It was November. The winds and skies were beginning to turn darker and darker on a daily basis. The Sun's heated occupation on the planet had grown shorter and the darkness became something to get used to. Snow was only a month away from beginning its first downfall; now there were people of all ages, sizes and names coming to him. They were wanting his acceptance to become a Soldier. To give their live meaning was what they desired. Arek was sat in his office, waiting for the time to come. It was a small shack, filled with the most beautiful interior on Isiah. He waited for the perfect moment. They were literally finishing their alignment outside. He had to let them settle. The time for them to talk and greet one another was for after 'First-Parade' though. They were instructed by accompanying troops to avoid doing so to not piss off Arek. As Chief Instructor, he was to put all his work and effort today into ripping them out of their childhoods and throwing them straight into their militaristic lives that laid ahead, or rather decide who gets his confirmation to do so. Their future was in his control, which he very-much enjoyed. Here at Camp Isiah, he was the second Highest Ranking soldier. Though when it came to handling the Trainees, there was no greater authority. Arek had to be prepared that these troops were to bring stress. Only the one's capable of doing what he asked them to do were to stay.

Now, it was coming to the time. He readied himself as he flung on his jacket. The crossed-swords on his back flashed as his insignia reflected off of the little-lasting light that seeped through the window. His black-undershirt soaked in any heat to keep him from shivering when he took the first steps outside. He took a deep breath. Arek knew that what laid outside was going to be one hell-of a regiment. Both disappointing and satisfying. He opened the door. The smells of the cold air and sounds of small-talk flooded his senses almost instantaneously. Only the one's who were closest to him were to notice his arrival. They silenced themselves, but still the odd 250+ Trainees weren't to notice him. Typical. He took a deep breath, keeping his lungs low and his head high. The noise that emitted from his vocal speech echoed through the air, bringing nothing more than the deathly silence of the air. He screamed it...

"PARADE, PARADE-SHUN!"





He wasn't talking much at that point. The wait in the cold was bad enough as it was to start introducing himself on 'First-Parade'. It was of the most highest-respect to maintain as much silence as possible when on these, though small and controlled talk was allowed. He wanted to make sure he wouldn't be picked out amongst the ranks. That was of course the hardest. Yuri was standing right next to Grant Trinity, a life-long friend and accompaniment of the Tynko family business for a while. The two found taking the powerful name to their ancestors by signing up, though Yuri had a few of his own reasons. Grant and himself were the tallest of the entire 132nd Trainees Regiment. Trainees spread further than their eyeline-of-sight could see and still they stood towering over the vast majority of the groups.

Grant's family had always been one of the Military, though. He had a good ancestral background, with connections to a now-dead relative, long before his own birth, being involved in the creation and improvements of 3DMG. That was an honor to keep, and would be good to take notice of. Though Grant was looking like the Military-type of person, Yuri himself looked slightly less. He didn't look completely inept of what lay ahead, as though the two were clearly going to be setting a few-examples for the youngsters. The two had been split from Lilith Hermia, another fellow friend of the two. She was the city-type. Obviously quite jumpy and lively. She was also not the greatest soul for this role. She really only joined to follow Grant and his best friend.

"So...what's on your mind, Tynee?" The nickname Grant gave him was embarrassing to some degree. A play on words, from his surname and the word tiny; it was only because of his slightly smaller appearance to Grant.

"Oh, you know...waiting. Possibly for the biggest challenge we might face that will change the course of our lives and probably stop me from becoming homeless...the normal stuff..." He grinned slightly, not turning to his friend.

"You are such a downer, mate. Though in this weather, hard not to be." The two grinned silently. They were good at controlling how they laughed, unlike some of the surrounding trainees. They were giggling to themselves or whispering to one another and hoping someone wouldn't call them out. From time to time, when they seemed almost anonymous, the two would point out to Trainee Instructors of people getting out of uniformed presentations. It was a humorous and correct thing to do. It almost seemed that some people were here for a joke or even without the thought of how difficult it was. He was positive that everyone didn't know what they were being lead into exactly. Grant and Yuri would always compare Vera's and Cyo's letters to home. The way they could compare their trainee experiences helped them pinpoint certain scenarios they 'might' face in their programme. Though it wasn't positive. They were about to face something rather unexpected with large amounts of Camp improvements and expansions. They were the vigilantes, and these small comrades were their prey. However, it struck them at surprise when it was echoed close to their position.

"PARADE, PARADE-SHUN!" The two almost completely froze in place and placed their eyes forward. Their arms came closely to their side as they stood tall and with pride. Only moving their eyes, they tried to catch a glimpse of their Chief Instructor, as that was what they imagined it was. The Trainee Captain never made these appearances unless it was necessary. A captain acted as a Commanding Officer for the Base. It was the highest authority on the ba-

Yuri stopped in his thoughts. The muse had caught him off Guard as he saw the man approach him. With only seconds to prepare, he Saluted as he walked in front of him. The man stopped, seeing the same-height between him, Grant and himself. He leaned closely to the two. His eye focused on them with tension and exaggeration before he departed. The two let off a silent sigh of relief. Now the show was about to begin. The first inspection and questioning of Arek Illania, the Chief Instructor.

