---

Gabriel chuckled at he and Reese's exchange of words. In a way, Reese felt like a brother to Gabriel. Though the same could be said for Grant, even if they didn't know each other too much. What was certain to him was they they all got along relatively well. When Grant came up to him and started making quips about everyone else's height, Gabriel rolled his eyes and smiled. "You say that now,
but just watch out about Olivia. She's too feisty for her own good." This was further proven when Olivia talked about how she would kick his ass at training. While he didn't worry about losing to his small companion, he wasn't one to take a threat so loosely. "We'll see about that one. If I finish higher in the class than you, you have to do as I say. If I lose, same goes for you.
How's that, little one?" He put his hand over her head to exaggerate her height and began to walk towards the cabins. Over the course of getting to know them a bit better, Gabriel learned to lighten up...although it wasn't too often when he did relax. After all, it wasn't in his nature to relax when there was work to be done.

"Listen, I'm going to head on over to the cabin. We can all meet up at the Mess Hall when we're done getting oriented...and try not to lose her. Lord knows she's so small we'll lose her in the dark." He flashed Olivia a playful grin before moving on towards the cabin. It was nice to have some friends that he actually knew for a change. As soon as he reached the cabin, he opened the door, and looked around. It wasn't anything special, as to be expected, but it didn't seem like a bad place to live in at all. The bunks weren't too big, but it was nothing a little curling up could do to fix. He walked over to one of the beds and sat down, letting out a sigh of relief. "So this is home for now...won't be the same without Eitan." He rubbed the back of his neck and shut his eyes, thinking of how his little brother was doing in the care of his grandparents.

All of a sudden, he looked up, and noticed Tanner sitting on one of the other beds. He had been so concentrated on his thoughts and settling down before heading out to the Mess Hall that he had completely missed the boy. He stared at Tanner for a few shorts seconds before waving his hand up at him. "Hey...didn't see you there. Guess we're going to be booked together. My name is Gabriel...we might have met before? Maybe?" He offered Tanner a friendly smile.

---

Connor's feet carried him with a speed that would impress anyone that watched. The heat of the setting sun made the extensive effort even worse. His heart was pounding and his lungs were gasping for air by the time he was close to the forest. He had no idea how long the run was, but it wasn't a reasonable distance to make anyone run in under twenty minutes. Regardless, he carried himself with controlled breaths, though while still feeling like he was suffocating. As he passed the short guy that Schulz had sent before him, the kid looked at him and said something, but with the winding whipping against his ears, he couldn't make out the boy's words. He didn't return his gaze, but instead kept running. About ten minutes later, he hit the forest, slamming his right foot in front of himself and sliding across the dirt ground. He touched his palm a tree at the front of the forest, then darted quickly back in the direction of the training grounds.

The 104th Cadet Corps were all like ants from where he was, and he couldn't hope to make them out. Added to the distance, the falling sun was blazing in his eyes, obstructing him from getting a clear view of the training grounds. He just kept on pushing, hoping he was still running in the right direction. By the time the buildings and cadets were visible, Connor could swear his legs were going to snap from the exhausting effort. He completed the half-marathon just as the sun began to fall behind the buildings. At the pace he had been traveling, he guessed that he'd finished about fifteen minutes behind the other cadet that he'd passed. He reached the middle of the training grounds, still full speed, and attempted to slow himself to a breathable pace.

As he passed the cafeteria, his step faltered and he tumbled to the ground, the momentum of his sprint sending sliding across the dirt on his back. When the young man slid to a halt in the dirt, he simply laid back and stared up at the red sky. His breaths heaved as he held the world on his shoulders and sweat had completely drenched his shirt. His hair was completely matted to his head with sweat, beads of which slid down his forehead. He breathed in and exhaled an agonized groan that was surely loud enough for all the cadets to hear throughout the training grounds.

He sprawled his arms out to open up his chest to allow himself to breath as he waited for the adrenaline to drain from his legs and return his body to its normal state.

