[IC] Kin of the 72nd Expansion Battalion - Shingeki no Kyojin

[Scout]

Year 846, one year after the breach of the Southern Wall. Eastern Region 101st Trainee Squadron Initiation Day

Hundreds, if not thousands, of them stood in uniform rows. All of them were merely young boys or girls, but every single one had the same look on their face - that look that said nothing short of death would stop them from achieving what they left home to do. Of course, a large portion of them would be going home that very night. They'd work the fields or do something else menial with an abhorrence for their weak constitutions for the rest of their lives. Jonah Althaus, of Wall Rose, stared with steadfast determination into the captain's eyes as he strode up and down the rows, looking for the weakest links. The large man paused and gazed menacingly down at the boy.

Captain Schaeffer stood tall and proud at a solid six feet, his skin tanned to near leather from the time he spent in the open sun training "ingrates and maggots" as he so endearingly referred to the cadets. There was an intimidating scar that ran from an indeterminate spot on his shoulder all the way up his neck and over his left cheek. Rumours had spread throughout every Trainee Squadron as to where it came from, but every other instructor knew that it was a simple accident when he couldn't duck in time on horseback and was smacked with an incoming tree branch. Despite popular belief, he did not acquire the scar when he pissed off his own instructor and the two dueled; nor was the closed wound awarded to him by an angry wolf (or pack of wolves, depending on the version of the story which one chose to believe) which he taunted into a fight. The muscle which bound each of his limbs seemed to push his flesh to the limit of its holding capacity. Veins pressed against his skin, almost visible as they pulsed and after a good long thought... he moves on from the boy. Jonah wasn't worth his time - nothing he said would intimidate or even cause the boy to flinch.

Minutes later, he came across a boy with red hair, long enough to be braided, staring straight ahead as he was instructed to do. However, his eyes weren't flat... they didn't gaze on into nothing... They seemed almost ready to jump to any opportunity to present itself. To let the boy move, he almost seemed to be driven insane by that required salute and Schaeffer relished the opportunity to make him squirm. He stopped dead in his tracks, stared at the boy in front of him, and held that position for a dreadfully long ten-count in silence. "What's your name, son?" He asked, pouring on the sarcasm for the final word.

It was clear that the boy was straining to respond, "Alois Heidrich, Karanese, Eastern Region, sir," He recited.

"Mmmmhmmmm..." The captain hummed in response, elongating the words and forcing the boy to stay still as he did so. "And what makes you think that you're even remotely qualified to be a part of the most talented, important fighters that our world has to offer?"

"Because there's no better feeling in this world that tearing into the flesh of an aggravated piece of shit Titan, sir," Came his brisk and sadistically excited reply.

Schaeffer had to prevent himself from laughing, "And how in the Hell would you know that, boy?"

"Because it's true of all things..." He said with little hesitation before quickly adding, "Sir."

The captain almost seemed impressed and decided better of pushing the topic - whatever this kid's issue was, he knew that he would see everything he needed to over the next three years. If the kid even lasted that long.

When he stopped at his next victim, he was answered before he even asked a question.

"Ava Ekkehardt, Wall Sina, sir!" Came a formal, measured, and calm line. "Future Survey Corps, 72nd Battalion, sir."

"Well, well... Looks like we have ourselves a real go-getter here," He said devilishly. "The Expansion Battalion, was it? I give you a week and you'll be gone."

The girl's brown eyes flashed, they almost looked burgundy under the lighting. Her sky blue hair was tied back into a pony tail and her bangs framed her face perfectly. "You would be wrong, sir," She said without hesitation, showing no sign of backing down.

"You're feisty, I'll give you that, but once you realize your pretty, all cleaned up hair gets mussed... Your fingers start to tire... Your legs give out... You'll send a letter to mater and pater - maybe even tonight - begging them 'please, let me go home... I miss the comfort of the interior... I want to go back to playing chess with my classmates and studying my textbooks..."

The girl didn't falter, "All due respect, sir, but you're making yourself look like a bumbling idiot. I'll be leaving those walls as soon as I can, no matter what waits out there - come Hell or high water, I'll not take no for an answer."

The captain actually laughed, right in her face. The girl's hand moved to her face to wipe away the spit that flew onto it and with a sophisticated swipe, removes the obstruction on her skin. She cleared her throat and resumed her dignified salute.

"Well, we'll see where that attitude is when you're done running. I'd like you to start running laps... One of the other instructors, or myself, will tell you when it's time to stop."

The girl's face turned into one of disbelief - did she do something wrong..?

"I said now!" He shouted and, rather than wiping the spit from her face a second time, the girl took off to join the one or two others who had chosen the wrong words during their interrogation in laps. They all eventually started to run only short distances from each other, shooting looks between them that said 'really?' But nonetheless, they kept running. She didn't join the corps to be treated fairly.

