Explorer in Training (1x1 between Rainbow Eclipse and PathfinderCS)

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@PathfinderCS,

 

Riley observed Sojourner as she demonstrated how to set up a campfire. He started working from the unoccupied side, placing sticks into apyramid and placing stonesaround the side.

 

"Anala was raised by her dad," said Riley. "After her mom left, her dad needed to find a smaller home and a more profitable job to support three kids. So they moved to Manehattan from the country area they lived in before."

 

"I lived in Manehattan since I was born," he went on.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

@@Rainbow Eclipse

 

"Sounds a bit like my dad, though my mom passed away not long after I was born," she said, gathering two stones she chose to light the fire. "Though we lived in Baltimare all my life, so it wasn't too difficult for my father to find a living. I can't complain. We lived in relative comfort."

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@PathfinderCS,

 

"Baltimare sounds like a cool place from what I've heard," said Riley.

 

He arranged some more sticks and stones, and from the looks of it, the fire was complete. The sticks were arranged into a sort of cone shape, for lack of a better comparison, and there was a stone for every stick.

 

"So... were ready to light this?" asked Riley.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

@@Rainbow Eclipse

 

"Ahhhhh, it's all right. I can't complain. It's not as big as Manehatten, but it's a great city I believe. It's bigger than my current residence in Derbyshire, but I have fond memories of the city." 

 

Looking at the campfire site, Sojourner nodded in approval. "I looks good to me. We're approaching night, so we better get it started. So, with no magic or no matches, do you know how to start the fire?"

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@PathfinderCS,

 

Riley thought about it for a few seconds. "Don't you rub two sticks together really really fast?" he asked. "Like, a hundred cups of soda-levels of fast?"

 

He picked up two conveniently-placed sticks and rubbed them together. He was an energetic fellow, so he did it reasonably fast. Eventually, a large spark appeared, but then disappeared before anything could be done with it.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

@@Rainbow Eclipse

 

Sojourner laughed a bit, enjoying the stallions enthusiasm. "That's one way to do it. Another is by clacking two rocks together is a little more efficient. Now, what you need to do is to try again, but as soon as the spark comes about to nurture it somewhat. Once the spark reaches the dead brush, blow on it lightly to help spread the flames."

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@PathfinderCS,

 

Riley scanned the ground for a few seconds before taking two conveniently-placed smooth rocks and holding one in each hoof.

 

"What do you man by 'nurture'?" he asked. When he thought of the word 'nurture', he thought of his colt self being hugged by his parents, or him hugging his little brother. But hugging fire?

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

@@Rainbow Eclipse

 

Sojourner chuckled, taking her hat off for a second. "I probably could've worded myself better, but when I say that, I mean when you get a spark, lightly blow on it to help the flame spread. Don't blow too hard of course, but give it enough wind so that it can spread among the brush."

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@PathfinderCS,

 

Riley nodded eagerly, and began rubbing the two rocks together with great effort.

 

Eventually... a spark appeared! *Zelda fanfare* Riley blew the spark... a little too hard.

 

"...Well, I can always try again, right?" he said optimistically, and rubbed the rocks again.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

@@Rainbow Eclipse

 

Sojourner chuckled, shaking her head a little with a smile. "You got it right! Be sure to pay attention as you are new at this. Keep your eyes open for any spark that may appear or you'll easily lose the flame. As I said; nurture it. It might sound silly, but it's important."

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@PathfinderCS,

 

"Gotcha." Riley began rubbing the two rocks together again - this time using the other, unrubbed side of each - and eventually... yay! Another spark! Clearly, the dumb luck angels had smiled upon Riley.

 

He brought the spark to the fire materials, and rolled back in surprise when the fire lit.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

@@Rainbow Eclipse

 

Sojourner nodded as she watched his progress. "Good, good! Now, lightly blow on it and allow it to spread. Keep in mind that if you're in the wild with a cold night coming you're going to need this warmth for as long as it can last."

 

She smiled, thinking that the stallion might have it in him to learn.

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@PathfinderCS,

 

Riley nodded. He blew his tail out of his face, rolled forward onto his rump, and got up to walk over to the fire. He bent down, blew on the fire ever so slightly, and it successfully spread across the rest of the materials.

 

"Mission success?" he asked as if it weren't obvious.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

@@Rainbow Eclipse

 

In an approving manner, Sojourner  nodded at the stallion. "Mission success indeed. Now, with our tents set-up, our source of warmth going good, and the sun setting, we better settle in and get ready for the night. We'll be going deep in the woods for more of your training," she finished with a smile.

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@PathfinderCS,

 

"Yes indeedy!" said Riley eagerly. When Sojourner had told him to "get ready for the night", he had thought she meant they were going to bed, and that would have been a very unsatisfying conclusion to their first night. The sky was still a dark shade of blue.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

@@Rainbow Eclipse

 

As Sojourner started shuffling things around in her tent, she glanced towards Riley. Going by the look on his face he might've misinterpreted what she meant earlier. Chuckling, she settled down with the forward half of her body outside the tent.

 

​"So, Riley, what do you expect to come of tomorrow? As I said that is when we begin our main training, but I'm curious as to what you think is ahead. Also, we're not going to sleep yet. It's not THAT dark out," she said with a smile.

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@PathfinderCS,

 

Riley wasted no time in coming up with an optimistic answer. "Ooh! Maybe we'll discover a mysterious, lost-to-the-ages kingdom? Or an abundance of treasure?" he suggested. "If it's the latter, I have plenty of ideas of which charities to donate it to," he went on.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

@@Rainbow Eclipse

 

Sojourner cocked her eyebrow; chuckling a little. She was under the impression that this was merely survival training.

 

"Well, I wouldn't get your hope up too high. There haven't been many reported ruins in these areas outside of a scant few. Of course, you never know what you may find out there, I'd keep your expectations in check. Besides, your training comes first," she said with a wink.

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@PathfinderCS,

 

"Um, fair enough," said Riley, realising how farfetched he had sounded. He glanced towards the woods. "So... you think those are just ordinary woods?" he asked. "Or is it like what Ponyville has? A.K.A, the Everfree Forest?"

 

"I did get Poison Joked once," he commented.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

@@Rainbow Eclipse

 

Sojourner look back towards the woods; thinking back to her somewhat limited knowledge of this area. "Well, that's hard for me to say. You see, these woods aren't as well explored or charted as most forests here. And unlike here, the Everfree actually has old ruins which lead to ponies exploring that area in some form or fashion. Right now, I don't think there's really anything special in these woods, BUT it's hard to tell," she said with SOME hope in her voice.

 

She raised her eyebrow when he mentioned Poison Joke. "Oh? And how did it affect you, exactly?"

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@PathfinderCS,

 

"My rump to several times the size of my body," said Riley. "It was twice my height, and I was left dangling from between those two heights, so you can work from there to decide how wide it was."

 

"I came to the conclusion that it's hard to 'keep moving forward' if I had an oversized rear end. Since I couldn't do much about it, I sent my dog Cookie out to get help. I asked him to go to a pony and ask them to go into the forest to get the antidote."

 

"And that went pretty hectic..."

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

@@Rainbow Eclipse

 

Sojourner raised her eyebrow as she was listening to his experience with the Joke. She was never affected by it as she largely knew it was best to avoid it, but she always wondered how it would affect her. "And I presume that he was able to find an antidote?"