Ryuu stood among the other cadets in the massive Parade formation. To his left he heard the two cadets talking briefly; they obviously knew each other judging by the nickname of 'Tynee' that one called the other. That was stupid; the concept of giving somebody a nickname would only bring you closer to them, and with their likely death at the hands of the Titans it would only lead to pain. Because of this simple fact, Ryuu kept those he was close to at a minimum so he wouldn't feel that pain. Besides, the boy didn't see the point in bonding with others he had no reason to particularly care about these people and unless they gave him a very good one then he wouldn't care about them unless it provided some sort of tactical advantage against the Titans. The only exception to this rule was Sage, his saving grace and the angel to his demon. The girl he had befriended long ago before the incident; then had helped through her own time of trial whenever her own family fell victim to those monsters. As they had fought side by side through this hell that was their life Ryuu had felt the girl piercing through and striking something... deep. At first the boy had been scared of this sudden feeling he had, he didn't understand why he wanted to be around Sage so much or why he wanted to protect her so bad. He certainly couldn't understand why he craved her touch and compassion, it was truly terrifying to the boy as he thought something was wrong. Then he asked Sage about it, and she explained love and happiness to Ryuu; who had only known the negative side of life for so very long. That was how their romance had begun, and even now it burned deeply within Ryuu's heart as he looked around to find Sage and ensure that she was fairing fine.

When the order was suddenly barked out; Ryuu quickly fixed his mask to ensure it covered his mouth and nose, then snapped to attention as their inspection began. It was a simple scare tactic on all of these trainees, which showed Ryuu who was weak among his peers. In his mind, if you were scared of a man who is on the same side as you then you had no business being in the field and dragging down your fellows because you're too scared to fight a Titan. The boy shook this thought from his mind, as now was not the time to worry about such things, and focused straight ahead. His expression was one of pure emptiness, devoid of all emotion beyond a determination to pass this inspection then pass this training camp before heading out to take on the Titans. Ryuu knew in his heart that he was going to succeed in this course because he simply has no other choice. He was going to avenge all of those who had fallen, he would make good on his promise to the Titans.

He noticed the captain making his way over towards Ryuu's position after staring at the two on the left of Ryuu. Ryuu quickly snapped to a salute as the captain walked over, and stared him in the eye. It didn't take long, a mere half second at most, before he noticed Ryuu's mask. "WHAT THE HELL KIND OF CAMP DO YOU THINK I RUN HERE, CADET!? BECAUSE THIS SURE ISN'T SOME DAMN FASHION SHOW THIS IS THE MILITARY. WE FIGHT TITANS, NOT FASHION TRENDS!" The man screamed in Ryuu's face, thinking that this cadet would be like the others and back down. Ryuu simply turned his gaze to match the captain's. Then in a very calm voice responded; "This mask is not some pathetic fashion statement. Do not mistake me for that kind of person, as this mask is much more. You see the Titan mouth on it? It is there because that mouth is last thing most people see before they are devoured. So by extension it represents the ruthelessness with which the Titans hunt us down. Its presence on my mask is a promise to the Titans that I shall hunt them with the same ruthelessness with which they hunt us. It also is a reminder to me of the people I am avenging. My family, and those who perished in the recent Shinganshina incursion. Because I've stared Titans down twice in my life already, I do not fear them. I hate them. Sir." With that being said and the look in his eyes, Ryuu apparently passed as the captain simply grunted then walked on to the next cadet.

Shivering in her spot, one lone girl stood in a sea of faces. Many of those around were enjoying a quiet conversation between themselves. Those that were confident enough leading the conversation and introducing themselves for those around them to hear.

There was a boy beside her, much younger with messy blonde hair that seemed like a titan with his height. The boy, Nara if she heard correctly, had a more relaxed stance as he grinned at the girl with brown pigtails on his other side. To her, it seemed like everyone around her had someone to converse with, to pass the time with until the commander would arrive.

Seeing as the commander was yet to show up, the girl tried to relax as much as possible. Though the weather was cold, freezing even, the girl couldn’t feel anything but the heavy beating in her chest as her nerves stopped her from introducing herself to the girl beside her. She didn’t think she could anyway, the girl beside her seemed to be one of those types. Those being the type that looked too serious to actually give a crap about interacting with others around them.

She instead decided to keep to herself, the girl opting to listen to the conversation around her with a keen ear. She could hear two trainees in front of her, one being some ‘Tynee’ or something, talking calmly with the giant of a man beside him. Why is everyone so big? The girl chuckled quietly to herself. It seemed like she’d be part of the smaller cadets.

“PARADE! PARADE-SHUN!”

The girl winced at the loud voice, almost falling over in surprise but she managed to compose herself at just the right time. She watched with a keen eye as Commander Arek stepped through the crowds of cadets. The girl was still shaking, but with each shaky breath she took, the more motivated she got to not fuck this up.

She felt bad for the boy directly in front of her, mask-boy as she named him in mind, as he got yelled at by the commander, but she was surprised by the way mask-boy responded with such a calm voice. As the commander walked closer and closer towards her line, she hastily straightened up, clenching her small fists and looked directly ahead.

In her peripheral vision, she could see the commander walking closer and closer towards her and Nara still somehow didn’t stop whispering to the girl beside her, giving comments about all the cadets (even about her, which she refused to acknowledge lest she make a fool out of herself) and she had a feeling the commander didn’t miss the chatty boy beside her either.

The commander looked at each of the cadets with a critical eye, sending shivers down each of their spines and the girl could swear she heard the cold girl beside her gulp in fear as she saluted with perfect ease. Then it came for her turn.

Her years of practicing came under scrutiny as the girl raised her right fist and slammed it towards her chest, her left hand twisted behind her as she offered her heart to humanity, to the commander before her. Time seemed to go still as she watched the commander look her over, the cogs in his mind turning as he judged her passion towards humanity by just the simple act of saluting alone. Before the girl could shake and ruin the moment, Commander Arek simply huffed under his breath and moved on.

