Pre-Climb Exploration! (Closed, 48 Hour Time Limit))

Isamu could honestly say that Hiking was not one of his favored pass times. He much preferred the idea of simply enjoying nature as opposed to trekking through it off the beaten path. Still, at the end of the day he figured that it Was a valid form of exercise, a good way to build stamina and endurance at the very least. He supposed some of his current misgivings came down to the fact that he wasn't quite sure why he and his classmates were out here at the moment in the first place. Nothing much in the way of answers had been given to them upon arrival. Only instructions to team up with pre assigned groups, take a map and navigate themselves towards an unknown objective to await further instruction. Isamu knew that there had to be something else to this whole exercise that he and his group had yet to encounter.

They had been given the opportunity to scout the surrounding forests to some small degree before they were supposed to truly set off on the exercise, something that Isamu's team, the Purple Team, had decided to take advantage of. There was surely some form of obstacle waiting for them out in the thick forest of Aokigahara, otherwise what challenge would simple hiking and navigation prove to the extremely dedicated students of Class 1-A? Another thing that had become abundantly clear to Isamu during the initial explanation of the days activities was that things were going to heat up quite quickly once the true task begun in earnest. While Isamu wasn't on friendly terms with everyone in his year, a daunting task to be sure now that their numbers had swelled considerably, he knew enough about a fair few of them. It hadn't been explicitly stated that the days activities were a Race by any means, but in the end that wouldn't matter. There were more than a few competitive people among their number today, Isamu included. Even if there was no actual prize for 'coming first', the bragging rights alone would spur the other teams on.

Isamu looked down at his wrist and at the Purple band wrapped around it, the same band that some of those around him wore. The competitive side of him truly wanted his team to 'win', even if that wasn't the point of the exercise. But in the end he would simply be content with knowing that they had given it all they had. The sensible part of him figured that their teachers likely were more interested in them testing and improving both their individual and team based skills as opposed to simply racing up a mountain. If the latter were true then a few of the students present today had clear advantages in that regard. One such person caught his eye, though it was fairly hard to miss Jack as he walked about. Though he himself might have been a bit of a short stack, the addition of a sizable pair of wings tended to draw attention wherever one went. Isamu caught sight of the boys wrist, noting that he in fact wasn't teamed up with him for the activity itself.

Depending on what their task actually entailed, that could turn out to be a problem. Truth be told Isamu had been hoping he was teamed with Jack the moment they were told about it. Sure Jack was fairly advanced when it came to his combat classes, in Isamu's mind due in no small part to the simple fact that his Quirk was quite devastating compared to many others in their class. But that was besides the point. Isamu was more thinking about the sheer utility of have someone on your team that could freely fly above the forest, the perfect scout in this regard. Sure Isamu could do that himself, well, not exactly flying. It was more surfing than anything but that in itself presented a few dangers. Having wings would certainly make things a whole hell of a lot easier. Either way, it seemed Jack had the same intention as himself, to do a touch of scouting beforehand to mentally map out their surroundings at least a little. Any advantage was an advantage after all. Isamu made his way over to Jack slowly, giving a lazy wave a smile as he did.

"Yo." he said nonchalantly, giving a mock salute as he did. "You heading out as well?" he asked, almost rhetorically.

Isamu figured it wouldn't hurt to "help the enemy" so to speak. Sure they were on different teams for the exercise itself, but he still remembered his promise to Blank-sensei earlier in the morning. 1-A would do their best to dominate the exercise, regardless of being split up. He assumed Jack would be thinking similar thoughts. The two had become rather good friends these last couple of weeks, and despite the utter roller-coaster of a relationship that it was, Isamu still enjoyed it. Jack could be rather...a handful at times, but Isamu didn't mind. He was a young man with his own issues and U.A certainly knew how to put the pressure on. Sure it didn't help either that there were a myriad of conflicting personalities on campus. While Isamu rarely took part in the group chat that was maintained for use by the entirety of U.A's student body, he did look in from time to time. He could honestly say that he was proud of Jack for removing himself from something that always ate at the boy. But that was neither here nor there at the moment. It was something he could tell him later, in a more private setting than this.

"Mind if I tag along? Wouldn't mind getting a lay of the land myself. I can only expect that the teachers have put a few nasty surprises out for us." he said. And he didn't doubt it either. U.A tended to take things to the extreme in their Practical exercises, he doubted that today would be any different. Their teachers were a damn creative bunch when they wanted to torment their students. But Isamu honestly wouldn't have it any other way, the challenge itself was half the fun.

"Hmm...maybe from that tree...? Or maybe...hm...

Jack mused to himself as he wandered around the immediate area. He wasn't really the biggest photographer around, so he didn't really know where a proper angle shot of the mountain could be taken. Maybe he should get more into something like this? He loved nature and animals, so maybe photography would be a nice hobby to take up. However, he knew that it could sometimes require an immense amount of patience. While Jack did have a fair amount of it, it could take hours, or even days, just for the opportunity to arise. Maybe, maybe...

The dragon boy was broken out of his thoughts as he heard a familiar voice call out to him. Jack's tail wagged happily like a dog's as he realized Isamu was approaching him. He smiled happily at him as he approached, glad to see his friend. "Heyo!" he chirped. He was a bit sad that they couldn't be on the same team, but he knew that they would likely have plenty of opportunities to chat with his friends during breaks as they trekked the mountain. Plus, it helped him get more comfortable with people he didn't really know, so it was a win-win in Jack's book!

