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’m already blind, this just makes things worse. 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.

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

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

Natalia waved her hands, "Now who do you think is being unrealistic? It's a dream!"

"And an amazing dream too!" Lilith suddenly added from beside Natalia, startling Annella to the point where her glasses fell from her face.

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

NEMO ALTARE

...

...

...

...an internal alarm flickered throughout the boy's mind, sending an electric wave pulsating through the various channels until it reached Nemo's sanctuary. A place without consciousness, sight, sound, smell, or touch; completely free of the attachments of the senses. Beyond this wall, there lay various, organized clusters of subconscious systems, all bustling to keep the body regulating oxygen through his lungs and heart, throughout the circulation of his body, and out on a multitude of return trips. An entire network of eye-sore causing, microscopic little cells and servers, processing a trade-route of information at a rate innumerably faster than that of any mob fleeing the deadly clutches of humanity's conquerors. In perfect silence, these mindless little drones moved about, fluctuating from sector to sector, command to command, idea to idea...

...and then, with just one, astoundingly fast pulse, the host was aroused from his restful slumber, eyes blinking open behind to the dark ceiling above. The boy inhaled peacefully, a current of cool morning air swiftly coursing through his body and--as fast as it had entered--back out again in the form of a semi-warm fog, before being once more assimilated among the amassed blanket of drifting damp that hung over the dorm.

His hearing amplified by the sharp contrast of whispers screaming through the dull quiet, the young cadet could make out the voices of a number of comrades...a number of them alien to him, mostly due to his principles on the matter of "socialization." One couldn't really expect to see many of this lot again after they'd all chosen their respective paths in life...so why get to know too many of them? With a heavy exhale and the crack of his back, he leaned up in his bed, arms seemingly stretching themselves forward as his body attempted to pull itself into shape. A few minor grunts later, and the goal had been achieved, resulting in the exit of the youth from the warmth of his covers and into the welcoming embrace of the cold early-morning weather.

Fix the bed, hit the showers, dress anew, exit, nod to the other cadets as was customary; Nemo took his time, going through the usual motions of the dawn-hours, before the "dreaded" exercise routines.

Well, those usually dreaded, anyway. He'd heard tell of their gear-exercises today, a series of tests meant to get each shy recruit passed first base with their shiny blind-date. The boy chuckled, combing down his black hair into a keen looking position as his boots quietly creaked along the aged wooden planks, heading for the door. He stopped just a meter short of the wooden barrier holding him back from the outside grounds, reaching into his jacket pocke--

He coughed, reminding himself that he already had the glasses on his face. Nemo sighed...there was still some more work to do on that reflex...but later, later, he must not tarry. His right grasped the shaky wooden handle, pulling it open to release a shivering two-pronged invasion of cold blue light and even colder waves of outside air into the building...much to the dismay of several late-risers.

"Bonjour mon amis...", the boy chuckled, slamming the door shut behind him...juuust to make sure the effect set in.

He sighed as his boots crunched along the freezing cold, hard, dusty grounds below him; there weren't many "Amis" left now...what with the various de-weeding sessions that had occurred of late.

The boy chuckled lowly to himself again. It had been a truly fortunate fate, that those he convinced into each gaining a set of favors--upon his "honor"--all happened to fail their tests, flunking the academy, and taking that little "incident" with them.

Of course, if they hadn't flunked...well...he preferred not to think of it that way.

"Let sleeping dogs lay.", he muttered, the words steaming out of the tan-skinned soldier's mouth, before dissipating into the morning that encompassed the entirety of the grounds.

A calm, observant gaze rotated around the courtyard, searching for any semblance of a line.

Well...it looked like he was just a bit early...again...

...how many times did that make now? He'd honestly lost count...

With a slight grunt, the youth slumped down onto the frozen earth underneath him, the cold quickly shoot up through his rear and the column of his spine. It took a few minutes of this uncomfortable acclimation, but--with tried patience--he was able to finally regain "most" of the body-heat lost to him with the initial action. He inhaled and exhaled calmly, closing his eyes and beginning to shut out the world around him.

