Callie's Heroes

PART III - DEBRIEFING

Everyone awkwardly sat while Jesca went through the reveal vertigo, not really sure what to do at that moment. The little unicorn rested her head on the Catkin’s arm, apparently trying to be comforting, and Ambria eventually stood to pour fresh water into a cup for Jesca as she emerged from the event.

“What did you get?” Callie asked eagerly, once Jesca raised her head, giving the unicorn a pat on its neck. “You said two things?”

“That’s right. I got the skill Dash, which I already have as a melded Ranger skill, but now I can have up to two charges. Actually, this second one is just a little different. I can run a few seconds longer with the Beastmaster version, but otherwise it’s the same as my melded Ranger skill.” She shrugged. “The other one is a melee fighting style perk for ‘Whip + Shield’. The description said I can use a whip in each paw, too, since I have Dual Wield and Ambidexterity from Ranger.”

Callie tried to picture Jesca in her mind, animal companions surrounding her, wielding a whip like Indiana Jones. With a quirk of a smile, she had to admit to herself Jesca would be absolutely badass as hell!

“Fighting with whips,” Xera said, making a considering face. “Quite the unique statement, for sure. I’m sure Quartermaster Fullo’s people would be able to braid up a pair from their leather supplies, perhaps in varying lengths as you become more proficient?”

Jesca really had no idea how to respond to that suggestion, her head still slightly spinning from the most-recent reveals, and frankly from the events of the entire morning. Plus, she still hadn’t really had a chance to give any time to what happened the evening before at the bonfire. She felt simply overwhelmed and out of control, and thumped her forehead on the table.

Master Trainer Thorn cleared his throat. “As fascinating as all this is, and I really do wish we had more time to spend on exploring this new class right now, we need to get through this mission review so I can prepare for the Demon demonstrations with Trainer Terrin, or delay the debrief for another time.”

“You’re quite right,” Xera replied, recognizing the distraction. “Master Trainer Thorn, since the Rangers have the day off, find some time to work with Recruit Jesca this afternoon. Get a full accounting of all her new powers once they are all revealed, and determine if any changes to her training regimen are needed. Have Scryer Yulayla do another scry, as deep as is reasonable, to see what else can be learned. Obviously, work with Trainer Reynard to assure her Ranger studies don’t suffer; that’s why she’s here, afterall. You should also explain the presence of the unicorn to the rest of the recruits at your assembly, to forestall any questions or confusion. For now, we’ll treat Jesca’s companions as if they are similar to a Sylvan’s familiar.”

“Recruit,” Rowani added, “come and find me at some point soon, and I will review those skills that Druids also have with you. I don’t understand this new class you have received, or why you have two now, but I’ll do what I can to be of assistance.”

“Thank you,” Jesca said. “I’ll try not to be a burden on anyone.”

“Recruit, it is not a burden,” Xera said firmly, looking at the Cheetahkin. “We are here to see that each and every one of you has their potential maximized to the best of our ability. We have come to embrace the strangeness that may come from that, as your friend Callie can certainly attest. You are no different, no matter the circumstances. You will leave here not only the best Ranger, but also the best Beastmaster that we can make you.”

The debrief had gone better than Callie had expected it to. She was worried that Reynard and Major Celeste would have a whole list of critiques for her and the others, and it would just be a negative experience. Instead, as they went through the entirety of the mission, most questions were focused on understanding the thinking, or in some cases non-thinking, that influenced each recruit’s decisions they made, rather than pointing out any mistakes. It was much more positive and productive, and allowed each of the recruits to really look inwards and have a less-defensive conversation. This also allowed the recruits to discover what their own mistakes were themselves, rather than be lectured on every thing that they screwed up.

