---

"Out. Fucking. Standing. Cadet!" Schulz beamed at the boy, "Absolutely outstanding!" the boys response was gold. An attempt at easing the tension of the other Cadets, a measured response. He had tread a thin line and managed to walk on through it, although Schulz had a creeping suspicion that someone had likely tipped him off as to what he should be expecting here. Not letting on that Schulz had a good idea that the boy was likely getting outside help he spoke to the Cadets, "This Cadet just offered himself up as cannon-fodder! At least one of you sorry excuses for human beings understands what it means to truly be a soldier!" he paused and looked at the boy, talking low enough that only those in his immediate vicinity could hear him. "Know this cadet, if you so much as eek out a slightly higher than average score on a test. I will personally read every scrap of mail you receive to this training ground. You hear me? Don't think you're the first one to be smart enough to ask a friend for help."

With his little warning finished he sauntered on over to the next girl in formation. He glanced at her as he walked before stopping dead in his tracks. "YOU THINK YOU'RE FUCKING SMART CADET?" he yelled at the girl as he rushed at her, "YOU THINK THAT I WOULDN'T NOTICE?" he asked, now screaming directly in her face. "WHAT SMART ASS FUCKING IDEA TOLD YOU TO MOVE FROM THE FRONT ROW TO HERE?".

The girl was strikingly similar to the first female cadet he had encountered, the one with a determination that had him worried, and he couldn't pass up the opportunity. "THERE IS ZERO FUCKING WAY THAT YOU'RE GETTING OFF THE HOOK FOR THIS ONE CADET." he motioned to the girl at the front and back to the girl he was yelling at, "What kind of sick motherfucking joke is this huh? Why the fuck are you in two places at motherfucking once?" a ball of sweat rolled down his face as he continued to lay into the girl. "I want your fucking answer as to why you're here!" he paused and placed his hands on her shoulders before lifting her up in front of him.

"AND IT HAD BETTER BE WORD FOR WORD TO WHAT YOU TOLD ME EARLIER YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND CADET?"

---

He held the girl in front of him as she answered. His smile vanished and he dropped the girl without warning onto her own two feet, "Un-fucking-believable! You two are almost twins!" he yelled at her before stepping back, "How does it feel to have the same aspirations and goals as Number One over there, Number Two?" he yelled at the girl.

"Don't even answer! Titans don't give a fuck about how badly you want to kill them and neither do I!" he called before moving down the line of cadets. Eventually he made his way to an averagely sized cadet, with brown hair and blue eyes. He looked the boy over and laughed aloud, "Cadet! Why is it, that you are simply the most average motherfucker in my formation?!" he barked at the boy, "Why the fuck can't everyone be as painfully average as you? Hell you win the prize for most average from Cadet Medic over there!" he pointed at Lauren with a hand, not actually looking her way.

"Would you enjoy a prize for being the most average waste of space in my formation? Or would you like to enlighten me a little on why you aren't a worthless piece of mediocre shit gilded in a few charming looks and dreamy eyes huh?!" he screamed, "TELL ME WHY THE FUCK YOU SHOULD STAY IN MY FORMATION YOU AVERAGE PIECE OF SHIT." he screamed aloud, spit landing on the boys face as he did.

---

Connor stood straight as he watched Schulz examine all the other cadets with a harsh glare and booming voice. Coupled with his affinity for profanity, the instructor definitely made a worthy candidate for the most intimidating person present. Had he intimidated Connor yet? Well, do black cows make chocolate milk? No, Connor knew that the instructor was just trying to whip them into shape. He would do whatever it takes to make sure they were ready to be the best pathetic pieces of titan fodder that they could be. So no he didn't think the man intimidating, in fact he actually appreciated his theatrics.

His perception of the man was slightly shifted as the instructor approached him. As they stood, soldier-to-cadet, and the former's enormous voice unleashed all of it's fury to Connor's face, the boy's gut slightly clenched. Sure he wasn't truly intimidating when he was chewing on other Cadets, but when the man got up-close and personal... yeah he was kind of intimidating.

