His head lifted from his shoulders as his name was called out from afar in the hall. He looked over, seeing that it was indeed Olivia calling his name. Poor her. He didn't want to have to tell her, especially this soon into the training sessions. Either way, he wanted to ensure that he was in-fact not to be any more miserable than he was at the current moment in time. He kept staring, blankly, for a few moments, before he saw one of them stand up and approach him. He wasn't anyone he'd met in the past, just another cadet. He came by, and almost mimicked his action of leaning against the wall. Seeing it slightly annoyed him, only slightly, but it was only an action, right? It just made him feel even more stupid about how he was leaning against the doorframe.

Grant listened to what he had to say, but before he really had a chance to utter a single noise from his lips, someone said something to someone else at the table, before storming out, acting as a lure to the boy who spoke to Grant in the first place. Typical. Before Grant had any chance to speak, drama was already unfolding. He already had enough drama to deal with on his own personal behalf, now there was this group demand going on. Grant was always one to be judgemental, at times like these. Only to himself though would he tell these judgements. All these people around him were all bound to become way better individuals and soldiers than Grant had hoped to be. He could tell by the way they all acted.

Olivia was definitely one to out-run Grant in the race for supremacy in the Training Corps. What's more, she was already more sociable than he was. The key to success was to positively engage with the comrades around you, and Grant was not the one to always gain the same liking back. Reese was a definite successor over what Grant could do. The boy who stormed out? His tone said it all. He wanted the top-of-the-class position. More than anyone, he would kill for it. Grant didn't even feel like trying. All these people thought and knew they could out-do each other, which put Grant in a difficult position of where he would be able to place in the rankings. He pondered if he'd ever even come out alive of training, let alone get in those top positions.

He let out a deep sigh, rubbing his forehead between all the fingertips he had to offer with his right hand. He slowly began recomposing his stance, though not the usual giddy one he had, and slumbered slowly over to the table. Everyone was pretty much finished with their meals, so there would be no point in getting one for himself. It'd only lead to him sitting at the table, awkwardly eating alone.

As he sat down, he easily picked up on what everyone was talking about. Everyone was really getting to know one another in the most deep way possible, talking about their origins and how they ended up one foot into a boot full of shit known as Schulz's trainees. It almost seemed like everyone was saying the same thing, and if they said otherwise, they were to offend themselves with the origins of literally everyone else. Grant was not prepared to be offended, but if someone were to joke about it then it might as well happen. It wouldn't be the first time. Grant began to speak in a low voice, not feeling like acting hyperactive for once in his life.

"So...Origin stories? Grant Hyral, by the way. I was in Shiganshina at the wrong time. Give it another day and you'd probably not meet me today. Not your lucky day that you have to see me in the flesh...Anyway...I was born outside of Shiganshina...And the walls. I was travelling around with an Uncle and a Friend. Dunno what happened to my family outside of the walls, but it's blatantly obvious what will have happened..." He sat in place, and remained silent, listening to everyone else as he wanted to.

Jade’s head slightly tilted as the boy mentioned he was from Shiganshina as well. “The book store? I remember. I’d always run in and grab a random book before paying and leaving. I never wanted to know what I would read. Sometimes I got some really boring books but my mom would make me read it all.” A single laugh escaped Jade’s lips before she stopped herself and cleared her throat, regaining her composure. “I’m glad to see that you’re okay.” She offered Tanner a small smile before glancing over at the others and returning to her normal, emotionless look.

“Just because someone isn’t like you, doesn’t mean they’re weird.”

Jade’s comment was directed at Reese’s unnecessary comment about Sano. She was never one to be confrontational, but when she heard something that she didn’t think was right, she always spoke up. Her next few statements were cut off before she even got a chance to say them when a taller boy that she had sen standing in formation spoke. He’s voice was slightly familiar; someone that Jade could recall hearing but could not remember putting a face on. Ever so slowly she took her eyes off of Grant to look back at Tanner, with a million questions going through her head. “Do you remember him, by any chance?”

