Wall Rose, the wall that managed to stay up despite the breach of Wall Maria five years ago which was a true chaotic event for anyone to witness. The loss of so many people was deeply engraved in the population their minds. An event that nobody wanted to go through again and who knew what was going to happen then. Was it going to be even worse than then or will it just be a repeat. One was always on edge if they walked close to the wall and remembered the past. Pretty memories of it were completely vanished for a long time as the kingdom started to overcome it. If only they were stronger. If only they could do something about it. If only they could stop the Titans from barging into the walls as if they owned everything.

Today the sun was shining over the kingdom, warming it up with its heat. Families enjoyed the barbecues that they were having in the market domain, the smell could make anyone water teeth and it was not abnormal that others joined in while bringing some food with them as well so they were going to have enough for everyone that decided to join the meal with the crowd. Birds were flying over the cities inside of the walls and there was almost no cloud to be seen up in the sky. It was going to be a beautiful day however that did not mean the same for everyone, especially the Trainee Squad where the mood was not that good since the weather was so nice and they had to train in order to graduate.

Mia was inside of one of the buildings placed in the camp, more exact the place where all the equipment was stored away in. Locked from the trainees as they did not want for any accidents to occur behind their backs. It happened in the past and they learned from it as it was a stupid but deadly mistake as one of the students fired the hook off and the object landed in someone else his head instead of a tree or building. It was not a pretty sight and those who had seen it happen were on the verge of taking their leave. Some did, some decided to stay as they knew this was going to happen one way or another once they were going outside of the walls but then not because of an accident but because of Titans hunting on them.

Ryuu stood in the middle of the training grounds, his expression mostly blank and cold as he regarded his fellow trainees. To be honest the boy figured most of them would be dead by next year, and that did not bother him so long as they each at least took out one Titan before their death. Right now, they were just finishing up their 3DMG aptitude tests to ensure that this batch was not a load of failures. Without the ability to move in all three dimensions; they were nothing but meat for the Titans. Ryuu had already faced this test and passed with flying colors, and as was noted by one of the soldiers running the tests; he was possibly one of the best at handling the gear that had passed through this training ground in a long time. The boy simply adjusted his mask a little bit, that very mask being a reminder of the hell he had experienced twice in his lifetime already. Two times too many for the boy. On the mask, which only covered his mouth and nose, was the large grin of a Titan; it was an odd thing for a human to wear and was certainly something that gained Ryuu a lot of odd looks from his fellow trainees. However, Ryuu knew exactly what it meant; this mask was a symbol to Ryuu and to the Titans. It showed that the very ruthlessness that they had shown towards his loved ones would be repaid back on their kind.

As these thoughts raced through Ryuu's mind he stared straight ahead at the latest failure to attempt the test of the gear. This boy had been bragging about how he would slay the Titans, something about his Dad taught him a little known secret that would allow him to take out every Titan he saw. But this boy... no Ryuu could see it in his eyes and in his face. This little runt was simply lying to try to gain the attention of his peers, how pathetic. Deriving happiness from getting any sort of attention from your fellows was a sign of weakness, and yet so many humans seemed to embrace this practice with distinct pleasure. It stumped Ryuu, as the boy didn't feel that strong of emotions as is; only the particularly powerful emotions such as Love, Hate, Fear, Anger, and Sadness really punched through his inability to feel and touched the boy's soul. It has been this way for almost as long as Ryuu could remember, so he didn't question why.