"Shinganshina, eh? You're a long way from home, Driuker," the captain said after meeting Rodrick. "Lucky you moved to the eastern part of Wall Rose, eh? Things feel quieter over here... Maybe you think you'll be safe..." Before Tinker could even give his reply, Schaeffer was diving headfirst into berating the boy about running away - even if he had only done so by following his family - and how even a cozy garrison position in the East wouldn't keep him safe and he could just forget about joining the Military Police. Before Tink could even respond, Schaeffer was moving on. The captain tried to keep his attention span varied - some cadets got no attention, some got prolonged, and some only got yelled at before he stepped along the line.

After addressing Kiryuu, he gave a surprised 'hmph.' He crossed his arms, "What is it today and having so many Wall Sina enlistees? Hope you're ready for a real beating, kid - not just from me, most people here, myself included, are from Wall Maria. You're going to have a real hard time being the minority when your money isn't going to help you," He said with more than a bit of venom. "You're lucky I don't make you go running with Ekkehardt," He spat, rolling his eyes and moving on, not wanting to see another pompous child try to show him up.

Year 849, days before graduation, final test results

Three years after the start of their training, the five students had unintentionally become fast friends. Though some of them had their own issues with one another, they still had their own little team together. One thing was for sure: they wanted nothing more than to make the top ten. Too many cadets came in hoping to join the Military Police, to live a life of bliss, reveling in ignorance on the innermost wall. Each of the five had their own reasons for wanting to join the 72nd Battalion, be it a desire to strive for the dangerous or the adventurous or just to have some form of acceptance, even if it meant you would almost surely die.

Captain Schaeffer stood before the soon-to-graduate cadets, numbering just shy of three hundred, "The top ten students in descending order for the 101st Trainee Squadron are as follows... First place, Friedrich Elder; second place," He gave the faintest of cringes at the name which followed, "Alois Heidrich; third place, Amy Branch; fourth, Jonah Althaus; fifth and sixth place had tied scores for their final examinations - Rodrick Driuker and Gregory Marinus; Sixth place, Kiryuu Zero," there was a murmur throughout the crowd. A couple of snickers, a couple of disbelieving whispers, groans, and a few almost sarcastic chants of his surname in mock-worship of him. They were nearly inaudible and, sans exaggeration, only made out of pure jealousy from people who would have difficulty coping with the fact that they'll never see that unicorn on their jacket. "Seventh, Ava Ekkehardt; Eighth..." The list went on, but the five students could all breath a sigh of relief as they made the top ten, taking exactly half of the spaces, knowing full-well that they could do anything they wanted in the military. 72nd Battalion? Easy. Military Police? If they so desired. Garrison Corps? They'd be welcomed with open arms.

That afternoon, in the barracks, Squad 3's room

Approximately one year into their training, the cadets had to assign themselves to squads. The group of five were tentative to work together at first, but they did eventually find a rhythm together, even if they weren't perfect friends. Ava was assigned Squadron Leader by Schaeffer, who hand-picked each Squad Leader between the forty-five or so squads in the 101st Trainee Class. She sat on her single bed, one knee crossed over the other with her arms folded in front of her, her eyes scanning the four boys in the room. Dear god, what she would give to not be the only girl here... But she lived with the hand she was dealt and did her best to ensure that not a single one of them got the wrong idea from her. As a friend, she was warm and welcoming but as a leader she was iron-fisted and articulate. Their room was immaculate, though many of the other cadets seemed to believe that was on account of her squad having two immaculate Wall Sina residents in it; she would argue that nobody was even allowed to leave in the morning, no matter the punishment for tardiness, until their room was clean. In the room, there were two pairs of bunkbeds and then hers, placed neatly at the far wall of the room, making her the only one who didn't have to share her personal space.

So, it was pep talk time. They graduated in a few days - they were, for the most part, all decided on their plans for the future. Most of the people in the room knew they were going for the 72nd, but really they would only know when it was crunch time. She rose to her feet with purpose, looking from Alois to Kiryuu, Kiryuu to Jonah, and Jonah to Rodrick, choosing her words carefully.

"Congratulations - all of you, all of us," She began, striding forward. However, it didn't seem like she was planning to say much more as her hand came to the doorknob, her head cocked over her shoulder, "Anything you guys wanna say before we get back to practice? We're not graduated yet," She reminded them. Ava - always the studious one, not a moment to waste, even with examinations finished.

[Goldenflame27]

Tinker sat in the corner of the room, on his bed and- as always- fiddled with one of his many devices currently in progress. This one in particular was a modified long-barreled pistol. The idea for this one was to fix it up so that it would fire a cloud of flechettes in a concentrated burst. Ideally, one could use the flechette pistol to blind a Titan on the way past so as to distract it from the rest of the team. The gun had real promise, not like the last blinding tool; Tinker and Kiryuu still carried the flash burns from that one and Tinker’s eyebrows had just now grown back. Tinker reached under his bed- he had the bottom bunk-, brought his tool kit out, and removed a small screwdriver. As he used it to begin removing the wooden grips from the pistol, Tinker responded to Ava’s question.