---

Gabriel stood there, waiting for a reply, when he was suddenly pushed over by Reese. He glared towards the boy and had almost said something, but he noticed just how hungry he was when he immediately ate almost a mere second after sitting down. Maybe Reese really was starving, he thought. In any case, Gabriel couldn't really think of anything else to say after that point, because soon, everyone started to converge on each other. There was a mass of chit-chat and conversation all going off at once. It almost looked like Gabriel was beginning to shut down amidst the whole ordeal and just stood there with a blank stare towards...well....nothing. He didn't even appear to really recognize what he was looking at.

The cause of this was quite unknown, but it's safe to assume that it's because of Gabriel's upbringing. After falling out with a lot of people back in Shiganshina, socializing wasn't much of an easy thing for him to do. He had improved over the course of the two year period however. So there he stood, almost mannequin-like, trying to figure out what to say next. Of course, Reese had thought it was interacting with girls that made him 'shut down', but that was only slightly true. How else would he have communicated with Olivia and even teased her if that was the whole case?

It had taken Tanner a second to remember, but the memory was vivid in his head. There was a woman, or at least Tanner thought the person was a woman, that would burst into the bookstore, grab a book and throw down her payment on the counter before disappearing out the door in a flash. "I remember you, Jade. I believe you still owe my family a few cents because you were always in a rush to count the correct amount, but I don't think it matters much anymore." Tanner smiled back at Jade as he spoke. He was glad that Jade was friendly with him, and she had cared enough about Tanner to state her happiness that he had survived that fateful day two years ago.

By then, Jade turned her attention elsewhere. Sano had said something that she hadn't agreed with, and Jade wanted the boy to know. Tanner was unsure if he should get involved in their argument, so he turned his attention back to the soup on his tray. It was slowly growing colder, and Tanner began to eat the soup faster when he figured it out with the first scoop of the flavored water and vegetables. Tanner was eating quietly once more, but the peaceful silence was broken by a tall cadet giving a monologue as he introduced himself to the group. Jade had asked Tanner if he knew Grant from somewhere, and he nodded in response. "I think so. I haven't personally met him, but I think he has an uncle in the Survey Corps." Tanner replied, his eyes glancing at Grant.

"Grant, don't you have an uncle by the name of Mateo in the Survey Corps? I remember a scout mentioning your name before." Tanner asked, feeling somewhat strange as he grew more outspoken as the day went on. While he waited for a response from the cadet, Tanner noticed Gabriel's looming shadow over the table. The boy appeared to have mentally shutdown, as if Gabriel was lost and had no idea where he was. "Earth to Gabriel..." Tanner stated, waving his hand in front of Gabriel as he patted the table, and beckoned him to sit down with the rest of the cadets.

Mora audibly gagged as Lauren stepped up to her threat and shoveled more of the stew into her mouth. Quickly she snatched the spoon back from her friend with a scowl, "Horrendous." she huffed before setting her own pace on chocking down the stuff. Meanwhile Jade set herself on talking to the cadets around them, getting her feathers particularly ruffled when Reese commented on Sano's odd character.

"She's right you know." Mora tacked on as she poked at whatever mystery vegetable floated around in her soup. Looking back at Lauren she noted the smile didn't quite reach the girl's eyes. With that Mora openly wore a frown on her face, "Can't say I knew the boy but," she lifted her head to look over at Reese, "Like a lot of us here he's probably just managing the beat be can. Like us. We're all just, managing."

The foulness that sat on her tongue no longer came from the cooks poor attempt at a meal but from her own bitterness. She pushed away the dish once more, this time not in disgust. With the way Lauren looked she doubted the girl would fuss st her too much. After all she did manage to take in at least half of what was given to her.

Meanwhile the boy who had showed up late had spoken up, just a brief summary of who he was and what brought him here. "Well, we welcome you Grant. I'm Mora, or better known as Hero." she remarked with as much chipperness as she could muster as she picked up her bowl and offered it to the boy. "Please,you're more than welcome to the rest of mine. Plus, if you don't eat Miss. Medic over here will shove it down your gullet anyhow." she teased trying to bring back Lauren's good nature.

Emil couldn't help but to feel as if Sano didn't really care who he was as he dropped the hand he had offered the boy. Reluctantly he followed him through the mess hall, his small stature making it easy to slip past the other cadets around him. Stopping for a moment as Sano seemed to decide where he was heading, Emil happily passed the boy as he told them to take a seat at the table with the girls from the cabin earlier.

