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Jackson Alex-Ren ~----------------------~ Jackson paused when the chaperone told them to take a break. He just stayed standing instead of dramatically falling down. He frowned. Yeah... he had also lost that in the years Sage was gone. He wasn't as... dramatic, anymore. He held his tired self easily, with years of taught practice. He glanced at Sage. "... why weren't any of the other options feasable?" He asked, realizing that that didn't make any sense. He was in good shape... He could totally play sports. ".. does it have something to do with your hand?" He asked curiously, tilting his head. It seemed a stretch, but he wanted to know- Your intruding. He'll yell. Jackson winced. "Shit- sorry. Ignore that. Ignore me." He scrambled to get the words out quickly. He looked away, examining the entrance of the cave. Wow... he lost a lot... A lot more then he thought. He didn't used to apologize so much. Jesus... Get your head on straight and learn to lie, you useless thing. He scrunched his nose up, but agreed. Jackson quickly fixed his face, avoiding Sage's eyes and looking back at the rest of the group.
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Sage glanced around at the other kids, all of them complaining. He could feel his nose wrinkling in distaste, and he probably just looked like some smug bastard. That wasn't at all what he was thinking, though....but he couldn't tell them what he was thinking. No way could he do that. He glanced over at Jackson when the other man spoke up again, his question catching him off guard. His eyebrows skyrocketed before shaking his head as Jackson quickly apologized. "No, it's all right. I suppose it doesn't make much sense," he admitted with a sheepish chuckle, drawing his lip into his mouth again as he thought. "I got ...injured. A landmine went off next to me. That's why I'm here instead of still on a battlefield," he noted quietly, jaw tightening slightly. "So no sports, unfortunately. I can't really use this arm much at the moment," he explained, figuring that would give a decent explanation without mentioning the fact that he'd just lost the thing. Then he wrinkled his nose. "Besides, if I got into something that was a contact sport I don't know how I'd handle it," he admitted. "After three years of anyone running at you, you need to kill...." He sort of trailed off and shrugged, not sure how to finish the scentence. He'd figured he'd said enough, anyway.
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Jackson Alex-Ren ~----------------------~ Jackson made another face. See? Way worse then your pathetic 'trauma.'" He winced. "Yeah... that makes sense." He muttered, shifting uncomfortably. He sighed in relief as they continued up to the cave. The other students were chatting or complaining as the chaperone led them into the gave. Jackson hesitated at he entrance of the cave, glancing at Sage worriedly as the other male walked inside the cave. He felt a boutique of nausea forming in the pit of his stomach again. Yeah- no... Jackson took a step back, looking at a rock near by. He walked over and sat down on it, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around his bony torso. He gagged quietly and sighed. Jackson looked to the side, staring out into the forest. The chilly air of the mountains brushed through his hair, curly his brown and purple locks around his face. He made a face at the taste of bile in his throat. Ugh... Feels like he was sick all of the time...
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Sage sort of hummed and nodded in response to Jackson's comment, letting out a huff of air after a moment. "Maybe in a few months, or next year I'll get into something," he noted, doubting it but he supposed he could hope he could at least get somewhat back to normal in a little while. He stood around for a while until the chaperone started shooing people inside the cave. He sort of trailed behind the group, eyeing the darkness warily. He wasn't so sure he'd appreciate...any of this. He glanced to his side, and when he didn't see Jackson there, he sort of looked around before backing up a few steps and leaving the darkness of the cave. "You alright," he asked gently, frowning slightly when he noticed Jackson standing outside. He obviously wasn't ...he would have followed the group if everything was fine ...but he didn't have to talk to him if he didn't want to. Maybe this would be an excuse to stay outside though. He had to admit....the enclosed space wasn't appealing to him. Not at all.
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Jackson Alex-Ren ~----------------------~ Jackson jolted, looking up at Sage and frowning. "Uhm... Uh..." He looked away and sighed. "... just don't feel good." He muttered, staring out at the woods with a frown. Ugh... he felt sick to the stomach. Well you should have had some water. He flinched. Yeah... that's true. Water would be nice. He let hid legs fall down, pressing against the ground. He smiled weakly at Sage. "Don't worry about me. My stomach just... hurts." Jackson said with a nod. Maybe he should have eaten breakfast... No. Just have a small lunch. Or don't. He felt his vision spotting and quickly blinked it away, breath hitched. The black spots vanished and helet out the air in a sigh. He stood, looking down at Sage. "What did you need?" He asked tiredly.