As the drill-dude shouted and demanded to know why Connor was "so average," the latter shifted, stepped back an inch to get out of the man's face. "Sir, I beg that you reconsider. It takes an average person to recognize his fellow average man. You sir, are obviously not an average man. You are also mistaken due to the fact that I would bet my honor on being able to outrun any cadet in present company, sir!" He really hoped that the man would take the bait and allow him to run, instead of something ridiculous.

He stood and waited for Schulz response, mentally bracing himself for the verbal lashing that was sure to come his way.

---

Schulz simply watched the boy as he argued for his sake, even going so far as to compliment him about how only average people can tell other average people apart. "That's all very touching Cadet I appreciate it. But I don't believe your claim to be the fastest motherfucker among us today." he said in response.

Schulz took a long down the road, with the forest far in the distance. The midget from prior was already lost to the haze of heat that stood in between them but he was sure by now that the midget boy was probably nearing the forest.

He turned back to the boy in front of him, "If you're so goddamn fast, why don't you go beat the midget on his run!" he said giving the boy a shove toward the forest, "If you're not back before him I will personally see to it that you both make that run every day until you either wash out of my Cadet Corps, die, or in the extremely rare possibility that you are both somehow able enough to get through this, you graduate!" he said as the gave the boy another shove forward, "YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND?" he barked as he turned to head to the next recruits in line.

Schulz stopped in front of another boy, his blonde hair and hazel eyes were staring ahead, with the slightest movement as the boy seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes from darting about. He leaned down in order to have his face on the same level as the boys, "I didn't know that we are accepting little fucking girls into the Cadet Corps!" he barked, "Since when has this been a thing? You mind letting me know because I guess I missed the goddamn letter and somehow you got it!" he pushed the boys head to his right shoulder and continued to scream at him, "You know you'll probably be one of the worthless scum that survives training just long enough to die at the end! You won't even make it long enough to be eaten by a Titan like the rest of your buddies out here with you!".

Letting go of the boys head, Schulz stood back up straight, "Why the fuck are you standing here Little Girl?! You fake your age to get in? I swear if you did so help me God!"

It's hot. The sun had been shining down on the cadets for hours, and the instructor was taking his time going down the line of cadets wishing to join one of the three branches. The heat hadn't fared well for Tanner, whose hair was soaked with sweat and hanging before his eyes. The boy had desperately wanted to brush the hair out of his eyes, yet his experience with military officials that acted like Schulz had stopped Tanner from moving a muscle.

As Tanner waited, the heat made his mind wander. He remembered the destruction of the Shiganshina district - his home. The death, the bloodshed, the ruins, but most importantly, the girl Tanner saved from being a titan's next meal. Forever orphans, Tanner was able to breathe a sigh of relief when a family friend deeper inside the walls was willing to take both of them in their home. Tanner had become an unofficial big brother for the girl he had saved during the past two years, and his new sister became a goal for him. He had his previous goals in life - like the mysterious woman, but the girl was someone Tanner felt he had to protect.

"I didn't know that we are accepting little fucking girls into the Cadet Corps!" A man had shouted, doubtlessly Instructor Schulz as Tanner snapped back into reality. Tanner's fists clenched behind his back, and his jaw tightened against the onslaught Schulz was screaming at him. He had dealt with unruly soldiers before, but Instructor Schulz was almost a new breed like a drunkard that wasn't drunk. Every word from Schulz was a lashing, and even an experienced yet introverted character such as Tanner struggled to deal with the verbal assault.

Tanner waited until Schulz had stopped shouting to speak up, and even then that was a challenge for the boy. He took a second to summon up his courage, and when Tanner had done so, he straightened his back, standing tall. A fist had been placed over his heart, and the other behind his back as Tanner stared straight into Instructor Schulz's eyes. For an introvert, Tanner felt it was his time to shine, and perhaps Schulz might let the boy off easy if Tanner managed to impress him.

"I am NOT a girl, sir!" Tanner replied, almost with the same ferocity as if Schulz's words had inspired the cadet. "I was there at Shiganshina, sir! I have seen titans face-to-face, devouring humanity - my neighbors, sir! I even saved a child from being a titan's next meal, sir!" He stated, refusing to break his posture. Tanner knew that he might sound as if he was sucking up to Instructor Schulz, but with luck, he would relent.