Emil had chosen the far edge of the table, remaining mostly unnoticed by the group at the table as he quietly listened and ate the soup. He smiled to himself as the table seemed to make a huge fuss of the food, of it's quality and what exactly was even in it. Sure he himself wasn't too keen on the ingredients either, but it sure as hell beat scraps from the trash and charred bread from bakeries that had fallen under the ovens, "You guys don't know what bad food is if you think this is terrible..." he said to the table as he happily scarfed down the soup and rose for another bowl. As he walked back from the pots and to his spot at the table he took a moment to look the group over.

He didn't know any of them, well, that wasn't exactly true. He did recognize the rather tall one that seemed to be the butt of a few of the girls unwarranted hate. If he recalled correctly he used to run with one of the groups of kids that Emil had frequently ran into in Shiganshina, 'So another survivor then.' he thought as he sat back down.

Grant looked around, seeing a few more people banter to one another about the seemingly terrible food they were being served and once again about Gabriel. In all honesty, Grant felt some sympathy for the lad. He always seemed to be the butt of the joke, and whether he enjoyed it or not really made him muse about whether or not he would join in. If you put it into perspective, Grant should be the one being all humorous about other individuals, but sometimes there seemed to be a time where either the joke ran dry, or a line had to be drawn. When it came to Gabriel, he didn't know which one he fell under. Either way, he continued to just listen in silence to their little jokes and verbal hits on one another like it were the hand-to-hand combat training stage.

A thought crossed his mind about the training. The hand-to-hand combat stage in particular. Now Grant wasn't the strongest man of them all, mostly due to his focus on coordination exercises rather than physical challenges, but he knew what was necessary. Loads of Cadets in the past had questioned the reason to fight with hands, if they were to fight Titans. It all made sense to Grant, however. He knew that those who aspired to be in the Military Police, which were generally those who wanted to get as far away from the titans as possible, would require the sort of arresting skills. As for the Stationary Guard and the Scouting Legion, there was always the possibilities of a corrupted member, trying as hard as they could to avoid seeing combat or going on expeditions. If anything, it helped Grant focus on trying to mentally predict what move the opponent was going to do. If a titan, which uses its own body to fight, tried to swing at him, he wanted the ability to quickly judge how to escape it. That was providing he actually did well in training.

He snapped out of his trance when he saw Tanner speaking to him, asking him about his Uncle. He correctly identified his name, which caught his interest immediately. Mateo was a man to be respected, and for someone to at least know of his existence really made him hope his Uncle had the breakthrough with ranks he deserved. The man had been in service for at least 6 or 7 years, he deserved that promotion sometime soon. In fact, he probably would have had it.

"Huh, yeah. Mateo Jutt is his name. Surprised you knew it actually..." He began, looking a bit more interested in what he was saying since he arrived in the room. "He's been a Scout for about six or seven years...Can't quite remember. Great guy to be around, heard he wasn't too bad as a soldier either. My hopes say that he finally became the Lance Corporal he'd been dying to achieve for a while. I knew he mentioned it a few times in letters days before I enlisted."

Grant looked towards Olivia, who frowned upon his mood. It made his mind whirr and spin, questioning whether or not he should really tell her what was keeping him down. It would be stupid to drag it onwards and keep her guessing, but it would ruin potential good moods for the first few days they were here. Either way, it was going to be said to her, and Reese probably. Reese might not have been effected too much by what Grant had to say, but Olivia...She might react badly, she might react correctly...Who knew?

"Olivia...Do you mind if I can have a word or two with you? Just come outside or something when you're finished eating or talking or...whatever..." Once again, Grant stood up and walked around half of the perimeter of the table. As he was passing out, he heard something.

Jade, as he had just learnt, and Tanner lowly discussed if they knew him or not. Grant, already from the formation, knew who Jade was. He was surprised to see her, after such a long and brief meeting before. It was quite strange, how all these people who had some form of connection with one another, were all combined in one large clump; save for Sano and Connor however, who seemed to be in quite a position to arrive alone. It brought a smile to his face, only slightly, as he stopped, squatting next to Jade.