“Well ma’am, it seems to me that if we had some burning need to say anything about this placement or about our position in the 72nd as a whole, we wouldn’t have waited until now to say it. I, personally am firmly aware that we haven’t graduated yet and will continue to put 110% effort into my training as befits a member of the Expansion Battalion. The 72nd is probably the only battalion that will take someone with my… quirks…” as he said this last bit, Tinker removed the pistol’s grip and slotted a tiny compressed-steam tank into a specially fitted nozzle in its hollowed out handle. He then began screwing the grips back on and continued speaking, “… so I have every intention of graduating from training with the rest of you.” He glanced around, “And if I may be so bold, I may not be the only one here who may only fit into a battalion as… unique as the 72nd.”

Tinker stood up, spun his newly completed pistol around his finger once, and jammed it into a customized sidesaddle holster with a flourish. Next, he put his tool kit back under his bed and checked to make sure his belt knife was still firmly in its place at the small of his back. Satisfied, he turned back to his teammates and grinned, “Anyway, I like working with you guys. You’re all almost as crazy as I am!” At the collective stares he got in response to that comment, Tinker’s grin spread even wider. “Hey, I did say almost as crazy. So, no, Fearless Leader, I personally don’t have anything particular to say before we go out for another grueling training session. Well, I do have one question: Who’s going to help me test this gun?”

[GambolMuse]

All of this about graduation, forming a team, forming bonds. It sounded redundant and frankly boring. Combat training had long since ceased and the last few days were spent going over more fundamental, menial tasks. At least that's how Alois viewed it. He was always most at home when active, particularly in combat, real or otherwise. He needed that excitement to interest him, otherwise he was hard pressed to show interest. That hadn't inhibited his progress in training though, he was also keen to show the other recruits he wasn't some layabout. As such he had ended up in the top 10 students, the second best in fact. Many people had a hard time either accepting or believing he'd done so well, he didn't exactly come across as the ideal soldier. Perhaps that was why he was so good though, appearances could be deceiving after all. With his boyish looks, long red hair braided back into a ponytail it was no wonder he'd been a laughing stock when arriving three years ago. Well, who was laughing now?

While some of it may have been pedantic, Alois would be hard pressed to say he truly hated these last few years. Compared to living at home it was a thrill, even the worst of it. And he had made some friends, somehow, particularly those in his squad. And his mother had always chided him that his behavior would alienate him, like hell. He fit right in with the others around here. It took a special sort to want to do what they were, particularly those he was with now. Sure, even by their standards he was a bit off, but they were hardly free of labeling themselves. He was in exceptional shape, had friends, and a job. The turnover rate might suck, but hell, the perks were why he chose it. To go beyond the walls, slay Titans, see the world for what it really was. Inside the walls was an illusion, what humanity wanted the world to be like. Beyond those was the reality, and everyone tried to shut that out. Damn it, he was through living in a fantasy world, he wanted to experience the real thing. And the military promised plenty of that, certainly with his joining the Survey Corps if all went to plan.

Everyone was gathered in their bunkhouse for the moment, taking a reprieve from their hectic schedules. It was in here that they as a squad had spent countless hours, chatting, sleeping, preparing. Whereas the training grounds were their workplace this building had become their home, and it certainly reflected that. With only one female in their group it was easy to tell that boys lived here, even with the strict military standards. Often they would keep their spaces clean, both to keep Ava off of their asses as well as the instructors. Alois himself was busy reading a book on battle tactics, or more like staring at the pages blankly. His right leg was bouncing irritably from sitting still, he wanted to get back to training already. Hearing Ava address them all he was going to ignore it, piquing up when Tinker began to speak instead. That wasn't his real name of course, just something they gave him since he was always working with things. He had a real knack for making all sorts of devices, probably some that would save his life someday. A few Alois had been keen on testing himself, though it was difficult to test a weapon on a living subject when your options were people or people. Understandably his squadmates had constantly told him that wasn't allowable, and he had begrudgingly agreed every single time. He'd not shoot to kill, but shooting someone in the foot wasn't all bad, right?

Ava looked like she was on her way out, and Tinker seemed to be preparing as well. If they were going then he'd take the excuse to join them, scarcely wanting to stay seated any longer. Setting the book on his bed by the pillow, Alois got to his feet, smirking as he reached up and rubbed at his head. "Depends, you gonna let me shoot someone for a change if I help you?" he asked, eying the weapon curiously. Feeling eyes boring into him the redhead rolled his own eyes, scoffing under his breath. "Kidding! Christ, you all can't take a joke." He wasn't some maniac murderer, he wouldn't actually kill someone. Not outright anyways, that would be so complicated. He did have a tendency to get a little carried away though, evidenced by his mishaps during training. Not that he ever ended up in a poor state, but those he sparred with tended to. Most of their fellow recruits he didn't mind hurting either, especially the ones looking into the Military Police. Those cowards didn't deserve to call themselves soldiers, hiding behind the walls, eating all the time and getting fat. Some fight for humanity that was.

