he lost his balance as the hammock twisted under
him and caused him to fall out. He smacked the floor with a dense thud,
knocking the lamp over and dropping his sword with a loud clatter. 
Juniper covered her mouth and giggled as he pulled himself
off of the floor. 
"I'll get used to it..." he sighed, sitting against the wall
nearby while Juniper picked up the lamp.
"Try not to hurt yourself," she said, picking his sword up
and sliding it back in its sheath before handing it back to him.
"Th-thanks," he replied quietly, "I'll try not to." 
The two sat in silence for a while. It got darker outside as
the sun disappeared behind the horizon, leaving only the light from the lantern
(and some from the pier lights outside) illuminating the cargo bay.
"We should start thinking about our first move," Patch said,
glancing up at her, "I'm thinking we should check out nearby territories... like
Incarnadia or Navanna. Maybe even Caniridia."
"Incarnadia is definitely closer," Juniper replied, "we
could go there first and then cross over to Caniridia."
She glanced down, hiding her smile.
"What?" Patch asked nervously, sitting up.
"N-nothing," Juniper replied, brushing hair from her face,
"it's just... exciting..."
Patch chuckled and sat back. 
"It is isn't it?" He asked with a small smile, "I never
thought we'd be seriously considering this... yet here we are." 
They sat in silence, both in their own imaginations.
"I'm exhausted," Juniper finally said after a while. 
She stood up and stretched, "I think I'm going to get some
sleep..."
"Me too," Patch said, standing up, "I have a feeling that
tomorrow is going to be pretty long." 
"Don't say that..." Juniper replied as she headed up the
stairs to the residence deck, "goodnight patch."
"Night," he replied, focusing on climbing into his hammock. 
The rest of their training would go by in the same manner as
that day. The two woke up early in the morning to meet Captain Keira (or
Lieutenant Reka, when she returned) for their morning exercises. At the
beginning of each training week, Lieutenant Reka strapped them to the ship's
iron anchor and had them try to haul it out of the water together. "This is to
gauge your strength," she would say as they struggled to move it out of the
water, with no luck of course. Afterwards, they would perform their morning
exercises, focusing on strengthening different parts of their bodies each day.
They would alternate between running, swimming, weight lifting, and muscle
specific exercises before they were given a break to eat breakfast. At that
time, they met with their new instructor for that week. First, it was Vector
who taught them Escape and Evasion. Second, it was a saber tooth tiger
nicknamed "Fangs" who taught them how to hunt in a single pair rather than with
an entire pack.
"Focus on prey you two are capable of bringing down on your
own," he said as they would head out into the forest, "that, and prey that can
fill you both up for a while. Energy is the key to survival, and fresh meat is
where that energy comes from."
Their next training week was a series of simple tasks, such
as negotiating, trading, and foreign customs. The week after, they were given
medical and first aid training, in case one of them were injured in the midst
of their travels. The medical training was handled by the pirate nurse, Tracey,
who was a Valkyrie (a short, humanoid species with large wings and a long,
furry tail) with light brown hair, green eyes, and a calm demeanor. Among other
things, she taught them how to splint and maintain injured appendages as well
as how to recognize and treat common viruses, diseases, and infections. 
"Acting quickly can save your life," she would explain to
them, "knowing basic first aid could give an injured animal a better chance at
surviving his or her injuries. Also, make sure you always have a medical kit
with you, just in case."
As they learned more and more, their training became more
comprehensive. Most of it became reliant on what they learned before, such as
their survival training. It was taught by Hallow, the wolf they had met before.
Here, they learned how to survive in harsh environments. Though they were far
from the environments they were trained to survive in, the information was good
enough for them to replicate, should they need it. He taught them how to
determine if water was safe to drink or if scavenged meat was safe to eat. They
also learned the type of plants they could use as medicine or as remedies for
minor illnesses. Hallow taught them how to build shelter and keep warm in cold
or rainy environments, as well as how to stay cool and hydrated in arid ones.
He taught them how to dig temporary or long-term dens to live in and how to
make them hidden in plain sight. Among other tasks, he taught them map reading,
land navigation, and stealth movement techniques. At the end of that training, they
were given a comprehensive exam that was the most difficult out of all of them.
Having worked together and supported each other through the course of the exam,
they passed without issue.