It felt like she just passed a big exam. The girl felt relief flow through her veins as the commander scolded the boy beside her with little regards for the words he used. She felt like she could actually do this.

The girl, much more confident than before, couldn’t help but smile a bit to herself. I can do this… She thought to herself.

I am Annella Hertz, I can do anything!

Yuri had already been listening to the first bunch of Cadets that had made contact with Arek Illania. It was quite infuriating. Who did this 'kid' think he was, eh? He was getting into the face of the Chief Instructor, for crying out loud. If he isn't made to do laps, he wouldn't be surprised nor show pity. For instance, Yuri having his Father's face blown off...he didn't wear a mask with a Cannon nor an explosion. And bragging about Titan encounters isn't the way to go with someone actually who had fought more than the boy could handle. That was Yuri's thing...he found a lot to get to people with. If something wasn't done properly then it was wrong...How is someone supposed to backchat a superior like so. Not through fear, but with sheer-respect and etiquette, Yuri would never find himself doing that. Grant however might...He had a tendency to defend his pride amongst others, which usually ended in him losing more than he did to start with. Something was up with Arek, in the long term. He was doing this to get the gist of who is who...who will do what and what kind of person they are dealing with. It was like a prediction grade...judging how long the person would survive in the Military. Yuri had a few things to do when it came to the Trainee-on-Trainee introductions. Though he weren't to be the violent and brutal type that would relate to Grant's behavior...Speaking of Grant, he began to move slightly on Parade...

It came out of no-where. A smack. Grant felt a thud hit him with brutal force from behind. He fell to his knees and clutched his shoulder. It was clear where the blunt hit had made contact on him. Yuri kept his head facing straight-wards; his eyes did all the movement and reconnaissance he needed. Someone stood over him...

"Trainee! Tell me your name!" He yelled, loud enough for everyone to hear. Grant grunted slightly before attempting to get to his feet. His ascent was quickly halted by a boot placing itself onto his back. "Tell me your name, Trainee, and then you can get to your feet!"

"G-grant Trinity, Sir!" He replied, still struggling under the weight of his feet. He may be tall, but Arek was surely capable of taking on every single Trainee until his fists were more bloody than the gut of a Titan.

"I'M SORRY! NO ONE HEARD THAT! A LITTLE LOUDER?"

"GRANT TRINITY, SIR!" The boot was relieved of his back.

"Keep still and maybe I won't shoot you with a flare..." He grinned to Grant. Yuri felt a slight embarrassment. He knew Grant very well, and to see him be the tallest and the strongest, fall quickly at the hands of moving. This made slight sense. He was using simple mistakes as a message. All these people telling bigger mistakes were given a feeling of fear. If they didn't feel fear...they were likely to die at the hands of the man himself.

Yuri let out a deep sigh as he managed to re-organise his uniform and get back into his correct stance. The two made a very brief eye-contact session. It was clear that Yuri was ready to go full-out serious on his arse when the Trainee Introductions were finished...Good thing he'd get to embarrass him infront of the Surrounding Trainees he'd have to meet and talk to....wait...Meet and talk to? "Ahhh CRAP! I HATE TALKING TO NEW PEOPLE!"

Caroline stood in place with her hands behind her back. She shifted her eyes around hoping she wouldn't be noticed by the commander, even though she had bright blue clothing that could be easily noticed in the crowd. She also tried to avoid the thought of talking to anyone near her, thinking that she would attract even more attention and be called on.

She tried to use the method her parents told her, breathing through her nose and out her mouth. Caroline repeatedly did this and started to relax, but the movement made her bangs slowly inch to her eyes. After a few rounds of inhaling and exhaling, her bangs were blocking her sight.

This was a bit embarrassing to her, and slowly reached up to fix it but the commander turned their head straight at her. Caroline noticed and quickly put her hand down, then decided to stare at the ground so the sea of faces don't worry her any more. She was quiet enough to hear the pounding in her chest, and tried to do the breathing method while the time passed by.

With her good hearing she could make out a few conversations in the crowd but the one that got her attention the most was something about this being the 'biggest challenge we might face'. Caroline thought about it for a moment, then smirked to herself. I don't mind risking my life for my family, she thought with more confidence than she had before.

To say Sage was happy at having to stand in the chilly air would be a understatement but she did her best to ignore the shivers wanting to wrack her tiny frame. She could hear the low murmur of conversation floating around her, some of the trainee's conversing in low voices before the commander came out of his office to greet them and start the inspection. Sage however felt no need to strike up a conversation with those near her, not wanting to get in trouble in case the commander suddenly appears as well as the nervous butterflies fluttering through her stomach. She could see Ryuu stand a row in front of a little way down to the right. Like her, he was standing there silently though Sage knew that was more due to the fact that he didn't seem to like other people rather than nerves. The sight of him standing there sent another flutter through her stomach though this wasn't because of nervousness. She still couldn't wrap her mind around that after crushing on him for years he actually returned the feelings though there was a point in which she had to explain what those emotions were.

"PARADE, PARADE-SHUN!"

At those shouted words, Sage felt her body tense and she straightened her spine, arms held to her side as she stared straight ahead. She could see out of the corner of her eye that the other Cadets snapped to attention as well, some caught off guard at the loud and projecting voice that echoed from a single man. And so inspection began. She watched from her peripheral vision as the commander made his way down the line, picking out a trainee here and there. When he came to Ryuu and yelled at the boy, Sage felt both a rush of worry and a spark of anger. She was the only there other than Ryuu himself who knew just how special the mask was to the boy. Buy Ryuu remained calm and seemed to pass some kind of test because the commander grunted and moved on. After putting a rather tall boy in his place for moving, the older man moved onto the row Sage was in.

