The sun set its place in the sky whilst he stared at everyone else committing to their ODM gear practice. Many felt like it was something they were going to fail, but by chance some were successful as it was. Whilst most fretted about the sights of dangling from two wires, Grant sought to finally do some good in the Training Corps. Balance was something he was good at, at least he thought he was. Sure, back in the years he'd had his odd tumbles off of his horse, but since he had to adjust to various different stallions at the absence of his own Rhys, who was still in the custody of Jade, he'd found a place with balancing. Plus, back in the day, a similar sort of exercise was given to him by Mateo during his horse-training sessions. Now that he thought about it, it may have looked a bit suspicious that he was giving his nephew the specific training apparatus, or at least a make-shift one. Maybe Mateo always was trying to get him into the military, just like himself. They were more alike than Grant was to his father.
Eventually, his name was called up. And so, as commanded, Grant silently took to the invisible stage and found himself hoisted into the machine. It was nerving, no doubt about it, but not as nerve-wracking as what everyone else might have felt like. Slowly, the wires were tightened, hoisting him up slightly. At first, he stumbled, nearly losing his balance straight away as the first bit of tension lifted him only a few centimetres from the ground.
His foot slammed down onto the floor, before he began to topple over, using the tips of his boots to regain his posture. It only took about 15 seconds before he had to nod towards the instructors controlling the apparatus. Eventually, he began to lift further and further, his arms stretched out wide as the nostalgia filled his boots and uniform, almost taking over his mind. He just pictured what he saw in the past: the barn, the horses outside, the sounds of the cattle and Mateo beaming at him with pride. The minutes seemed to flow by flawlessly. The sights and sounds echoing within his head and clouding his vision almost made him feel more alive, like nothing in the world had ever caused tragedy. And before he could fully embrace this, a shout ruined the entire trance he was loving and admiring.
It was one of the instructors, not Schulz, luckily. He was back onto the ground, his feet touching it as if he'd never taken off. He looked around, trying to figure out what had just happened. The instructor only nodded, pointing for him to make-space for the next cadet. His mind switched around as he beamed brightly, for the first time since he'd arrived, at what he'd quickly, and quite staggeringly, completed.
He kept his eyes locked onto Gabriel. Two titans were about to clash, both large and large eyeing each other with daunting expressions. Everyone around them rushed into combat, determined to take down their foes swiftly and in a humiliating fashion. Grant knew briefly about what Gabriel could be capable of. In that sense, he knew that he should take caution. There was no telling what he'd trained with in the past, but it was certainly better than what Grant was capable of.
Grant listened to his words, smiling at the kind offer he had. It actually intrigued him. Grant had never gone fishing at all, let alone with Gabriel. In fact, it was a good offer to finally expand his circle of good friends, rather than acquaintances. Sure, the two enlisted together, but Gabriel was more of a friend to Olivia, much to his dismay.
"Y'know what...Usually I'd pass on the offer, but you seem like someone I could enjoy it with. Sure, maybe we can catch something to show off at dinner?" His arms extended, before retracting immediately. Gabriel moved towards him, Grant only dodging it enough for his arm to be grappled onto slightly. Gabriel was strong, very strong. But Grant had other plans...At least he thought he did.
In an attempt to break free of his grasp and take him down, he swiped his leg around like a clock. Whilst he succeeded in kicking and breaking his iron-stance, he didn't figure out the part where he had to get Gabriel away from his steel-grip on Grant's arms. It caused the two to fall, Grant being the first to land, technically counting as his own loss.
He panted heavily, trying to regain his footing before stumbling once again onto his backside. At this point, he would dare anyone to take on Gabriel and get as far as he did, but what he did was most likely viewed as pathetic and almost embarrassing. Still, he got him onto the ground, somehow...
He saw Lauren approach the two, already asking up to join in on the challenge. Grant knew that he would lose any sort of fight he had to get into, but at least in his defeat someone else could gain a victory. A smile came onto his face, as he pointed towards Gabriel.
"You can take on him first, then me if you want." Before he finished speaking, he turned back to Gabriel, nodding his head with his suggestion.
"Maybe we could invite her too? More catch if there's more rods?"
Banned