A few minutes of extra sleep could always do...and he'd rather not ruin his bed after he'd taken such pain-staking measures to ensure it sat looking the fittest a bed could look.

The young, tan-skinned soldier-to-be smiled...

Oh...vanity...what would I do without you.

Yuri had been watching the world tick on by for the past Month or two. It was a stunning event of beauty and graceful motions of nature. What he loved more, was how the snow settled in. Yuri had been known amongst his friends for hating the cold, especially snow, as he used to feel that the cold effected his overall performance. His bloodline had quite a good resilient structure to withstand low temperatures, just as long as they weren't too low. And it was the birds...they all silenced every morning. He had loved their sound, but having the ability to lose connections with their vocal chords of gentle tone and just listen to the graceful wind...it was a feeling he hoped to never lose touch with. In one hand, he held a bottle. Embedded into the glass was the moulded words, containing the sweet taste. 'Devil's Pride' Pretty decent for an alcoholic beverage, and it wasn't too alcoholic either. It had a sweet taste, could only make one tipsy if they were too vulnerable/not used to the drink, and would have to intake a lot of the liquid. He was in heaven when drinking it. In fact, it was his first gift...and he was near to tears. It was actually quite clear, when he received the gift, on how he felt emotionally. It wasn't just any gift. Annella and Lilith were by him as he had the item delivered by one of the Instructors. Around it was a dusty letter. It was cold, as well as the drink, as he read to himself:

My Dearest,
I heard the news throughout the Programme. I saw that you are in fact training now, and will be proving yourself on the field of training for a while. There was talk amongst us on the Wall about it when we were seeing who we knew in the Western Trainees, as well as the other Regions. Let me say, it is strange. Having the younger, yet taller, follow in the same path. I haven't had the time to hear anything positive, nor negative, about your progress, and am hoping that you'll prove yourself to be a fine soldier. Fuck, you mightn't of been kicked out, but still...I wanted to say I'm proud of you. We don't get much ink here, so I'll leave it at that. Enjoy your gift.

Love, Vera. x

When he read that final line, he felt rather touched. His eyes had watered and his soul had been lifted. It was the first time he had heard from Vera in a very, very long time. It was beautiful to finally know that his Sister was still out there, alive and safe, well and fine, working hard and still proud of him for who he was. She'd of known that the business had died those two months ago, but it was of no concern it seemed. More specifically, she'd chosen the choice he wanted...The Garrison. A place her and himself felt like was the most important. Sure, the king was quite important to protect...but defending countless lives...civilians...it was a tough and important job. To him, more important than going out the wall to 'Discover and learn'. He did have respect for the Survey, but their actions could've been put to use in the Defence, rather than doomed offences.

Now he was sitting outside, before dawn had even cracked. On the chair outside the door, he sat. Fully clothed, uniform up to scratch. Everyone had been whispering about his strange acts of early waking up. He'd go to sleep when everyone else did, but how he woke up and would assess how nature had changed overnight was rather peculiar. Yuri sighed deeply as he shuddered slightly, wishing he'd had brought his bed sheet with him. He was a rather tidy gentleman, and more to the point, a rather clean man. He was different. Not like how everyone had their own individual personalities, he was completely different. Like the sort of different that most people didn't like nor agree with. And now he was out here, earlier than everyone. He was the first on the entire camp to awaken, and was at least half an hour ahead of the wake-up Horn. At the twenty minute mark, the tanned soldier walked outside, fixing his glasses and seeming tired like the rest. When the horn sounded, he thought to himself. Today was the day. It was the day where he was to be equipped with his own Gear. Gear that'd be his for as long as fate saw fit. And what was scarier, was that he was about to undergo the most scary part. The training. Everyone had been assigned to three specific areas to choose from. The Forest, the town and the Roofed-Zone. Each and everyone of them were to help those train in the specific areas, which could potentially help them decide their regimental fate from here onwards. The Forest was to help those in wanting to join the Survey, and the Roofed-Zone acted like the Western Caverns, making it a high spot for Military Police navigation. The Town, however, was more of the City layout, with dummy buildings and large high-spots to use to speed advantages. He had no real concern for what everyone had picked, and he knew that it was his choice to pick what he wanted. Yuri obviously went for the Town...the Garrison was the only thing that mattered to him here, besides the three friends he had. Well...two were real friends...the other...was...still a friend...but...different...