With a sudden thump, the boy in front flipped straight over and knocked himself out, failing the final test. So as he was unhooked and carried off to the wagon to work in the fields; Ryuu watched with grim satisfaction. That was one less weakling who would drag down the tactical efficiency of the entire military.

aaa

As the sun shined down on the training camp in the morning Dianna walked out of the female dorm and stretched her arms out while taking in a breath of the fresh air after having escaped the stagnant air of the dorm which wasn’t the best smelling due to the fact hard working trainees lived there. Despite all the showers they might take, one couldn’t escape from being tired, dirty, and smelly at some points. Either way, Dianna enjoyed being able to step off the wood patio in front of the building and walk down the main lane of buildings which had the training area right across from them. Some new trainees were being broken in with one of their earliest tests; 3D maneuver gear training. Watching them rig themselves up for a moment she put a hand to her chin and took note of what she saw. Dianna had helped one of her peers originally with this very training when on the first day he had fallen down. Unlike a few people around, she tried to help some others exceed so they would have the proper skill once they had to face Titans. Just scraping by would lead them to get killed in action. Some of her officers enjoyed what she did, while others resented her for helping those who were weak. Finding it odd she forgoes some of her training to help, but most didn’t know the time she would lay awake at night figuring out how to improve her skill and practice alone with what she could.

Seeing the one boy gloat and then fail in the distance she sighed slightly. It pained her to see someone try and show off when facing the fact they can’t do it would lead them to train better in the areas they acknowledge their weakness. “There are always a few…” she said aloud before watching a few more test and thinking about how far she had come. “Three year eh?” she then muttered as she took a moment to notice how fast it had truly gone. In truth, her first try at the gear had been a flop and her instructor initially thought she would be another useless recruit. Little did he know the determination she showed and with the next test she had been one of the best at staying up before she helped the other peer she recalled. Dianna had a gift with the 3D maneuver gear in a sense. While she certainly wasn’t the physically strongest recruit, she was certainly agile and precise, except when it came to a fire arms. She couldn’t hit the side of a barn with them which contradicted her usually perceptive nature.

“They are going to have us work hard today though, it’s far too good of a day for an all-day training session for them not to.” She noted before shrugging to herself. Not lie she would have a say, so complaining didn’t matter. If she complained, she would be rejecting her drive to be a soldier anyway, and the nights she spent to keep her skill with some secret practice as well as simply lecturing herself under the stars would have been wasted. Some can do it without practice, but Dianna had tried hard to get to the skill she now had before the final tests would come. “Beats training in the summer though.” She added afterwards as she continued her walk with a small smile and moving to hold her hands behind her back. Even if they don’t have us train for the day, may as well enjoy the walk for now she thought. A minute or so later as she circled the center training ground she came across Kobe who layed back.

Moving her head in front of the sun she said while looking down at him. "I'm not the only one who enjoys this weather then?" she asked before smiling slightly and standing straight back up. Casual and kind in her voice as she is to everyone. "Though, I don't think you will be able to relax for to long. Soon here we are going to be called to train. I'm surprised they didn't have us up at sunrise on a day like today."

aaa

To say that training was boring would be an understatement. To say half the people he had the displeasure to work with here were asinine fools were something else. Back home these fools would be barely fit to be fodder. In fact that's where Rommel expected that there was a shallow grave waiting for most of these people. But for him, Jacob Rommel of the Cadet Squad, he expected to be placed somewhere useful where his abilities wouldn't be wasted. He'd settle for garrison but if those fools decided to force him into the bloody scouts...then he'd be a dead man and humanity would lose another potential general. For all the dislike he gathered no one could fault Jacob's intelligence. In fact to say he was a genius in the tactical and strategic fields would be an understatement. His brothers were experienced and though he had not talked to them in a long time he believed given time he could be their equals. Jacob had a long way to go he didn't deny that but he had come farther faster and better than most of his blasted contemporaries. What had they done? Shouted and boasted about their abilities? Fallen behind their promises to kill the insidious titans? That they would avenge their families who died? Bah all hogwash and grand standing bullshit that would lead them nowhere. If their passion drove them to greater heights then by all means use it but don't use it as a crutch because that only led to you being kicked down and eaten by stronger individuals who had nothing they needed to stand on.