As the trio neared their cabin, Jade inspected it quietly from the outside. The cabin wasn't too shabby, but it wasn't exactly home. Then again nothing was ever exactly home. The small girl held the door open for her friends to go inside before she went in. Taking a look at the bed set up, Jade quickly pointed to two that were together and looked at Lauren and Mora, "You two should sleep there. I'll sleep here. I can keep a close eye on whoever gets to share the place with us." Her voice had gone back to normal now that it was just the three of them and she could be herself.

'I haven't forgotten about you either.'

Jade's eyes widened as she looked at Lauren when she mentioned checking the girl out to see if she was injured. "Uh, yeah. Once it's time to go to bed." She smiled at Lauren before turning quickly towards the door as she heard a loud thud and some other noises that she couldn't describe. "What the hell?!" Being the type of person that was always on alert, Jade ran to the door quickly to see what was going on. 'It's probably god damned Schulz,' she thought as she yanked the door open and ran outside. Fortunately enough, it was just another cadet on the ground. "Oh." Her voice sounded slightly disappointed, yet she felt a sense of relief wash over her as she saw that it wasn't anything dangerous.

Jade made her way over to the young man and stopped short of a couple feet from him, slightly crouching down and setting her hands on her knees to inspect him.

"Are you dead?"

Her question was laced with sarcasm as she could plainly hear the groans and moans of pain and exhaustion. If Jade had been her usual self, she would of laughed at situation that the boy was in, but instead she just tilted her head slightly without showing much emotion on her face. "Law! Man down!"

There was no use arguing with Lauren once she had started. Not that Mora had a mind to argue with her at this point. Her throat felt swollen and hot. Each breath brought with it a new sense of pain and while whatever concoction Lauren had given her; even the liquid did little to dull the ache. She sighed, grimacing, as she watched patiently for her to be done. Maybe it wasn't the smartest move. Egging on the abusive instructor but its not like Mora didn't mean it. She was there to stop the titans. To avenge her family and stop other a from experiencing the same pain she went through.

Warmth radiated around her neck from the balm. Her instinct was to quickly wipe off the substance but after a moment Mora realized that it was more soothing than annoying. She beamed a smile down at her friend before a loud groan stretched through the air.

Jade was the first out the door, followed by Mora. Outside lay one if the recruits Schultz had sent running. He grumbled and moaned as he laid face down on the dirt.

"Are you dead?" Jade made a snide remark as she leaned closer to him.

"Law. Man down."

Mora rolled he eyes a little. She felt a little bad for the guy, he was obviously spent from the run and needed to rest. Making her way over she looked over at Jade, "Here, let's get him inside." she croaked. They couldn't just leave the poor boy on the ground. He could at least lay down for a moment in one of the beds inside. At least until the girls for back from the mess hall.

Without waiting, Mora yanked the boys shoulder back and slipped her arm under his chest. He was taller than her easily but for what she lacked in height she made up in strength. Gritting her teeth she managed to prop him up enough that Jade could slip her arm around him and help him to his feet.

Tanner entered the cabin, and on first glance, it wasn't anything special. The building wasn't fancy, nothing like the homes of the deepest section of the three walls that surrounded humanity in a giant chicken coop. Rather, the cabins were quaint, and the interior reminded Tanner of his home. Inside, there were four beds, and a few cabinets that surely were meant to hold their clothing and whatever belongings the cadets had. The cabin also boasted a small table and a few chairs, but Tanner's interest was inclined towards the beds and if his belongings had arrived.

He walked over to the cabinets, and opened each one until he found the jacket that was all too familiar to Tanner. Underneath the jacket lied a small patched sack, which was all Tanner had left in terms of belongings. Excluding what Tanner shoved in his pockets two years ago, everything else that Tanner owned was crushed by a section of the wall and now guarded by monstrous titans. Reaching deep into the bag, Tanner breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled out clump of papers detailing every note he wrote about the mysterious woman that haunted his mind and soul.

"One day I'll have to find a better way to store these. The papers are already crinkling and dotted with crease marks..." Tanner muttered to himself once he sat on one of the beds, oblivious to the sound of the cabin door opening while he focused on the papers in his hands. Like Tanner, the newcomer was just as oblivious and sat down on the bed across from him. Seconds went by before the newcomer realized Tanner was in the room, and in an attempt to initiate conversation, spoke up.