Yuri finally stood up after everyone walked past him, some giving him the confused look. They pondered about why he was just sat in a chair so early in the morning, a bottle within his fingers. It was his food/drink gift from the outside, at least to some extent, world for the week. He didn't really eye them back, as he was still deep in his thoughts. He knew that Annella, Grant, Lilith and the rest of his dorm were sure to have passed. There was also that girl he spoke to on the first day...she didn't really pay any attention to him any more. No one paid any positive views towards him as often as he hoped...but...who can he really blame for not being popular?

As the jet-black haired trainee moved out of the chair, he crept towards a group surrounding an Instructor. He was handing out 3DMGs to everyone in that group, as they had already been trained in the balance and fitting of the gear. The soldier handing them out gave it carefully, giving Yuri a stern look as if to tell him about the dangers and safety measures he'll have to deal with if he were to fuck up everything. It was clear, where as most trainees muttered about the looks being given, Yuri accepted it. He was the Better man, wasn't he? Well...probably not. As he walked away from everyone, he began to fit the straps. The tighter they became on his hip straps, the more energy he felt surge through his body. It was a chilling feeling...or was that just the winter air? Though now it was the time to wait, and he made his way first over to the 'Town Training Team' zone, way before anyone had even become as close as he was to setting up their gear. Even Grant and Lilith were struggling, though laughing at their own stupidity. Yuri let out a sigh, as he waited alone for the others to come and join him. He hummed to himself, the same tune he did usually when alone. He leant against a wooden podium, used usually for torches, as he closed his eyes. He knew how weird he looked, doing so. To make things easier for him, he imagined no one was around him, hoping that no one, not even his acquaintances, were to bother him. At that moment, of still being alone and hoping of everything staying that way, the sunlight rays began to crack through the sky and shine on himself.

It had been a few months since that oh so faithful encounter with Raphaela and Teresa. But even so, Teresa tried her best to avoid the grinning brunette as much as she could, even going as far to taking a completely different route to the hall. For some reason, the girl was clinging to Teresa like a possessed rag doll, trailing behind her everywhere she went. The infamously tall Raphaela even managed to bag the bed above Teresa's, dangling her arms over it and trying to start weird conversations. It was then when Teresa realised that Raphaela wasn't going to let go. Even though the girl was more of an unwanted joker than a friend, Teresa decided to stick with it. After all, it wasn't like she was going to let go anytime soon.

The winter season fell on the silent training camp as December peaked its head over the walls. A coat of frost lay itself on the ground, the temperature starting to drop below zero. It was dark, yet calm and serene, for the sun hadn't risen from its slumber just yet. As the remaining trainees began to shiver in their blankets, Teresa rubbed her eyes, opening them up to the December darkness. Stifling a yawn, she sat her self up, stretching out her long tanned arms. She looked around the quiet dorm, silently lifting her legs off her wrinkled bed sheets. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey, Teresa, you awake?"

Teresa sighed, running a hand through her tangled hair. "No, I'm totally snoring my ass off while you pick at the worn out wall paint beside our bunk. Jeez, of course I'm awake, Raphaela."

Raphaela giggled, waving her hands around Teresa's head. "Wow, the day hasn't even properly started yet, and you're already insulting me and my bad habits? That's definitely a world record you've accomplished there, Teresa."

Raphaela sat back up on her mattress, curiously looking around for any other early birds in her dorm. She placed her hand on the ice cold wall and began to feel around, looking for the cracks of paint she had been picking at for the past few months. What started off as something to fulfil her boredom finished as something wide, grey, and extremely noticeable. Teresa tutted, getting up and hitting Raphaela on the leg.

"Quit scraping at the wall like some angry cat, will you?" Teresa hissed, trying to keep her voice as low as possible. "The instructor's going to kick your ass all the way to Shiganshina if he sees that."