"Speaking of the cents and stuff you owe to Tanner here, y'know...You owe me a `thank you` or two." He gave her a slight smirk as he patted her back twice, before standing back up. "Perhaps you could give me back my horse, that might cover it." Finally shedding a small amount of humour to the table, he turned back to his path, and exited the hall almost as quickly as he entered it. His footsteps echoed between the thin walls as he took a step outside, stretching, recomposing his jacket and returning to a waiting position in the open.

Everyone was mingling beyond the group which they had turned up in and, normally, Lauren would enjoy navigating the social circles and engaging with the new people she'd be working with in the coming months and years. Now, however, she felt her energy dipping and heavy weights of depression pressing down on her shoulders and mind. She nodded to Grant as he sat down but didn't introduce herself, fearing that the changes in her tone would give away her mood.

Mora had noticed the change in her friend, that was easy to see by the frown on her face and Lauren cursed herself for not being better at hiding her emotions. She appreciated her friend trying to bring her back in the mildly festive mood they had going on but she couldn't break free of the shell closing around her and there was only one way out that she knew of.

Standing up she nodded to the table and forced herself to speak as upbeat as she would normally.

"I think I'm going to head to bed. Today's been a bit exhausting and there's no telling what'll happen tomorrow." She slipped out from the bench, lightly squeezing Mora's shoulder in thanks for her efforts as she passed, and saying her farewells to the others in the Mess Hall. A few were outside talking but they took little notice as she headed for the cabin, trying to keep her pace normal rather than rushing to sate her craving.

Once inside she glanced over her shoulder to make sure that no one else had followed her lead before shutting the door and scurrying over to her medicine bag. A few of the bottles were unmarked or simply had 'For pain' written across labels stuck to the front in her own, flowing handwriting. Unstopping one of the larger ones with hands shaking from anticipation she took a long pull on its contents, letting the liquid roll down her throat and igniting a fiery aftertaste as the strong spirit flooded a gentle numbness through her veins.

It had been a while since she had felt such an intense need for a drink and she feared that being this close to everyone from Shiganshina, Mora especially, would increase her dependency but there was no other way. It was the only way she could sleep at night and there was no way she was abandoning her closest friends because she couldn't cope with the trauma. As the guilt and shame at her dependency hit, so did more flashes of memory, memories she'd rather forget and so she took another drink. And another. And another.

Eventually, the memories stopping coming and left her in a blurry, peaceful state. Stopping the bottle back up she slid it into her medicine bag and reached for the skin of water from before. She took a quick sip and then popped a mint leaf in her mouth, chewing it so that it masked the smell of alcohol on her breath before taking another drink of water. Putting the water back, she climbed into bed, collapsing down onto the pillow and letting total sleep take her.

A smirk crept up on Jade's face as she heard Tanner mention that she owed his family some cents because of her always running in and out. "If you can beat me in this 'combat training'." her hands lifted in the air to do air quotations as she spoke, "then I'll pay up those few cents." She was glad that Tanner had ended up someone that was easy to speak to. She didn't feel like she needed to force the conversation like when she spoke to others.

As the conversation slowly shifted to Grant and his whereabouts, Jade listened quietly, mostly zoning in and out of her thoughts here and there. In one of the moments that she happened to be zoning back in, she had noticed that Lauren had left the table and that there was someone next to her, referring to owing people things. She shifted slightly in her seat to look at Grant who was squatting next to her and listened to him as he spoke to her. The young girl's eyes were wide with shock as she realized what he was telling her. 'It's him! He's the boy that gave his horse for us to get to safety!' Jade was frozen in her spot as she watched Grant get back up and leaving.

"Wh.. What? Wait!"

Grant had already gone through the door and left the mess hall when Jade had come to and found her voice. She turned to the others, feeling a bit embarrassed and in shock about the revelation that had just been brought to light. She had finally been able to find the two people that were responsible for her survival. "Um. Yeah, I think we should go and get some rest. It's been a long day." She looked over to Tanner and smiled at him, "I look forward to seeing you tomorrow." With a slight wave to the table, and a quick glace to her dear friend, Mora, Jade made her way to the door. Not much time had elapsed from the time that Grant had left the table, which allowed Jade to catch up with him outside of the mess hall. "Hey!" Her voice might've been just a bit too loud for her comfort but she wanted to grab the young man's attention. Once she caught up with him, she stopped, giving them a couple of feet of distance apart. "Um. I'm sorry I didn't realize it was you. I just wanted to thank you for what you did back then. You were very brave, and selfless." She knew that the conversation was a bit awkward but she needed to get it out of the way. She had tried to put a face on the voice that she remembered hearing before being placed on the horse on that tragic day.