---

Gabriel felt a bit sore behind his knee, but he was able to pull through easily enough. It was by far one of the more mild pains he received. Still, it didn't ease the pain knowing that. He waited silently for the rest of the recruits to finish up their 'nice little chats' with the Instructor, until it was time for them to depart to their cabins. He walked slowly, thinking to himself in quiet as he wondered about his future. Would it be possible for him to succeed and become his brothers protector? It was always a strong thought in his mind - his little brother was all he had left. The worst of it all: he was too young to even remember having parents. It was a sour thing to think of.

His concentration was broken once more when Reese came up to him. "Hey, Gabriel," the boy drew an exasperated sigh mixed with relief and exhaustion, wiping his forehead of sweat. "Or should I say, Circus Freak?" Reese stiffened a laugh, adjusting his ponytail. "I think we're in the same cabin!" Gabriel smiled, nodding his head at the joyful youth. "Yeah, it appears so. You're lucky you didn't get hit, y'know. Maybe that's something you should worry about, being bunked with a Circus Freak and all. Hell, maybe I'll just wrap you up in a blanket and toss you in a small creak in the middle of the night." He smirked down at the shorter boy and placed his hands behind his head as he walked. "So why does someone with so much money join the military, anyways?" Gabriel didn't really have any problems with someone from a higher class joining, but he was always curious about the reasoning for joining. For many, it was because of the disaster at Shiganshina. For others, it was to get away from the Titans as far as possible. It made him sick to his stomach thinking about those would do such a thing...but he could understand their fear. He was afraid himself, but for another reason...

Their conversation was broken with the approach of another man and...wow...were girls really this short at around this age? Gabriel stared down the lady as they approached. She looked quite happy to see them, or at the very least, Reese....at least he thought, anyways. "Hey, you two!" she greeted as they approached. Olivia set her hands on her hips as she looked at her two other friends. The four of them came together when it was time to enlist, but Reese and Grant were the ones closest to her. "That felt like it lasted forever, didn't it? You three must be starving." Gabriel smirked and let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "I'm not too hungry myself...but I could use a small bite. More importantly, why are you so many of you so short still? His hands rested against the back of his head as they stopped to catch up. Gabriel felt like a giant compared to everyone...except for Grant. At least Grant was about the same height as he was. He thought about how the Instructor called him a 'Circus Freak' and shook it off.

Standing at attention had to be the worst punishment of them all. She had began to feel somewhat dizzy from not having been able to get any water, mix with the fact that she was still aching from the punch to the stomach. Every single minute that passed by, Jade wished that she could just lay down or possibly throw up. Why? She didn't know, but she thought that would possibly help her feel better.

Finally, Schulz had finished his absurd yelling and they were all freed from their positions. Jade's arms quickly went to her abdomen to rub it, and make sure that there was nothing terribly wrong. She, by now, was sweating more than what should have been necessary, which caused her to grimace. It didn't take her long to make her way over to Lauren and Mora, squatting down and checking on her dead friend. "Is she okay?" Her voice was quiet as she looked up at Lauren for some type of reassurance. Mora was breathing, which was always a good sign, but other than that the red headed girl looked rough. "I'll help you to the cabins if you need me to."

Standing back up, Jade's attention had been drawn to the boy that had spoken up in her defense. He was most likely finishing up the amount of push ups that were assigned to him. With much hesitation, Jade decided to go over while Lauren helped out Mora.

"Uh..." Her words were caught in her throat as she watched the young man finish up. She had quickly looked away feeling a slight bit of embarrassment as he stood up. Once he was standing up straight, she turned back to look him in the eyes, "I'm Jade. Jade Stone. I just wanted to thank you for helping. I'm sure there would've been worse if you hadn't spoken up." Her face felt hot as she spoke. Jade had grown used to having minimal interaction with people, much less to tell them something nice.