He nodded happily as Isamu asked him if he was heading out. "Yep yep! I figured it might be a good idea to make sure nothing too dangerous is nearby. Plus, I could probably take a nice picture or two of the area!" he said, tilting on his heels, his wings flapping a small bit. The boy was already showing a rather big improvement since exiting the chat. The boy was practically exuding happiness, though those who knew him probably knew that there was also a small something underneath that happiness...but that wasn't important right now! What was most important right now was exploring!

"Of course! It never hurts to know what to expect, especially with friends~!" he said in response to Isamu's offer. At this point, he was literally bouncing up and down with excitement. He was almost acting like a kid in a toy store. A chance to hang out right before the big event? Heck yeah! Let's get this started-

Jack was quickly knocked -literally- out of his thoughts as something shoved into him mid-jump. As a result, he was promptly knocked down to the ground. "WAH!" he yelped as he landed on his back, sliding a few inches from where he was. He sat up, looking around in confusion and annoyance. "What the heck? Who-" he started, but quickly stopped as his gaze locked onto Hanami, who had also been knocked onto her behind in front of him. He blinked for a second, the annoyance quickly fading from his face.

They both shuffled to their feet, the blue-haired girl being quick to apologize, her face having a slight blush. Jack's tail flicked around for a second, aching from the fall, but past that he wasn't overall hurt. He smiled warmly at his friend, waving the apology aside. "It's no biggie. We all get lost in our thoughts every now and again. It happens~," he said happily. He considered Hanami a good friend as well, even if most of their talking was via texting and gaming. They had a fair amount in common, so it didn't take long for Jack to get used to her at all.

His gaze then locked onto her injured elbow, concern quickly covering his face. "Are you ok? That probably wasn't the softest fall." He inclined his head a little to the side, getting a better looked at it before quickly rummaging through his bag. "E-erm...do you mind if I saw your elbow for a moment? I've got extra bandages so it doesn't get worse somehow." he asked, making sure to explain so that he wasn't accidentally overstepping a boundary.

If Hanami accepted his request, the dragon boy would begin to gently wrap a couple of layers of bandage around her elbow. He would try to leave enough space for her to move it properly, but it more or less was just to make sure that she could at least make sure it would be fine for the next few hours. The dragon could be fierce when he wanted to be, but he clearly had a very soft side for everything else, including his friends' safety. Can never be too careful, after all.

With that situation said and done, Jack would sigh in relief whether Hanami accepted his request or not. "Alrighty..." he started, about to say to Isamu that they should get going, before an idea came to mind. Maybe they could help get Hanami more into the groove of the outdoors with their activity? It would never hurt to have another friend along, after all!

"Hey, uhm...do you wanna come with us? We're just going to take a quick look around the area, maybe see what they have in store for us, take a few pictures? It'll be fun!" he asked, shyly at first, before becoming much happier in tone. He knew that Hanami wasn't exactly the most outgoing type, so he had hoped that she would accept his request before they got going.

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Hello hello friends! From here on out, the 48 hour post time starts! If you need an extension, by all means, please DM me and let me know! ^^ I hope we can have a lot of fun with this little adventure!

Jack pursed his lips as he focused on bandaging Hanami's elbow. It wasn't too much, but Hanami did seem to get a bit anxious as she told him when she felt it was enough. Jack would promptly nod, using a claw to cut the bandage and made sure that it stay on gently. He wasn't the greatest by any means, but at lest he was gentle about the matter. He backed away after that, asking "How does it feel?" He hoped that it wasn't too tight, since he was relatively new to first-aid, but hey, what could he do? He couldn't just let the wound be. That'd just be dangerous!

After that, he would extend his invitation to join them to her. She was hesitant for a moment, but was then quick to agree to join them. He smiled widely, clearly happy that she decided to join them. It would be fun, with the three of them! He imagined all the fun things they could do while they were out, even if it was only for a short time. He was always a fan of climbing trees and such, so maybe he could teach them how to do it! The boy look a bit excited for a moment, his more happy-go-lucky side showing itself in full view.

Then, however, Isamu changed his mind rather suddenly, likely having something else to do. Jack's face went a bit slack for a moment, but he nodded in understanding. "A-ah...ok! Maybe another time, then!" he chirped, but he did seem a little bit upset. He hadn't really gotten the chance to hang out with Isamu for a while, but...oh well! At least he still had Hanami to explore with! He turned to her, his disappointment seemingly disappearing in an instant. "I mean, hey, more fun for us, right?" he asked happily, quickly ready to take the lead once more.

He would walk around with Hanami for a minute, looking around. Not wanting to be boring, he would try to strike up a conversation for a moment. "So, ah...how's it going? You excited for the climb? It's always been a dream of mine to climb a mountain like this~!" he asked happily, looking up at the gigantic mountain before them. His tail wagged with excitement, though he was a little wary as to not accidentally hit Hanami again. Last time was just embarrassing, even if it was how they became friends. Still, better safe than sorry.

After a small conversation and looking around, they would come across a rather large tree, just high enough to get an idea view of the mountain from the top. He grinned from ear to ear, looking to Hanami for a moment. "Er...do you know how to climb a tree? I can teach you real fast or just help you out if you want!" he said, feeling rather optimistic about the whole thing. He knew Hanami was by no means an outdoorsy person, so he hoped that he could help her out by only briefly taking her out of her comfort zone, just without crossing any boundaries. Whether she was up for it, of course, as completely up to her.