#trianing hike

[cutebbcute]

In the summers silence, I was getting violent

Glenwood series

Summary: Ranger just wanted to help their best friend move. Little did they know they would completely forget what really happened that night.

Warnings: major character death, a cliff, violence, non-consensual biting.

They /them

They/them Pronouns for ranger.

Word count: 2,087

"Your what?" Rangers eyes open with surprise. Eyes fanticly looked at Isaiah, trying to understand.

" Well, she said she has this nice house off a trial not too far from he -"

"So you're just leaving that quick!"

The room went still. Ranger threw their hand up and stared at Isaiah looking for an answer. He just gave a pleading look back.

"Look," Isaiah sighed. "She says that she needs my help, that my magic could help her turn back!" He flashed a bright smile at ranger. " I could use my powers for something this time, and she says she could teach me more about them."

He looks back at Ranger, expecting a happy face, but all he sees is one of hurt.

"You barely know this girl Isaiah, how are you sure. What if she takes you into the woods to murder yo-"

"She would never, you know this dude. She was a blood mage before, so I think she just sees herself in me.. I guess."

Isaiah begins to take more clothes and carful folds them into his hiking backpack that has a bunch of different patches on it.

Ranger sit on his bed with their head in their arms.

" Have you even told your mom?" Ranger asks, voice filled with worry.

"You know she doesn't care dude, why do you think she sent me to those summer camps, and now she has a new boyfriend to worry about." Isaiah runs a hand through his hair, sighs, and falls into the bed, looking over at his best friend.

"What about me, Isaiah? What if you get hurt and and..." Ranger says as their voice quivers, they look over at Isaiah eyes filled with worry.

"Dude," Isaiah sits up and moves to be next to them. "You are such a mother hen." He pushes rangers hat down infount of their face.

Ranger lets out a few chuckles before they shove him back.

"Trust me, I'll be fine, I'm just going to stay with her for a bit while she trians me. Plus, the trail to her house isn't too far from here."

"You're going to walk to her house now. It's about to pour, and the sun should be setting soon."

Ranger says, glancing outside the windows, the sun is just starting to set, and the sky is filled with black clouds.

Isaiah looks out the window for a bit before looking back at Ranger. "I'll be fineeeee."

"You're going against Hikers code? How about I help you bring stuff? She won't care, right?"

Isaiah looks off for a bit in though before shrugging his shoulders. "I don't think she would care, plus I could use some help."

"Alright, give me 5 minutes." Ranger smiles before rushing out.

They run down the street to their house, they run in quickly, throwing their hat to the side, and began making a bag filled with the essentials as if they had done this before. Flashlight, snack bars, 2 water bottles, a small first aid kit, and their trusty pocket knife.

Huffing trying to catch their breath, they look over to their desk. It's a photo from when Ranger and Isaiah were at prom. Both of their prom dates left them, so they dipped and decided to go to McDonald's still all dressed up. Ranger smiles at the picture, grabs their bag, and rushes out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ranger and Isaiah stand at the entrance of the trail. It's one they have done so many times before.

"She said to meet her at the cliff point," Isaiah looks up from his phone to ranger.

"Ok, still a decent hike up, but it's nothing we haven't done before. Did you tell her I'm coming?" Ranger takes their eyes off of the path ahead of them and looked at Isaiah, their gut filled with a bad feeling.

"No, but she shouldn't care. You're just helping me bring something up, and then after I settle in, I should be able to visit you." Isaiah brushes ranger off and begins to walk ahead

"Should? Why wouldn't you visit me?" Ranger asks, still filled with worry.

Isaiah looks back to Ranger as he stops in his tracks. " Well, shes.... she's worried I'll hurt someone." Isaiah looks down

"Isaiah, in your years of knowing me and showing me your magic, have you hurt me?" Ranger walks up and pats his shoulder. "Plus, if you ever need a dummy to practice on, im right here." Ranger flashes Isaiah a toothy smile before motioning forward. "Come on, let's try to beat the moon. The sun is starting to set."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took about 45 minutes of walking, but two of them slowly made it up the trial into an opening. There are a few signs, 2 picknick tables, and some trash. But the best thing about this part was the view of the cliff. it was a beautiful view of the mountains, trees, and the sun as it finally dipped past the horizon.

Ranger look out, a chill going down their spine as darkness Stared to set in. They grab their flashlight from the side of their bag and flick it on. They shine it towards Isaiah.

"She says she is on her way now." Isaiah smiles as he puts his phone away in his back pocket. He turns his head to look at the view. "It shouldn't be long since she's a vampire, they are quick as fuck." Isaiah smiles.