"I got something to say! Tinker is right, we shouldn't relax just because we're at the end. In fact, we should put more effort in than we have been. You know, scare the crap out of the others with how determined we are! Especially those cushy-ass Military Police wannabes," Alois said, voicing his thoughts now. That was a fairly mutual consensus among their group, no one here was fond of those recruits. There was obviously appeal to it, their lives would be better than they had been as civilians. But joining the military should mean risking yourself and protecting people, not sitting around all day. If you survived and lived to a ripe old age then fine, you earned it. But teens like them were just being selfish. "We should remind our classmates why we're the best squad there is around here, don't you think? I'd hate for someone to think we're going to get all soft now that training is coming to an end."

[Cicoco]

Alois jumped at the chance to say what was on his mind and tried to rush out of the door for training, like he usually does when he wants to leave a boring situation. Kiryuu was sitting in his bunk above Tink trying to not get hit by his new invention just thinking of how he could still be the 'Zero' he was growing up. "I'm not going to be another test dummy Tink, me and you both are still trying to grow all of our hair back after the last one."

Kiryuu sighed with a sense of disappointment "I made spot six and yet the others still mock me.." That's all that was stuck in his head. All of the hard work that had been put into these last three years for the top ten and still being mocked, even by the lowest of the low. This shot anger through his slim 5'6 body. Kiryuu jumped of his bed in what seemed like a moment of inspiration, but actually a push of absolute rage. "Lets go show these wimps what hard work really is and why they didn't make the top 10 in the first place!"

Kiryuu could never wrap his head around the thought of wanting to live the rest of his life behind Wall Sina where the citizens don't care about who you are. As long as you don't have more money than them, they didn't care who you are. Kiryuu wants to be as far away from that snob infested town and go explore outside of the walls. He wants to find the reason to why these Titans walk the throughout the world. He starts walking to the door, stretching his arms getting ready for the grueling day that lays ahead.

[Scout]

Jonah shared a bunk with Alois, but he was laying on the floor while everybody rallied together for another training session. A rubber ball floated easily up into the air and back down into the boy's hand with a soft sound. He tossed it again... Three years and not one person knew where he got this thing, but he always had it. Once, he dropped it and it went bouncing away; he ended up with a rather nasty punishment for using his maneuverability gear and gas to catch up to it before it vanished into the tree line. The dexterity required to react and collect the rubber ball before its disappearance was impressive, but it didn't stop the drill instructors from being furious with him. The ball was confiscated on more than one occasion - some people thought that he had more than one, but it really just took a hell of a lot of sleight of hand to always get it back. One of the trainees swears on his life that he saw Jonah swipe the ball from Captain Schaeffer's own hand and replace it with a smooth river rock. Some of the instructors found it absolutely infuriating, but Jonah's apathy was the reason he could get away with... well, just about anything.

The trainees of Squad 3 were assembling for training, so he caught the ball and placed it in his zip-pocket, closing it up securely. He rose slowly, deliberately to his feet. Did Alois have any idea how insane it made him when his leg bounced all freaking night? he wondered in slight agitation. It wasn't long before the other boy was rising off his bed.Tinker had a new thing-a-ma-what to test, but Jonah had a large preference for his blades and maneuverability gear.

Being the ever-present realist that he was, Jonah crossed his arms, "How about instead of focusing on showing people up, we practice for what comes after this?"

Ava looked to her squadmates and nodded, "You're all right. We can't let anybody think we were going for top ten so that we could slack off - but Jonah is too; pretty soon, 'practice' will be a word we can't use anymore... we'll be in the thick of it - no matter where we are, now that Wall Maria was compromised." She gave them all a small smile before heading out the door. They all gathered their gear, fastened firmly to their hips and thighs. Four pairs of Ultra-Steel blades each, two canisters' worth of gas, and an astounding amount of high-tension cable. Squad 3 was geared up and ready to go as they left the armory, all ready for their exhausting until-dark training session.

Suddenly, a booming voice sounded from behind them. "Ekkehardt!" It called, the girl stopping on her heel, pulling an instant salute, and pivoting a full one-hundred and eighty degrees.

"Yes, si-" She stopped flat, her arms dropped, and she let out a very irritated sigh. "What the Hell do you want, Elder?" She asked the boy who was named First in the 101st. Friedrich was notorious for sounding like an instructor - if you heard his voice, he sounded nothing like a fifteen year-old.

"I just wanted to say congratulations to your squad - you guys all making the top ten and whatnot... Was wondering where you were going after this," He said curiously, resting his hands on his hips. "I mean, everybody's spending tonight celebrating - we've got a party and everything that'll get started in a few minutes, maybe an hour. I thought you guys would all like to go." No he didn't. He wanted to know if Ava was going. The girl wasn't fooled for a moment as she brushed a bit of hair from her eyes before tying it back and clearing her throat, taking her good time replying.