"I'm bored though! No one's awake and to be honest... I'm just plain bored."

"Then just deal with it until breakfast! Jeez, if you weren't always following me around like some lost pup, I wouldn't have to treat you like I'm your fucking mother!"

Suddenly, Raphaela went completely silent. She took her hand off the wall and started twiddling her thumbs, sinking back into the winter silence. Teresa was stunned. Rapheala Leistner, the girl who purposely annoyed other trainees for her amusement, the girl who once screamed her head off after a certain boy accidentally shoved themselves into her at the dinner hall, had gone silent. It was a surprise to Teresa, so much so that even she had stopped talking herself.

"Um... I think we should go get ready now, Teresa."

Before she could respond, Raphaela was already up and at it, walking across the dorm like a giant ghost. Teresa felt like saying something, maybe even apologising if she had struck some sort of nerve inside Raphaela. However, before she could stand up, the morning sun rose up, making bars of yellow and orange light up the wooden floor through the window. The sun shone against Raphaela's brown hair as she walked off, looking as lonely as she did since the revelation of her mother's death eight years ago.

Arek was sitting in his room, looking over the letter. It has been giving to him a long time ago. It was devastating. Note stained in red liquid made a traumatising view. He rubbed his fingers so thickly along his forehead that wrinkles formed. There were red marks where he had been rubbing. It was frightening, even the a man of his age and experience. The note. His command he had issued an those years ago. Horrifying years...it was the only mission where the Garrison were sent outside with the Survey...And...everything was so unprepared...that command didn't cost his reputation as a commander. It cost him his dignity; it cost him his sanity. He wanted to end himself after the disaster. He hoped that no Commander would ever make that mistake...everyone had died. And the fact that he witnessed it all, was enough torture. Arek was supposed to carry on with his duties, but he couldn't have the shame in his life. He was prepared to take his place in the death toll he caused...though the government felt they needed him, and set him far from the action, into the training programme. No one knew of this operation. No one knew the true way of the soldiers' deaths. Every family was lied to in letting the secret stay. He felt terrible...he felt terrible...

Following the two chatting girls, Annella stretched her hand over her head, knotting her hair up into a tight bun to keep it away from her face. If rumours were true and that they were going to be working with their gears today, it would be in her best interest to make sure that her hair wouldn’t get into her face and potentially kill her.

She took the gear from the instructor’s outstretched palm, giving him a small nod in thanks as she moved away to a less populated area so she could wear her gear-

“Oi! Make sure you got your goggles on!” The instructor calls from behind her.

She fishes into her inner jacket pocket to poke at her goggles, just to make sure they were present, before turning around and nodding, “will do sir!” Annella took off her jacket, and shivered at the cold as she hastened the process of securing the gear to her body like a second skin.

It was a tricky business, but Annella slowly managed to slip into her gear once she began securing the clips around her thighs. She grunted as she felt uncomfortable with the leather stretching over her skin, but just moved onto hooking the clips around her chest instead. I’ll just get used to it, mama did say that it took her a week to get used to the gear… She thought to herself as she slipped her jacket back on, glad for the warmth.

“Gah!” Nara cried as he slipped while trying to put his boots back on. Natalia just laughed, her own gear half ready as she pointed at him childishly, snickering at the pouting cadet.

Annella shook her head, swatting the laughing girl’s head as she moved forward to help Nara up. “Be nice,” she chastised, Natalia’s snickers dulling to a breathless grin as white puffs of warm air escaped her lips. “Are you okay?” Annella turned to the blonde.

The blonde boy used Annella’s outstretched hand to pull himself up, glaring weakly at Natalia behind her. “’M fine,” he mumbled, cheeks red from embarrassment. Annella frowned slightly, feeling bad.

“Do you need any help?” Annella offered, looking at Natalia from the corner of her eye, “want me to slap her again?”

“Oi!” Natalia cried.

Nara chuckled, waving slightly as he pulled his boots on – without falling this time – “it’s okay mother.” Nara stressed, “I think I can survive a little fall here and there.” Nara looked up at Annella and grinned widely, his previous embarrassment now gone as he finally finished wearing his gear.