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Sage pursed his lips slightly when Jackson said he just didn't feel good, and nodded slowly. It made sense...the guy did look rather terrible at the moment. He probably should have noticed that earlier and slowed down his pace or.... something. He suddenly felt a bit guilty about talking about the war and his own problems when his friend was obviously struggling right beside him. He noticed he was chewing on his lip again, so he moved to play with the ring in an attempt to not harm himself accidentally. At his next comment he sort of grunted and moved to wander closer to Jackson, plopping down beside him with a grunt. "I need an excuse to not go wander around in there," he noted. "Which is you," he added with a sort of grin, toning it as a sort of joke to hopefully cheer the other man up. He held his water bottle over to him as he spoke, since it was one of the ones where it just squirted out if you squeezed it. He didn't mind at all if Jackson had some...he had noticed he wasn't carrying one of his own. And water was....kinda important. "I'm perfectly alright with staying outside," he noted with a shrug. "Haven't had any time to just relax....I don't mind sitting here with you at all. It's sort of nice, actually," he admitted, attempting to reassure Jackson he really was ok with sticking with him.
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Jackson Alex-Ren ~----------------------~ Jackson took the water from him, "Thanks..." He muttered, though he didn't drink it, instead swinging it between his fingers as he stared at the plastic. He frowned and sighed again, handing the water back and shoving to standing. "I'm alright, thanks." He said. Though he felt unsteady on his feet, quickly standing himself so he wasn't going to just fall over. Yet. Jackson glanced around an his eyes landed on the head of- a horse? Before Jackson could really hint about it, he had already begun making his way to it. Great- he didn't lose his curiosity apparently. The black mustangs ears shot up in alert as Jackson got closer. It reared, whinnying loudly and darting off. Jackson watched it go with interest. He was adly interrupted by the shock of nausea. He buried his face in his elbow, gagging and coughing against it. Once the bout of nausea had... softened, he glanced back at Sage before looking back to where the hose vanished.
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Sage sort of hummed with a nod when Jackson took the water, sort of shrugging him off when he wound up deciding not to drink anything from it. That's was fine...he must really just not be feeling well. He figured he was right when the guy started gagging again, and he sighed slightly. That sucked. His head jerked up when he started walking away, cocking his head slightly as he saw the horse, getting to his feet and wandering down in that direction, peering over at where the horse went curiously. "Oh, no way in hell we're just letting that thing leave," he huffed, moving to crawl down the slope and wander after it, his impulsive nature getting the better of him. He'd completely forgotten about the group or any consequences this may have, he just wanted to follow this horse. Maybe they'd find his herd or something. He wasn't sure if Jackson would want to come with, but by God he was gonna track this horse.
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Jackson Alex-Ren ~----------------------~ Jackson didn't hesitate to follow after Sage walked by and began down the slope. He began following, though he was more cautious of where he put his feet. He had a feeling if he fell he'd probably just die- Jackson breathed out in relief as his feet touched the solid-ish ground of a large field. "... woah." He mumbled. The field was planted in a large clearing, no trees within the grassy area. A large river ran through the field, and a herd of horses grazed near it. Despite feeling worse then shit, he began walking closer. Not to close- that would be a disaster. He saw the black mustang from earlier, grazing idly in the field, a black foal bouncing around it. He smiled slightly. "... that's pretty cute." He mumbled out, watching quietly. Birds chirped behind them, the river flowed off to the side of them, filling the silence.
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Sage scrambled down the slope eagerly, sliding after the horse quickly and quietly...though when he heard Jackson moving along after him he paused and waited for him to catch up. He'd forgotten that the guy wasn't really used to moving through forests or whatever. And he definitely wasn't quiet .. but that was more amusing than anything he thought. His jaw dropped when they came across the herd, quickly fucking down behind a fallen tree and tugging Jackson along with him, so as not to spook them. He didn't feel like being attacked by a horse at this exact moment. "yeah," he murmured, watching the horses mess about and wishing he still had a family like that. It would have solved so many problems. (Bit short I'm heading out) Edited at October 14, 2024 09:46 AM by NightClan
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