"Your survival depends on how well you can exploit your
environment," Hallow explained at the end of their exam, "if you maintain the
skills I've taught you, you should have no problems surviving wherever you go."

For the next few weeks after that, they focused on both
armed and unarmed hand-to-hand combat with Captain Keira and Lieutenant Reka. Aside
from the weapons they were strongest with, the two were trained on others as
well. 
"It helps to always have a general knowledge of other
weapons too," Reka explained as she trained them on dual blades, "there may be
a time where you won't have your short sword, Patch, or when you run out of
arrows, Juniper. Whenever that time comes, you still have to protect yourself
in some way. I'm not expecting you to become masters in every weapon
imaginable, but I do expect you to at least get a feel for most of them." 
Out of all of the training they received, this one took the
longest to pass.
All of the training in general was extremely demanding and
intense, especially for wolves as young as they were. The two of them had very
little time to rest before they were forced into the next iteration of training
(after their morning exercises). There were times where one or both of them
failed, but ended up passing after practicing and assisting each other. Though
difficult, the intense training forged a tougher bond between the two of them.
Having covered themselves in mud to hide from improvised enemies, chased deer
through the plains, practice medical examinations, trudged through the survival
training (among other things), and fought back to back with several different
weapons, the two learned of each other's strengths and weakness. More
importantly, they learned how they could assist each other in their weakest
abilities. 
After the specialty training was completed, their daily
focus shifted on exercise. For weeks at a time, they spent entire days with
either Captain Keira or Lieutenant Reka, who forced them through demanding,
daily exercise schedules to help them strengthen up. Sometimes, the training
would last until nightfall and begin a few hours earlier than usual.
Altogether, they spent several weeks running, swimming, and doing muscle
specific exercises until one morning when they appeared on the deck to perform
their final strengthening test.  
"The key is to pull the anchor from the water and hold it
out for one full minute," Lieutenant Reka explained to them, "if you can do
that, then you're physical training will be over. Last week, you came close. If
you fail again, it'll be another week of waking up early... for me and for you...
so focus."
"You ready?" Patch asked Juniper as he tightened the straps
of his harness.
She nodded, staring at the ground in front of her in
anticipation.
"Okay, go for it," Reka said, stepping back. 
Together, they dug their claws into the wooden deck, scratching
up traction as they slowly pulled the anchor's chain along. 
Last time, they were able to pull the anchor out of the
water, however, were only able to hold it up for about forty seconds. 
After towing the Anchor's chain for a little while, they
reached a point marked on the deck, indicating that the anchor was completely
out of the water. 
"Okay, this is it," Patch said, trembling from the weight. 
Juniper adjusted her shoulders and legs.
"Just a minute right?" she asked, taking a breath, "longest
sixty seconds of my life..." 
They both lowered their heads, transferring the weight of
the anchor onto their shoulders. 
"We still have to plan our next move don't we?" Juniper
asked, trying to take her mind off of the pain.
"Y-yeah," Patch replied, staring at the ground, "we were
thinking about Incarnadia first right?" 
Juniper nodded, staring at the ground as well. 
"Maybe we could stop by and see your father," Patch
added.  
Juniper smiled and nodded again. 
The two stood together for what seemed like hours, sharing
the sheer weight of the anchor between the two of them alone.
"It usually takes eight guys to pull that thing up all of
the way," Reka said, watching them, "you should be proud of your improvement."
She stood up and pulled the lever on both of their
harnesses, releasing the anchor and sending them both flying forward onto the
deck. 
"You passed," she said casually.
In total, they spent four months in the hidden bay,
undergoing relentless training without a single day off. They had to hunt
together for food and endure short nights of rest and long days of training.
That was over now. Finally.
"Now the real fun begins," Reka said, headed below deck,
"since you're already well rested, I think it's time for the final exam." 
The final exam was a comprehensive test of skill that would
outline everything they learned over the course of the four month training
period. If they passed, Captain Keira would allow them to set off together on
their journey. If not... well... they weren't waiting to find out. 
"So you passed the physical training then?" Captain Keira
called out to them, appearing from below deck with Lieutenant Reka, "I'm
impressed." 
She stood at a distance, observing them before continuing.
"You both used to look like skinny little malnourished
pups," She said with a smile, "now you two look like you can take on the world.