Annella slipped her goggles on, as Natalia apologised for laughing behind her. The three moved towards the forested area once they were ready. Annella couldn't find Lilith, unable to invite her to join her with Nara and Natalia during training. She figured Yuri and Grant were going to train at the town in preparation for the Garrison, noticing Yuri heading off in that direction. She couldn’t help but think sadly that the few friends she had made would most likely be in a different regiment, but she could only shrug the thought away.

After all, at least she had Nara and Natalia with her. Even if they had no idea which regiment they wanted to join later after graduation.

“How ‘bout we have a race?” Nara suggested, his hands clasped behind his head as he casually waited behind the two girls, towering over Natalia and Annella.

“Wouldn’t th-that be dangerous? We’ve never been in there…”

Natalia grinned from beside the goggled-girl, “all the more reason to race.”

Yuri had been waiting for the others to arrive. The sun began to spread around, now touching everyone else. There was little heat that emitted onto the Earthly land, but it was enough to make everyone feel slightly more eased. As a man of self dependent, Yuri wished to practise alone in the Town area, hoping that he can make the best of what he could to himself. There were three categories, and in these categories...were 4 Actual soldiers from those Regiments training alongside them. Yuri had hoped that he could bag Vera being in his team, seeing as he hadn't seen her for god-knows-how-many-years. At least he could rest knowing that she was alive and well, not in too much harm. He says that because of how much harm everyone is in. Everyone is at a constant threat, so you can't say there is no trouble awaiting...Yuri looked over the shoulder of the Instructor standing by him. He looked at the list of three individual regiment soldiers involved today.







He studied his group carefully. Maybe he'd get to see some great action out of how the Garrison were now. Overtime, they were depicted as drunkards who'd only stand around and clean cannons occasionally, yet there were some huge improvements. After an incident in the North, the Garrison were made to step up training and activity, making sure they would be prepared for any sort of increase in Titan Hordes. By luck, they were prepared, and have been able to hold off Titan threats from breaching any gates for around 26 years. Yuri looked around once more, seeing only about 23 of his comrades actually come over to the Garrison. It seemed that many either went to the Roofed zone for hope in proving themselves 'Worthy' to be in the Military Police ranks or the Survey Corps. The Survey was different now. Everyone used to see it as either a suicide pact or a trip to insanity, if not wanting to join. Those who did wish to embark a short lifetime with them were in low numbers, but it seemed that now people were seeing more hope in it. After the death of Isaiah, many wanted to fulfil his promise to make new land and towns. It was quite strange, that the Garrison was seeing a lot less.

A man walked over to Yuri. His gear was shining and gleaming with the mere sunlight. His heart, shoulders and back held the double roses upon a metallic shield. In his hands, a book for notes. His hair was brown, and he was quite short. He looked rather new, rather inexperienced, young. He couldn't of topped 23 years of age. He looked up at him and let out a wide glare, intimidated by his height. Finally, his small and formal voice spoke up to Yuri.

"Uhh...Sin...Sinatra Oakmont...and you are?" He readied his pen.

"Yuri Tynko..." Yuri laughed slightly at the awkwardness, causing Sinatra to laugh as well.

"S-sorry...I'm...not too great at the whole leadership thing...It'll be a while before I get my-"

"Oakmont...you makin' friends already?" The Lance Corporal he read about trotted over, patting his back. His shoulders, topside, brought a glimmer too. The One arrow-stripe of the Lance Corporal. "Lance Corporal Corkov...you hopin' to join the Garri' or just browsing son?" Yuri stuttered for a minute. He was face to face with someone he had dreamed of being. Tall, strong and a proud owner of a Rosed Uniform. A hero...

"Y-yes...Yes Lance Corporal!" He shook slightly.

"It's alright lad...you are quite a brawny fell'a it seems. I'll keep an eye out for you, 'kay? Now come on...we g't training to do, see?"

As the others in her dorm started to stir, Teresa got up from her bed and got dressed. Her movements were pretty quick and rushed, not something that you would see as often from a person like Teresa. Over a month of harsh training and they would finally be given the privilege of using the 3DMG. Although her face didn't show it, Teresa seemed more excited determined than the others.

