Camp ?? I hate camp

[Jack]

OOC: If you want to join pm me, otherwise closed for Phoenix only.

IC:

Jack sat there looking at the list of thongs he had to find, this was the last task of their one week grueling camp, Jack being one of the pillars had to go on the stupid camp, Kevala had forced him, he wondered why Guy and Kazuya had disappeared from sight, they didn't want to be forced on the camp. The Varsity captain in turn would force his trusty companion Phoenix to tag along and thus after four days of shit food, sleepless nights they were on their last few nights in this shit hole called North America Canada. Jack had convinced Phoenix to tag along, on one condition, it was part of their training, was it worth it? no one knows. Jack had promised Phoenix that he still had mountains to climb and well Jack always goes through on his promises. What better place then America's largest national park then to do some good ol' mountain climbing.

"Yo Phoenix, where are you?"

Jack would ask as he woke up stepping out of his tent, looking for the male, thinking he was A) taking a leak somewhere or B) still asleep Jack decided to go behind a tree and empty himself.

"Hey man, I think we're close, ummm you remember that day you came to #774 for the first time? and remember when I told you that you had improved but you still had a mountain to climb, well I wasn't joking, you have a friggin mountain to climb."

[Phoenix]

Phoenix saw only darkness. A wry smile playing across his lips as he remembered scenes from what seemed like a past life. The sounds, smells and sights of the memory were so vivid that Phoenix could almost imagine that he was back there.

Slowly opening his eyes, Phoenix saw the rising sun and the setting stars in a display of beauty that can’t be seen from the cities. Admiring the site before him, he remembered the power of the elements, the primordial powers that had been the basis of beliefs for many of the great ancient civilisations and, most importantly, he remembered the powers that lay within him. Clenching his fists into a tight fist, Phoenix knew that he had to concentrate on his training so that he could become the person he wanted to be.

Taking step forward, he would kneel down on the ground and close his mind to the outside world, focusing his devious intellect upon himself, he would meditate in complete silence. After ten minutes, he was ready and slowly closed his eyes. Once again, the blackness engulfed his senses. Before, he had merely been closing his eyes, this time, however, Phoenix shut off all of his senses. Drawing upon all of his power, he would battle against his own body and mind for hours until the sun was distinctly over the horizon. Returning his senses to their original state, he was confident that this meditation was aiding him with his training.

Standing up, he could hear his companion calling for him. The meditation helped his training by calming his mind and focusing his power for the day ahead, sighing, Phoenix knew that it wasn’t the training that was proving to be the hardest thing to deal with on this camp, more so, there was a more difficult thing that he had to constantly deal with. Turning his back to the stunning view, Phoenix would walk over towards the place where Jack had been sleeping whilst he had been meditating.

“Of course I remember.”

Phoenix looked at Jack nonchalantly, wondering to himself how Jack could forget that he had an eidetic memory.

[Jack]

“Of course I remember.”

"hehehe, Just checking"

Jack's sinister smirk would creep on his face, Phoenix and Jack had been training a lot, some would say it took a lot of brain power to block everything out, Jack would argue otherwise. Whether or not Phoenix had gathered by now they were travelling at a lot slower pace than everyone else, the fact that they may have cheated here or there was beside the point. Jack wanted to use this week so he and Phoenix could continue their unfinished training. Last night Jack went for a run, scouting the area he had found three other groups nearby that were doing the same challenge as Phoenix and Jack. Jack had possessed the only copy of the task list, Phoenix having committed it all to memory didn't need one. From what Jack had gathered the meeting point was on the other side of the upcoming ridge, there was a track that lead straight through the otherwise treacherous and dangerous mountains. Jack and Phoenix however would climb the mountain and go the length of the mountain range until they got to the pass, this is where they would set up their ambush, why search for all the equipment when one could simply steal it all.

"Right, Phoenix we have three more days left, in these three days we have to get to that peak, from there we'll have a 24 hour hardcore training session and it will be hardcore. Before moving onto the pass we’ll rest for a bit. There once we’ve rested and prepared ourselves for the little ambush that night. "

Pulling out a map, Jack would throw it onto the ground, crouching around it Jack would point to where they were. Pointing to the mountain that they were going to climb which ran parallel to the trek that they were on, his finger would trace along the mountain range. These next 72 hours would be hell for Jack not to mention Phoenix.

"Once we get to the pass, we must decide on where we move. Is it to the right side where there would be more campers with the equipment we want, who are probably weaker and sacrifice a few hours or the left side where there would be less campers and a less chance of getting the equipment we need because they are most likely stronger. Although, I think it would be safe to assume that those on the far side of the pass already have everything because they’re making their way straight to the pickup point. From the pass the pickup point is about half a day’s walk at a comfortable speed although I’m sure we’ll do it in a fraction of the time."

Jack didn't have to pause to let Phoenix register everything, Phoenix had memorized everything he had showed and told him, only thing stopping Jack from throwing away the map was the fact that there was a chance that he and Phoenix could get separated and he may require it then.

“Do you have any suggestions, or general questions?”

[Phoenix]

Phoenix listened carefully to Jack as he outlined what was going to occur in the next three days and then what was going to happen in the 24 hours that followed. Demonstrating his points with a map, Jack was as long winded as ever and as usual, there were at least three better routes that Phoenix could see on the map than the one that Jack had outlined but, nonetheless, the extra mileage and training would prove beneficial to Phoenix in the long run and as such, he decided not to mention anything to Jack.

“Looks like you’ve got everything figured out Jack. I’ve got nothing to suggest until we set up for the ambush.”