"This is the skin of a killer, Bella."Ranger throws their head back in laughter at their own joke. Isaiah begins to laugh back. It take a minute for them to gain their composure back.

"So what are you going to do while I'm doing this?" Isaiah asks, facing Ranger as he crosses his arms at them. Ranger looks at him for a second before looking out at the view.

"Might become a park ranger."

They srug their shoulders.

"That.... actually sould perfect." Isaiah chuckles to himself, "you always are a sucker for the outdoors.... and rules."

Ranger gives a playful shove to Isaiah as he laughs. "Just becaus-"

"OH ISAIAH!!" A high pitch voice calls out from behind them. They both turn to face who was calling the name.

"Charlotte!" Isaiah runs over to her and opens his arms out wide. She quickly denied the hug and gives him a pat on the shoulder. "Oh, you know I'm not the huggin-..." She stares at ranger, red eyes glowing in the light from their flash light.

"Hey Charlotte " they give a quick response.

Charlotte turns to face Isaiah. "Isaiah, doll I though we talked about this." She gave Isaiah a look of pity.

"They just wanted to help me up here, that's all." Isaiah lowers his smile, and his brows scowl together.

"Yeah, is there a problem with that." Ranger quips back.

Charlotte stants and looks back and forth between the two before speaking. " Isaiah, may I speak to you privately for a minute."

Isaiah frowns at her before looking at Ranger. "Yeah ,sure." Ranger takes the idea and goes to sit at one of the picknick tables. They slunch down and start to pick at the table. A water drop falls on their head. They look up and see a cascade of water falling. They were to focus in the rain, and suddenly, a shout catches their attention.

"Look, Charlotte, if you don't like them, I don't care their my best friend, and I'm not just going to leave them!" This is followed a harsh slap. Isaiah stumbles to catch his body , holding his stinging cheek, and he quickly looks back at Charlotte.

"You are going to get them killed, don't you notice th-" Charlotte catches rangers punch right before it hits her face. She breathes out. " I don't have time for this."

She shove ranger back, and they go flying. Their body rolls back into the now muddy path. They cough as the wind was knocked out of them. Isaiah looks over to his best friend he then trys to launch his body towards them, but before he can, he is pulled back by the back of his neck. He was forced to look at Charlotte, and he bagan to hear a ringing in his ear as his vision started to fade.

Charlotte was mouthing words he couldn't hear. Suddenly, Charlotte was knocked out of concentration as a body collided with her. Hands trying their best to grab at Isaiah. She drops Isaiah and turns and hits Ranger in their face. A loud crack fills the air as Ranger stumble back, holding their nose. trying to get a sense of their surroundings. Everything was too much. The rain, the mud, the pain, the worry. Their eyes open to face Charlotte. " I'll tell the Bureau, the- this has to be illegal."

"OH would you just shut it."

Ranger is quickly grabbed by the Throat... they cough and grab at her hands. Eyes bulging, they frantically look around. Their eyes land on Isaiah, whose body layed close to the edge of the cliff. He slowly shakes his head up his arms hold his face up from the mud. He's covered in mud, he tries to stand but as he does the ground from under him slips...

Ranger watches, and they frantically try to claw out of her grip. They let out a horse. "ISAIAH!" Everything feels as if it was in slow motion. Isaiah body begins to quickly slide off the side of the cliff. He frantically tries to grab at the ground, but it's no use. The whole chunk of ground he was on was mud. Mud that was slipping of cliff. Charlotte let go of ranger their body begin to fall to the ground. Just like Isaiah. They tried to reach out, but it was not use.

Isaiah body fell, ranger knew from the sick tud they heard.

Rangers body begin to shake, they started to hyperventilate, this wasn't happening. They wanted to believe that Isaiah was safe right next to them. But every blink of their eyes showed his helpless eyes right before the fall. The sick and wet thump of his body hitting the ground. They screamed.

They only thing that pulled them from this downward spirle was Charlotte yell. "Son of a bitch!" She quickly threw her gaze at ranger. "You!"

Before ranger could speak, her hands were around their neck. "Do you have any idea of what you've done!"