"Oh, and if it helps, your horse is in very good hands at the moment. Although I do think he might like me more." Jade smiled at Grant before turning towards the sound of moving trucks. Even from where the two stood, she could see clearly that the trucks were taking new cadets away. Many of the faces were ones that she had seen earlier in the day during formation. "They're taking them away," she muttered as she felt her heart sink. What if she was going to end up like them?

With a quiet clearing of the throat, Jade turned back to Grant, not really knowing what else to speak to the young man about. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow. I'm going to get some much needed sleep." Jade stood for a second feeling a bit awkward before turning around and making her way back to her cabin. She made a mental note to check on Lauren if she was awake. Hopefully she'd be asleep, though, so she didn't get her abdomen checked out.

Mora watched as Grant overlooked her poor attempt at a conversation, even Lauren couldn't seem to find her way back to her previous lighthearted mood. Sighing she visibly shrunk in her chair, trying to make herself look as small as she felt at the moment. Lauren had already taken off to their cabin and everyone else seemed to happily chat with one another. She suddenly felt as if there was a thin piece of glass between her and the rest of the cadets. Suddenly she was much more aware of herself; the way she sat, the red marks on her neck, her unruly red hair that stuck out like a sore thumb. Mentally she began to pick at herself before her body stiffened with anger.

'Enough.' she quieted her inner doubts and brought the now cold dish to her lips. Chugging it down she let the horrid arrangement of ingredients distract her. By time she looked backed up and around, Jade, was no longer to be found. "Great." she whispered. She was mad at herself, angry at the fact that she couldn't bring her friend back to smiling. That she resorted to picking apart herself. Angry that she let a simple brush off bother her. 'He probably didn't even hear you.' her thoughts whispered,trying to coax Mora out of the bad mood she created but that wasn't all. Mora was just; angry. She was powerless as a child. Powerless back when her family needed her the most and despite her training everyday- Shultz still picked her up and shook her like a rag doll. Mora had promised to herself that she'd never feel weak again but the ever growing sting that rose in her throat reminded her that she was not above destruction.

Tearing away from the table with a huff she stormed quietly from the mess hall. She was tired, physically, but her mind wouldn't rest. Even as she strode out into the cool evening air she was bombarded with scattered thoughts and memories. "Keep it together, Re." she hissed to herself.

"Ra-Ra."

The voice echoed in the back of her mind causing her steps to falter. "Dad." her voice was choked with emotion. Tears burned in her eyes. 'No.' she cried back. She didn't want to remember her fathers voice. His warmth. His love. She wanted to lay down. Mora wanted to rest. Instead she took off towards the training fields. Mora was never a great runner but she was decent, she could out race most average people plus it helped her clear her thoughts. So that's what she was going to do, she was going to run. Run as far and as hard as her weary legs would take her.

Tears flowed feely, Mora didn't care by this point, no one would see her as she charged down in the direction Schultz had sent the other two cadets. She ran until her legs burned and sweat rolled down and matted her hair to her face. Mora kept going until her boot caught on her other foot, sprawling her down onto the earth with a loud thud. Rolling over she looked up into the star laden sky above her. "I'm sorry." she whispered to the heavens,closing her eyes as the world around her began to warp through her tears. Mora didn't bother trying to get up. She didn't care if Schultz found her out there in the morning. All she wanted to do was rest.

Not long after Tanner had spoken to Grant, he had as quickly disappeared into the sunset. His attempts to grab the attention of Gabriel were unnoticed by all but Reese, and Tanner went back to his soup when no one else had anything to say to him, yet Jade was always watching like a hawk. She presented a challenge, and Tanner agreed to it without another thought with a large smirk on his face. While he was anti-social, but that hadn't kept Tanner from seeking challenges in life. "Don't expect me to lose." Tanner replied, confident in his abilities. He wasn't sure about Jade's assortment of talents, yet Tanner had trained for moments like these. Refusing to slack off like any normal child had finally paid off for Tanner, and he was more than ready to let Jade and the rest of the cadets know his true strength.

