Soon enough, it was December. The days grew shorter and colder with each passing week. Cadets wrapped themselves up as much as possible, trying to ward off the cool air as they trained hard with varying dedication. Out of the initial two hundred and fifty cadets, only a hundred and twelve remained. Vigorous training and less than satisfactory food making many change their minds about the ‘glory of the military’. Within the first week of training, the weaker cadets were weeded out and the even lesser willed left not too long after. 

In preparation for the maneuver gear, cadets were forced to train hard and long. The gear required great physical strength and even greater mental strength to keep the cadets thinking straight in the moment of panic. Instructors kept the cadets constantly running laps around the perimeter of the camp day and night, before moving onto building muscle mass in the cadets and other activities that left them drained by the end of it all. 

By the third week of training, cadets had to go through the 3DMG aptitude evaluation and those that did not pass were forced to leave, resulting in the sudden drop of cadets by the time December rolled by. 

With the arrival of the new week, many cadets could barely sleep – the excitement bubbling in the dorms as many tossed and turned for the following day of training. It was finally time to be rewarded for their training; they were getting their very own gear. The still air was shaken by the sudden shrill scream of a horn, the cadets stirring in their already broken sleep. One cadet in particular hid herself under her thin pillow, grunting in her sleep in discomfort as she tried curling into her blanket for more warmth; however another sudden horn made sure that no cadet could fall back asleep.

Annella grumbled under her breath, slowly sitting up as she tiredly rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. The room was dark, the only light being the lanterns that were lit outside. She reached out beside her, grasping uselessly in the dark for her glasses. [i]I’m already blind, this just makes things worse.[/i] She thought sourly as she grasped the temple and bringing it to her face. Still muttering to herself, the trainee slid out of her warm bed and shivered as the cold air nipped at her arms, raising goosebumps in response. Around her, Annella could hear the cadets stirring and getting out of their beds, and she started walking faster towards the female shower room where she could be one of the first to get the warm water for her shower. 

It wasn’t long before Annella was done, already dressed and chatting with Natalia beside her as they began neatly folding the sheets on top of their bed. Annella’s hair was still damp from her shower, her tresses tossed over her shoulder as she laughed quietly at Natalia’s retelling of her dream.

[color=f9ad81]“Seriously! What I wouldn’t do to go back there!” [/color]Natalia threw her hands in the air, eyes wide,[color=f9ad81] “I mean, a world without Titans where it rains food- it’s heaven!”[/color] It hadn’t taken the tall brunette to warm up to Annella, especially with the help of Nara, the overly energetic blonde [s]puppy[/s] boy. 

[color=bc8dbf]"But what about all the wasted food? I'm sure you couldn't eat everything that fell from the sky, [i]even[/i] if it were a dream."[/color] Annella chuckled, setting her blankets at the foot of her bed.

Natalia waved her hands, [color=f9ad81]"[i]Now[/i] who do you think is being unrealistic? It's a dream!"[/color]

[color=00a99d]"And an amazing dream too!"[/color] Lilith suddenly added from beside Natalia, startling Annella to the point where her glasses fell from her face.

[color=bc8dbf]"How you and Natalia can be so full of energy this early in the morning, I will never know."[/color] Annella sighed to herself, shaking her head with an amused smile on her face as she fixed her glasses back on her face.