Soon the man stood in front of the girl, taking in her small form and wondering if she would make the cut. Sage noticed she was among one of the shortest people there in this batch of trainees and her slender form didn't really scream 'strong'. But what she lacked in physical strength she made up for mentally. She saluted like she was taught, left hand being placed behind her back and right hand curling over her heart. She stared up at the man unflinchingly, her nerves having disappeared in the face of proving herself. She would avenge her family and those that had fallen to the Titans. The commander stared at the girl before him, seeing the fire in her eyes. He nodded and moved on, Sage's shoulders relaxing slightly. She gave a silent sigh, glad that it was over.

Yuri watched as he inspected more and more Cadets. He disappeared amongst the crowd in the distance, only to return to their side once again. He had the tall posture on him. Every-so-often a shout could be heard from him. The sound of his leg sweeping someone off their feet or the iron fist slamming into their chests. He didn't mess around. That was something to both fear and respect from the man. The Chief-Instructor had been doing this for at least an hour and forty-six minutes, and some of the Trainees legs became tiresome. Yuri, on the other-hand, was rather fine with his standing. Back at the shop, he used to have to stand outside and greet customers as part of his monthly duties. Though his upper-body didn't look too powerful, his lower was surely a different story...Eventually, Arek arose higher up onto a podium which looked down upon them from not-too-afar. He carried a ceremonial cane with him as he stood up to the front, two supporting Instructors stood either side of him.

"Trainees!" He began to boom into the wintery air. It was clear, like speaking into an amplifying cone. "May I be the first to say, not the 'greatest' First Parade I have had to deal with. Uniform problems..." The Instrucor's head nodded to his left, the opposite side of where Yuri and Grant were. Back-chatting...moving...an inability to keep their fucking hands to themselves...talking...whispering. This list could go on for another ten minutes, but I should keep it short and simple. Not impressed so far...although...there were a good selection I did see however who do 'shine out' more than their comrades." Yuri could only dream about himself being involved in that list. It was his almighty wish to become one of the greatest trainees in selection. He did not want the privileges of joining the Military Police, however, like the majority of the Trainees did. He wanted what his heart desired..."I see trainees who will pass. I see trainees who will fail. I see trainees who will become the best around, achieving the Top-Ten ranks for graduation. That is where you should all be aiming to fly up to! Number one. Anyone with the concern to end up any lower isn't a Soldier. Anyone not wanting the best out of their training is not a Soldier. Anyone who I bare to give the actual respect to flash a glimpse at should be prepared to show me your true potential. Your futures are for me to decide, and that can only happen if you are prepared to throw away all the pathetic, rich, poor, sobby, tragic, happy lives that you lived to get here. From what I understand now, you have struck luck to actually get this speech from me. You've all been through the Theory tests. You've all gone through the standard lesson plans and everything. Cake-walk!" Yuri's attention was fully on the man. Though some around him were starting to drear off, he managed to keep full-focus on his superior, analysing ever word-for-word that spilt from his lips. "I want to see you do what I command, when I command. If I tell you to jump, you say 'How High'...If I tell you to run, you say 'How far, sir'...If I tell you to charge into the face of the enemy, you will do it. You will do whatever I say, whatever the instructors say and even whatever the visiting soldiers from other regiments say. Forget your fathers, your mothers, your sisters...We are the one's you listen to now. Now do I make myself Clear, understandable and understood?" Within the instant, the response came in.

"AYE SIR!" Yuri belted out-loud, along with what he hoped was all of the Trainees. They were completely in-sync. It was quite a beautiful sound to hear. The sound of chests being thumped with the salute and the screams of respect and understanding trainees. It was quite exciting. Yuri felt his own heart start to beat.

"That is what I like to hear. Now, when I dismiss you, I want you to spend the next hour getting to know your fellow comrades. Someone you need to fight with is important. It'll give you a reason to fight for them. Knowing who fights at your side makes chances stronger." From the bottom of Arek's lungs, he commanded out with great force. "PARADE, PARADE...DISMISSED!" The Trainees saluted, turned 45° to their right. After the 3 second interval, they marched out three paces, then turned back into each other. Trainees began to slowly start socialising and doing as he commanded. Yuri regrouped with Grant and began to shake himself. "Oh god? I have to start talking, like now!" He mused to himself. His body shook and his arms followed. Grant sighed and began to stand next to him, waiting for the trainees to come to the two tall ones. They seemed to be avoided, being some of the elder Trainees. The two faced rearwards, seeing if anyone were to approach them from there...

Annella stood at attention, back straight and head held high as she tried to peer over the taller cadets in front of her to look at the Chief-Instructor. At first, his speech demotivated her, filling her with panic as her mind raced, was I one of them? Did I already disappoint the Chief?! But as he continued, the panic slowly dulled away, filling her with curiosity. She wondered who impressed the Chief, whether she was one of them – though she knew it wasn’t likely.

Annella knew that she would have to prove her worthiness to her Chief, she didn’t look big like Nara, nor did she look cold like the girl beside her. She simply looked like a mouse in a room full of cats. Annella had to prove herself, there was no way she was going to back out of the military. She couldn’t. It was up to her to protect her grandparents; it was up to her to avenge her parents. It was all up to her.

As the Chief’s speech drew to a close, Annella prepared to salute again, her right fist curling and thumping her chest as she called out as loudly as possible, “AYE SIR!” There was no time to be embarrassed, she had to show that she was dedicated, that she had passion, that she was a soldier.