"Oh geeze, you know, I would, but... Gosh, we've gotta get to training, I only made seventh place, you know, and we've got a lot of work to do. You're welcome to join us, but you're not really likely to keep up - I'm taking a guess that you're already wiping a lot of the training you got from your brain, now that you're moving into the Military Police," She pointed out cockily.

"Wait - you guys aren't going to the inner walls?" He asked in confusion, his brow furrowed in surprise, "I mean, I know you said the 72nd, but you're from Wall Sina - so is Zero over there - I thought you were all kidding," The boy was clearly shocked. "You're all fucking nuts. Ava, you were only seventh place - first placers aren't even guarunteed survival."

The girl shrugged, "Hm... Too bad we don't really know our placements' accuracy - you should have seen us take the exams, not a moment went by where one of us wasn't taking some weight off another, or giving them a hand with their maneuverability speed. We got docked a couple of points when we got caught, so be check your arrogance." She confessed, "Are you done, yet? Really, you're wasting daylight that we kind of need."

Friedrich looked like he wanted to say something else, but took a step back, turned around with a roll of his eyes and walked off, annoyed.

The girl turned back to her team and didn't say a word, leading them toward the forest training grounds.

Jonah looked to Alois and pulled out his rubber ball, "Who's up for a bit of Catcher in the Trees?" He proposed, now speaking to the group with a devilish smirk.

Ava sighed, "God, can't we go one session without you guys acting like a bunch of idiots? It's a wonder we don't occupy the top six spots," She said, starting into a mini-lecture. "Think your game is clever, don't think I didn't see a few of you playing during exams..." The girl warned them again about her eagle vision...

Jonah furrowed his brow, "Of course you noticed - you were playi-" She cut him off.

"Enough. Fine, play your stupid game," She said, though they all knew she'd be participating within no more than a few passes.

Catcher in the Trees was a game that was initially Tink's idea, but the rules were modded over a hundred times by all of them. They used Jonah's ball to see how many distance-passes they could successfully have without dropping or missing the ball. They'd become quite skilled at it, and even some of the more carefree instructors had a fondness for watching them play the unique game. Holding the ball for more than ten seconds caused the count to be reset, so the game required clear and articulated communication between the six of them. The count also reset, obviously, if the ball was dropped or a catch was missed; they didn't point fingers for blame anymore - be it a bad throw or a terrible judgment of space - in order to keep the game moving smoothly. A normal catch counted for one point, a rebound catch counted for as many things as the ball bounced from except for the ground, and a batter (when a player hit, punched, or kicked the small ball to somebody else) counted for five so long as the ball was caught. The most important rule was that they stayed near enough to each other and kept their eyes on the goal: practice. They had to hunt down the "Titan dummies" and aim for getting the deepest cuts on the necks of the wooden silhouettes.

Jonah grinned as they neared the treeline. Few things in life brought him so much joy. He spiked the ball at the ground and it ricocheted straight up into the air. "Game on," He said, squeezing the trigger in his sword's hilt. He was off - darting into the trees as he waited for somebody to catch the ball and and kick off the round.

Ava didn't grab it, she shot off into the trees, passively waiting for the game to kick off as her eyes scanned the forest for their targets.

[Goldenflame27]

Tinker grabbed his sword hilts and attached the first set of blades. Then, pulling the triggers, he shot after Ava, kicking the ball into a long, slow lob in the process. Passing the anchor point of his cable, Tinker twisted 360 degrees and shot out his other piton-tipped cable at a tree in the distance. There was a sharp jerk as his omnidirectional equipment hauled him forward at incredible speed. Even as he hurtled forward, Tinker’s eyes were scanning the trees for the next grapple point. That wasn’t the only thing occupying his thoughts, though, Tinker also had to keep a lookout for the Titan dummies. Those were the main targets.

Moments later, Zero swung past Tinker and passed him the ball. Tinker decided he was feeling gutsy and, upon catching it, Tinker executed a clean front flip and spiked the ball backwards to Alois. He completed his flip and landed heavily on a tree branch. Yeah, this was the life. Pure exhilaration. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, Tinker leapt off the branch and shot his cables out once more to propel himself to the next anchor point at breakneck speed. The other members of the team kept relatively close to Tinker and he to them. Suddenly, Tinker saw a flash of tan flesh as he sped through the trees. “Titan sighted left. Repeat Titan left.”

Tinker torqued his hips, changing his forward motion into a smooth arc heading left. Sure enough, it was a Titan dummy. This particular stand-in stood at approximately 12 meters tall- on the smaller side when it came to Titans. Tinker arced past the Titan’s face and, as he did, pulled out his new flachette pistol. Moment of truth, Tink. Hope it doesn’t blow up. A slow, constant trigger pull and the gun bucked in his hands. A tight, silver cloud of metal shards flew from the gun and imbedded themselves in the analog’s face, just below its left eye. Well at least the gun works. I’ll just have to work on my aim now And just like that, Tinker was past the Titan, trusting that his team could finish it off.