Schulz continued his abuse rounds, stalking down the lines of cadets and screaming spittle and insults in their face. Sometimes he'd add a physical hit, usually based on the initiate's response, and even sent another young lad running. Throughout, Lauren kept staring ahead and tried to ignore the itch to go check up on some of the more aggressively hit cadets. She had got away with helping Mora because her friend had genuinely been hurt and need attention but she feared doing something similar would merely draw the instructor's ire.

The moment they were released from their torment, Lauren rushed to check on Mora. Her friend had stood throughout the rest of the instructor's initiation ceremony, if that was what it was meant to be, but was clearly struggling with a damage airway. Lauren gently slapped Ra's hand away from her neck with an admonishing look.

"Don't keep touching it, you'll just hurt yourself. We need to get you something to drink, that might help with the pain a bit and will let me know if it's going to be more than a little sore. It's going to bruise but that won't last too long."

Lauren looked up at Jade's approach, reading the plain concern on the small girl's face. Her practised eye noted the way Jade was rubbing her abdomen and the slight hunching over the girl was exhibiting, the punch from earlier still making its aftereffects felt. She smiled reassuringly, wrapping an arm around Mora to help her up.

"She'll be okay, something like this won't slow her down much." She glanced pointedly down at Jade's hand, still resting on her stomach. "You'll need to come see me later too, I doubt he intended to do any real harm but it's worth checking now rather than when it becomes an issue. I'll take Ra back, you shouldn't carry too much weight for now." Standing slowly so that Mora wasn't rushed into any uncomfortable movements, Lauren looked around to find their cabin, or at least the Mess Hall.

Unable to rush off to find the answers she needed, Law sighed and decided to wait to see what others were going to do. Someone would know, that or one of the instructors would come to guide them on, so to pass the time she spoke to Mora as they watched the others mill about. There were a few familiar faces in the crowd from what felt like a lifetime ago, older now but still recognisable. She waved at a few when they glanced over but made no move to interact, not wishing to drag Mora about unnecessarily.

"What am I going to do with you two? One day in, we haven't even started training, and you've both got yourselves hurt. I love spending time with you both but I'd rather it wasn't always when I'm having patch you up." She was joking, of course, to try and raise Mora's spirits. Knowing well enough the anger that burned in both of her friends, and understanding it well enough, she was nevertheless concerned that their headstrong natures would land them in trouble.

To take her mind off it, she focused her attention back on Jade who was talking with the boy who had spoken out on her behalf and then been punished for it. "It's unusual for Jade to speak to someone, y'know, other than us. Maybe we should keep an eye on him." She winked suggestively at Mora, a mischievous grin spread across her face, before returning to search for any clues as to where they should be moving off to.

Finally, Schulz began to give them some breathing room. He was surprised as to how he'd reacted to his witty remark, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for Olivia beside him. Either way, everyone at some point would get this "Piece of Schulz" that he already had threatened Grant about. It was whether or not they were going to get used to it and use his strength to fix their weaknesses. Grant knew that he would at least try to manipulate that system, but he had no clue how he was going to do that. Well, that is what training is for, in the end. Besides, he had enough time to get things into formation, depending on how long he'd last for.

Once the groups began to scatter into smaller directions, Olivia managed to subtly gather four individuals, Grant, Gabriel, Reese and herself. Reese and Grant had known each other quite a bit since the Wall had fallen, but not as much as Olivia did. The same went for himself. Both of them knew Olivia more than each other, but the training sessions were likely to change that. Everyone who'd stay in the Cadets long enough were likely going to do the same. Olivia approached him first, poking fun at the name he'd been called. Though, it was only natural for Grant to joke back, as humour was his forte amongst all things. Grant closed his eyes, held a tight fist to his chest like a courteous Lord and held a royal grin.

"Pfft...Someone is jealous that Mr Lucky here gets a nice, burly man with a great personality and..." Before long, he suddenly erupted into a small laughing fit, shedding a tear of delight to his own witty banter. Slowly, he began to calm himself down. "Honestly...I couldn't say that with a straight face, even with my abilities...But hey...Pretty boy is something I've never been called before. I'll take my chances. Better than being called the wrong gender."