"Hey...didn't see you there. Guess we're going to be booked together. My name is Gabriel... we might have met before? Maybe?" The voice said, causing Tanner to suddenly look upwards. Despite the friendliness radiating from Gabriel, Tanner quickly tried to shove the documents in his hands between the bed frame and the bed in hopes that Gabriel wouldn't see them. "Tanner. I don't think we've met before." Tanner replied, almost hurrying his words as he slid down the bed to block Gabriel's view of the hastily shoved papers sticking out from underneath the bed.

Jade was out like a flash, light on her feet and always alert almost to the point of being jumpy. If Lauren didn't know better she'd have thought Jade was looking for danger, but she did know better; her little friend merely wanted to protect people more than anything, especially if that entailed killing Titans. It was the same for Ra, they both had that burning anger nestled within them.

She heard her name called and followed the two girls out, finding Mora picking up the collapsed boy. He was plainly exhausted, drenched in sweat with his chest heaving from his excessive exertions. Lauren stepped out of the way as the other two carried the boy into the cabin and out of the heat of the still blazing sun, although it was now cooling slightly as it completed its daily descent.

"Just put him down on the bed. I'll grab some water." She sprinted across to the Mess Hall, heading straight to the kitchens and grabbing a skin of water before heading back to the cabin and placed it on the bed besides his head.

When he inevitably began to glug the water down as any parched person would do, she snatched it from his hands with an admonishment. "Slowly. You won't do yourself any good to drink it quickly, no matter how much better it feels. Take small sips over time."

She returned the skin to him and let him take another drink before speaking again.

"I'm Lauren, or Cadet Medic, apparently. This is Jade and that's Mora. What's your name?"

Emil had found his way to his cabin first, climbing his way to a top bunk and lamenting silently to himself about his lack of water before exhaustion overtook his senses and he fell asleep in the bed.

He jolted awake as there was suddenly a burst of commotion within the cabin. Emil just lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling as he wondered why anyone would be making so much goddamn noise in the cabin right about now. If anything everyone should have been trying to get some shut eye after the grueling formation or eating in the galley, 'Those that aren't are not going to deal with this too well to start off.' he thought as he rolled over in the bed. His face pressing into the mattress as he pulled himself to the edge of the bed and peeked his head through the opening by the ladder.

Below him and on the other side of the room were three girls that he'd never seen before around the other boy that he had passed on their leisurely jog. The side of his head flat against the mattress he groaned as they seemed to talk to the boy. Reassuring him of who they were and something about wat-

"Water...?" he spoke into the mattress, his voice sounding more like a mumble than a spoken word. "Hey... Would you mind if I had some of that?" Emil asked, raising his voice just loud enough that he was sure at least one of the three girls would hear it. He pulled his arm out from under himself and reached it out into the open air in front of him. "I meant to get some water once I got back but I..." he closed his fist a bit and opened it again, "I didn't exactly remember, and I'm not too sure if I can make it out of this bed safely. Hell I'm not too sure how I got in it in the first place." he said, the confusion at the last part evident on his face as he seemed to look from th ground up the ladder and to the landing that was the bed.

---

As Connor's breathing began to relax, he laid on the bed and stared up at the ceilings. He could still feel the constant pump of adrenaline and blood in his legs. When the taller girl placed the waterskin beside him, he immediately grabbed it and began chugging, feeling the wonderful relief of the water running down his dry throat. When the girl snatched the bottle out of his hands and scolded him for drinking to much at one time, he laid his head back and just rest.

The girl introduced herself as Lauren, aka the Cadet Medic. He chuckled a bit, then looked over at her. "Name's Connor." As his breathing finally came to a steady pace, he slowly sat up. "Do yourself a favor - don't sprint a half-marathon."