[Goldenflame27]

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[Goldenflame27]

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[GambolMuse]

Alois was all for training, especially in the form of Titan slaying. Sure, cutting into wood cutouts was far from the real thing, but getting to move about like that was thrilling in its own right. And if they were going to play Catcher in the Trees then all the more reason to go and play. He wasn't without wont to play games, he wasn't that strange. And frankly this made up game of theirs was a hell of a lot of fun when played with the right people. It turned an otherwise typical session into something more. Following his fellow trainees out, Alois idly played with one of his blades, swinging it about like a stick, cutting up grass and small plants along the way. They were sharp as could be, cutting up some greens wasn't going to dull them at all. Pretty soon the small vegetation gave way to lumbering trees, and this ended his execution of innocent plant life. Their real training was going to be starting soon, and so would their game. Alois was nearly bouncing in his spot in anticipation, a grin plastered on his face. "Let's go already, I want to kill shit."

The signal for them to begin funnily enough wasn't some signal, or a command. Once the ball went up into the air that was the sign things were beginning. Jonah went up first, followed closely by Ava and then Tinker bringing up the rear. Smiling excitably, Alois released the clasps on his 3D Maneuver Gear, and with a leap he shot the pair of wires forward, yanking himself from the forest floor and up into the air. This was always his favorite part, dashing about like this. You just didn't have the same kind of restrictions you did on the ground, your movement was scarcely impeded. Shame the instructors were such sticklers about the gear, he could come out here any time of day and have a blast. He had barely gotten up into the air when up above, about ten o' clock, Tinker was setting him up for a hit. Watching it be kicked downwards, Alois reached out with both hands and snatched it easily, looking down then to Kiryuu. Still in a swinging motion he pivoted his body about 90 degrees, latching onto an extended branch. Using some air to build up speed he shot forward, going under then up and around the branch, coming back down over the top. With the ball in one hand he tossed it to Kiryuu, catching himself and shooting off back towards the others.

With a forest this big it could take some time until they found a Titan, hours even. Today was their lucky day however as Tinker stumbled across one within the first few moments. It took Alois but a second to spot it as well, smiling as he did so. Looks like their intuitive friend was trying out that pistol of his. Was it going to work, or would it be a failure? Changing his trajectory once again the redhead began swinging towards Tinker, giving a light laugh as he did so. The gun worked after all, and from here he could see it had peppered the Titan's would be face with loads of shrapnel. Not a killing blow, but damn it would hurt one of them. Blind them easily, which made this already simple job even easier. Flashing Tinker a thumbs up, Alois reached down to either side of his Maneuver Gear, pulling from each hip one of his blades. Leaning back he shot a set of wires up into the trees above the Titan to gain altitude, flying right up to its head level. Once he reached that point he detached, and with a final swing sent himself flying right alongside the back of the cutout. His depth perception and knowledge of his location relative to the enemy was astounding, and as such he managed to come within just about a foot of his target's neck. Granted it was easier when it was stationary, but it was still a decent move. Pulling both arms back Alois twisted his entire body, rotating and digging both blades into fleshy neck. When he caught himself on a nearby tree he turned back, grinning at the wedge missing from the Titan.

[Cicoco]

"Finally. Time to go out and show everybody not to mess with the soon to be 72nd Survey Battalion." Zero couldn't wait to get back into the woods and play Catcher in the Trees while slaying some Titans. Even thought the Titans aren't real, it felt good for him to get his anger out on the cutouts instead of those who mock him. Zero ran and launched his Maneuver Gear to the tree closest to him and gassed full speed towards the dense forest for some Titan hunting. He watched as his teammates threw, kicked, and bounced Alois' ball throughout the forest. Next thing he knows he's in range for kick and bounce for a few points in their exhilarating made up game. Kiryuu launches his gear around a tree in mid-swing to make a tight 90 degree turn and blast the little rubber ball against a massive oak tree and straight towards Ava to see if she was still in the game. "Its coming your way Ava! Lets see you make something of it!' shouted Kiryuu in an almost maniacal laughter.

When Zero got himself back on track he saw Tink loading his weapon but doesn't see any Titans nearby. Confused, Kiryuu slowed down to watch and see what is going to play out in front of him. BOOM Zero flinched at the deafening sound of the new weapon. FInally he got a glimpse of the target. A 15 metre tall Titan with a face full of lead from TInk's gun. After the bombardment, Kiryuu caught a quick blur of Alois going in for the kill. A perfect cut by Alois like he always does in training. "That's why hes ranked higher than me. He's very quick and accurate wtih his blows." says Zero in astonishment. Everyone starts to celebrate on the cutout kill. After the celebration, the squad sped forward to continue the grind of the day.