He flashed a 'No-Harm-Done' grin towards Reese, already hearing his witty comment towards Gabriel's pet-name. It was kind of upsetting in a way. A circus freak, though Grant hardly got picked up on his height, despite the similarities. Grant knew better than to joke about his side of Schulz's insulting name-calling due to Reese already going ahead and doing so. The humour needed to be fresh enough for it to be comedic and consistent, but the fact that he'd already reacted in a friendly, yet hostile, way meant that it wasn't the safest thing to joke about either. Gabriel was somewhat of a good person to be around sometimes, due to his mask of calmness, but either way the two hadn't spent as long as the other two did with Grant. At least the enlisted together, making a more welcomed environment than there was for some of the other Cadets.

"Heh...Two titans amongst mice, eh?" He nudged Gabriel's side gently with his elbow, folding his own arms back as he grinned back at the other two smaller friends. Everyone else was mostly in a similar spot, where they were smaller, but most likely more nimble than everyone else. However, speed would need to be matched with the skills of the gear they'd be trained to use, which Grant hoped he could balance himself out on nicely, being of a moderate speed.

The two began to head in some random direction, as if a flock of sheep all eager to find entertainment in an empty field. Grant speculated that Olivia was going to get them something to eat, knowing her appetite for literally anything. And before he could ask himself, she spoke the words already. "That felt like it lasted forever, didn't it? You three must be starving."

"I think he makes it feel like forever. I wouldn't take anything the instructor would say to heart though. Mateo used to talk shit about his old Chief Instructor all the time, about how they were all flash, no fury. I'm not saying this guy has no fury, but I presume he's gonna try and get the best out of us by searching for the worst we already have. In my case, he's already caught onto the fact I knew that..." He shook a small amount of dust from his uniform, always being the one to try and look the best part that he was able to look. "Could go for a snack...Could not...I dunno, seeing as you usually judge whether I'm hungry or not. Sooooo, am I hungry, Olivia?"

Schulz was like a hornet, and every word was his sting, yet Tanner refused to show signs of faltering before the instructor. Tanner had to accomplish his goals, and the despair he had faced on that day pushed him forward. The girl, too, had nudged Tanner onto the path he now walked. He knew those that had showed weakness in the Cadet Corps were quickly weeded out, and Tanner had to stay strong for not only himself, but also everything he sought and wanted to protect.

Tanner waited until Schulz was done with his berating to breath a sigh of relief. His body was tense, and Tanner ached from the posture he kept in the sweltering sunlight. As everyone broke rank and file, Tanner relaxed his salute, and his arms dropped to his side like jello. Looking around the yard, Tanner began to see the after effects of their instructor. Some cadets were crying, some were obviously hiding their anger, and some had simply shown no emotion. The emotionless ones were always the most dangerous, and Tanner didn't wish to stick around to find out.

As Tanner made his way to his assigned cabin, he noticed several groups begin to form. Most of them appeared to know each other before enlisting, and Tanner felt that he remembered seeing a few of the cadets before back in his district. They must be the other survivors. Tanner thought as he continued walking towards the boys' cabins. The cadets were friendly with each other, and might've been so with Tanner, but he felt he had no reason to approach them. They were strangers to Tanner, even if they lived in the same district. Tanner was sure none of the other survivors could help him in his personal quests, and there was no time to lose if he was going to get the first choice on the cabin's beds.

His feet had been numb for what felt like hours, the hot sun was beating down on him, his lungs were screaming in protest of his actions, and yet somehow he kept on running. Emil had made it to the forest on the higher end of thirty minutes and turned around with new vigor before realizing that he was another thirty minutes from the training camp. He ran and ran, until he passed another boy , much taller than himself, also running toward the forest. "Nice day for a jog?" Emil had called out, any semblance of comedy had long since been drained from his by the sun and the comment came off sounding like someone on deaths doorstep had said it and yet Emil didn't even care. He was pretty sure that the boy hadn't heard his comment anyway.

An hour and ten minutes give or take a few minutes, and Emil had finally made it back to the camp. Delirious in the heat and parched he stumbled back into his position in formation. Sloppily coming to a halt where he thought he had been and turning to the stage. He brought himself to attention and summoned the last bit of his strength to salute. He stood for a moment, waiting for the Head Instructor to tear him a new one over his delinquent time. He stood longer, his eyelids dropping over his eyes time and time again as he staved off exhaustion to not be the one to fall out of the formation.