When the short guy he'd passed on the run stepped into the cabin, asking for water, Connor stood and painfully walked over to him, trying to slowly walk off the pain so that he didn't go stagnant and allow his muscles to cramp together. He handed him the waterskin after another swig and returned to sit on the edge of the bed he'd been brought to."Y'know... You're- You're a fast little guy, that's for sure, man. And you're smart for pacing yourself. I tried to sprint the whole thing." He shed his brown leather jacket and dropped it on the floor, revealing the large sweat stain on his back. "I thought I could catch you, but I was pleasantly surprised. But hey, I was only about ten to fifteen minutes behind you."

"Anyways, thanks for the help, ladies. I would've gladly laid in the dirt for the whole night if I'd had to."

---

Gabriel had caught just a brief glimpse of the papers, but he couldn't really tell what they were or what might have been written on them. Gabriel was somewhat curious about what exactly they were, but he didn't want to push Tanner, considering this was their first meeting.
"I see...sorry, I just tend to forget faces sometimes, you know? I have a habit of making sure I've met the person before-hand before I start introducing myself, you know?" Gabriel could remember faces perfectly fine; he just hated to admit that he didn't have many friends back in the day. It was something that he would like to forget, just like the disaster at Shiganshina. He sat there awkwardly for a few seconds, tapping his knee in thought as he stared at the other boy, unsure of how to continue their conversation.

"So....are you from Shiganshina too?" Many of the other Cadets were from Shiganshina, so he just had to know for sure. Every single one had reason after that event took place, as if they were all trying to prove themselves in some way. All Gabriel wanted was to ensure his brother's safety. Strangely enough, he wasn't going to join the Garrison. In a way, his decisions were confusing to him. All he knew was that joining the Survey Corps...but why the Survey Corps if he wanted to protect Eitan? It was a confusing thought, but he shook it off. He looked back up at Tanner and offered him a smile, reaching out to him with an open hand. "I suppose I shouldn't really ask that though, huh? Either way, it's a pleasure to meet you." He waited for Tanner to shake his hand, his smile growing slightly.

Throughout the time that Mora and Jade helped out the exhausted cadet into the cabin, Jade had pressed on the matter that male cadets should not go into their cabin, nor were they allowed to go in. As the girls made their way inside the cabin, she had muttered how they would get into major trouble and suffer the same fate as the cadet that had ran to the edge of the world and back.

Once they had laid down the cadet who would introduce himself as Connor, Jade had turned at the sound of a bed moving. Her eyes widened as she saw the other boy that had been told to run to the forest and back, which then made her jaw drop to what felt like the floor. 'How the hell did he get in here?!' Her eyes were keen on catching things out of the norm which made her feel completely dumbfounded and useless. "Wh... What? How? Where did you come from?!" Her voice was a tiny bit on the harsh side as she pointed at Emil, then looked back at Connor who was making his way towards the boy with some water. "You two shouldn't be in here. We're going to get in so much trouble."

At the moment the words left her mouth, there were two short knocks on the door. Being the closest to it, Jade muttered a curse word under her breath and went over to open it, scowling at everyone in the room. 'I knew it. We're dead,' she thought as she opened the door, only to see Sano at the door. "Oh." Jade felt her face turn red again at seeing the young man again which brought back the embarrassment of having to say something nice to him. She said nothing to him as she stepped to the side to let him come in and listened to him as he spoke. Once he said his piece, Jade turned quickly to everyone in the room with her hair flipping along with her movement, and scowled at the once more, "You see!? I told you guys that we'd get caught and in trouble." Unlike her small and timid voice out on the field where they were given the "entrance ceremony", Jade's voice was actually full of confidence in the confinement of their cabin.

Jade looked up at him, recalling all of the cursing that Sano did under his breath, and smirked, "You sure do have a mouth on you, huh? Don't worry about it. I was just telling the two they needed to get going. Don't feel too bad." Near the end of her talking to Sano, she felt Lauren and Mora's eyes glued to her, so her voice became softer and softer until she somewhat faded away and went silent. Her green eyes shot over to Mora and Lauren and gestured for them to kick the two boys out. "We'll see you guys later," was all she whispered as she watched the three leave before closing the door and looking back at her friends, a long exhale leaving the small girl as she felt like she had held her breath the entire time. Clearing her throat once more, she pulled her hair out of her face and made her way over to her bed. "I think we should start heading to the mess hall."