Once the 3DMG equipment had started to circulate through the many cadets, Teresa got herself ready, tightening the straps and attached the heavy metal contraption to her waist. It took longer than she had expected to put everything on, but eventually, she got there. Teresa knew it was going to need some getting used to, but that was to be expected. She felt like some hammer was being pushed down on her each time she took a step forward, pulling her down with all its power. The tanned girl sighed, folding her arms as she waited for the remaining people to fully wrap themselves in the muscle straining leather.

"I wonder if Raphaela will be comfortably in this…"

It took a while for Teresa to remember what had happened that same morning. Once she did, her eyes panned from one direction to the other, looking for a certain abnormally tall brunette randomly snorting at a joke she had overheard from someone else's conversation. No matter how many times she searched the area, Raphaela was nowhere to be found. Maybe she had shrunk down to another certain brunette's size? Or maybe she had accidentally locked herself in another cupboard again. Teresa was never going to forget that time when Raphaela was sent to fetch something from someplace or another. The instructor turned to someone else to fetch supplies after that incident.

But then again… why did Teresa care? All these past few months she had been trying to get the overly cheerful and extremely annoying Raphaela of her back, and now she was supposedly gone. She was finally at least ten metres away from the hazy eyed brunette, so why did she feel so bad? Why was the feeling of guilt tugging at her heart and making it race faster than any 3DMG training announcement she had heard off? Raphaela had finally decided to give Teresa some space, so why on earth was she feeling this way?


"Hey, Teresa."

Swiveling around on her heels, Teresa almost toppled over, astonished at the sight of Raphaela inches away from her face. Her face reddened as she took a few steps back, thinking of something respond with. Teresa always found it annoying how Raphaela happened to be the taller one.

"Uh… Look, about this morning-"

"No, it's fine! Totally fine!" Raphaela said, voice way higher pitched than usual. "What you said just hit really close to home, that's all… I'm fine, really. I figured you needed a bit more space too so…"

"Um, okay then. Er… make sure you tighten those straps properly… the instructor won't be too happy if he sees you fall face first onto the floor on your face day of gear training."

"Y-Yeah, sure! I'll see you again at lunch maybe? Anyways, I uh, gotta go. See ya!"

"Raph-"

Teresa stared as Raphaela ran off, her thick hair bouncing up and down as she jogged towards the other soldiers. Turning away to leave, Teresa muttered something under her breath, too quiet for anyone else crowded around her to hear.

"Sorry."

Nara and Natalia crouched beside Annella, grinning at each other even as the goggled-girl tried to stop them with half-hearted excuses. She wanted to race, to feel the air whipping her skin as she soared in the sky but she wasn’t sure if she was truly ready yet.

“Guys, come on now, at least fo-“

“Go!”

With a squeal, Natalia shot her hook into the closest tree and forced herself in the air, Nara following beside her. The hiss of their gas tank startled Annella, making her take a few steps back so she wouldn’t get hurt. She watched, eyes wide, as their frames grew smaller the further they soared into the forest, until she could barely make out Nara’s bright hair in the darkness of the trees. “Fuck!” Annella groaned, her body already tensing as she shoots her hook into the tree – the same one Nara had hooked to – and launched herself into the air behind them.

Annella felt like time slowed down. It was clichéd, but the sensation of being in the air was beautiful. Her heart thumped hard against her rib, her nerves on fire as she felt the air kiss her skin. She hooked onto the second branch, her speed gradually increasing as she found herself laughing.

I-it’s like a whole different world up in the air… is this what birds see everyday? Her mind buzzed as she skilfully dodged a branch. Things seem so insignificant. Our problems look so small from up here. I feel… light!

She could barely see Nara’s blonde hair ahead of her. She tightened her grip on her gear, her smile turning to a smirk as she launched herself even faster to catch up with the two morons ahead of her.

“-s fucking fantastic!” She could hear Natalia scream in excitement.

“Why so slow, Nat?” Nara taunted her, and Annella barely held in her giggle as Nara shot himself higher into the air, going faster than the excited girl beside her.