'I-- It's so--" his train of thought was interrupted as he nearly fell over, all of his concentration focused on stopping the sway that nearly sent him to the dirt, 'It's so quiet...' he thought as he steadied himself. He looked around the formation, 'Fuck me.' he thought as he realized that he was the only one standing in the yard. He looked toward the area that held the cabins, noticing a few cadets walking around and making idle chit chat.

Dropping his salute he willed his feet to carry him just a little further. He dragged his feet along, moving toward the closest cabin as he did. Ahead of him were a small group of cadets talking among one another, he gave the group a half-assed wave as he passed no doubt looking like a living corpse as he did, "Great day for a run." he said jokingly as he went bu them, mocking himself as he waved.

Jade listened to the boy as he gave his explanation as to his reason to speaking up, as well as noticing the look on his face when he brought up the fact that no one else had said anything. She smiled as he then introduced himself and then went on his way. A bit intrigued by his way of speaking and his mannerisms, Jade wanted to ask him a couple more questions, but she let him walk away.

Jade quickly returned to Mora and Lauren with a less harsh look on her face. The small girl had felt the girl's eyes boring into the back of her and immediately cut them off before they could make any quirky comments, "I went to thank him. Nothing more." Her face felt red again as she knew she'd get hell for going off and talking to a stranger, a boy much less. Lauren and Mora had both made it a big deal for Jade to let up in the past, yet she had refused countless times to socialize. "Come on. We need to get to our cabin so then we can go eat. Believe it or not I'm actually hungry," it was a simple attempt to prompt the girl's to get moving which happened to do its job.

"I wonder if sergeant asshole is going to be like that all of training." It was a comment made out loud more to herself than anything, even though she knew the girls would hear as they neared the others. Keeping close to her friends, Jade began to look at all of the cadets. There were several faces that she had seen in the past. Some she remembered more than others like Reese and Gabriel. She lingered on the tall boy's face; it was one that she would never forget. All of the faces of that damned day she would never forget. A frown formed on Jade's face, with her bottom lip slightly pouring out. She seemed as if she was about to cry, and for a second, even she thought that, but to cry was to show weakness. They young girl pushed the thoughts to the side and cleared her throats quickly before changing her facial expression. A small smile accompanied by a wave was all she gave Reese, Gabriel, and the rest that accompanied them, before looking down and scowling at the ground. 'I don't need them sticking up for me. I don't need anyone sticking up for me. I won't depend on anyone.

In the corner of her eye she saw someone arrive from the direction that two of the boys had gone off to run. The first one to make it back was the other boy that had been called a midget. Jade felt sorry for him having to go off and run. He looked dead. She made a mental note to meet him later on, and make sure that he didn't let the midget comments bring him down. They both were small, but at the end of the day their height wouldn't determine if they made it out alive. It was their ability to learn and adapt that would determine it.

Mora let herself be dragged around by her friend, she had tried to thank the girl earlier after being slammed to the ground but her throat stung in protest. Of all the things she was expecting- that was not one of them. Though the feeling of anger didn't seize her as it normally would. Instead Mora felt the old familiar feeling of resolve grow within. She'd show him exactly who was a hero.

Laurens quip about Jade and herself made her squeak out a pained chuckle. She felt bad for the girl. Lauren was strong, both in body and in mind. She had all the makings of a fine solider. Yet, she was always stuck patching up her hard headed friends but that was the thing. Lauren still had hope in her. She had family to fall back on and while Mora took in the orphaned toddler as her own it wasn't the same. She spent all her time training and he spent all his time being raised up by Lauren's father. She loved him- in an odd, almost motherly way but he wasn't Cain or her father. She didn't look at him and find her mothers eyes looking back. Or hear her brother's in his laughter. No. There was a empty feeling there no. One that she knew Jade felt as well.