Ranger eyes bulged out as they stared at her. They felt anger build up in their chest. They weren't going to let her get away with this. They quickly grabbed their trusty pocket knife and slammed it into her arm. The next thing they knew, they were slammed into a tree. Everything hurts, their body, their mind, and slowly Charlotte walks up to them. With one hand, she grabs the side of their throat and brings them up to their feet. She stares at them as if she's deciding something. Then her eyes light up, her fangs show as she shows a crazy smile. "At least you can be a blood bag." Rangers eyes look up at her in fear as

She forcefully tilts their head to the side and CRUCH. Ranger trashes against the bite, pain racing threw them.

they feel paralyzed. Their eyes slowly begin to close, but just as they due Charlotte takes her mouth off their throat. A hand opens one of their eyes forcefully. "Im not done with you." She growls and grabs them by the sholders. They see her lips move, but they can't hear anything but ringing. Only something about magic? They panic as they are draged but too tired to fight it off. Suddenly, the ground slips from them... they are falling...THUD.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hotshot?" Ranger head snaps over to Clare, their eyes soften when they see her. She walks over and places an unbrela over the two of them.

"You know, for someone as smart as you, I would think you would be smart enough to not sit out in the rain." Claire, look at them and hold out a hand. Ranger gladly accepts it and is pulled out of their seat. A hand gently glides them inside. "We just got you all fixed up. I don't need you to get sick now." Claire chuckles before putting the unbrela down. "Stay here. I'll go get you a towl. Clare walks away from Ranger to go retrieve a towel. Ranger watches her go, and then they look outside at the rain. The ground was slowly mixing into mud.

[makairodonx]

“So once the Five Orphans were done with their little shopping spree at Dar-Hepin-Sa, they all departed the mountainside market town the next day, and with provision-laden mules given to them by the Wood-Elves, Aaronus and his loyal companions started their long hike through the Pass of Estolam in order to reach the Gap of Mirandos, through which the River Kadros flowed from the slopes of the mighty Heglas Range. Along the way, the travelers withstood attacks from the Dark Sorcerer’s Harpy spies and from Zuka, the terrible dark-haired and dark-dressed witch who once tried to crush them to death with the use of her massive colliding boulders. And even though the orphans were able to succeed in scattering away their initial adversaries as they approached the Gap of Mirandos, they were all stopped in their tracks by one night by a fleet of airships from Mazaruul’s Goblin forces, who happened to use their monstrous flying machines to bypass the tall mountains that guarded the Pass of Estolam so as to find a clandestine spot from which they could launch an ambush upon Aaronus and the Four Scavengers, who all had no choice but to face the Goblins head on with weapons in hand, and leap aboard their mighty airships whilst doing so in order to cross a deep, narrow ravine that split the Pass of Estolam in two and finally reach the Gap of Mirandos.”

Page 14 of “The Last Trian”

[beyondlimitsonfoot]

Mt. San Jacinto via Deer Springs Trail

Mt. San Jacinto is one of the tallest peaks in Southern California towering above 10,000 feet. Great training hike for the John Muir Trail that we did in June 2021. Despite the snow on the mountain there was still a lot people climbing the peak for the day.

[dakoookie]

I have nothing to say about this train. But I do want to say that I miss trianing my body. This hike showed me just how weak I have become. 😅 🏋️ 🏋️ 🏋️ 🏋️ 🏋️ 🏋️ 🏋️ 🏋️ 🏋️ 🏋️ #visitaustria#discoveraustria#ig_austria#feelaustria#365austria#austriatoday#weroamaustria#adventurelife#liveforthestory#letswander#explorewildly#visualsofearth#awesomeglobe#splendid_earth#wondermore#wildernesstones#tonesbox#vibesofvisuals#ourmoodydays#semmering#austriantime#austria#rsa_folknature#austriagram#folknature#wonderoutdoors#outdoortones#outside_project#austriavacations#hellofrom (at Austria) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAs6_xnlJRd/?igshid=1hls23a1quip

[omcik-blog]

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PEP, ANTM, HLT, AMZN, GOOGL, IART & more

Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

PepsiCo — The beverage and snack giant earned an adjusted $1.20 per share for the fourth quarter, 4 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also beat forecasts, and the company announced a 7 percent dividend hike, as well. PepsiCo gave a full-year outlook that fell slightly below Street forecasts, with CEO Indra Nooyi saying the company expects global economic challenges this year.

Anthem — Anthem filed suit against Cigna, seeking a temporary restraining order against Cigna’s move to end their $48 billion deal. Cigna had sued Anthem late yesterday, saying regulatory hurdles mean that Anthem’s planned purchase of Cigna cannot possibly be completed, and seeking a multibillion-dollar reverse breakup fee.

Hilton Worldwide — The hotel operator beat estimates by 5 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of 70 cents per share. Revenue also beat forecasts. Hilton was helped by increased bookings at higher prices.

Amazon, Alphabet — The Wall Street Journal reports that the companies have separate plans to use their Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers as home telephones, although implementation of those features does face some hurdles such as telecom regulations.

