Prepping the Platoon

Roan stood out on the back lawn, with his hands on his hips, casting gaze towards the bright sun. "It was a good decision to hold the first class outside. The sun is surely in a nice setting."

Today would be the first day of his course on "Leadership, Teamwork, and Tactics". Of course, today would be very light, more so an introduction to the course than anything else. His purpose here was to gather subjective information from his pupils.

The situation felt nostalgic, somehow. It reminded him of his days at the academy, where the tough love was poured on extra thick. He took a deep breath. "You can leave the academy, but you never leave those experiences behind. Hopefully, I'm capable to replicating that feeling with this class."

They needed to be properly prepared. There was no telling what faced this young group outside the walls of this compound, so they needed to know how to come together. You don't just slap a bunch of pieces of a board and expect a picture to form. The pieces have to fit together for it to work.

Adjusting the hilt of his sword, Raigeki, Roan sat in evenly-trimmed grass. He did an excellent job of grooming the greenery around the school and it made for good practice. "I wonder if anyone can tell the lawn work's been getting done by sword?" He kept a quiet snicker hidden inside, until his ear flicked. Setting himself up straight, he awaited the closely approaching sound of grass under foot.

Skylar, being the first one out of the Danger Room, made it outside before the others. Looking around, she saw a man standing in the middle of the lawn. She walked towards him, breathing the fresh air in through her nostrils. The sun felt good, warming her black hair and sending energy pulsing through her limbs. Immediately she balled her fists and stopped swinging her arms. Being so relaxed but so full of energy wasn't a good idea. Hoping no one would notice her sudden tension, she quickened her pace. When Skylar was a yard away from Roan she sat down on the lush green grass and looked up at the man.

Hikuro get out from the danger room and he was ready for the second class. He walked to a field outside of the building. "Well some fresh air is always good…" He walked until he found two people in the field, he decide to go to them. "Yo Sky… nice weather huh?" Hikuro tried to cheer up a little Skylar since the last class was a mass for him. "Yo Sensei, I'm ready" He said while looking at the teacher standing in front of him.

Smiling slightly, Skylar nodded. "Yeah, it's nice to have such a sunny day." She hoped he didn't wonder about her mood change. But if he did, hopefully he just thought it was because of the class. Showing emotions was one of her least favorite things to do, especially around guys. They always tried to comfort you and Skylar hated that. She could take care of herself.

Loika brought up the tail of the group. She was so embarrassed from the last class that she didnt particularly want to look anyone in the face. So she came to the next class in her wolf form.
She trotted across the lawn and sat next to sky and panted. Her tail wagged a little as she looked up at sky. Sky seemed to be the only person that she could relate to sometimes. At least she hadnt been the only one to loose her temper. Though she had alot more control than loika did. Loika envied her for that.
She closed her eyes and nuzzled sky's leg. If only for comfort.

Skylar looked over at Loika, seeing her in dog form she smiled. Leaning in she whispered, "You know it wasn't that bad, I'm the one he picked off the ground and then dropped." She chuckled, her tone somewhat genial. In all reality Loika was probably the most out of control in her temper, and thus was the most embarrassed by Ghost, but Skylar had been the one who was too afraid to fight. That to her was being a coward and was worse than going to far and not giving up. At least Loika tried. Skylar ran her hand over Loika's head and looked up at Roan once again.

Roan greeted each of his pupils as they arrived. Soon time came for the class to begin, but only three students had shown up so far. "Hmm," he pondered to himself as he sat in the grass staring silently at his small group, " I thought there would be more of you, but this is fine. If there are any stragglers, they can be dealt with as they come."

Though the turnout was small he was grateful for the few who did show up. If these were to be his only three, he would craft three mighty pillars to hold back the sun and keep the sky from falling. He nodded to himself in agreement.

"Alright, it's about time to begin. For those who might not know, my name is Roan Sield and the handle I go by is Free Frog. You may address me however you see fit. Mainly, this course is about achieving results, because that's what every situation comes down to. 'Can you achieve those results?'"

He took in a small breath before continuing. "You'll be learning how to achieve results individually and cooperatively, through leadership, teamwork, and tactics. Are there any questions so far?"

Loika cocked an eyebrow at Roan. Was this guy serious? Shed only known these people for a day and she was supposed to trust them? Though Sky didnt seam so bad.... even though she literally treated Loika like a dog. We are going to have to work on that. Wolf and dog. Theres a diff.
When he greated her she had only given Roan a nod and took her place next to Sky. she merely watched him warily. Would this professor pull tricks like the last one? She had enough power battles for one day.

"Ok" Hikuro just respond that while looking at the teacher. "Leadership? i hate that thing" Hikuro looked at the rest, being the leader was a total big NO for Hikuro. Hikuro is more like a wizard in his RPG video game that he like to play.

As Roan talked Skylar nodded. She looked at the other two and she couldn't help but wonder if any of the three who were sitting before the professor would be good leaders. Loika had a temper problem, Hiruko just seemed to not care, and Skylar herself was too out of control to be any position. Not to mention they don't seem to listen to me, or want to for that matter, she thought. Skylar sighed at raised her hand. After a few seconds in the air her hand moved back to her side and she raised her voice. "How do you decide the leader in the team? Is it an unanimous vote, or does someone just take the rank? And will we get the chance to form our own team while in class here to practice working as in Ghost's class?"

The clouds collected and obscured the sun as a quiet breeze grazed over the short grass. Roan hair shifted to the left as he listened attentively to the questions presented to him. Everyone's hair and clothes shifted and rippled from the swaying of the small wind. All good questions, he thought to himself. He had at least one seemingly enthusiastic character among them, despite Ghost's strenuous training.