Tanner had hoped Gabriel failed to noticed the documents he shoved between the bed. The papers were his lifeline to the mysterious woman that haunted his dreams and thoughts. Each sheet was precious to Tanner, and he didn't need someone snooping around in his life's work. "I understand. You don't want to set yourself up for an awkward situation by introducing yourself to someone who knows you." Tanner replied, somewhat at ease as Gabriel didn't inquire into the documents was trying to hide. Still, Tanner wasn't sure how exactly what to say next. He was never a people person, and didn't pursue conversations that had nothing to do with the goals Tanner set for himself. An awkward silence filled the air as both Gabriel and Tanner stared at each other, attempting to think of something to continue their conversation.

Eventually, Gabriel had thought of something, although a rather touchy subject for many of the cadets. A good number of them were from Shiganshina and were there during the disaster that occurred two years ago. "No, no. It's fine; I'm from Shiganshina. You might've heard of the Harwell bookstore before." Tanner replied, taking Gabriel's hand and shaking it. Strangely enough, it had been a long time since Tanner thought about his home. Tanner had remembered the destruction, the death and even the child he saved, but for the most part, everything was fuzzy for Tanner. He had trouble picturing his home, and every attempt to do so was returned by the thought of ruins and destruction. It was confusing, yet Tanner shrugged it off to keep himself from being distracted as he smiled back at Gabriel.

"As if I'd lose to you," said Olivia in response to Gabriel, giving a large roll of her eyes as she clung to the long-haired boy beside her. At first, Reese struggled in her grip, but she was relentless with her hold. She ignored what he had to say about the situation, and became slightly relaxed when he did not fidget. Gabriel soon bid them farewell, but not without a snarky comment that made her narrow her eyes at his retreating figure. She wasn't even that short; it was just that he was too tall. Maybe Circus Freak was a fitting name for him.

Soon enough, Reese worked his way out of her hold and made his way to the boys' cabins. She quickly waved goodbye to Grant, murmuring a quick "see you later" before chasing after her friend. Catching up to him rather quickly, her arms wrapped around him in another hug. Her embrace was not as tight, but much more gentle as she showed her friend affection. "I'll catch you in the mess hall!" Olivia told him, giving him one of her trademark smiles before running off to the girls' cabins.

Olivia eventually found the cabin that she was supposed to reside in, taking a few steps up to it before noticing there were boys there. She had seen the short one before, but the exotic-looking one and the brown-haired one were foreign to her. Giving them a confused expression, she graced them with a nod in greeting before stepping around them and entering the cabin. There were already girls in there, and she recognized the one that she had encountered those two years ago. At least there's one face I know around here, she was grateful for that fact before taking a few more steps towards them. Another wide smile came cross her mouth as she waved at them slightly.

"Hey! I know you!" Olivia cheerily exclaimed as she approached Jade. "You're the one in Shiganshina, two years ago... but," she turned towards the other girls, her head tipping to the side. "I haven't seen you guys, before. My name's Olivia, Olivia Zesiger! I guess we're going to be cabin-mates from now on!"

With some reluctance, Lauren let the two chastised boys be led out of the cabin. She desperately wanted to protest, to go and speak to the Instructor about how they had been invited in, but she sensed that it would help nobody. It was still the first day and they were being shown how disciplined they had to become if they were to be turned into proper soldiers. She may have gotten away with helping Mora before but these boys were hardly injured, just exhausted from what had probably been intended as a punishment; trying to take the edge of said action would take away from its original purpose and the Instructor would just double their sentences as an example.

Thus, she watched resentfully as they were led out. It was unfair to blame the boy who had been sent to take them, the one who had helped Jade, but there was something in his demeanour that suggested he agreed with what was happening and that concerned a little. She'd be keeping an eye on him but for different reasons to before. With a sigh, she put the water skin down and sat on a bed. Maybe she was being unfair and judging people too soon, it was only the first day and it would natural for everyone to be on edge, even without the Instructor publicly abusing every single cadet and destroying any sense of self-confidence they had.

