Amelia

A cold, harsh wind wraps around me, grabbing and tearing at my sense of comfort. A shiver runs down my spine, acting as a reminder of how unprepared we all are, despite of our recent victories. The fire from last night is nothing more than a pile of ashes. I find myself subconsciously fidgeting with my makeshift wolf-hide flask, noticing how numb my fingers are. I'm so cold. My thoughts are jumbled, strung in every direction and tied together, masterfully woven by my own anxiety. The uncertainty of my future makes breathing hard, but the people around me share my burden. I let my eyes wander, looking at my new friends.

Sam is pacing nearby, fallen leaves and dead grass crunching beneath his feet. His face is marred by a grim, determined expression. His scarred eye socket and the fierce determination in his remaining eye give him an air of unapproachable intensity. I still can't understand him. I've been trying really, really hard, but he's like an enigma wrapped in anger and frustration. Something about him is unsettling—his bursts of aggression, the way he seems to wear his rage like armor, the strange, excited look in his eyes every time he gets in a fight. It's as if he's constantly on the edge of a cliff, ready to lash out at any moment.

In contrast, James sits calmly nearby. He's carefully sharpening his shortsword, a symbol of meticulous focus. His demeanor is the polar opposite of Sam's. He's steadfast, driven, unshakeable. Where Sam's anger is vicious and volatile, James' resolve is solid and reassuring. I admire his calm, steady strength, but it stays as a stark reminder to me. A reminder that I'll never be as confident as him, or as determined as Sam. James' presence helps ground me, though. It's nice to know that someone here seems to have their shit together.

My gaze continues on to Eric, sitting cross-legged on the ground. He's holding a small stone up to the sun, examining it with a peaceful curiosity. He seems almost otherworldly, like he's completely unaffected by everything around him. He's so... weird. He's incredibly open-minded, which is both comforting and unsettling. His gaze is piercing, like he sees the world with a special, forbidden knowledge.

Finally, I look at Sophia. She's still sleeping, a gentle smile on her face. That's the first time I've seen her smile. She's kinda cute. I should probably think about something else, though. She would kill me if she could hear my thoughts. She probably doesn't have psychic powers, but you can never be too safe. Anyways, Sophia usually isn't happy. She seems somewhat content at times. Usually, though, she's very blunt and aggressive. Her personality resembles a double-edged sword. Her approach to everything is blunt, nearly brutish. It's intimidating, but she always keeps a strong, decisive undercurrent to all of her actions. I'm scared of her the most, I think. Sure, Sam is scary, but at least I know why he's so angry. Sophia is just... rude.

I look around once more, feeling a deep-rooted sense of anxiety and self-doubt filling my chest. I feel like an outsider here. I don't have anything that makes me special. It makes it difficult to talk to them all. I can barely meet their eyes for more than a second, but none of them seem to be offended by that at least. At that moment, Sam glances at me. His eye holds a deep look of resentment and frustration, as if to rebuke the thoughts I just had. His gaze doesn't linger on me for long, his eyes landing on several other things. I know his hatred for me, but the thought of his anger being directed towards me worms its way deeper and deeper into my brain. I take a slow, deep breath, letting my aberrant thoughts wash away.

A sharp, crude word brings me out of my short moment of meditation. It's Sam. His voice is rough. His words are short, blunt and aggressive as he talks to James.

"James. Give me your shortsword. I'll need it for my class quest."

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James doesn't move, responding with a slow, measured sentence.

"No. It will break if you use it in combat. Use your dagger."

A small yet distinct fear flickers in my chest as James denies Sam. I closely look at Sam, but he doesn't seem to be affected by it. Sam thinks for a second before nodding his head. He looks to me, speaking with a short command.

"I'll help you turn the Dire Wolf hide into a pouch. I need it to bring food with me."

I don't really like how he speaks as if everything he says will come true, but I decide to help him anyways. It's a good idea. I speak, feeling a subtle swell of anxiety.

"Okay."

I catch myself before I let my anxiety take over, expelling my fears with a short, sturdy breath. I slowly stand up, the familiar feeling of leaves and grass beneath my hand bringing me a slight comfort. He hands me his dagger and we take the Dire Wolf hide that we previously used to boil water. We spread the hide out on a large, flat rock that we find nearby. For a few minutes, we plan out what we're going to do with the hide and what exactly it's going to be used for. I show him where he should cut and go over what we're going to do to, leaving small lines in the hide with the dagger. We have some bark rope that the group made last night, so we don't have to worry about gathering that for his pouch. Sam is very thorough and detailed, asking lots of questions. He seems to be accustomed to receiving direction, and he's more than willing to learn, so that's nice.

Once we get started on our work, we settle into a calm and steady pace. After about 15 minutes, Sophia wakes up, and she decides to come help. She's much more difficult to direct than Sam, but the help is still welcome. We don't speak much, but it gives me a lot of time to think about this situation. None of us have talked much about what we did before we were brought into The Tutorial, but I think Sam was probably an engineer. Working like this reminds me of the time I used to spend with my dad. He loved camping out and doing bushcraft, so he knew all kinds of crazy stuff. I picked up some of it through paternal osmosis. The thought brings a deep, stirring bittersweet feeling. I hope I can see him again. I'm not sure if I'll survive. I don't know if my dad is in the tutorial, either, so maybe he has to deal with the same problems. He would probably do a lot better than me, though.

It takes about 45 minutes, but we finish up with the pouch. We leave the other half of the hide on the rock. After we're done, Sam looks at Sophia and speaks.

"Give me your water flask. I'm going to need it for the quest."

Sophia quickly and harshly responds.

"No. Fuck you."

Sam immediately responds, clearly expecting to be denied. He doesn't seem angry, which eases my nerves a bit.

"I don't know if there's going to be water during the class quest. I don't know how long I'll be in there. I could also lose one of my flasks."

Sophia looks at Sam, refusing to respond. I speak up, trying to ease the tension a bit.

"Hey, uh, I think you should just give it to him. I'll let you use mine while I make another one for you."

Sophia raises her hand, shaking her head.

"No, no it's fine. I'll just give him my flask."

I respond, deeply relieved that they're not going to fight.

"Oh, okay."

Sophia begrudgingly hands her flask to Sam. She's definitely not happy about it. I'm honestly surprised that she didn't put up more of a fight. It just seems a bit off. Though, I guess everyone is a bit off right now.

Sam walks around for a bit more, talking to everyone for a bit before he decides to start his class quest. I keep to myself as he walks around, feeling a bit on edge from his interaction with Sophia. Conflict has always scared me no matter how hard I try to be confident. Just before Sam leaves, he says goodbye to everyone. We're all a bit anxious, not sure what the class quest has in store for him. He has that same look that he gets whenever he gets in a fight. A stark flash of his brutal actions during our fight with the wolves flashes through my mind. It leaves a dark, bitter feeling in my chest. He looks forward, taking a deep breath before a portal opens up in front of him. I close my eyes, hating how it feels to look at the portal. When I open them, he's gone.