For the rest of his meal, Tanner was as silent as a mouse. Usually Tanner was silent because he didn't want to speak with anyone, but he was watching Jade. He watched her carefully, not because Tanner had any current interest in her, but he wanted to see what he could learn about Jade. Jade's movements, her reaction speed - Tanner wanted to know everything that Jade could offer in a fight against him. His constant stare might've appeared creepy to the rest, yet Tanner was staking his right as a man. Tanner knew how bad of a situation he'd be in with the other cadets if he let Jade kick his ass during their combat training. The thought of Schulz continuing to berate Tanner for losing to a girl sent shivers down his spine, solidifying his resolve to win.

As he slurped the last of his soup and devoured the final chunk of bread, Tanner stood up from his place on the table. "It was nice meeting you all, but I'll be going now." Tanner stated, depositing his tray and other utensils he had used to eat. He glanced over to Gabriel, who still hadn't made a move from his position. Walking over to the cadet, Tanner gave him a loud pat on the back."Snap out of it, Gabriel." He said, turning to Reese. "I think he might have a case of shell shock. Should we seek out Lauren to see if she can help? I heard that Schulz has been calling her the cadet medic around here." Tanner asked, waiting for a reply from Reese or a response from Gabriel before he left the mess hall.

---

Gabriel seemed to be in some kind of trance as he stood there, wondering what to say next. He just couldn't seem to handle the pressure of so many people all talking at once. It took quite a lot of effort for him to even talk to a few people, but with so many all in one area, he had completely shut down. It wasn't until a few of his friends went up to him and started trying to grab his attention that he finally snapped out of it. He blink for a few seconds, looking around at everyone else, before his gaze went down at Tanner and Reese. He smiled slightly and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Erm....sorry...what was the last thing that I was talking about?" Gabriel was a little embarrassed about the whole ordeal and seemed to go a bit red in the face. It was a little sad how he tried to interact with the others as best he could...it almost seemed like he would never get out of it. Of course, Gabriel hated that idea. He wanted to get used to others around him. He wanted to become a leader. How could he do that though if he wasn't even able to hold a steady conversation with the others? Hell, Sano seemed to be a much better leader-figure than he was. It was quite frustrating for him, but he didn't let the thought stick.
"I-I don't need any help by the way. I'll be fine; trust me. I think I just need a little rest or something." Gabriel wasn't the best at saving face, but he tried. He didn't want others to see his weakness, because he wanted some to look up to him as a leader....someone to put their hopes into. Of course, with Sano there, it would be extremely difficult.

Grant gently smiled at what Jade had to say. It seemed very crazy that he had managed to run into her under such circumstances, but he felt like it was fate or something for him to finally meet up with the one he had saved. It reminded Grant that he wasn't useless and that he was indeed capable of some great things, but that thought would never stick into his mind with the amount of stress he'd been going through the last few months. Grant had kept a secret from Olivia for a while, and it'd finally crept back up onto him from the shadows of ignorance and lack of vigilance.

He turned, alongside Jade, to where the carts of cadets already being hauled away were going. It brought a sinking sensation down onto his heart, where he almost felt disappointed with everything that had happened. He looked towards Jade, after she muttered what she had to on the occasion. Before he could respond, she'd already sensed the awkward aura that Grant let off in any situation. It was his hidden talent, scaring off others without realising it, and that usually was because of his humour. Who knew how damaging he was when he wasn't feeling all jovial and giddy about the situation. Whilst Jade waltzed away to the cabins she would've been assigned to, Grant remained where he was stood, taking more glimpses at the carts rolling ahead. He questioned whether or not he was going to survive himself. Literal survival, he meant for. If they were leaving already, Grant would receive the full-bulk of training. He had no chance.

Eventually, Olivia showed up, just after Jade had made her departure. He looked at her as she spoke the words, almost reminding him that she knew there might be details he would avoid. In all honesty, Grant wished she'd never had said so, as he took a huge deep breath of melancholic sorrow.