Just as the door closed it then swung wide open again, a small girl entering with some exuberance. Pausing for the briefest of seconds as she realised the cabin was already open, the girl glanced between the three of them before her eyes lit up in recognition at Jade. She chirped away, Lauren stiffening at the mention of Shiganshina and the inevitable effect it would have on Jade and Mora, let alone herself.

"I'm Lauren, this is Mora. Her throat's still hurting from earlier so she might not talk much for now... we're all from Shiganshina." She was hoping that would bring an end to things but, just in case, she decided to hurry things along so that no one would dwell on unwanted memories. "We should head to the Mess Hall though. We could all do with something to drink and some food after today." She helped Mora up and half guided, half pushed her and Jade out of the cabin. "Come with us if you like, it'd be good to get to know our cabin mates better." She said as she passed Olivia with a grin.

The Mess Hall was still fairly empty for the most part, not many more people having come since Lauren first fetched water from the kitchen. They had their pick of the tables with very few occupied. Conscious of Mora's inabiltiy to speak very loudly, Lauren pointed to the rear of the room where it would be a little quieter. It'd also allow her to see the entire room from one place, a paranoid preference she'd picked up, from where she knew not, in the last two years.

"Let's go over there, I reckon we can talk without having to shout over there."

There was nothing to prepare Nora for the soft male voice that called our behind them. In fact she had to snuff out a small startled cry as he called out them. She shot the boy a scathing look before recognizing him from earlier that day, Shultz had made the poor guy run just as far and as hard as the boy she had just dragged in. Sighing audibly Mora has started to get up to go fetch Emil some water when a few knocks on the door halted her.

Jade, without fail, went to answer as Sano stepped inside. Her brows shot up as her gaze flickered from Jade's heated face and back. Just she wait until her throat was healed- Jade was in for a least a weeks worth of teasing. Mora settled back down as she eyed the boys quietly. Normally she would of put up a fuss about the two boys needing medical attention but even Lauren didn't seem to be willing to take she's voice at the moment. Instead, she sat and sighed as it was the least painful method of conveying her annoyance.

As the boy stumbled out and no doubt headed towards their own cabins, Jade suggested that they finally head towards the mess hall when a small girl burst over the threshold.

Mora couldn't quite place her, though she looked familiar and her cheery disposition threw Mora off balance. She could feel her face harden as the causally mentioned home but quickly dropped her gaze away from the girl. She didn't want to start off on the wrong foot, not with them all being stuck with each other for awhile at least. Thank the heaven for Lauren though, who see me to pick up on Mora's body language and quickly rushed through introductions. She made a mental note to thank her once she was better as the girl more or less guided the trio out of their room, inviting the new girl to join them.

Food sounded heavenly. The out other stomach roared in anger as the days hardship had set in and she realized she was running in empty. As they picked their way to the mess hall she obediently followed Lauren's suggestion for a more secluded area. 'Lets just hope they have some soup.' Her thoughts voiced with a thread of weariness. She'd not sleep well tonight if she was forced to go to bed hungry.

---

Gabriel nodded at the mention of a book store. Yeah, I've been around there. I picked up a few books before, mainly about fishing...but....that was really it." He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck slightly. Gabriel wasn't one to talk about hobbies and never really did tell anyone before, if that was even a hint to what kind of hobbies he liked. He always did enjoy fishing; it was a quiet and calm activity, up until the fish bit. He remembered fishing in the river at times, but ended up giving up after the area started getting more attention.

He was about to speak up once more, until Reese appeared beside him. Gabriel jumped slightly and glared down at him as he climbed up the bunk. As brave as he was, Gabriel was easily frightened when something suddenly happened without warning. He looked back down at Tanner and shook his head. "Anyways...I need to go ahead and make my way to the Mess Hall. I can't run on an empty stomach. Besides, everyone is supposed to be heading there now. Lord knows if I stay behind, someone is going to come looking for me or something." He watched Reese hop down to meet Tanner and smirked, giving him a rough slap and grip on the shoulder. "You better be there, too. I don't want to have to hear Olivia telling me to come carry you over there. You and I both know we'll hate that." He let go of Reese's shoulder and walked out.