I guess we'll see about that. Are you ready for your final exam?" 
"Of course!" Patch demanded confidently, "we've been waiting
months for this!" 
A small grin flashed across Captain Keira's face.
"Alright then," she replied, snapping her finger, "good luck
then." 
Suddenly, a bag covered Patch's face, and the arms of a
larger pirate wrapped around his neck and squeezed, cutting off his air. Before
Patch could struggle free, he blacked out, collapsing on the deck along with
Juniper, who had also been knocked out.
"Let the games begin," Captain Keira said, headed below
deck.

 

 
It was unclear how long he had been out, but it had to have
been for at least several hours. He felt weak. His stomach growled angrily and
his mouth was dry. When he regained consciousness, he was blindfolded. Both of
his arms had been handcuffed behind his back and he was seated in a chair with
his legs shackled. 
"Good evening Patch," Lieutenant Reka's voice said from
behind, "it's time for your final exam." 
She readjusted herself so that she was right in front of
him.
"Here's a practical exercise," she explained, "you and
Juniper were travelling along when you were abducted by evil pirates, hoping to
hold you hostage for a ransom or something. You've been tied up and blindfolded
for two days without food or water, and decided that now was the optimum time to escape. Your task is to do just that.
You and Juniper will escape this pirate ship without being captured and brought
back. You can do it however you please, but if you're captured again, you'll
fail. And if you fail, you can kiss your chance of adventure with Lady Juniper
goodbye." 
She stood up.
"The ship is full of patrolling pirates who know that you're
here, but don't know exactly when you will try to escape, so it's as real as we
can possibly make it. Luckily, your equipment is right here in this room. Use
all of the training you were given to make your way to the "safe zone"
designated on your map. There, you will remain undetected until sunrise. Good
luck. And remember, you and Juniper must both
escape to pass." 
He could hear her disappeared from the cell, closing the
door behind her.
This was it.
Carefully, he felt the edges of the chair that he had been
tied to.
"Wood," he whispered to himself as he began clawing a small
splint out of an edge of the chair. Once obtained, he carefully fashioned the
splint into the shape of a pick. Carefully, he inserted the pick into the
keyhole on the handcuffs and began working the lock. As soon as he came close,
the wooden pick snapped in half.
"Dammit," he muttered, clawing for a new one. 
His heart raced as the pressure of escape descended on him.
He could feel his paws trembling as he carefully scratched off another piece of
wood.
"Calm down," he thought to himself as his trembling caused
him to drop another piece, "relax..."
One he secured another improvised pick, he immediately went
to work on the lock.
To his relief, the second attempt was a success. One side of
the handcuffs click open as he quickly removed his blindfold. He had been taken
to the jail cells below deck, where he and juniper received their first level
of escape and evasion training. He glanced around, making sure it was clear
before working on the shackles around his legs. It took several more tries than
before (since the ankle shackles were more difficult to pick), but he ended up
successfully freeing himself from the chair. He quietly rushed over to the
stack of equipment left for him. Along with his sword and a few lock picks, he
was left with a compass and a map of the region. Quickly, he stashed his gear
in a bag left for him, rushed over to the door of the cell, and began working
on the lock with the picks that were provided. Just like before, the lock to
the cell clicked open and Patch slipped out of the jail room and into the cargo
bay. 
Judging by how dark the cargo bay was and the tiny amount of
light shining through the windows, he could tell that it was in the middle of
the night. He switched on his optics gene, an ability that caused his eyes to
glow and granted him perfect night vision and contrast, and started through the
area. A few pirates patrolled the cargo bay, which he quietly navigated
through. On his way, he caught sight of Juniper, who had escaped from the
engine room. She had an iron collar around her neck, which she quietly
unlocked, removed, and hid before exiting the engine room. Quietly, Patch
beckoned to her, trying to get her attention without alerting any of the
patrolling guards. Luckily, she caught sight of him. He pointed towards the
corner where his 'room' had been set up. He passed that area to get to where he
was now. He knew there weren't any pirates there. Juniper nodded and headed
that way as he climbed down to join her.
"Hey, glad you escaped," she whispered as they converged on
their meeting point.
"You too," Patch replied quietly, "we've got to find a way
out of here before they notice one of us is missing." 