[Scout]

Jonah was only seconds behind Alois, his own blades making a wedge only a fraction smaller than the other boy's. God dammit, how could he close that gap between them? The points were so slim, but it looked like Alois just had some kind of drive that made it night on impossible to get there. Perhaps it was just natural skill alone.

Ava was long-since at the Titan cut-out as the others arrived. She had the eyes of a freaking hawk and ranked first in nearly every race with the maneuver gear since they learned to use it. She didn't even flinch at Tinker's gunshot; Ava was not easily surprised, even by noises as loud as a gun. However, her cuts were still more shallow than any of her squadmates'. They were all barely deep enough for a kill, but still better than the average soldier. They always had the perfect shape to them though and she never missed. The instructors pushed her to cut deeper, but she had silently refused every time; it required more strength than she was willing to exert on it. Why go deeper? It was unnecessary energy spent. However, she was waiting on them to find the cut-out before moving on. She heard her name as Kiryuu threw the ball into the air and as she squeezed the trigger, she heard the most satisfying sound.

The loud sound of the cable releasing and spiking into a tree was music to her ears as her hips were yanked forward. She blasted off at an amazing pace. Her acceleration was truly impressive and within moments she was streaking over Kiryuu's head, snatching the rubber ball from the air before letting her momentum carry her into a limb. Her cables released from the trees and her feet came up. As they hit the limb with perfect precision, she bent her knees and countered her momentum to throw her weight in the opposite direction. As she launched from the limb, she fired off her cables again and carried on with the others.

"Three... Two... Driuker!" She shouted out, waiting until the very last second to launch the ball. She wasn't even looking at Tink as her shoulder extended and she let the ball fly into the side of a tree and rebound right into the other boy's path.

Jonah's eyes were lightning as he raced, neck and neck, with Alois. Ava called out the next titan spotting and he grinned, "This one's mine," He said, daring the red-head to try and take it from him. As he sped off toward the sound of Ava's voice, he got there just a little bit sooner than Alois. His blades dug into the neck of the dummy and he caught himself shortly after to take a look... He deflated - it was almost there, but not quite deep enough. He typically got a great depth, but when he didn't focus, he would miss the mark - he envied Ava for her consistency in her strikes, but there was little he could do about it now, he just had to watch Alois beat him again. Not to mention his ears were still ringing slightly from Tinker's gun test. Geeze, why did that kid have to make such crazy things? If any of them were any good, they shouldn't need something like that. Besides, it took some of the challenge out of Titan Hunting.

[Goldenflame27]

“‘Three… two… Druiker!’” Tinker heard his leader’s voice and snapped his head sideways to find her. He caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye and threw his arm out to catch the ball being thrown to him. The ball described a gentle arc through the air as it passed directly into his path. There was only one problem… A tree stood between the young inventor and the ball. The tree was rather small, and only the topmost branches were in his way, but it was enough that access to the ball was blocked off. well, looks like I get to test two new devices today.

As he sped towards the tree, Tinker let a small burst of steam out of the nozzle on his left side. This changed his path so he would pass to the right of the tree instead. The problem with this course of action, however, was that it would take him out of the ball’s arc. That’s where the second invention came into play. Tinker flicked his left arm out sharply and a steel hook slid out of his sleeve. He grasped a loop forged into the end and rammed the hook into the tree. The idea behind the hook was to provide a way to change direction even more sharply than originally provided by the omni-directional gear. The hook did not perform as planned, however. First, it dug too deep, jerking Tinker’s arm sharply and painfully. Then, the hook simply snapped. It seems that the speed granted by the steam gear was simply too much for the hook to handle. This had the effect of throwing Tinker bodily into a nearby tree. The impact jarred his whole body and the rough bark scraped at his back and arms. He was, however, able to sweep a leg out in his uncontrollable tumble and send the ball flying in Zero’s direction.

After the impact, Tinker had to stay seated for a moment. He had several scrapes on his arms, bruises on his back, and possibly a fractured rib. Damn. Tinker sighed and realized there was nothing for it. He reached into his belt pouch and popped out a small flare which he then lit and tossed up into the air. Apparently the hunting practice would have to turn into a rescue and field stabilization practice……

[GambolMuse]

One Titan cutout down, a few to go. Alois had already forgotten how many there were for this exercise, he hardly cared about the number anyways. So long as he got to cut into something that's all he cared about, the quantity of enemies made little difference to him. He spent just a moment on a nearby branch, watching as the others zipped about, hunting down other targets. He couldn't wait for the real thing, a sentiment that some of his compatriots may not be sharing. To be sinking his swords into an actual Titan, make them pay for this dreary world that they found themselves in, that in of itself was going to be a special kind of joy. Alois couldn't be wholly bitter about it though, as without those giant, lumbering morons lumbering about he'd have nothing to do with himself, he'd be out of a job. In a way then he was grateful for the Titans, it made life interesting. And goodness knows a life without anything to interest you wasn't a life at all, you might as well be dead at that point.

