Grant, at first, had been pressed for words at the scenic view they were taking. The cold was harsh, but not as harsh as people might've been making it out to be. Sure, his hairs were standing on edge and he was shivering, but Grant was more taken away from the scenic view of clouds and snowy plains below, most of which was covered by abnormally low fog. It was breath-taking. It was incredible. It was just what he wanted in life, to just relax in his pacing back and watch the world as it peacefully rolls by. It was worth drawing, or painting. Now Grant hadn't really been open about his newfound hobby, but painting, if he could get a hold on the materials, and sketching had become a new hobby of his since the third week of being in the Training Corps.
Sure, the walk was uncomfortable, but it was a luxury in comparison to the feeling of not accomplishing something. He smiled to himself. It was surprising he'd actually gotten this far. Grant was sure that Mateo would be proud of him, if he were still around. With Schulz's cutting of the mail service very early into training, Grant found himself becoming more and more worried about his beloved Uncle. He knew, just knew, that Mateo was one tough son of a bitch that could survive most of which was thrown at him. He'd seen him, only a few times, acting like the soldier he was instead of the caring Uncle he is. It was terrifying at first, but encouraging to hear ringing in his head. He was disciplined, unlike his father. But his father had different interests in the world, and those interests involved creating a family and living to his own solitary nature, not taking the walls for granted.
"The bigger the target, the harder they fall." he would always say. In fairness, he was right. Shiganshina was a prime example.
His trance was knocked out when a small bump in the path caused him to topple forward slightly into the snow, before he had to pick himself up. Only his head banged against someone's knee, but it wasn't anything too harsh. This got his attention to his fellow cadets. They'd too made it as far as he did, and Grant would bet that they did far better than he did in their training. Who wouldn't? But the thought crossed his mind about his progress.
There were brilliant signs of him in the tactical strategies course he chose for extra curriculum. Well, by extra curriculum, he meant he would go back and try the test again, at least four times, just to sharpen his skills on planning ahead. His knowledge in formation types, ranking structures, diversion and luring strategies were some of his strongest points, but Schulz and some of the lower Training Instructors had given him some credit over his use of the ODM gear. He was decisive, quite daring and sharp on his turns. It was all in his balance. His coordination made for every successful achievement, but also for some of the minor mistakes and disadvantages he had. Now, Grant wasn't the best Cadet with the gear, but he was definitely up there with them. There was a lot of risk he would take, but when it came to training in the Forest with ODM Tactics Class on the Extended Coursework for Physical Strategy, he had gained one of the higher marks.
The cadets around him were good at other things he wasn't. Hand-to-hand, running and agility. Though Grant may have been a lot quicker with the gear, some of them could outrun him quite decently, which would make for smoother ODM gear movement for themselves. Grant was midway on that part, but it wasn't something he aimed to do better at in the months he was training. In fact, the training only got him so far in certain areas. His theory work and anatomy of titans was more of a medium ranged area.
He looked at Mora, who had addressed their group about the weather. She was right, it was a bit shit to be honest. But, however, there were worse, as Grant knew exactly from his experiences within a small-time hamlet and the weathering problems they had without the wall's shading them from most of it.
"It's a bit shit, but not that bad. Well...I lie there, it's awful, but what isn't these days? Perhaps we could be used as icicles for Schulz in the Summer?" A smile cracked onto his face as the joke slipped from his lips.
I'm more distracted by the view..." He smiled to himself once more, pointing to the left of the group where the decline in land went.
"You may just see fog and clouds, but I see an opportunity to draw." Grant had never really discussed his hobby aloud to anyone but Gabriel. Him and Gabriel had forged quite a good bond together, for once, since the early days in training. Sure, they weren't the best of friends, but since Olivia had been slowly drifting away from Grant (Something to come as great sorrow to himself) he had found Gabriel to be quite good company. Sure, he had his moments of annoyance, but doesn't everyone?