"We should avoid the main deck if we can," Juniper replied,
"I heard a bunch of footsteps up there earlier. No doubt they've got that exit
covered." 
"Any other places we could escape from?" Patch asked,
glancing around, "there aren't many alternatives that I can see." 
"There are only two, conventional exits out of the cargo
bay, that I know of," Juniper explained, "One leads to the main deck, the other
is a mechanical door that opens up the side. We can't use that one because it's
loud, and we can't use the deck because of patrols... but there is another exit...
that I noticed..." 
"What is it?" Patch whispered, "Whatever it is, we're going
to have to take it." 
"Something called a 'capsize exit'," Juniper explained, "for
propeller repairs at sea, there is a small hatch in the engine room that allows
maintenance to get to the propellers from the bottom, rear of the ship through
an airlock. In our case, it'd allow us to escape. It'd be the quietest method
of escape, though pretty dangerous... there isn't any diving equipment in
there." 
"So we'll have to do it the old fashioned way," Patch
replied, "you up for it?"
Juniper nodded, "I guess there isn't any other way..." 
They quietly headed towards the engine room, which was right
beside the jail cells. Inside, the massive electric turbine engines of the ship
laid mounted next to each other along with all of their other components. The
airlock that led to the outside of the ship near the propellers sat at the
furthest wall, between the massive drive shafts that drove them. Without
wasting time, the two rushed inside, shutting the heavy, iron door behind them.

"Scared?" Patch whispered, activating his optics gene to be
able to see through the murky water.
"Terrified," she replied, turning hers on as well, "let's
get this over with before I lose my nerve..."
Patch pulled a lever in the airlock that was labeled 'Fill',
allowing the airlock to fill with water. 
"See you on the other side," Patch whispered as the water
level in the airlock began to rise. It was a tiny area being completely filled
with water. Not really the safest place to be. 
Juniper took a deep breath before they were completely
submerged in water. Quickly, she twisted the door to the exit until it slowly
popped open, exposing the outside of the ship. Both of the propellers sat
motionless as they swam through them towards the river bank. The airlock sat
several feet below the surface of the river, so they had to swim for quite a
while before reaching the surface. After a terrifying dive in the pitch-dark,
freezing river, and nearly running out of breath halfway through, the two
surfaced outside at the rear of the ship. The flowing of the river and the
symphony of chirping insects that populated the forest filled the area with
ambient noises as they swam to the riverbed. With the exception of a couple of
pier lights, it was pitch dark outside too.
"Let's never do that again..." Juniper sighed, catching her
breath, "did you get a map?" 
"Yeah," he replied, unfolding the waterproof map that he had
received with his equipment, "did you get anything?"
She shook her head, "they took my stuff to the main deck. It
would have been too risky to go after it."
"Right," Patch replied.
"In order to get to the 'safe area', we're going to have to
cross the bay," he said, glancing at the map, "the most hidden route would be
right around where the cabins are." 
"Let's get going then," she replied, standing up, "they
could notice us missing at any time and lock this place down."
Patch crept up the side of the riverbed and glanced at the
activity on the pier. Luckily for them, there were only a few guards that
patrolled the area. 
"There's only about four or five of them," Patch whispered,
"it doesn't look like they suspect a thing yet. If we stick close to the
cabins, we should be able to make it without being spotted." 
"Right," Juniper replied, following him. 
They snuck up the riverbed, towards the cabins where they
determined the most concealment would be. As they neared the forest line,
Captain Keira's voice flashed on the intercom. 
"Attention," she announced, "our two prisoners have gone
missing. All personnel on high alert. Find them, now!" 
Juniper and Patch's hearts dropped at the announcement. 
"Things just got a lot harder," Juniper sighed.
"We can do this," Patch replied, "It was bound to happen
anyway. Follow me." 
The bay became louder with pirates out searching for the two
of them. Spotlights lit up the bay and river as they quickly scanned the area
looking for them.
At least twenty more patrols rushed from the ship and into
the area, covering every inch of the area surrounding the ship.
Patch quickly led Juniper behind the cabins and, when it was
clear, into the forest beside them. With their night vision activated, they
could see another group of pirates patrolling the forest they were in. Behind
them, the other patrols had lined up to comb the forest in the other direction.