Integra LifeSciences — The medical technology company announced an offer to buy Johnson & Johnson’s Codman Neurosurgery unit for $1.045 billion in cash.

Kraft Heinz, ConAgra Brands — The two were rated “buy” in new coverage at Deutsche Bank and called “top picks” by the firm. Deutsche Bank said it was recommending names that have a higher probability of value creation in the current environment.

Merck — The drugmaker halted a late-stage trial of an experimental Alzheimer’s treatment. Merck determined that the treatment was ineffective.

Apple — Berkshire Hathaway nearly quadrupled its stake in Apple by buying 42 million more shares and benefiting from the rise to an all-time high yesterday. Berkshire also added to its stakes in airline companies American Airlines Group, Delta Air Lines, United Continental, and Southwest, and took a new stake in Monsanto, all according to its latest quarterly Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

Express Scripts — Express Scripts beat estimates by a penny a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.88 per share. The pharmacy benefit manager’s revenue came in below Street forecasts and it also gave a lower-than-expected outlook for the current quarter.

AIG — AIG took a $5.6 billion charge against earnings to boost reserves for claims, dragging the insurance company’s quarterly loss well below estimates at $2.72 per share. However, AIG also announced a $3.5 billion stock buyback program, following strong results in areas such as consumer insurance.

Fossil — Fossil earned $1.03 per share for the fourth quarter, 15 cents a share shy of estimates. The watch maker’s revenue also missed forecasts. Fossil also gave worse-than-expected guidance for the current quarter, with ongoing impact from currency fluctuations, as well as a decline in overall sales of traditional watches.

Humana — Humana announced a $1.5 billion stock buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to 40 cents per share from the prior 29 cents a share. The news follows the end of its deal to merge with Aetna, which was announced on Tuesday morning.

Procter & Gamble — Activist investor Trian Fund Management has taken a stake in P&G now worth $3.5 billion, according to Trian’s quarterly SEC filing. The consumer products giant represents Trian’s largest-ever holding, as measured by dollar value.

Fortress Investment Group — The asset manager will be bought by Japan’s Softbank for $3.3 billion, or $8.08 per share, compared to a closing price of $6.21 on Tuesday.

Twitter — CEO Jack Dorsey added nearly 426,000 new shares to his holdings, according to a new SEC filing. The purchase was worth just over $7 million.

Apollo Global Management — The private-equity firm hired investment banks to explore either a sale or initial public offering of the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant chain, according to Reuters.

CSX — The railroad operator is asking shareholders to vote on compensation benefits for prospective CEO Hunter Harrison, and on demands by activist investor Paul Hilal that his fund, Mantle Ridge, be reimbursed for “exceptionally unusual” compensation benefits for Harrison. The vote has not yet been scheduled, but was called for after talks between CSX and Hilal fell apart.

[topinforma]

New Post has been published on Mortgage News

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Early movers: PEP, ANTM, HLT, AMZN, GOOGL, IART & more

Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

PepsiCo — The beverage and snack giant earned an adjusted $1.20 per share for the fourth quarter, 4 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also beat forecasts, and the company announced a 7 percent dividend hike, as well. PepsiCo gave a full-year outlook that fell slightly below Street forecasts, with CEO Indra Nooyi saying the company expects global economic challenges this year.

Anthem — Anthem filed suit against Cigna, seeking a temporary restraining order against Cigna’s move to end their $48 billion deal. Cigna had sued Anthem late yesterday, saying regulatory hurdles mean that Anthem’s planned purchase of Cigna cannot possibly be completed, and seeking a multibillion-dollar reverse breakup fee.

Hilton Worldwide — The hotel operator beat estimates by 5 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of 70 cents per share. Revenue also beat forecasts. Hilton was helped by increased bookings at higher prices.

Amazon, Alphabet — The Wall Street Journal reports that the companies have separate plans to use their Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers as home telephones, although implementation of those features does face some hurdles such as telecom regulations.

Integra LifeSciences — The medical technology company announced an offer to buy Johnson & Johnson’s Codman Neurosurgery unit for $1.045 billion in cash.

Kraft Heinz, ConAgra Brands — The two were rated “buy” in new coverage at Deutsche Bank and called “top picks” by the firm. Deutsche Bank said it was recommending names that have a higher probability of value creation in the current environment.

Merck — The drugmaker halted a late-stage trial of an experimental Alzheimer’s treatment. Merck determined that the treatment was ineffective.