With all the cadets soon scattering to find their friends or someone familiar to talk to, Annella found herself standing alone. It was a painful reminder that she had no one to talk to. She had come in alone and would most likely leave for the Survey Corps alone, especially seeing as she didn’t have enough confidence to walk up to someone and begin introducing herself.

It seemed like the choice was taken away from her as two people stood in front of her. Blinking, she looked at them with startled confusion, only to realise it was Nara and the pigtail-girl. Nara was smiling brightly, his green eyes shining with friendliness as he extended his hand out.

“Nara,” he started, his voice smooth. His large smile grew impossibly wider as Annella reached out to take his hand, shaking it hesitantly. “This dolt beside me is Natalia.” Annella looked at said girl, who gave her a sheepish grin and a nod.

When she realised they were waiting on her to introduce herself, she cleared her throat, taking her hand back and rubbing her elbow. “I'm Annella.”

Maybe socialising wasn't as hard as she initially thought.

Ryuu stood there, staring straight ahead as the chief spoke, and the boy knew at least a few of those were directed at him. So be it, Ryuu didn't care what the chief or any other damn person thought about him wearing a mask; he was going to wear the thing. Whenever the Chief began to bark about them getting to know each other, Ryuu simply stared blankly ahead. Wonderful, I'm expected to get to know these people. There is no point, I only need to know their skills and their tactical merit. But whatever, this is training I guess. He thought to himself and mentally sighed. Whenever the command was given, Ryuu B-lined to Sage's position and let his hand slide into hers. A side effect of being sociopathic as it was called, was that whenever Ryuu managed to feel full feelings; they were much stronger than they would be to a normal person. So his love for Sage was a bit strong and was a 'clingy' boyfriend but the boy frankly did not care. Others be damned, she was his girl and that was all that mattered. "I don't see the point in talking to others. Why bother getting attached when most of us will be dead by this time during the year we are actually in the field?" He asked Sage, his eyes studying hers carefully as he tried to discern whether or not she was holding up okay.

The boy watched Sage carefully as they stood in the middle of the crowd of trainees moving around to meet each other for the first time. This was pathetic, and of course Ryuu was also watching to ensure none of them took a peek at Sage in any manner other than just seeing who is around. He would kill any bastard who tried to hit on her.

Caroline tried her best to pay attention to the speech then when she heard about how the instructor knew who was going to be successful and who wasn't, she straightened herself up and made a confident look on her face. She had a solid feeling that she was one of those people that could pass the test, even though she has more strength and speed than brains.

Once the speech closed to an end she said in a loud voice, "AYE SIR!" managing to be in sync with the others. After a few moments Caroline had to march with the rest of the crowd.

Not long after that, people quickly started to socialize like before. She didn't want to talk right away since she was still worried that something could go wrong. Caroline finally got over it by taking a deep breath, then tried to socialize with the people around her.

It didn't work out very well because she would talk in a quiet voice around people she doesn't know, and usually talks if somebody comes up to her first. Every once and a while she would try to make a small wave to a few people, but it didn't get their attention. She made a quick sigh, and held her hands in front of her as if waiting for somebody to talk to her.

It was hard trying to keep focused after the uneasiness Raphaela felt when the instructor peered over to look at her. Plus, it wasn't everyday she would see someone be able to actually look over her in such a way. Whether that was a good thing, or a bad thing, Raphaela honestly didn't care. All she was worried about was getting out of the freezing cold weather and start to rush into one of the large buildings she could see from the corners of her eyes. Raphaela was sure that it was warmer inside there. Hopefully.

As the instructor continued to speak, Raphaela directed her gaze to the right. She had to refrain from shouting out in surprise, so she began to chew on her bottom lip instead. It was a girl, one almost as tall as Raphaela herself, in fact. The surprises just kept on throwing themselves at Raphaela's face today, didn't they?

Raphaela sighed. Maybe there were girls as tall as her here. No, maybe even taller. Maybe, if she was lucky, Raphaela would come across a girl that stands even taller than the outer walls! How crazy would that be?

She was starting to giggle now. Not too loud, of course. The last thing she needed was her instructor giving her an earful like he did that guy standing in the first few rows in front of her. Even Raphaela herself knew that she shouldn't mess with people like that... ever.

"The day I see someone the size of Wall Rose is the day I'm gonna see free bread being dropped from the sky."

Raphaela was definitely giggling to herself now.

To her right, the girl she had been previously peeking at turned her head towards the sniggering girl, sighing. At this point, the mysterious girl knew that she and Raphaela were not going to get along, not in the slightest. Oh well. It wasn't going to be her problem if this six-foot-one brunette happened to fuck up in front of the instructor. She imagined that Raphaela was that type of girl.

The type of girl she didn't want to get involved with in the slightest.

Finally, the instructor's speech was completed. Raphaela straightened herself and lifted her head slightly, biting her lip to hide her laughs. She saluted, calling out to the chief himself.

"AYE, SIR!" she bellowed in sync with most of the other trainees. Was it her, or was her voice getting deeper as the days went by? Was it the cold? Well, there's another thing to keep an eye on aside from her body's tendency to grow at extreme rates. Raphaela wasn't incredibly tall for no reason, after all.

After everyone had been dismissed and began to socialise once again, Raphaela walked off, her head being one of the few that stuck out from the crowd like a sore thumb. The girl couldn't help but smirk.

How amusing! she thought. My life as a trainee is about to begin! Well, unless I fuck up in front of the instructor for giggling too much. Well then... looks like things are gonna get interesting from here on out, huh?