"They're headed right for us," Juniper whispered, "at this
rate, we'll be caught right in the middle of them. Let them pass," Juniper
whispered, quietly digging into the leaf-litter of the forest to bury herself,
"we'll have to assume that the mud from the river did a decent job hiding our
scents..." 
"Alright," Patch replied, sneaking a short distance away
before burying himself under the leaf litter too. 
"They couldn't have gotten far," One of the pirates said to
another, passing by Juniper without noticing.
"Probably still on the ship," the other replied, "no one got
out through the upper deck. I can't think of any other way to get off aside
from that." 
The other patrols converged on each other before continuing.
One side reached the bay while the other side went deeper into the forest
before turning around and combing back through a second time.
As they passed, Juniper and Patch waited a while before
regrouping. Once the patrol column had returned to bay, they quietly emerged
from their hiding spots.
"That was close," Juniper said, rejoining him, "one of them
stepped on my tail a couple of times... How much more do we have to go?"
"Not very long," Patch replied, "the safe area is only a few
miles northwest of here... though once we get to the safe area, we'll have to
remain undetected until sunrise." 
"We can build a hidden den," Juniper replied, brushing some
leaves off of her fur, "they won't find us there." 
Patch nodded and advanced deeper into the forest, Juniper
following.
It was obvious that the pirates didn't anticipate Juniper
and Patch escaping so quickly. Although a forest patrol had been set up, most
of them went off and aided the search in the bay area. This gave the two enough
time to make it to the safe area undetected. Juniper searched for a
large-rooted tree to dig under while Patch kept watch. 
"I honestly thought this was going to be a lot more
difficult," Juniper whispered, "You know that we were out for two days?" 
"That would explain why I'm so hungry," Patch replied,
keeping his ears up, "and thirsty too..." 
"Found one," Juniper said, digging under the roots of a
large tree, "it might be a tight fit though."
"Find by me," Patch replied, "as long as we'll stay hidden
for a while." 
Patch kept watch as Juniper hollowed out enough space for
them to fit under the tree branch. She then hid the freshly excavated dirt a
safe distance away before coating their den in fallen leaves and moss. 
"Nice," Patch said as she put on the final touches.
"Now we wait," she replied, climbing inside. 
There was just enough room for the two of them to squeeze
uncomfortably inside. Once in, Juniper covered the entrance with more fallen
leaves, completely hiding them away. 
"You know, maybe this really would have been difficult,
except we were a lot better prepared now than before," Patch whispered, getting
comfortable.
"That's got to be it," Juniper replied with a light smile,
"I guess it was a good idea dragging us through all of that training." 
"I'm certainly glad we did it," he replied, "after tonight,
it'll finally be over too." 
"Then the real fun
begins," Juniper replied, with a smile. 
The two laid together in silence for a few hours, every
small sound outside jerking them awake before they had a chance to fall asleep.
Being knocked out for a couple of days didn't really help either. With the fear
of being discovered always looming above their heads, neither of them were able
to relax for a while. Eventually, the forest around them fell silent, with the
exception of a few insects. No evidence of patrols came by for a while,
allowing them to finally drift off to sleep.   
The rays of the morning sun pierced through holes in the
den's cover as Patch slowly woke up, not too much time after he had fallen
asleep. The sound of cicadas buzzing in the forest filled the air as he slowly
dug through the covering of the den. 
"Hey," he whispered, shaking Juniper awake, "we made it."
Juniper's eyes opened slowly and she quickly covered her
face to protect her eyes from the bright sun.
"We passed," Patch whispered with a smile.
"We did, didn't we?" Juniper replied with a smile. She tried
to hide the pure joy that filled her heart at those words. There was no more
training, no more tests... it was just the two of them and the world now. Months
of painful, rigorous, and exhausting testing came to this moment. The moment
where she would be free to chase her dreams with Patch. Tears poured from her
eyes as Patch laid down beside the tree trunk.
"It doesn't even seem real does it?" He asked, laying back against
the tree, "like... is this really happening?"
He glanced over at Juniper, who tried to hide the fact that
she was crying. Her face was covered in tears, but with a big smile on her
face. Before Patch could say anything, she wrapped her arms around his neck and
hugged him tightly, burying her face in the fur on his neck. Instead of saying
anything, he hugged her back. 
"We did it," Juniper repeated to herself. 
"We're free..."  
     

Source: https://sofurry.com/view/928257

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