Lesson Two H&PE (First years)

Asric stopped right in the middle of the field and glanced at his watch. He was five minutes early, he sighed glancing down at the register a little disappointed at how many students he had. That just meant he could work more with each person.

Damian hurried out to the field where his mentor held Hunting and Physical Education classes. The boy hadn't originally signed up for this course - Master Chaos had said he didn't have to - but it seemed a bit odd to not be taking his mentor's class. Besides, he was already taking so many courses, what was one more? It wasn't like Damian hated studying or anything.

The boy grinned as he approached the man, glad that he was the first to arrive. "Hello, sir!" he greeted, wincing slightly at his own raised tone. Damian was still getting used to that. He smiled sheepishly at the man.

Flora stepped into the field. Professor Chaos was there and a boy... Damien, is it?
'Hello Professor' she nodded at him. He had treated her well the last time she had seen him. She offered a smile to Damien. Man, I had smiled at more people on a single day than I did my whole life.

Seth was excited about his next lessons. Last time it had been a blast and now with his new-found hearing it should be even more interesting. When he got there he saw a girl he didn't know and Damian. He poked Damian in the elbow and said "Heya buddy," before turning to the professor and saying hi to him.

Damian returned the girl's smile, having heard her approaching the field when she was still quite far away. He then elbowed Seth back, grinning good-naturedly. His blue eyes swept the area.

"How many people are in this class?" he asked his friend. His voice was barely a whisper, though of course, the two boys and their master had enhanced hearing, so to them it was at a perfectly normal volume. Damian didn't mind the idea of a small class, but surely there were more than three of them?

"Well until you came here to save me from all these girls" he grinned, "I was the only guy and then Asric, but even then there were only a few other students that signed up."

He smiled ruffling Damians hair. "Nice of you to finally join your brother and me. You'll get used to it sooner or later. I think those ear plugs are about ready to come out." He smirked. "What was it? Couldn't bare missing out on the fun?" He asked before turning back to the rest of his small class.

"Right i'm afraid being first years means you get stuck with the boring yet important stuff. So this year will mainly be based on your fitness rather than actual hunting. So someone tell me what is the most important thing to consider when running?" He asked looking around at them all waiting for an answer.

Damian grinned. "I did hear last lesson was rather fun!" he said.

"Is it breathing, sir?" the boy responded to the question. "My teacher in primary school always told us to make sure we breathed properly."

He nodded. "Correctamundo 10 points to hufflepuff. Your primary school teacher was very smart. Breathing is a very important tool in hunting. For one reason... It keeps you alive." He smiled.

"Two points. First, the correct breathing will allow you to run further and those extra miles could be the difference between life and death. Believe me i've ran from a lot of dangerous creatures, some are just too dangerous to fight alone with little experience. Now? I run from no one." He smiled.

"Second, the correct breathing will allow you to hide. All good hunters hide, it allows you to stalk your prey before finally taking it down. Now someone tell me a good breathing technique for running."

Flora raised her hand hesitantly, 'Um, breathing in on one midstep and breathing out on the next midstep, Professor?' Truth be told, she didn't know much about Hunting or Physical Education. She just told what she found logical

"Also 'in through your nose and out through your mouth'," Damian added to Flora's answer when it seemed no one else would.

He nodded. "Correct, simple thing to do but no one seems to do it. In through your nose and out from your mouth. Let's all try that now shall we because out in the forest you'll need to keep your breathing quiet. Heavy breathing is enough to scare away your prey or worse alert bigger more dangerous predators to your positioning." He said itching his arm.

"Right breath in... and out. I want to hear you keeping your breathing as silent as possible." He said also doing the exercise himself to show them.

Flora did as she was told, forcing her breathing into a slow and calm patern.

Damian followed the man's directions breathing slowly in through his nose, then out through his mouth. He knew about how important breathing quietly could be - his old friends had helped see to that.

He watched them carefully to make sure they were doing it right and as soon as he was sure they were he clapped his hands together. "Right now how easy do you think that would be after a long run?" He asked checking out the grounds to see which way was best.

"Right to help you breath quietly whilst you run we're going to run and try it." He smirked. "Right we will take a steady run to the lake and back making sure you stay in line with me. This is not a race. Remember to keep your breathing slow and steady, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth." He said glancing down at his watch to times them, then he set off keeping a nice relaxing jog.

Flore followed Professor Chaos right away. Right, his steps are longer than mine... His two steps matche three of mine... ok now, in-out-in-out-in-out...

Damian in step behind his mentor. Being much shorter, of course, he had to take more strides to keep up, but he was a pretty good runner - he'd had to be.

The boy focused on paying attention to his breathing as he ran, which was easier said than done and he kept getting off track with either the running or the breathing, but he kept at it and managed more or less successfully.

Once they had finished the run he came to a stop back where they had started. "It's a lot harder than it looks isn't it?" He smirked looking at both his students in turn. "Keep your breathing as silent as you can, if i can hear you loud enough then you're not doing it right." He said his own breathing as silent as it could be.

"First concentrate on bringing your breathing under control. You will need to bring your heart beat down to a more relaxed beat and NEVER sit down after a run. It stops your circulation which is not good if you have another long run to do." He said glancing at his watch. "You have 30 seconds to calm yourselves down. Out in the real world you'd need to do it as quick as you can preferably under the 10 second mark." He said. "Your time starts now."

All things considered, Damian thought he was breathing pretty quietly for having run so far. He worked on breathing quieter and on slowing his heart. In... out... Just like when he had to run from a group of muggle kids who chased him all the way from the bridge. Damian could do this, he knew he could.

Flora converted her breathing into a slow and deep patern. She could feel her heartbeat calming down.

He watched them carefully to make sure they were breathing right. "Very good. Now remember to practice this all the time especially after exercise because it does take practice to make perfect." He said running his hand through his hair.

"Right off you go i expect dinner will be ready soon." He smiled before turning on the spot and heading towards the forbidden forest.