With Nara and Natalia beside her, Annella didn't feel the need to want to go out to find others to socialise with. It was a bad idea of course, they were to be her brother and sister in-arms, if she can't talk to them, who can she talk to? Maybe later, I suppose. We still have lunch to get through. She thought as she followed Nara and Natalia through the crowds of people, the two engrossed in their own conversation about some story they'd heard from their parents in their childhood. Annella took this time to look around; the two men beside the mask-boy still together while mask-boy seemed to have moved elsewhere. She noticed an extremely tall girl, and felt a bit self conscious. She barely touched five foot one yet that girl seemed to be taller than most boys here.

Engrossed in her thought, she didn't realise the two had turned left in the crowd, leaving the girl to walk ahead without realising. Straight into another girl. She crashed into the black-haired girl, tumbling to the ground in surprise. She let out a grunt as her butt hit the ground, dust flying into her mouth as the black-haired girl managed to catch herself in time, turning around to look at who crashed into her.

"S-sorry!" Annella coughed as she attempted to get up from her embarrassing position on the ground, those that were there to witness were simply staring in silence, as the black-haired girl leaned over to give her hand to the flushed brunette.

"S'okay, c'mon, give me your hand." Annella took her hand, the girl helping her up with a smile on her face. Annella wasn't surprised to see the girl taller than her, but was secretly glad that she wasn't one of the really tall ones. "I'm Lilith Hermia." The girl - Lilith - introduced herself with a grin that was so bright that even caught Annella off-guard.

She's so... cheerful... The brunette thought to herself as she gave a weaker smile of her own, "Annella Hertz, I'm sorry for crashing into you there, I wasn't seeing where I was going."

Lilith waved off her apologies as if she were swatting flies around her, "no worries, it happens." Lilith said, unconcerned. "Are you okay though? You looked like you had a bad fall there."

"Um, no, I'm fine. I think? Yes, I am. Fine that is, I'm fine." Annella's reddened cheeks flushed darker as she babbled.

Great, you're going to scare off someone with the way you're so jumpy and nervous all the time! She cursed herself.

Caroline continued to watch the people in the crowd bump into each other, talk, and do other 'social' things. "Why can't I talk to anybody? Am I seriously that shy?!" she nervously muttered to herself. Almost automatically, she started to quietly sing a song while the time passed by.

A few people near Caroline managed to hear her, and paused their conversations to listen. When she looked up halfway through the song her face partly reddened when she saw the people staring at her, with the instructor eyeing her from a distance. Caroline quickly put her head back down, and awkwardly shuffled her feet a few times.

The people around her decided to go back to their conversations,but a few whispered something about Caroline's singing; due to her embarrassment,she tried to bury her face in her shirt pretending she was invisible.

I'm making a complete fool of myself! I might as well be called the Shy Singer for now on, she negatively thought to herself.

"Agh, what's with this massive crowd? Everyone's so damn small I can't even see where I'm walking!"

Raphaela scratched her head in frustration, cursing under her breath. She knew that there were a whole load of trainees standing outside just a minute ago, but now that every single one of them were trying to squeeze into the building, it was just one big struggle. Even Raphaela herself, although towering over pretty much everyone on sight (with a few exceptions, of course), was finding it hard to move through the sea of chattering people.

"Damn it... If I fall over now, I'll get trampled on for sure!"

Finally, the area managed to clear a bit, giving Raphaela a chance to breathe. As she exhaled, another girl walked passed, brushing against Raphaela's shoulder slightly. The tall brunette almost yelped out in surprise, her blank grey eyes looking towards the culprit.

It was that girl again.

Raphaela took this chance to examine her more closely. She had to admit, the girl was quite attractive. Dark brown hair edging towards black, with matching eyes to compliment her deeply tanned skin tone. Raphaela had never seen a girl like her before. In fact, she almost felt entranced by this foreign beauty. Raphaela was definitely surprised to not see guys flocking the tanned girl right this second. That short, slightly feathered hairstyle was sure to draw attention.

"Look... I would appreciate it of you didn't gawk at me like that, thank you very much."

Shit. Raphaela had done it now. She knew it wasn't right to stare at someone for so long, and now she had to face the consequences. Damn, and the day was going on pretty smoothly too!

Snapping out of her little dream world, Raphaela hesitated, then smiled, waving her hand slightly. "Ah, sorry 'bout that. I just haven't seen someone who looks like you around here, ya know?"

The other girl raised her eyebrow. Followed by her shocked expression came a very serious one, her dark eyes piercing through Raphaela's grey pair. "I would also appreciate if you didn't try flirting with someone of the same gender. And even if you're not, I can already tell how annoying you are after you gave me that stupid grin of yours."

Raphaela seemed a little taken back by the girl's comment. Sure, she seemed like the serious type, but in no way was she expecting something as rude as that. Even so, sarcasm spread across Raphaela's lips, so much so that the tanned teenager's eyes widened a little. She wasn't expecting that. And she most certainly wasn't amused by it either.

"I swear, that smile of yours... I'm off."

Raphaela watched as the girl stomped off, the ant-like trainees clearing the way as she walked through. That person really was someone to be afraid of. Raphaela sighed.

Maybe today just wasn't her day.

____________________________________

With her chocolate brown eyes, the dark skinned woman looked over at the conversing trainees, leaning her back against the wall as she examined each and every one of them. After what had just happened to her about thirty seconds ago, Teresa wasn't in a very chatty mood. In fact, Teresa was never in a chatty mood. After all, she'd only spoken to about five people in her childhood. Teresa withdrew herself from the ever growing crowd, walking silently off to the other side.