Having memorised the map previously and having memorised Jack’s instructions meant that Phoenix knew exactly where he was supposed to be and when he was supposed to be there at any given point during the exercise. Deciding that there was no point in wasting any time, Phoenix walked back towards the base camp and managed to cram all of his belongings and clothes into his rucksack and slide the, now, disassembled tent into the side pocket of the same pack. Shouldering the pack, Phoenix would look over to see how Jack was doing and if Jack was lagging behind in the packing up phase, he would lend Jack a hand so that they could set off quicker.

“Time to set off. Don’t you think so, Jack?”

Kicking dirt on the remnants of the fire from last night, Phoenix would make sure that it was completely dead and not emitting any heat whatsoever before walking over to a tree and relieving himself. Turning back towards the site where the camp had been and satisfied that it was as it had been before they had arrived, Phoenix would look towards the behemoth of a mountain that Jack had said they were to climb. Shrugging almost nonchalantly, Phoenix would turn to Jack and by his leave would begin to jog alongside Jack towards the growing silhouette of the mountain.

[Jack]

“Looks like you’ve got everything figured out Jack. I’ve got nothing to suggest until we set up for the ambush.”

“right”

Jack would crack his neck and back and he stretched, packing the map up, he placed it inside his pack, moving to his sleeping bag he rolled it up placing it at the top of pack he’d need it the most in this next twenty four hour period. Grabbing a large warm coat he rearranged his pack so he had warm waterproof clothes at the top and all his other crap at the bottom. Packing his tent up, neatly and correctly Jack would place the protective covering around it and slid it beside his pack, securely in a little holster designed for these type of tents. Jack would shoulder his pack, his eyes scanning the ground for any rubbish, if there was anything that didn’t belong there Jack would grab a plastic bag and pick it all up. Tying the plastic bag to the bottom of his bag he would move up to Phoenix who by now had been ready for some time.

“Time to set off. Don’t you think so, Jack?”

“I agree”

Jack watched as Phoenix went off kicking dirt on the remnants of the fire that kept them warm the previous night, he stayed there for a few seconds making sure that it was completely dead before walking off to do his business. Phoenix would turn to Jack and together they would begin to jog following the track which would lead them to another campsite where they could dump any un needed junk. Jack looked up at the ever Jack growing silhouette of the mountain, that toward over them. A smirk on his face, this training would be unlike anything that Phoenix would have experienced, taking this directly from most military training Jack would begin to prepare Phoenix for real life combat situations where it was kill or be killed.

They continued their forced pace for a good two hours before they broke into a clearing, Jack would come to a crawl before stopping looking at Phoenix he would motion his head off to the mountain. There was a tree marked with a red sash on the far left hand side of the clearing a drop toilet off to the right with adequate camping space either side of the track.

“Right, dump any rubbish in the bins, go to the toilet if you have to, the next twenty four hours from here are going to be mortal hell. Meet back here in ten.”

Jack would say as he walked over to one of the various bins untying his plastic bag he dropped it into the bin, rummaging through the pack he would produced two similar bags dropping them all in the bin. He then strolled off to the toilet and come back a few minutes later rubbing his hands with a disinfectant. Jack would wait for Phoenix if he wasn’t already there when he got back. It was still early morning, maybe around 9 am. Jack would walk to a tap nearby and will up his water skin that held ten litres, once he filled it up he would open his pack up and find his food pouch. Pulling out come muesli cereal Jack would wash his bowl and go about mixing the powdered milk with enough water, filling his bowl with muesli Jack would get a clean spoon and sit down munching away. Phoenix would no doubt be doing his own thing, Jack would eat in silence concentrating on digesting the food. However long it took once both males had finished Jack would wash his bowl and spoon pack his food away and then shoulder his large pack.

“We ready?”

Once they were ready Jack and Phoenix would begin to jog toward the far side of the camping area. Break through the tree and begin to jog up the hill which at this point was still a gentle gradient.

[Phoenix]

Phoenix looked over towards Jack as they ran together. He was glad for Jack’s companionship as it provided a chance for them to reacquaint themselves with each other. The move from New York had been a different experience from the type of transfers that Phoenix was used to. Phoenix could remember the distinct moments throughout his life where he had been forced to move for survival. Fleeing Australia under a false identity from the hate of his parents and the school that had imprisoned him for more than half of his life and then, after a few years, escaping from England from the underground world that had threatened to consume him. The memories came unbidden to Phoenix’s mind as he relived the moments whilst he and Jack ran side by side through the frosty morning air. The memories coupled with the changing scenery allowed the flow of time to pass by quickly and uneventfully.

Before Phoenix knew it, the two of them had run into one of the clearing that had been specifically marked out on the map for a rubbish dump and toilet stop. Changing his pace from a jog to a walk, Phoenix would his single rubbish bag and place it into the bin before taking off his pack and placing it next to a nearby tree. The bag was placed against the tree at an angle that made it impossible for it to fall over so that none of the carefully packed contents were broken or shifted. After making sure that this was so, Phoenix would walk over to an upturned tree trunk and sat down on it, waiting for Jack to finish his breakfast. Phoenix had eaten before he had begun meditating that morning.

Halfway through Jack’s breakfast Phoenix ran out of water. Standing up from the tree trunk, Phoenix would make his way over to the tap and begin to fill his water skin up to the brim. The running water triggered a natural response in Phoenix’s body and he rushed to relieve himself against a tree once again. Coming back to find his water skin overflowing, Phoenix would quickly turn off the tap and dry off the water skin on a nearby leaf so that it didn’t get the outside of his pack wet.

Phoenix would return to the clearing to hear Jack asking if he was ready to leave.

“Naturally.”

Without waiting for a response Phoenix would turn on his heal and begin to jog through the thin forest surrounding the clearing until the ground started increasing in gradient.