Standing aligned with these private cadets right here while in a snap of putting our arms at our back when our squad leader commanded, I felt embarrassed about the slow response I had. I wandered my eyes around to check if someone caught my delay. But, I felt more awkward after seeing those serious, tiger-looking faces of my fellow cadets. Their forehead wrinkled while giving a strong impression on their eyes.
When I glanced at my back to see the reaction of a random girl, she did not look at me, not even for a millisecond. She was wearing a ponytail with slightly curved eyebrows, which made her looked sad. But because of how she looked straight, her expression changed.
Should I also follow what they did? Ah, I was not prepared for this. Hanaele and Cassius have not told me anything about this.
"Pst! Sophia, what are you doing?" Flora called my attention in the softest volume of her voice, after noticing the unnecessary movements I made. Well, that's what they call it here. In an instant, I faced her. She stole a glimpse around us to see that nobody will notice our conversation. Luckily, she was just beside me.
I lean a little bit nearer to her. She still stood upright while making sure to maintain making her chin upwards. "I don't know what to do. I wasn't informed ahead of. You didn't even tell me."
"Well, I thought Hanaele already told you, so I didn't mind making thoughts about it." I closed my eyes in slight frustration after hearing her response. I knew it.
When I turned back to the position I had a while ago, facing in the platform, I was startled to see the guy officer in his military suit of mixed chocolate brown and a red, specialized hat. Sophia reacted the same, but compared to mine, she went back to her position as if nothing happened.
In the surprise of knowing that it wasn't our squad leader, Larch, who caught us, I quickly looked for him in every line. Then, I spotted him standing like what we were doing.
Oh, wait! So, he wasn't the one who will be going to command our squad now? Well, it makes sense. Though he is a squad leader, he is also a cadet like us, and scolding us isn't his responsibility. I guess.
"What do you think you two are doing?" My attention went back to the officer, who looked pissed. His eyes were sharp as they glared closely at my eyes.
Although he sounded calm, I can still feel the irritation he had. I gathered all my strength before I looked at him back. Honestly, this new environment I am in right now brings me a feeling of unsettlement.
"Cadete Private Flora MacQuoid is requesting the permission to re-enter the rank, sir!" The loud, thin child-like voice of Flora surprised me. She stood straight while raising her right hand, pointing towards the left side of her forehead. And because of this uniform gesture they had, it looked like it covered half of her face in a slant. She looked straight towards the eyes of the officer. She remained at her position, except for her head twisted towards the right to face him. She sounded different right now, maybe because we're in the military prospect.
The officer glanced at me for a while before going nearer to Flora. He positioned himself in front of her while Flora was still retaining her recent posture. "Next time, do not dare to interrupt the cadet who doesn't know discipline. Understood?" His voice was bold and full of diction. Does he referring to me?!
The officer then stood straight and did the same hand sign. At this time, the tip of his right fingers placed beside the side of his eye. "You may."
When Flora heard his confirmation, she twisted her head, sliding away from her right hand, which made it settled at the right side of her forehead. She faced the officer. Flora waited for him to release the gesture. Their eyes were like talking with each other, but I guess it was just part of the norms in the military. After the officer cleared his hand, Flora put her arm down beside her tight, making a snappy sound.
And now that the sudden commotion was done, the officer then stepped back to me. I glanced at his suit and I noticed a tag that was intentionally sewed with his name and rank on it.
'Raven Sinag, Commander of Agila Force Detachment'
-
"Hello, Sophia!" I almost had a heartache when Flora's hands attached to my shoulders from the back. She surprised me out of the silence. She even jumped, putting a heavy tension on my back.
Right in front of me laid hundreds of armaments that everyone can freely use, and I was choosing one of them for my training. Commander Raven told me to think of the areas I would like to use during a battle. Phew. That information was pretty good than scolding me back again. Maybe he was just being considerate since I am a newbie in a flash. Lol.
Due to my surprise, I placed my right palm on my chest to calm myself. My eyes were startled in thoughts of making me feel collapsing because of what Flora did.
"What the fudge, Flora! You almost killed me to death!" I exclaimed.
She excitingly positioned herself at my side while wiggling her two fists below her chin. Well, she looks cuter in doing it. "So, what position are you training for?~" She asked with her eyes twinkling like there's something worth being excited for.
I neglected her witty approach and continued touching some different weapons while responding to her. "I can't decide. I don't even know how to use these things, even one of them."
She sat on the wooden table with force while swaying her legs. She kept wagging her head while looking at the sky. "Hm..." She murmured.
While waiting for her response, I accidentally touched a sharp object approximately twenty-four to thirty centimeters long, and it has a curving shape that starts from the blade ridge to the curved edge which made it looked like too pointed. There is also a metallic silver with brown cord wrap above.
"Oh, you like to be an assassin?" Flora asked while chewing a mango. The disturbing sound of her teeth and the food caught my attention. I didn't even notice that she was bringing food. But, wait! Isn't it forbidden to eat without the commander's permission?!
"You're eating eh?" I said, raising my eyebrows. I made a gesture through my eyes as if it was pointing towards Commander Raven, who was assisting a cadet to shoot properly.
Flora followed the direction of my eyes, but instead of making sure to avoid being warned by the commander, she just shrugged her shoulders and continued to take a bite. "Psh."
"Yeah, I am hungry. Whatever~"
As I continued to watch over this weapon that caught my attention, she continued to speak. "You have not answered my question yet." She reminded. She was referring to the choice I am making.
I turned this sword around to check if it's what I want to use. I also want to make sure that there were no physical defects. "Maybe...I guess..."
"Eh? You're not sure?"
"Although I want to try having this equipment with me, I just don't think I am good at it. I mean, this looks difficult to use." I was aware that I have doubts about my capacity. In the first place, I have no interest to join this regiment anyway.
"You haven't started training yet, but you're beginning to bring yourself down."
"Well, hell yeah. I don't know how to fight. That's not my forte! Besides, I was recruited from nowhere. Hanaele's appearance was too random just to pick me and let me join this stuff."
"Why is that so? Isn't fun to learn something new? Just enjoy!~" She raised both of her arms in the air, swaying it around while trying to cheer me up.
Ah, what she did was unnecessary. "Tsk, I was just force to do this."
"Oh come on! I would be happy if you choose to battle with a sword so that we could be a training partner.~"
"What?" I looked at him with confusion. My forehead narrowed while giving her a questionable look. I carefully placed the sword back to the table, yet nearer to me.
She was smiling as she was getting a long armor that fits on her elbows with a small circular hole in it and a sharp arrow. Some stripes will avoid the armor from falling. It actually looks like a thin pipe, Also, I think there are ropes inside of it. Those look tiny, but surely it's not that easy to break because of its purpose to be used in a battle.
She shook the armor in front of me, and a proud, excited face was evident. She made her cheeks look bigger by smiling big. "I decided to undergo training with this! Yay!~"
She screamed in happiness, as she closed her eyes and making her arms closer to her chest. She was facing above while straightening her legs. Because of what she did, I consciously roamed my eyes to the co-trainees around us. They glanced in our direction, and probably wondering about the commotion.
I slapped her knee because of embarrassment. "Sh! You're so loud!"