Apple — Berkshire Hathaway nearly quadrupled its stake in Apple by buying 42 million more shares and benefiting from the rise to an all-time high yesterday. Berkshire also added to its stakes in airline companies American Airlines Group, Delta Air Lines, United Continental, and Southwest, and took a new stake in Monsanto, all according to its latest quarterly Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

Express Scripts — Express Scripts beat estimates by a penny a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.88 per share. The pharmacy benefit manager’s revenue came in below Street forecasts and it also gave a lower-than-expected outlook for the current quarter.

AIG — AIG took a $5.6 billion charge against earnings to boost reserves for claims, dragging the insurance company’s quarterly loss well below estimates at $2.72 per share. However, AIG also announced a $3.5 billion stock buyback program, following strong results in areas such as consumer insurance.

Fossil — Fossil earned $1.03 per share for the fourth quarter, 15 cents a share shy of estimates. The watch maker’s revenue also missed forecasts. Fossil also gave worse-than-expected guidance for the current quarter, with ongoing impact from currency fluctuations, as well as a decline in overall sales of traditional watches.

Humana — Humana announced a $1.5 billion stock buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to 40 cents per share from the prior 29 cents a share. The news follows the end of its deal to merge with Aetna, which was announced on Tuesday morning.

Procter & Gamble — Activist investor Trian Fund Management has taken a stake in P&G now worth $3.5 billion, according to Trian’s quarterly SEC filing. The consumer products giant represents Trian’s largest-ever holding, as measured by dollar value.

Fortress Investment Group — The asset manager will be bought by Japan’s Softbank for $3.3 billion, or $8.08 per share, compared to a closing price of $6.21 on Tuesday.

Twitter — CEO Jack Dorsey added nearly 426,000 new shares to his holdings, according to a new SEC filing. The purchase was worth just over $7 million.

Apollo Global Management — The private-equity firm hired investment banks to explore either a sale or initial public offering of the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant chain, according to Reuters.

CSX — The railroad operator is asking shareholders to vote on compensation benefits for prospective CEO Hunter Harrison, and on demands by activist investor Paul Hilal that his fund, Mantle Ridge, be reimbursed for “exceptionally unusual” compensation benefits for Harrison. The vote has not yet been scheduled, but was called for after talks between CSX and Hilal fell apart.

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Wall Street rally chugs along on Trump's tax talk, strong data | Reuters

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

Wall Street rose on Wednesday, with the S&P on course for a 7-day winning streak for the first time since September 2013, after President Donald Trump repeated his promise of tax cuts and upbeat economic data increased the odds of a rate hike.

Trump, in a meeting with top executives at U.S. retail companies, said he would lower taxes substantially and simplify the tax code – echoing a vow he made last Thursday that renewed optimism about the economy and revived the “Trump trade”.

The rally has caused the market’s record-setting run to enter its fifth day, despite Trump again providing little details on his plans.

Also boosting sentiment was robust economic data – including bigger-than-expected gains in retail sales and consumer prices in January – that reinforced the strength of the economy.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, in a testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, stood by the stance she took on Tuesday that the central bank was on track to raise interest rates at an upcoming policy meeting.

“She (Yellen) has made it clear that she wants to raise rates,” said Neil Massa, senior equity trader at Manulife Asset Management in Boston.

“Before she spoke yesterday, the March meeting wasn’t in play, but now that is definitely on the table and I think the numbers today bode well for her to do that.”

After the economic data, traders raised the odds of a rate hike in March to 26.6 percent from 13.3 percent before the data was released, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Financial stocks .SPSY, which benefit in a higher rate environment, again led the gainers among the 11 major S&P sectors, with a 0.63 percent gain. The rate-sensitive utilities .SPLRCU and real estate .SPLRCR sectors fell the most.

At 12:31 p.m. ET (1731 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 72.81 points, or 0.36 percent, at 20,577.22.

The S&P 500 .SPX was up 4.3 points, or 0.18 percent, at percent, at 2,341.88. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 14.71 points, or 0.25 percent, at 5,797.28.

Procter & Gamble (PG.N) jumped 3.7 percent to a two-year high of $91.10, giving the biggest boost to the Dow and the S&P, after Trian Fund disclosed a stake, which could pressure the company to slice costs and slow-growing divisions. [nL4N1G04H1]

Shares of Southwest (LUV.N), United Continental (UAL.N), American Airlines (AAL.O) and Delta (DAL.N) rose between 2 percent and 3.7 percent after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) reported investments topping $2.1 billion in each of the carriers.

AIG (AIG.N) weighed the most on the S&P, dropping 8.6 percent after the commercial insurer reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,505 to 1,341. On the Nasdaq, 1,404 issues rose and 1,353 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed 63 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 119 new highs and 18 new lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)