Sage felt his eyebrows shoot up in response to his friends comment. "You stopped riding," he asked, surprised about it. That was always his favorite thing to do.....since when was he unable to ride? He left the question open ended, so the boy could explain what happened if he felt like it. He wouldn't push though ...he knew all too well what it was like to not want to talk about something.

He grew quite alongside Jackson, content to relax and just watch the herd. Of course, he probably got too relaxed, because when a gun went off maybe a mile or so away, he honestly sort of just...lost it. It was probably just someone out hunting deer or fowl, but the noise set something off in his mind and he jumped up with a sort of snarl, own gun cocked and ready as he whirled around, a rather wild sort of look glittering in his eyes. His heart was pounding too, and he didn't know if he was hyperventilating or just holding breath, but he couldn't breath. His whole body was on edge, ready to take out anything he saw that moved. He just wasn't thinking anymore....all those pent up thoughts and emotions were taking its toll, and his body now had a mind of its own. It did that, occasionally, and he hated it, but he also couldn't do much about it.

Sages ears were ringing, so all he could really hear for a while was his heart pounding. It was an odd sensation, and it was a rather unpleasant one at that. He wasn't aware of anything nearby him, so when Jackson moved, he obviously didn't register it was his friend, and he was in a sefe environment.

When the movement next to him caught his eye, it was a split second before he'd whirled around, knocking whatever it was to the ground and pinning them easily, fully ready to blow their brains out before he registered what he was doing and kept back, eyes widening a a sort of strangled noise coming from his throat. He'd dropped the gun, having gone somewhat pale as he realized he probably just messed up. Again. "Shit," he sort of rasped. "Sorry," he added, not entirely sure what to even say. Sorry didn't really cut it. He couldn't even promise it wouldn't happen again. He reached for the gun after a moment, unlocking it and placing the safety back on with shaky hands, definitely still overwhelmed and upset with himself.

Sage sort of winced as Jackson stared at him, eyes wide. It was pretty obvious the guy had no idea what to do, and sage definitely could not blame him. He'd come pretty damn close to shooting him in the head. God, he hated how he acted now.....it was all so stupid. A gun, over a mile away, messing with his mind like this ..well, it was rather pathetic.

"It's not ok, I almost killed you," he sort of yelped, deflating against the tree he was leaning against with a sigh. He shouldn't be surprised....but this was another reason he hadn't wanted to go on this fucking field trip. He could hurt someone, badly ...even kill them. Jackson had been trying to to help, and it had nearly killed him. "I'm....not normally this bad," he admitted with a wince, still obviously shaken up. This was all so embarrassing...he was just glad the entire school group hadn't seen that. "this is why I don't think I should be getting involved with things," he grumbled to no one in particular.

Eventually, sage just sighed and got to his feet. He'd have to get up and walking if he wanted to calm down. Make sure he was safe, that sort of thing, yes, but also to get his mind off of everything. "Come on then," he sort of murmured sheepishly, offering the other boy a hand up. "Are you alright," he asked tiredly, obviously a bit concerned. But what if Jackson decided he didn't want to deal with everything Sage brought to the table? he certainly wouldn't blame him....he had a whole slew of issues, half of which he didn't know anything about. And he doubted he'd ever be able to tell him most of them.

Eventually, they just kept walking, though Sage wasn't paying much attention to where they were going. He was just staring at the ground, trying not to focus on anything and relax. But he also couldn't let his mind relax, or it would take over agin. This sucked, big time. Why did he have to be so fucked up? It wasn't fair. But it wasn't fair to jacksonn either. Eventually he sort of just sighed and spoke up. "Look...if you're not comfortable with this, you don't have to stick it through," he noted. "I've learned how to deal without any friends or family. It won't bother me," he added. It wasn't quite true...he'd feel terrible about it if he left, no matter how much practice he'd had or how used to it he was by then.

(it's alright...not me struggling to figure out a way to make them argue now xD)

Sage couldn't help but throw Jackson a surprised look in response to his comment. He wasn't uncomfortable enough to take off once they got back to the group? Or campus? That was new...he'd fully expected him to leave and not look back.

"oh," was all he managed to get out, chewing on his lip as his mind circled. It was obvious he was relieved though, by the way his shoulders slumped slightly as the tension along his back dissolved.

He let out a bitter chuckle out after a moment, shaking his head. "God, what I'd do to have a normal life," he murmured, looking up and around at the forest. "Like...these people at campus are always complaining, and they have no idea what they're talking about," he practically spat. "I'm starving, I'm freezing, I'm dying," he imitated, sort of just stomping along. "No one gets it," he added with a huff. "And i can't just sit around forever listening to it either," he grumbled.

(its alright lol)