her partner was somewhere just above her, safely away from the water’s edge on higher ground. that meant a small climb for corey to reach them and a potentially dangerous climb down for them to reach water if they couldn’t find and outlet source, some kind of trickling stream down into the sea. they’d need the fresh water source. she heard the whistle back and glanced up spotting her partner just then, not clearly but through ferns and brush. it was enough to recognize kayla, another woman similar to her in stature and from corey had noticed, very capable. it felt like a good start for them both.
there had been a few weeks of training and briefings filled with information and protocols where they’d been able to size up competition, and potential partners, even if that was all randomized in the end. all corey knew now, was that she wasn’t against kayla, and vice versa. she dug the toes of her boots into damp moss and soil on her climb up to higher ground, finding a path that was gradual and not too steep; a path that she was confident she could fortify for them.
she felt anxious, ready, wanting to get started on securing them a solid start. when she reached what felt like the top of the climb one palm touched down on the moss to steady herself due to the ground being so slick with moisture and then she was upright fully and looking to find kayla. “thank fuck you’re not a dude.” she mumbles.
She took advantage of the time it would take the other woman to reach her to start at clearing an area for them to build their temporary shelter, putting material she thought could be useful in a small pile by where she hoped they would build their fire for the night. Thinking over what other female contestants she knew of that had a build similar to her, she was one of four female contestants that season, one woman was built very solidly and was tall, at least six foot two she was pretty sure was named Anna, making Kayla feel tiny in comparison, then a blonde that was just a bit thinner than Kayla, a bit shorter named Brooke that absolutely rubbed her the wrong way, but the woman below seemed to be the dark-haired woman below she was like ninety nine percent sure was named Corey, one of the only people Kayla couldn’t really get a good read on.
She wouldn’t say that she was sizing people up during training and prep for the season but she was also definitely sizing people up, it would be a tactical mistake not to. She watched how comfortable people felt handling certain materials, people's willingness to listen to the instructors and local guides when they were being taught about local flora and fauna, when regulations were being discussed basic first aid being taught. She measured their confidence, noted the contestants that seemed to be arrogant, smug and over confident in their abilities which in her experience meant they would be the most likely to make stupid mistakes, the one’s to slip and accidentally cut themselves on their hatchets and knives, the ones' who would think themselves immune to cholera and dysentery. She had noticed a bit of over confidence that seemed to emanate from Corey often making little comments under her breath about the people around her and very obviously judgemental of the others in the room, she was cocky but not in a way that she seemed to think she was above learning, which was enough for Kayla to think she could have definitely been paired with worse, like the big burly full bellied man that had made a stupid comment about how she probably had no idea how to process an animal.
She could hear the footsteps growing closer and closer as she started scoping out what trees she’d like to start working on cutting down to build a tripod for their tarp. She couldn’t help the amused smile that tugged at her lips, not sure if the brunette realised how loud a voice could be in the silence of the woods or if she had meant to be heard. There was a weird part of her that was kind of nervous about formally meeting her partner and was just now really realizing that she would have to deal with this person constantly for what she was thinking would be at least two months, she didn’t even see her roommate that often. She didn’t think she had spent that kind of time with anyone since she was probably a toddler and needed adult supervision.