“I’ll beat you, you loser!”

“Gosh,” Annella couldn’t stop herself once she caught up, beside Natalia. “I gave you guys a head start yet I still caught up.” Annella shook her head, wisps of her hair hitting her goggles. “Seems like I’m going to win~” She taunted before speeding up again, flying past Nara as he tried to blink away the dryness in his eyes.

They were going through the final briefing. They had to. They might've not done it in the other sectors, but the Garrison soldiers were sure to take everything into a big consideration. Safety was key, especially when you are flinging yourselves at high speeds towards beasts with extreme reflexes. It's like a cat, swiping flies like beasts from the skies and nibbling on them for pure entertainment or boredom-driven activities. As horrifying as it sounded, it was a normal thought that stuck with Yuri. He used to have the hellish nightmares of just the five people he cared about to some degree being swiped from their grapples, taken and ripped apart limb from bloody limb. He had become so accustom to these feelings that...he just couldn't sleep. He wasn't scared of them anymore. He wasn't frightened of those thoughts anymore...it just...still affected him as a person. He was sure that everyone would have had that feeling, but not as much as Yuri had. Someday, he might be able to visit the Cannon that his Father died by, or at least the spot of his death. Maybe he'd be able to see Vera before this all happened? Or before that even happened, maybe he'd call prey to bone and teeth as he'd be crushed, blood droplets spewing from every hole created in his skin until he was nothing more than just a stain. Lovely thought, wasn't it. That was another thing with Yuri, he was always such a downer. He knew that the world was a cruel place, and with his current social skill he found it increasingly difficult to remember how to keep a happy attitude. There was a few times though, where such a pathetic and worthless man managed to find the inner happiness and shed some smiles, but that, that is another time back.



Yuri's 3DMG Theme

He crouched down in a small squatting position. To his right, a few trainees began to take their own positions. All of them had goggles implanted onto their faces, protecting their eyes from wind and debris. Meanwhile, when he looked beyond them, he saw that the real soldiers had no eye protection. Really, it wasn't necessary. In somewhere where it was filled with towns and bricks, you aren't exactly going to get thwapped in the eye by a branch. So in that case, Yuri removed his own eye protection. It didn't matter, Arek wasn't there to watch over them. He was busy attending the Forest section. He remained crouched as he saw the left podium be taken by an instructor. He had in his hand, a sound flare. They were usually a standard issue to the Survey Corps, but more recently they were being sent to the Garrison, Military Police and even the Trainee instructors as used for signalling. He lifted the arm, bearing the handcannon. The finger slowly pressed down on the trigger, signalising the training's beginning.

Yuri waited, everyone went ahead and began to spiral with a smokey trail of gas behind themselves. He waited for everyone to be ahead. It was a good plan, this wasn't even a race. Looking to the left, he saw a free street. Perfect. He flung himself leftwards and stretched his arm, firing the hook outwards. He begged in his mind as the world slowed down, hoping it would hook or he would have fallen doom to the 2 story fall below. To his luck, there was definitely enough range for him to grip, flinging him with such gravitational force that it took him by surprise. The young-man was flung into the street as he quickly began to shoot one grapple after another. It was high-speed action. It was the lifetime he was waiting for. He was actually doing it. The world was so different at these heights. He let out a cheer for excitement as he kept finding himself narrowly flinging himself through the street, turning corners to enter different ones. Other trainees and soldiers found themselves repeating his actions and spiralling around. He waited, noticing he hadn't used his gas. Suddenly pulling the igniter, he was flung with even more speed. This was the life...this was the life...

Other cadets behind the racing trio watched with a mix of awe and trepidation, Nara showing off his natural skill with the gear while Annella and Natalia barely kept up. It wasn’t long into Annella’s lead until they had reached a more branched area of the woods, making it harder to manoeuvre with speed unless one had amazing reflexes or years of training with the 3DMG.