Jacob flipped the page of his book as he rested on his cot. His eyes skimming pages slowly and carefully. Even if he missed one word he knew he could miss out on a chance to become better. To finally find a way that he could use to surpass someone or something. These journals he kept were from his brother in the scout legion describing life in their corps. Bloody business but he was looking for clues and info he could use to analyze titans from behaviors to simple things that didn't work. If he was to come up with new weapons to kill them he needed to know how they lived and how they worked only THEN could he kill it. The hunter who didn't understand his prey fell to it or failed to catch it. He had ideas...though they probably won't be implemented or were rejected by former generations of the corps. Maybe...just MAYBE if he became a military police soldier he could talk to the big people about his theories. Gun powder....such a overlooked resource used for cannons and ineffective muskets. There were so many other uses for giant explosives that people overlooked...so many fools failed to understand the power of black powder...something he wouldn't fall prey too. "I knew a lady as beautiful as sin...I knew a lady as lovely as light..." Jacob grumbled to himself as he read the book. It was a song he knew all too well...

Dianna took a step back and turned in the direction he was looking to the training grounds. “I’d think you would find yourself doing laps or on laundry duty the next few weeks if you did. I’m pretty sure they thought they whipped the laziness out of their recruits by now after all.” She responded before turning her head back around. “I’m sure even you prefer to train on a day like this compared to rain in the spring though. Coming back with a cold was never fun.” His awkwardness was fairly easy to notice for her as he didn’t seem to hide it very well. So, she didn’t prod him too much. “Would be a nice day off to have, but that would be a simple miracle if it was a day off.” Dianna sighed once in relaxation, and afterwards she began to walk off again. “Well, I don’t want to disturb you for too long, just thought I’d drop in and say hi.” Waving slightly to him while moving away she returned to the walk she had been committed to.

Quietly humming to herself along the way she simply thought of the past three years again. The realization struck her for a moment though. Soon enough, they would be out in the field… with the Titans. It was what she had joined to do, but one would be foolish not to be slightly afraid. Fear is a superpower at times and it can save lives. Simply swallowing once and closing her eyes for a moment she stood there having stopped for the moment. With one deep breath she dispelled her apprehension having determined that it would get her nowhere soon, and if she let it affect her now of all times how can she expect to actually fight later. Her dream of fighting for humanity was coming true, so she can’t back off now. A small smile came to her face now that she continued walking and hummed again. Training really had gone by fast.

aaa

Ryuu turned towards Kobe as he approached. The boy listened to his request, then nodded. He might as well join up with Kobe, otherwise it wasn't going to do Ryuu any good to run laps when he was supposed to be training. "I guess. The exercise dictates that we need partners. Just don't slow me down" The boy said simply as he turned to face Kobe and follow off towards the training exercise. This had to be done, so that Ryuu would have more experience under his belt whenever he went up against the Titans. At this thought, a bloodthristy grin grew across Ryuu's face. Granted it was hidden by the mask but it was still present. Ryuu was going to kill Titans

Dianna turned at the arrival of Kobe only minutes after they had spoken. “Oh, back already?” she asked when he came before he asked her to join him for training. Putting her arms behind her head she said, “Sure, why not?” before following him as he seemed to look for others to find. A few ideas of what they may need groups to train for came to mind, but she decided she didn’t need to guess as she would find out shortly and it’s not as though making a write or wrong assumption mattered for now. She raised an eyebrow for a moment as Kobe approached Ryuu and he turned. The boy with the mask wasn’t really one known for being the easiest to train with. His mask was unpleasant to look at as well as it was the face of a monster. Not like he could fear Titans with it, he would only distract teammates. Despite all of this though, Dianna easily guessed a few possible ideologies that he could have for wearing the mask, and for three years he hadn’t had anyone change his mind about wearing it so it’s not like saying anything would be productive in her opinion. “Hello, Ryuu is it?” she asked after a few moments.

Pushing her feelings towards his mask to the side she gave a small smile and put her hand forward as an offer to shake it. While his comment on slowing him down annoyed her she had come across far worse still in training. From guys thinking that they need to protect her, guys who thought as a girl she couldn’t do as well, as well as other women who were rather unpleasant. A little bit of an ego was hardly something that would prevent her from being able to train and focus. “I’m Dianna, I don’t think we have trained together all too often.”