In the end, Callie identified several places where she felt she had made mistakes. One example being only bringing a single Dragonfire Oil. At the time she felt her thinking was sound, but had it not been for Shul’an, they would have been in real trouble with the nest opened and no way to easily set it alight. The officers made a point of skipping over the details of the retreat, for the sake of Jesca’s unicorn, but Callie also admitted without specifics that her hesitation had been quite dangerous, and thanked the Major for the moment of clarity she was able to send to her. The other recruits all had their own self-critiques, as well, Pixyl, for example, grudgingly acknowledging she should have revealed her injuries immediately rather than try to ‘not be a bother for anyone’.

Even Reynard and Celeste were not immune to admitting their own mistakes. The Major owned up to being so focused on the Dragonfire Oil stuck in her backpack that she missed the warning about the Basilisk, and Reynard made a point of chastising himself for letting his guard down once the nest was ignited and the zombie wildlife looked as if they had retreated, which led to him being vulnerable to the attack from behind.

All things considered, Reynard’s outlook and demeanor were surprisingly positive. There was always the minor undercurrent of grumpiness that he carried, but despite losing about half his leg, he was struggling to remain upbeat. His critiques towards Callie and the rest were at least minor and constructive, and compliments easily outnumbered them. Callie knew that being able to have his leg regrown was a big part of it, but it was still nice to see an overall good mood, considering what happened.

The whole debriefing concluded with a roundtable of ‘what would you do differently next time’, and everyone had their own personal changes they would have made in everything from potion loadouts to Rowani once again beating herself up for going in so unprepared. In the end, the entire conversation was incredibly positive, and much more training-focused, despite it being largely about identifying mistakes and self-critiques, and all the recruits came away with a new perspective on their own responses to a combat moment.

Finally, Xera once again congratulated the team for completing the mission and destroying the nest. They actually gushed a bit, explaining they were worried it was too much, too soon for both Callie as the Sergeant, as well as the rest of the team in general, given they had only had two weeks of training. They were quite happy to be proven wrong on that concern. Both Reynard and Celeste echoed, stating it had been a privilege to work with them all, and that they'd do it again without a single hesitation should the need ever arise.

The rest of the team boosted Callie’s ego, each of them extolling her quick decision making during several key moments, her focus on keeping them all safe, as well as making sure to solicit their opinions as often as possible. Shul’an admitted they had expected Reynard would need to take over almost immediately, then adding they were quite happy he hadn’t. Callie quickly forgave them for expecting her failure as Sergeant, before the Salamanderkin could even apologize, saying she had her own doubts throughout the entire mission. She went on to thank the rest of the team, saying it was great to work with all of them, and echoing Reynard and Celeste in saying she’d work with them any time.

During the debrief, Jesca had received another reveal, this one being a channeled skill called Companion Sense. At Iron Tier, it would allow her to look through the eyes of any Bonded Companion at a range of a few kilometers. Future tiers promised greater range and the ability to use other senses. Thorn, who Callie could definitely see was a bit of a nerd when it came to all things classes, had Jesca try it out. The mana drain with the brand new spell was heavy, but she was indeed able to look through the eyes of the unicorn, which was both fascinating as well as a bit unnerving for Jesca, since she was able to effectively see herself for the first time ever without looking in a mirror.

Unfortunately, it was about then that Thorn and Pixyl had to leave to get ready for the Demon demonstration. Callie wasn’t sure why he needed Pixyl, and she was tight-lipped about it when pressed. She had a gut feeling it was going to be interesting, though.

The conversation continued, slowly wrapping up, and soon the bell rang to call everyone up the hill. Before everyone departed, Juniper requested her own moment, trying to find the words to express her gratitude. It was unfamiliar territory to the Dryad, having a potential danger to her very life present in the lands she oversaw, and then needing to be reliant on others to address that on her behalf. While Vanis encouraged her, and Callie was sure supporting her was the only reason he was here, Juniper finally ended up choking on the words. In the end, she kept it simple, with a final, meek ‘thank you’ to everyone. More words were really not needed, although they all did get hugs from the Nymph and another whispered ‘thank you’ on their way out the door.