Leaning against Law, Mora sighed as she watched Jade hurry over to them. Waggling her brows as the girl tried to quickly shrug off the accusations. It was nice seeing her flustered for a moment but it also made Mora sad in a way she couldn't quite describe. She would, however, keep an eye on Jade's knight in shining armor. If anyone was going to work their way into her heart- they better be worth their weight in gold.

Still trying to keep herself from using her voice, Mora silently went along with the pair. Her eyes traveling towards the others that milled about, a few she recognised from that day on the hill. It's not that Mora actively avoided them but seeing them brought back uncomfortable feelings.

Casting her eyes downwards, she hid the tears that welled in the corners of her eyes. It wasn't their fault. It wasn't anyone's but Mora still couldn't shake the feeling that if they had stayed together or if she had done something. Cain might still be alive. "No." her voice cracked and Mora winced at the pain. 'No more' she thought instead. No more idle thoughts on what might of been. She had spent too many nights over the past two years waking from the dead of sleep in tears. She needed to push forward. That's why she was here.

Swiping the back of her hand across her eyes she lifted her head back up. Meeting any look that happened her way with a darkened glare.

"That's a shame, I think he has potential!" She teased although she then let the matter drop. They were friends, and because of that rather than in spite of it, Lauren knew not to push Jade's buttons too much. Especially since it would actually be nice to see her interact with others a little more and making this occasion a negative experience would only cement the girl's isolationist nature. They followed her towards the cabins, Mora communicating mostly be facial expressions than speech with her throat still raw from her strangling.

She didn't respond to Jade's out loud musings, not having anything much to say on the matter. True, she felt the instructor had gone to uncomfortable extremes to break them down but it was fairly common knowledge that the process by which ordinary civilians could enter the military was tough, even more so after the fall of Shinganshina. Still, she couldn't quite forgive the physical abuse her friends had received for relatively minor transgressions, at least sending the boys running or forcing Jade's rescuer to do push ups were constructive punishments. Maybe it was her being too soft, her healer's side warning against the causing of unnecessary injuries.

They passed other cadets and Lauren recognised a few and it was clear Jade and Mora did too, both struggling to hide the painful memories and the emotions they evoked upon seeing faces from that day. For Lauren it produced an emptiness, a sense of disbelief. Of course that day had been traumatic, or else she wouldn't be struggling to cope with the memories and the nightmares, but the fact that she had never seen her Ma killed made it difficult to accept. There was simply no way she was alive, logically Lauren could accept that, but it was difficult to force her emotions to acknowledge that. She had already diagnosed herself as deluded, in denial about it all, but that did not help in shaking the void that she felt whenever thinking of that day.

Forcing herself to the present, with her two friends who had miraculously survived everything and were beside her now, she turned to those they passed and waved with a genuinely pleased smile on her face. She recognised some more than others, having only met them very briefly before. Gabriel she remembered better, having spent a little time patching his leg up and then reporting to a proper medic his condition. After that... she had been too occupied with her Pa's job and spending time with Ra and Jade.

"Heya guys, we'll see you at tea!" She called, moving on past.

They found their cabin relatively quickly and walked in, the place was clean but was certainly not new. It was better than the conditions they had lived in immediately after they escaped Wall Maria but there was little space between the two bunk beds set against the walls and even less space for personal effects of any kind which concerned her; it was going to be more difficult keeping her shameful secret from the others here than at home.

"Sit down for a second, I think I have some things in my bag..." She sat Mora down on a bed before rummaging through a satchel separate from the rest of her very few belongings. She finally retrieved a small glass bottle and a little tub of ointment and returned to the injured girl's side. "Drink this, it might just dull the pain a little and help you with food, at least. That's going to be the main struggle. I'll rub this on your neck, it's going to hurt but it'll reduce any swelling and might stop the bruises from being so visible." She didn't wait for permission and gently, but firmly, applied a light coating of the ointment before returning it to her small supply and then brought out a roll of bandages, looking over at Jade.

"I haven't forgotten about you, either. Before you go to sleep we'll wrap these around your chest, just in case any of your ribs were damage. For now, we should get something to drink. We were standing out in the sun for hours and my throat is as dry as a desert. I should probably check up on those running boys too, just in case..."