"That girl..." Teresa muttered, folding her arms under her chest. "I think I'll be staying away from her from now on. So annoying... That girl must be as dumb as a doornail with an attitude like that."

From the corner of her eye, she could see a small trio of boys snickering in the dark corner. Although the room was pretty loud and crowded, Teresa had sharp ears. She could just about make out what they were gossiping about, and the topic they were discussing had definitely hit a nerve.

"Hey, have you seen that girl over there? Her skin's pretty dark... D'ya think she stays out in the sun a lot?"

"I know! She looks pretty weird if you ask me."

"And have you seen how tall she is? Not only is she freakishly dark, but she's freakishly tall too!"

Teresa's hands curled into fists. Forget the silent and serious act. She hated it when people made fun of her like that. She hated it when people would snigger at her just because of how she looked.

She hated people like them.

And she was going to teach them a lesson.

Teresa shoved her way pass the sea of sandy brown jackets, bumping into a few people on the way. But she didn't care. She had to deal with these guys before anything else.

"I wonder if she's - oh, look! She's walking over!"

Teresa's eyes glinted with fury, narrowing down to slits as she approached the giggling trio. They thought it was all joke, mocking someone for their skin colour like that. Teresa bit her lip, trying to contain her anger.

"Hm. So that's how it is, huh?" Teresa said, looking down at the three men. They all tried to hold in their laughs, one of them even clasping their hands over their mouth to stop their laugh from escaping. Teresa clicked her tounge, the fire inside her beginning to rise.

All right. Just stay calm. These shit heads may have made some offensive comments, but I don't want to draw any attention. As long as I make this quick and simple, they won't do it again.

"A-Ah, it's you," the first boy said, looking up at Teresa with the same sarcastic grin Raphaela had flashed at her just a few minutes ago. "You seem to want something?"

Great. Teresa was definitely ticked off now, and there was no way anything could calm her down at this point.

"Don't play dumb with me you little shit. I'm not stupid, you know. Don't think I didn't hear what you said back there. If you manage to pipe down now, I won't have to go through the tiring process of beating you to a pulp."

The boy only smiled again, seemingly amused at Teresa's continuous rise in irritation. "Beat me to a pulp? All I'm doing is pointing out your, um… 'unique' characteristics, that's all. I've never seen people like you before, you know?"

"You're really getting on my nerves now. As I said, I'm not stupid. I would just prefer it if you didn't say such things like that again. That, or a certain someone is going to hurtle you all the way into titan territory, squirt."

Teresa glared down at the boys. She had to end this once and for all before anyone could interfere. If the instructor managed to get tangled up in this situation, then it was off to titan territory for her instead.

"But doesn't anyone look like a squirt to you? I mean, you're pretty damn tall… Is that even normal? And your skin colour too… Pretty freaky if you'd ask me!"

"Say that again?"

The boy sighed, shaking his head and smirking to himself. "I said, your height and skin colour are pretty freaky if you'd ask me -"


"SAY THAT AGAIN YOU LITTLE SHIT?"

Oh, Teresa was fired up now.

NEMO ALTARE

A lake, an absolute lake of tan and brown lay before Nemo now, rippling gently under the cold, soft blue of the early morning hours. He'd gone through the inspection with ease, mostly due to his mental fortitude and a peculiar ability to recognize what those with a position of power MOST wanted...to dominate. To this degree, Nemo was more than happy to oblige, faking an act of terror all the way in the back lines, right up to--and even past--the point when the captain looked him up and down, grunted, and moved on. He already understood the workings of this camp, why they were here, what the instructors were looking for. A soldier of the military would have to think, act, perhaps even breath with the consciousness of his comrades on his mind...always. They had to be determined, resolute, organized, all the words that made up the term "Military". With that in mind, it was easy to understand why the recruits here were going to be pushed to their limits...battered to a pulp, and in some rare cases...broken beyond a point they could return to.

To become a soldier--to think clearly, with a constant mindset of what the battlefield was like, where you were needed, what was needed in order for victory to be achieved--one would have to be broken down and rebuilt. Again, the tan-skinned boy understood this logic...without a solid base for their forces, it would be hard to achieve even the slightest bit of discipline. Here, on this enormous patch of dusty earth, the workings of that process would begin, starting with the scrutinizing break-down of each recruit's former life, past, personality...everything that defined a person as, "them self".

Of course, Nemo had no such desire to become a part of this machine...indeed, he intended to become the conductor; neither the postion of the engineer nor the perseverance of the cog would satisfy him otherwise. Having made this decision long ago, it was now clear to him that he would have to study and calculate his proper place among the military, with the highest chances of rising through the ranks and obtaining his brass. The Military Police held a false-power, capable only of pacing the streets and wiping the boots of the monarchy they served. They held an arrogant mask before their faces, hoping it would be enough to fool the world from seeing the child-like mentalities behind it. It did not fool Nemo.

The Survey Corps also served as yet another hand of the empire, albeit the one constantly being thrust into the boiling pot...intent on touching a surface they would never be able to reach without being scalded to the bones. Again, the risk for reward was too low, too dangerous, too dull. They molded lakes of blood into pictures of wings, hoping it would be enough to impress the boldest and the bravest into following a cause of tremendous stupidity; unequipped, unprepared, and certainly unknowing of the true waste they would be doing for the empire by chasing those pictures. It did not impress Nemo.