"To your first question, you will all be taking turns at being leader. This is non-negotiable. This is a lesson in judgement, humility and adaption as well. You'll find many situations call for the right leader. You must be able to make the call and willingly take up and relinquish leadership."

He fixed his eyes on the three as if staring into a photograph. None of them seemed too excited about being leader. At least there wasn't the requisite big ego among them. He decided to continued on with his Q and A. He knew he seemed long-winded, but he wanted to make sure they were well informed. "I haven't decided on ranks, so I'll have to get back to you on that one. Finally, yes you will form a team, which many of your assignments will require. Some days, you will be a unit working towards the same goals. Other days, you will be in competition with each other to achieve a single goal or in conflicting goals. Each will test one of the three fundamentals for this course. I hope that answer is acceptable."

As he finished up his explanations, he decided to move on with the class. The other two didn't seem too talkative at the moment and he wasn't sure if he had their attention, so he decided to change that. "If there are anymore questions, feel free to ask at any point during this session. For now, lets move on with things. I'm sure you don't wanna be here all day. Today's class is pretty light. I'll just be gathering subjective information to roughly classify and gauge you. Don't worry, though. Next class will be a bit more proactive." He gave a small grin as he paused, watching their restlessness before continuing.

"OK then. I'd like to ask each of you to introduce yourselves and describe any combat experience you have. It doesn't matter if you're a powder puff or a decorated soldier. I'd also like to hear what your perceived strengths and weaknesses are. This last question is about building trust between you and your comrades, who you must depend on from now on." He guessed none of them really wanted to go first and most likely knew each other already, so he saw the redundancy of his line of thought. Nevertheless...

"I will go first. I studied at Boston Arms Military Academy from age seven to fourteen and was top rank in the field of tactical planning and strategy. My Sargent of a father also pushed me to be an all around combat technician. In school, I mostly trained in mock battles, but I've also worked under Professor Xavier for a awhile. I'm a pretty versatile fighter, but my strengths are in close quarters, so I'm at a disadvantage in ranged battles."

Loika looked at the ground. Great. The training session had turned into a therapy group. All of the muscles in her body tensed up and she stopped leaning against Sky's leg like a dog. She stood up and stepped forward. Her ears and tail were down as she spoke. " I'm Loika.I am a wolf shape-shifter. I don't know my last name and i don't know where i came from. I don't remember anything from before five years. I was sold to a research lab by my parents supposedly when i was twelve. I was forced to fight daily and was tested with various chemicals and things. My strengths are that i heal at an accelerated rate and have all the ability a wolf does. My weaknesses...i cant eat chocolate and i hate enclosed spaces."
She looked up at roan and her face darkened with defiance. " AND i dont like people pushing their control on me."Her ears went back.

Skylar moved so that she could lay her hand on Loika's head. "Come on Loika, do we really need to start this again? How about you sit down and I'll go next?" She sat up straight and crossed her legs. "I'm Skylar. I think my ability is called energy manipulation. From what I know and understand I can create balls of energy that will explode, or form weapons like a sword or arrow." As she said the last words, she looked down at her hand. Skylar could feel the energy pumping through her, making her afraid to lift move much in case it caused a random creation. "Until previously I roamed the world with my parents, learning different languages and other techniques from the villages. I was accepted in as a child of one tribe and was honored with a permanent symbol. It means energy, fitting huh?" she asked, holding out her right arm and showing the tattoo. She stared down at her wrist, trying to gather the courage to keep the emotions in, but found it almost unbearable. "My strengths, I'm loyal, brave, and know how to get out of many different types of situations. Weaknesses, I don't really have control of my powers, and I've got a problem with people with egos."

Loika's ears flicked and she flinched when Sky touched her. She had actually whipped her head around and almost bit Sky before she realized who she was. Luckily she stopped in time. She moved back to her spot but didnt take her eyes off of Roan...or Sky.

Hikuro look at the others saying their stories, each one were interesting. Now was Hikuro time to tell is little story. "Well… I'm Hikuro. I have Pyrokinesis, that mean i can create fire and manipulate it. I came from Osaka,Japan. Like Loika, i din't have a good childhood. Since i was born, my parents run an experiment on me. They were putting other mutan DNA in my body, to saw if i can accept it or not. Once day i got berserk,burn down the lab and got away." Hikuro look at the sky for a moment. "Since i can control fire and learn about Taekwondo, i'm good in both close and long range fights. My weakness will be….. Water of course, i don't have much stamina and i'm not good talking to girls… hahaha" He said while laughing a little to made the pressure a little more lighter…

They had really surprised their teacher. He hadn't expected it, but they'd went into a bit more depth with their backgrounds, especially considering some of them were pretty harsh. So that was the reality they had to live with all these years, he thought to himself. He knew they had all been tested, even Skylar with her more optimistic story, and they'd made it through. This is good, he gave himself a slight nod.

"Alright, then. I'm sure you're tired of hearing me go on like this, so if there aren't anymore questions, group therapy is over." He had all the information he needed now, so he decided to stop for the day. His sword made a humming noise as he flicked the blade. He stood up and after turning away to stare at the sun, he looked back at the three.

"Oh and I promise there won't be much time for talking next class. We'll be meeting in the Danger Room for your first assignment, so look forward to it. Make sure to rest up and dress comfortably. I encourage you to connect with each other outside of classes. Well, you can do whatever you want, of course. Class dismissed."

Loika flicked her tail back and fourth a couple of times then turned around. At least he didnt make us fight eachother. I dont know how well i would have been able to hold back. She thought to herself as she headed back towards the dorms. She yawned a huge yawn as she went. huge day already and it wasnt even lunchtime yet.