[center][h2][color=Moccasin][b]Reese[/b][/color] [color=Gray][b]&[/b][/color] [color=SpringGreen][b]Ovidius[/b][/color][/h2]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/I2QMnPz.png[/img][/center]

[indent][color=SpringGreen][b]Ovidius Lohr[/b][/color] [color=Gray]could not help but reminisce of the years already passed. As the darker male made the rounds along the proving grounds, observing each and every trainee, it had come to the young man that he had been in their shoes only three years ago. He had brandished the insignia of crossed swords with pride, almost as much dignity as wearing the wings of freedom on his back and shoulder, now. He had entrusted his faith within the process, carrying the others on his own winds as those days drew on.

It was without question that Ovidius missed every single one of them, dearly. There was not a single moment where their sacrifices weighed lightly, his thoughts watching the memory as the faces of his former friends and comrades faded to black. Only the soles of his feet remained standing in the blood, the madness that the world forced upon them. His expression hardened, surveying the corps; these boys and girls were the inheritors of the fallen, the next to carry the weight of that world on their own shoulders, just as he did.

Competing for a spot within the top ten of graduates was meaningless. Those numbers were only for the egoists to gloat their way to the cowardice and corruption called Wall Sina, and for humanity to lose valuable soldiers to greed. Ovidius could not wrap his head around the idea of soldiers enlisting for the illusion of luxury and contest; to him, if that was their purpose for enlistment, they were better off used as bait for the Survey Corps' long-distance scouting formation. At least, they would serve a far greater purpose to humanity through putting their [i]precious talents[/i] to real use than pestering civilians and smuggling contraband.

Ovidius drew a heavy sigh, shaking his head at the thought. While the 104th Training Corps had only formed on the previous day, he prayed that some would fill the vacant ranks of the Survey Corps, where they always suffered from shortages in manpower. Even then, his mere presence seemed to promote meager excitement from certain trainees, and he hoped that his stint with the instructor would convince the indecisive. He had only been sent for a routine report on the class of recruits, and he would have to depart when the expedition scheduled for the end of the month would commence.[/color][/indent]

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[center][@HecateProxy] [@Jinxer][/center]

[indent][color=Gray]Already, after a few rounds of sparring, Reese felt the pangs of fatigue begin to wear down on the young boy's frame. His face beaded with sweat, a small burn stinging his eyelids. Being outmatched entirely at the beginning by Lauren was enough of a wake-up call for the youth to never underestimate any of the other trainees, as well as the girls.[/color] [color=Moccasin][b]"I would've [i]never[/i] expected this out of any day,"[/b][/color] [color=Gray]he whined momentarily before pulling himself together, wiping the precipitation from his forehead.

While the pair took a moment of respite as their partners would be rotated, Reese took to practicing the corrected stance and moves on an imaginary target.[/color] [color=Moccasin][b]"Yeah, no kidding,"[/b][/color] [color=Gray]he stiffened a bout of nervous laughter as he looked between the two, stretching his arms out. While Mora was around the same height as Lauren, he could tell that the red-headed girl was stronger, [i]far[/i] stronger. The boy was not even sure if Lauren's technique would work in this scenario, given the difference.

But it would never hurt to try; after all, failure was the best method of practice.[/color] [color=Moccasin][b]"Hi Mora,"[/b][/color] [color=Gray]Reese mimicked Lauren in a childish manner, turning his body towards the girl as he swiftly took up the stance. He was nimble on his feet, a hop propelling him towards Mora. [color=Moccasin][b][i]"I'll go first then![/i][/b][/color][/color][/indent]