"Alright...Alright..." He reached into his breast pocket, pulling out a folded letter and handing it to her, the same as the one he discovered that afternoon. It was quite faded in the paper, and barely with any white spots. The ink was neat, and recognisable. "This was the last letter I received from Mateo, before Schulz cut off the post-line...It...It well...It says some things I really wish it didn't..." The letter stated things that Grant had never brought up before, about a long chain of weakness within Luca. "I've been down because of Luca...You remember my excuse as to why he wasn't going to enlist with us? Well, Mateo didn't want to worry everyone by stating how ill he really was. He was sick, very sick, constantly getting visits from a private medical individual within the military through Mateo's serving links. And with that part out of the way, the bit that really got me today and made me so blatantly obvious when it comes to sorrow was what happened last night. Apparently Luca passed away..."

He stopped, thinking to himself about what he'd said. Grant had no idea how Olivia was going to take it, nor did he have any idea how stupid it might have sounded. It was their first day as trainees, and no one was really in the mood to get such a large piece of sorrow dumped onto their shoulders. No one had any time to mourn, and Grant knew that he was going to get a lecture about how he shouldn't worry, or use it as an advantage or to simply move on and forget about it. It's what everyone told each-other these days, how to take advantage of a death. That wasn't what he wanted.

"Look...Sorry to be all cryptic and all, I don't know how this'll effect you, mean anything to you or if it even will do anything to you...You just told me to say what was going on and all. I just...need to think, which I don't have time for, not here in the Cadets. I don't really know what to do...I'll...I'll try to sleep on it, I don't know...It's new, too new..." With what she asked for said, he awkwardly turned and waddled away, still trying to maintain a serious and non-tragic expression and composure. He didn't want to break down like he had before during his time alone in the cabin, not in front of Olivia, he didn't. He continued to walk away, towards the Cabin, to try and prepare for the hardships of both the news and the training tomorrow.

With a thud that was barely audible over the grunts and groans of the other cadets that suffered the same fate as Jade, the petite girl slowly got back up to her feet. She dusted herself off while trying to catch her breath, sweat streaming down her face which cause strands of hair to stick. "You give up yet, midget?" The girl in front of her asked, joking around as she waited for Jade to resume and engage in their hand to hand combat. While the tone of the young, blonde girl didn't sound as if she was mocking Jade, it still set a fire inside of her. Whether she meant anything by it or not, Jade had taken a keen hatred towards the word. "I'm not a god damn midget." Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the girl through the sun that was shining bright on their faces. Her name was Irina, and she was a couple inches taller than Jade, but of the same weight which somehow made them the perfect starter pair for the training. There was clearly an unfair advantage Irina had a longer arm reach and leg span for the kicks. It wasn't until the most recent take downs that jade had finally gotten to remember some of Irina's favorite moves, and she was able to use them against the girl.

Getting back into the stance, Jade waited for Irina to make her first move, which was yet again another one of the preferred methods. Jade watched intently as Irina's arm came towards her neck, and she waited until it was close enough to where Irina couldn't back out. With a swift movement, Jade had managed to slip under the arm, thankfully, and get up on her toes to be able to reach perfectly. Jade quickly lifted her right arm and placed her forearm on the crease of the elbow, then brought down her left arm to the back of Irina's shoulder. Using both the momentum of Irina and a bit of applied pressure, and a small kick to Irina's foot, Jade was able to bring the blonde crashing down onto the ground.

A smirk crept up on the dark haired girl's as she felt the satisfaction of having knocked down the blonde which had caused her to get a bit of scraping on her face.

"Switch!"

Jade looked up as Schulz yelled for them to move on to the next person. From what had been told to them in the morning during breakfast, Jade was paired with Irina; Emil with Mora, Reese with Lauren, Olivia with Tanner, Sano with Connor, and then the two giants, Gabriel and Grant.

Next in line for Jade would be Emil. He was a perfect fit for her height but had several pounds of pure advantage over her. Being her size, it was clear to the girl that she would have to rely on outsmarting her opponent rather than trying to use 'brute strength'. Schulz had given them the basic techniques needed to take down ones enemy, and then set them loose among each other. He wanted everyone to work from their stature first, then to different sizes to be able to get the feel and understanding of how others worked.

