Chapter 363: Planning For The Test At Hand

Chapter 362: Planning For The Test At Hand

The silence that followed Sophia’s last words felt heavier than the snow resting on the branches above them.

Holly’s eyes were still locked on her, sharp and impatient.

"So what are we going to do then?" Holly asked her.

"We’ll find out," Sophia told her. "But first, before we even think about engaging the beast, we need a way to alert each other if anyone comes in contact with the beast or even sees signs of one."

Uther nodded immediately. "Agreed. If someone runs into it alone, that’s not a fight they can survive."

"Or worse," Bianca added quietly, adjusting her grip on her axe, "it runs into them."

Joren’s ears twitched, his wolf picking up sounds from a distance. It was far, not really close to them, so he wasn’t surprised that no other person had noticed it. He didn’t mention anything though; he focused on the planning first.

"We need a signal," Miles said. "Something that carries and signals us, but not so loud that it alerts every beast in the forest."

"And what do you suggest it will be? Shouting?" Holly asked him with an eye roll.

Sophia shook her head. "Definitely not shouting. Can you imagine shouting like a fool in the forest? That’s just alerting every beast of your location, and it would also give team members the wrong idea. We need to avoid that."

"W-well," Holly stuttered. "I—I didn’t mean it literally," she said to Sophia.

"This is not the time to joke," Uther told her softly. "Everything you say should be a suggestion toward how we can move forward."

Holly’s face was red. She hated that someone like Uther could even speak to her that way, but Uther didn’t even care that Holly felt bad. He had a chance to become a guard, and he wasn’t going to miss the opportunity like he had missed the old ones.

He thought for a moment. "What about weapon sounds? Like striking metal?"

"That would travel too far," Bianca replied. "And it would sound like a fight already started."

"How about howling?" Miles asked.

"There are other groups, and we know how far a howl can travel. Remember what Instructor Garron said: if we hear wolves howling, then we need to regroup," Bianca told him.

"But he said three howls. We can use one," Miles told them.

"Again, let’s not give anyone mixed signals," Bianca told him. "It’s better to use something else."

Sophia tapped her fingers lightly against her thigh, thinking. "What about whistling?"

Bianca raised a brow. "Like birds?"

"No," Sophia said. "Not like birds. Something sharp and deliberate."

Joren tried a short, sharp whistle through his teeth. It cut through the air cleanly, bouncing faintly off the trees.

All of them looked at him.

"That!" Miles said.

"It doesn’t sound natural like a bird," Bianca added. "Which is good."

Sophia nodded. "We can make patterns. That way we know what it means."

Uther straightened. "Alright. So what’s what?"

Sophia considered. "Two short, one long means someone has encountered a Tidebreaker or clear signs of one."

"And three short?" Bianca asked.

"Means you’ve seen it," Sophia said. "But it hasn’t noticed you yet."

Miles added, "And if someone’s in trouble?"

Sophia didn’t hesitate. "Send a sound of distress. It’ll alert the rest of us, and we’ll drop everything and run to the person in trouble."

"What if I’m doing my task? It’s not my fault that whoever ends up in trouble is in trouble," Holly said.

Sophia rolled her eyes. She was already tired of Holly, and it wasn’t even up to hours yet. She wished she could just change teams and kick her out of the group entirely.

"You do remember what Ethan said, right? We are being judged on both our individual prowess and also how well we work as a team. You don’t really think that leaving a person to die gives you points, right?" she asked Holly.

Holly raised her hands in surrender, even if she was vibrating in anger. "I was just saying!"

"Think before you say anything. And if you are going to be risking everyone’s lives for your selfish gain, then you can leave," Sophia told her.

Holly snarled. "Accord me with the resp—"

"Let’s stop it there," Sophia told her calmly. "If anyone is to respect anyone here, it would be you. Respect every single person here because everyone is at the same level that you are. And also, I do not have the time to be arguing with you. I gave you a choice: leave now without being a burden for the rest of us, because it seems that’s what you are aiming to achieve right now."

Everyone was quiet as they stared at Holly and Sophia.

"I never said I was going to be a burden," Holly gritted out.

Sophia tilted her head. "Maybe not with words, but you did with actions. And again, you can leave if you do not want to be a part, or you can stay and try to work with everyone."

Holly gave her a look, then nodded slowly. She couldn’t jeopardize her own test because of this demon. And besides, her time to teach Sophia a lesson would come. She could hold on until then.

Sophia gave Holly a look, then turned to the others. "Let’s practice the sounds so we don’t make a fool of ourselves when in the forest."

The others chuckled at that, making Holly’s eyes twitch. Why were they laughing at that when it wasn’t even much of a joke? But when she had tried to do something similar, they told her to be serious.

Why was everyone liking Sophia? Why did everyone look up to Sophia? Everywhere she went, it was Sophia, Sophia, Sophia—and she was even in the same group as Sophia. A group where she was obviously supposed to be the leader, but they had chosen Sophia.

She was a better fighter! She was better than Sophia! Sophia was a demon. She had possessed the rest of them. Sophia wasn’t even pretty. Her hair didn’t even suit her. Her eyes were ugly.

Holly had no idea that she had been staring at Sophia, who watched her with a frown. The others even turned as she let out a low growl.