With the race at the back of her mind, Annella slowed her pace so she could enjoy time to herself after spending time in people’s presence. She couldn’t help but think of her parents, who not long ago had flew past these very trees the same way she was doing it now. A small smile crept onto her face, her fists that had tightened on her trigger at the beginning now loosened as she relaxed. Natalia turned briefly; eyes squinted as she tried peering through her messy hair but didn’t slow down. Natalia knew the mousey girl needed space to herself every once in a while, especially since she had to deal with someone as energetic and boisterous as her. Instead, the brunette shrugged, promising to find the girl later after she won the damn race and turned a sharp left, following behind the whooping blonde boy.

”Flying? Oh, my dear, it feels wonderful. I’ve never felt anything like it, being so free in the air!”

Annella chuckled, now knowing exactly what her mother was talking about all those years ago. It was clichéd, but Annella wished she would never have to stop soaring in the air. Though, it made her wonder. Is the Survey Corps truly the right thing for me…?

No… of course it is.

They’ll be disappointed in you if you don’t. And you’ve already hurt them once.

The bespectacled girl’s heart clenched in her chest, breathing heavily as she felt a sudden crushing weight on her shoulder. Annella had to stop herself, standing on a high branch with a fist cradled to her chest as her eyes scrunched together to calm herself down. Just thinking about them hurts, doesn’t it? You’re weak. You’re selfish. You don’t deserve th---

“Shut up!” The girl brought her hands to her ears, to stop the toxic voices seeping into her mind. Annella’s breathing became uneven, pain flowing through her veins as her mind repeated two words over and over.

Weak.

Selfish.

It hurt, but the girl didn’t know how to make it stop. There was only one way she could stop it, but it hurt her to choose that path. Her rational mind knew that they wouldn’t want her to throw her life away in the Survey Corps, but she had no choice. She had to repay them somehow, to repent for being such a selfish child.

There was no way she could disappoint them again, even in death the thoughts of her parents wouldn’t leave her alone…

…after all, she was still too weak and selfish.

NEMO ALTARE

...Well, this certainly wasn't what he'd expected. Oh, for certain, the wraith had predicted the wild glee of the dozens of Garrison-Wanna-Be's, as well as the obnoxious clouds of lung-choking gas they'd left behind in their frenzied wake; the way the mob had fluttered off like a startled pack of geese was of little surprise in comparison to the...eh-hem...*error* made in the measurements of his gear...

"Parfait...cette est tres marrant merde.", "Nobody" rumbled within the enraged prison of his mind. He sat crouched upon the warmed stones of the designated testing grounds, quietly hanging back from the action, though also *as much* attention as he could avoid without further embarrassment. For some reason, this was the *one* thing he hadn't even thought upon going wrong -- should he have even expected such an unfortunate outcome, to have straps two sizes too small for one's self? The tan-skinned boy growled, thumbing his digit over the pathetically useless equipment, before his glance --though still blank to outsiders, save a peculiar knitting of the brows towards one another-- shifted upwards into a long gaze about the huddled, deserted streets.

What was this feeling that picked apart his expectations -- his glorified sense of achievement and reality. 'Shame', or perhaps an odd sense of 'Karma'...? Whatever it might have been, it was none too welcome with its unnerving presence, and the youth quickly attempted to subdue the angst that threatened to overflow its intended brim, where upon it would presumably melt the outer shell that comprised the entirety of --and what little there even was to speak of it-- his sense of *Identity*.

...Taking a moment to alleviate this worrisome stress with a few expired breaths, the soldier-to-be rose to his full height, straightening the arch of his back and --to the best of his ability-- taking measured swallows of his pride. He'd just...have to ask for a new set, that was all --it wasn't as if anyone el--

The lean silhouette stopped, goggles fixated in internal terror over the distant sight--

...Apparently he wasn't the *only* one with a 'mis-match'. That was alright...that was...just fine...he'd wait until they'd all left -- then he'd get his gear and move out with the rest of the group.

Confirming this pride-fueled 'Plan-B', the boy slowly returned to his previous position down on the chiselled stones. The gleam of the sun at this hour helped to accentuate the lengthy shadow he normally kept about himself -- all the more ironic given how it would more than likely have dwindled by the time the 'others' had left *recognition-range* from the various instructors.

"...cette est parfait..."