Sighing, Jade dusted her hands off and pushed the hair out of her face, as she made her way to stand near Mora and Emil, who were finishing up their own little sparring. She didn't mind waiting at all. It allowed her learn from them, and rest.

With a slight wince, Jade's arm went up towards her abdomen which had been wrapped up by a slightly hungover Lauren early in the morning. Jade was not hurting exactly, but she was definitely feeling the soreness of the day before.

As always, Lauren was up before the crack of dawn. She had gotten used to not sleeping much, with her work as a healer requiring her to be gathering herbs and preparing medicines early before distributing them to her patients before they, too, had to go to work. It helped that her alcohol-induced, dreamless oblivion of sleep was deep enough that she required relatively little of it to keep her going. Before anyone else was awake she snuck to her medicine bag and began to take out a few things, namely a roll of bandages for Jade, and a variety of herbs and pestle and mortar.

Working quietly, so as not to wake the other girls, she prepared some of the ointment she had given Mora the previous night, having used much of it up and foreseeing the need for a fair amount of it in the near future. Once the other girls were up she caught a still-sleepy Jade and wrapped the bandages tightly around the girl's chest and ribs, occasionally observing the bruise and prodding her ribs to see where the pain extended to, before chasing Mora down for a quick reapplication of the ointment for her neck.

There was little time before they were called to the first training exercise. They all stood eyeing up the harnessed ODM gear, hanging in such a way that even a minor imbalance would cause the wearer to topple over onto the ground with absolutely no dignity still intact; it would require near perfect balance to stay stable.

After several trainees embarrassingly faceplanted the ground, either through being nervous or just having poor balance, some of the cadets began to get used to sitting in the Gear. Although they weren't entirely stable they weren't immediately falling over and with practice it was clear they could get used to it. Jade went just before Lauren and she watched with concern as the girl was clipped in and then raised off the ground. She held her breath but her small friend didn't fall over, managing to stay upright if with difficulty.

Lauren stepped in next, the building sense of anxiety from watching the others near bursting point but she calmed herself down, reminding herself that Ma had done it and had expected her daughter to follow her in the military; there was simply no way she could fail here. The clips were put into place and then she felt the belt tightening as the harness was pulled up until she was dangling off the ground. Immediately she was having to concentrate hard on maintaining her balance, trying not to move too much while finding a comfortable stationary position. Before she knew it she was being lowered back down so that someone else could go and she walked away, frustrated at not having mastered the gear just yet.

Then they were onto hand to hand combat. Here, at least, Lauren felt that she had some experience in the area. It was old experience, things Ma had taught her years back, but even if her mind was a little foggy on the specifics, her muscles remembered as she dropped into the stance Schulz taught them and went over some basic techniques. While she hadn't been drilled in them for long, she probably had a better understanding of the techniques than the other cadets.

Her first partner was Reese, a boy she remembered a little from before the attack but had never really known well. She was taller than him and they were of similar weight but it was clear he had a slight edge over her in muscle strength, even if it was only minor. Smiling she waved to him as she approached, taking up the stance Schulz commanded they use.

"Hi Reese! I'll go first then." She didn't give him much warning and darted forwards the moment he'd taken up the stance, dropping down a little and sliding her foot between his, nudging back his left foot to upset his balance a little. She took a hold of his right wrist in her left hand and grabbed a fistful of his jacket above his right breast, using her own momentum as she twisted to move his off balance leg off the ground and then pulling on his wrist and jacket. With his weight off centre she easily threw him over her shoulder and onto the ground flat on his back.

Straightening up she rolled her shoulders, regretting the lack of a proper warm up but then that was a realistic scenario. She walked back to her starting position and resumed her stance. The throw had felt natural to her but she was already chiding herself on how disjoined her movements had been, resolving to try and do all the actions at once so that the force of the throw was that much greater and that from start to finish complete more quickly.

"Sorry, I guess I should've given you more warning. I get quite competitive with these sort of things. You go first this time. I won't just stand here though." She flashed a grin at the smaller boy. Despite the inevitable injuries she'd be having to treat earlier, mostly from cadets not performing the techniques properly, she was going to enjoy this session although she suspected she'd be the one on the floor more often than not by the end.