Only the Garrison stood as a solid truth to Nemo. They held the walls, this they had done...and always would do. No other purpose was needed in a world largely inhabited by creatures capable of crushing the fleeting dreams of a Scout, or the futile power of an Officer. Only the Garrison held some semblance of hope in a world so vicious towards the fearful race of man. Only the Garrison would do, for this certain recruit's ambitions.

Around him stood a full few companies of recruits, chattering away as they shared hopes, dreams, ambitions, all that they only assumed they could achieve with the apparent "power" of being a soldier. They believed by being here, they could learn how to beat the obscenely large threat living outside the walls...as it had always done. They believed they, being the next generation, could change the world in tremendous and amazing ways.

...They believed a naive dream, held onto by those lacking a proper understanding of what this world TRUELY was...a place of beauty...of wonder...of beasts, each striving to do anything and everything to survive. By year's end, half of them would realize they had neither the discipline nor the strength to live as a soldier. The other half would be split up into thirds, and from there would spend the rest of their lives pretending, propitiating, or protecting the populace they lived and died for. Nemo already knew where he stood...but he wondered...

...how many others felt so strongly?

NEMO ALTARE

Nemo's eyes panned across the courtyard, observing the shaded hue of the throngs from behind his glasses. He rested his chin on his folded hands. They all looked so alike...and yet, so different. Each seemed to hold within them this self-same feeling...pride, pride to be "here". Proud to serve, proud to live with "honor".

Not so many of them would be nearly as "proud" to die.

On the contrary, he could already imagine their faces, contorted and distressed, caught in an unbreakable grip, slowly being chucked into gaping jaws. One could only feel pity for this lot...even now, as they naively chit-chattered away, so ignorant as to the evils they would eventually have to face.

...unspeakable evils, of both titans and men alike.

And then, his gaze caught a certain character standing out among the crowd. Well..more like trying to shrink down into it, based on her current posture. What had caused this unfortunate creature to act so, when all around her there were so many sharing their thoughts and dream? Gleefully they stood around her circle, completely unknowing or uncaring for a comrade in distress.

Something triggered in Nemo's mind, and he felt empathy for the girl. Sliding through the crowd, he made his way over to the shrunken female, standing beside her (Caroline), speaking quite calmly:

"...what troubles you so?"

His eyes hidden behind his goggles, it would've been quite hard to tell the boy's feelings as he spoke. However, his voice was so calm, so soft, that it was quite apparent he asked only in the best of interests, genuinely concerned for the feelings of this blossom among the field of buds.

It took a while for Caroline to realize that somebody was standing next to her, and talking too. She looked up with her blue eyes filled with shame. She tried to quickly scan the boy that was in front of her, then started to stare at the goggles that he was wearing. Caroline tried to focus her eyes so her vision would become a little clearer, but it just made her vision worse.

"O-oh, it's n-nothing," she stuttered the lie to him. Caroline's mind was being filled with questions like why this boy decided to talk to her, or why he was wearing goggles. Her horrible vision distracted her even more.

She tried to turn her body away so the boy wouldn't see the embarrassed look on her face, but during the attempt of doing so her midnight black glasses fell out of her jacket pocket. Caroline tried to ignore it, as if pretending that they weren't hers, but it was obvious that it she owned them.

Please don't notice them please don't notice them, Caroline repeated in her mind. She wasn't very comfortable about showing or wearing her glasses in public, especially in this situation.

NEMO ALTARE

He sighed, bending down to scoop up the glasses, leaning back up. "They're yours...aren't they? If so, I'd advise you take them...this many feet in one area could prove fatal to such fragile things." He smiled faintly, trying to cheer her up, "...and I doubt you'd want to be connected to potential homicide just yet..." He looked around, "A noisy bunch, this group is...truly despicable to someone like myself..I prefer the quiet. Don't you?", he continued, trying to coax her out of her shell. "As a matter of fact, I'd rather it stopped soon enough, I can take cannon-fire and titan roars, but this parade's going to deafen me..." Nemo looked over at her again, "...Would you take them already? My arm's getting tired of lugging these miniature 50 pounders around."

He grumbled inside of his mind...doing something good for a change was tiring work...not to mention he was starting to step over the boundaries of his own rules...

Caroline slowly turned back around, sighing, then took the glasses putting them back into her jacket pocket hoping it won't fall out again. She smiled then made a quiet chuckle about him almost going deaf over a crowd but not a bunch of titans, and pretending that her glasses were 50 pounds. It easily made her day.

"Well, uhh, t-thanks. I'm C-Caroline by the way," she said finally introducing herself to somebody. In her mind she wanted to shake his hand to be friendly, but she knew that sometimes her nervousness makes her strength multiply. Yeahhh I'm not risking breaking somebody's hand today, she thought to herself.

"So, umm.. I don't know if I should ask or not but why do you wear those goggles?" she said slowly calming down.

NEMO ALTARE

"Keepsake.", he answered calmly, occasionally glancing about at the surrounding crowd. "An old acquaintance of mine allowed me to hold onto them...", the boy shrugged, "...Had them ever since. One could say they're representative of my identify now, my person." His gaze moved over towards her again, "I'm supposing those shades of yours are also a part of your identity...albeit a part you wish to keep secreted away hmm?"

An eyebrow raised inquisitively towards her pocket, before lowering back into its previous expressionless state.

"Everyone's got secrets, so I won't pry just yet.", he stated, turning about and preparing to leave for his former spot, "...and I'd suggest you start toughening up, this isn't even the beginning of the worst to come..." He checked his collar again as he scanned the crowd, making sure everything was in order while he searched for his previous spot. The massed recruits--bunched up like so many potatoes in a crate--made it hard to see, however.

This, of course, annoyed him...though he didn't show it.