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.

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.

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.

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.

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)