[center][h2][color=9e0b0f]Emil Burton[/color][/h2][/center]
[center] Forest of Giant Trees, Training Grounds[/center][center]-----[/center]

Emil had considered himself lucky following the training on the mountain slope, in honesty he wasn't sure if he could even consider that training or just some sort of de-facto death sentence for those who weren't even worth being Titan fodder. Either way he had survived, fortunate enough to not find himself buried and suffocating beneath the hard packed snow that came crashing down around them during the avalanche and even more so to step off the slope with nothing more than a shivering body, unlike some of his fellow cadets who hadn't fared so well.

What happened on the mountain didn't matter now though. They had just been led out to the farther of the two forests of giant trees that were situated within the area that was considered their Training Grounds. The ride had been fast. Barely anyone had even talked, [color=9e0b0f][i]'Their moods must still be down from the mountain...'[/i][/color] Emil had thought, slightly guilty that he hadn't really felt any sorrow for those lost on the mountain, they had all signed up for this, but had he died he would have been cursing from the afterlife at those who had forced him into service. Yet he couldn't blame the other cadets, death was foreign to most, even to Emil who had witnessed the destruction of Shiganshina death was nothing near a normal occurrence for him. But he did hope that no one else would wind up biting the dust before their training was over, those that were left were trying hard. They deserved to graduate, to survive long enough to be able to risk their lives doing what so many of them saw as their righteous revenge against the Titans and what Emil saw as nothing more than an exercise in futility. None of the would live long against Titans, it was a far better option to score in the Top Ten and find yourself a cushy job in the Interior far away from the terrifying clutches of the Titans and yet he knew that few would opt for the option, [color=9e0b0f][i]'Fools.'[/i][/color]

Emil had dismounted his horse, taking a slightly harder step to the ground than his fellow cadets thanks to his small stature. He gave the horse a soft pat on the side as he stared on into the forest. It's massive trees looming high over head less than twenty meters away, the forests themselves had to be ancient in order for the trees to become so large and it always filled Emil with awe to lay his eyes upon the forests ever since he first saw one during his run on the first day of training. He moved his attention from the looming forest and listened to Instructor giving them their instructions. Get through the forests and back to the camp without running out of gas, an easy enough proposition, had their canisters been full of gas. Emil stood for a moment as he processed the words, [i][color=9e0b0f]'That's a joke...? Fuck.'[/color][/i] he thought as he gave a tap on his right gas canister, the slightly hollow sound it returned confirming the Instructors words. Looking about he found that most of the cadets were just as surprised as him, although a few seemed to have caught on to the trick and didn't seem necessarily surprised.

"Time started when he left, by the way."

With that Emil took a step forward and broke into a light jog, it wouldn't do to burn himself out in the first few minutes of the test considering the ODM Gears weight. The gear was nearly thirty kilograms, something that Emil always had to keep in mind as he moved about two-dimensionally, but once he was in the air it was different story. The added weight allowed him to build momentum faster and strike harder as it helped to push him along. He found himself entering the shadowed forest and grabbing the handles of the Gear as he did. He aimed a hook for a tree farther ahead of him on his right about a quarter of the way of the giant tree. With a click and a blast of gas the hook was sent for the tree and embedded itself with a satisfying thud as the anchor sank deep into the wood. He jumped into the air with the help of a small blast of gas and began reeling himself in, the whine of the wire pulling him forward filled his ears as the gear had little trouble propelling the rather small boy at speed.

As he shot toward the tree, his body on a path to swing past it, he looked ahead. There were two trees that were about equally distant from one another and would afford him a great chance to gain some height, and in turn more energy that he could muster without the use of his gas. Releasing his grip on the first trigger, Emil would pull the second releasing the hook that was about to pass him on his right. The whine of the wire stopped for a moment, leaving the sound of air rushing past him the only thing filling Emil's head before he lightly eased his grip down on the handle and the sound of gas blowing out behind him jumped to life. His wire whined as the act of the gas mechanism reeled it in.

As he fell for the ground he felt the familiar hit that was the hook seating itself back in the firing mechanism as well as the familiar and welcomed clang that came with it. His hooks ready to fire he swung his legs forward with the help of the gas and brought his body almost parallel to the ground below him. Pulling the first trigger on each handle, Emil was pushed slightly down as both of his hooks shot out in front of him and lodged in the two trees that he had seen earlier. The whine of both wires being reeled in was deafening, and the force on his body as the gear pulled him abruptly up into the air was crushing but it was what they had trained for. As he passed his hooks he hit the second triggers, releasing the hooks and sending him up into the air much like a springboard and without the use of any more gas. He shot up past the midway point on the trees and continued going nearing three quarters of the way up before he swung his arms behind himself and his legs out front to flip himself around from the still mostly parallel orientation to a perpendicular one that was more indicative of forward movement.

Completing the flip Emil shot his left hook forward for a tree that was some twenty meters ahead of him. The hook hit and immediately Emil began to fall like a pendulum as he released the first trigger so that he wouldn't be reeled in. With the help of his gas he completed the first half of the arc with considerable speed before he began the upward half of the path. He let go of the gas handle and released the hook from tree as he flew upwards. Reeling in the hook but not using any gas to move forward, Emil relied on the momentum he had built from the swing to propel him forward at almost the same speed. As he went forward without the help of his gas and without the use of his hooks he inevitably began to fall from the tree tops.

As he fell he aimed a hook for one of the giant trees branches and embedded it in the side of it. He pulled the handle and his gas sprang forth sending him below the branch before the wire went taught and yanked him back up aiming for the tree tops once more. He released the hook and gained height before firing both his hooks into the trees ahead of him to gain back his forward speed. Confident that this would get him far Emil would begin to repeat the process, using as little gas as possible while using the speed he would gain from turning his potential energy into kinetic energy as best he could.