Gabriel had his hands placed behind his head once more as he walked up to the Mess Hall. He took a deep breath and walked in, looking around at who might be there. It was so nice to hear everything so quiet as the smell of food filled his nostrils. It wasn't anything glamorous, but when did he ever eat good? He stood around, wondering where to sit. It was almost comical looking at someone his height standing around without a single clue where to go.

It wasn't long after the young men had left when, through the door, entered one more cadet. Jade looked up at the girl's face and froze in her spot. 'No', her mind went back what felt like a million years, to the day that the same girl that stood in front of them had saved her from being killed. It wasn't until she spoke, directly at Jade, that she found her muscles and made them move her limbs. Lauren had been prompting the girls to move and go to the mess hall, but Jade had already began to move over to Olivia. Before she knew it or she could act against herself, Jade had thrown her arms around the girl's waist and hugged her tightly. On that unfortunate day, Jade had gone completely numb, and never got the chance to fully thank her savior. Saviors, actually, but she could not remember the face of the boy who had given them his horse in order for them to get to the boats.

"Thank you," her voice came out a bit broken as she fought back tears. She had never truly thanked her because she had hated the fact that she lived while so many others had died. Still to that day Jade didn't exactly feel as if she should have lived, but she was glad that she had made it far enough to be able to enlist and learn how to protect innocent lives. The hug only last a few seconds before Jade pulled away and looked up into Olivia's eyes. She wanted Olivia to know that she was sincere and ever grateful for her actions.

"Um. Yeah we're gonna go eat. Wanna come?" Her voice had almost gone back to normal, but she was still somewhat quiet. She didn't exactly wait for Olivia to respond before she tugged her a bit then let go and make her way out the door, hoping that she followed along. 'You idiot. Getting close to people is a mistake. They'll all end up dying out in the real world. Don't bother.'

Jade walked quickly after Lauren and Mora, scowling down at the ground and mentally disciplining herself over her acting on emotion rather than using her head. ' You will not do that again and you will not get close to anyone else.' They had arrived at the mess hall in a few minutes and the smell of cooked food filled the young girl's lungs. Her head lifted as she tried to make sense of the mess hall. Some of the other cadets had already arrived which made Jade feel somewhat insecure. All of them had witnessed her be punched in the stomach. A moment of vulnerability that she would never have wanted anyone to see. To have acted like that was to show weakness, and that's what the others must think of her know. That she was weak. Being left alone with her thoughts was a dangerous thing. Anger once again fueled her every movement and thought as she imagined what everyone probably thought of her.

As the feeling of insecurity consumed Jade, she folded her arms over her chest and carried on over to the area where the food was picked up at.

Tanner thought back to before the incident, and tried to remember if anyone came in to purchase books about fishing. His family's bookstore sold many books, ranging from hobbies to academic textbooks, and many customers made it difficult to remember certain faces, especially with Tanner's fuzzy memory. However, while it took a few seconds of thought, Tanner remembered back to a sunny summer day when a tall, black-haired boy came in inquiring about books about fishing. The scar on his cheek assured Tanner that it was, indeed, Gabriel that he saw on that long forgotten summer afternoon.

"I guess it's a shame I didn't think to bring any. With all the titans running around, I didn't have time to dig through the rubble." Tanner replied, summoning forth a half-assed laugh. The atmosphere was already awkward, and Tanner was sure he made it even worse, but before he could say anything else, the door had opened and another cadet entered the cabin. The newcomer was energetic, and rather playful with Gabriel as he introduced himself as Reese. "Tanner. Nice to meet you." Tanner stated, nearly finding it hilarious that such a giant was easily spooked by a smaller boy.

Not long after Reese's arrival, Gabriel stood up and prepared to make his way to the mess hall. He gave a quick suggestion to Reese to tag along, mainly in fear of a girl by the name of Olivia. "I'll tag along as well. I haven't had anything to eat today." Tanner stood up, snatching the papers from the bed and shoving them in his jacket's pockets while Gabriel and Reese were distracted with their conversation. "Are you coming too, Reese?" Tanner asked as he reached the door, holding it open as he waited for his answer.