Thoughts aside, it was time to get back into the swing of things, literally. Jonah was quick to come up alongside Alois and dart off, signaling for them to race. It was a fairly frequent thing between the two of them, they often competed with one another for the fun of it. Whoever the victor was hardly mattered to Alois, he just enjoyed the contest itself and was more than happy to partake each time he was challenged. The fact of the matter was he typically won, actually near every time really, though he never bragged or acted conceited. He was good and he knew he was good, and because he knew it there was no reason to show off or act superior, there was no point. Even with the self assured knowledge that he was skilled he still took on Jonah every time, perhaps out of a desire to see if the other boy could match up. Grinning broadly he jumped off of the branch he'd been perched on, lurching forward as his cables shot forth and imbedded themselves into nearby trees. Jonah was a fair distance ahead of him and heading right for another target, looking poised to strike. What did his friend think when he was about to cut into something, he wondered. Was there the same kind of exhilaration that Alois felt? Or was it simply done because it was what they were made to do? He'd have to remember to ask after this.

Jonah was right on the mark, sinking his blades into the fleshy substance of the Titan's neck. It was quick, clean and precise... But not deep enough. In order to actually slay a Titan you had to be very exact in your strikes, a certain depth and width needed to be achieved in order to deal a fatal blow. Otherwise you only injured it, and it could get quite mad when injured. Alois had managed to memorize the proportions of the slice needed, and his body more or less assumed the stance to achieve such a cut every time. If the others asked him for his secret he wouldn't know what to say, it was as mechanical as walking or breathing. As he rose up towards the cutout he laughed, finding Jonah's expression a bit funny. What was he getting so bummed out about, he was still better than a good few dozen trainees. The guy really should just relax and enjoy this, it was quite fun if you let it be. The distance between him and his mark closed, and with a quick release of pressurized gas, Alois managed to pivot his body a few degrees, just enough to send him towards the neck. Drawing back both arms he let out an audible grunt as he threw both blades forward, slicing just outside where Jonah had struck, reaching deeper down and cleaving out what his teammate had left behind. Watching as the fleshy substitute fell to the ground he landed beside his friend, smirking as he wiped sweat from his brow with his sleeve. "Looks like I win again. You really woulda pissed that Titan off though! I bet it would have been flopping all over the place!"

It ought not to take them much longer, this exercise. The speed at which their group cleared the area typically was in part the reason they were all in the top ten. Not only were they quick, but they were effective, making consistent kills and very few mistakes, if any. Today would be a day for a mistake, it seemed. While joking around with Jonah about their competition, Alois noticed a flare being shot off in the distance. In an actual combat scenario that would mean a Titan was nearby, and the whole group would go running. Still in training however it was just one requesting aid. Someone had gotten hung up or something and needed some help, that was all. Smiling exasperatedly the redhead gave a shake of his head, sheathing his blades as he turned to Jonah. "I'll go find whoever it is, you guys keep doing this. Someone probably went and ran out of gas or something." he said, smiling as he stepped off the branch idly, laughing as he shot out cables and began his swing away. "And cut deeper on the next one! Kill it, don't cripple it!" He wouldn't gloat, sure, but he certainly would tease. For no particular reason either other than it was fun, and tended to get his friends to work harder. He had received his fair share of taunts so he figured it was fine to dish it back, if that's how it worked.

The flare had not been all that far off, and it was a mere matter of moments before Alois found its source. Of all the people he expected to be asking for aid, Tinker was not one of them. The guy was awfully smart, and yet just looking at him it was obvious he'd done something stupid. Even from where he was coming in from he could tell the other boy was injured, not seriously, but still bruised up. "You know, your swords make better weapons than your back," he joked, swinging up and landing beside Tinker on the branch, shaking it slightly. Some fine mess his teammate had made of himself, his shirt was torn and slightly bloodied, and he could well have a fracture or at least some bruising. Slowly walking over as not to disturb the tree he crouched down, reaching out and examining Tinker's back carefully. "Oh yeah, that's going to leave a mark. Looks like you hit the tree pretty good," Alois remarked, giving some of the bruises a light prodding with his fingertips. "Seriously, what did you do? I'd figure you're way too smart to be crashing like that."

[Cicoco]

Kiryuu caught the little ball even though it ended the game and rushed to Tink who was laying on the ground. "Another invention gone wrong huh?" he said with a little smirk. By then Jonah and Alois had arrived by his side too. "Since theres only 1 Titan left for practice today, ill go find it while you take Tink here to the medic so we can be done." Zero ran a few steps then launched is gear and let out a burst of gas to get back to cruising speed. Swinging from tree to tree it didnt take long to spot the last Titan. It looked to be about 10 meters tall. "Thats one ugly son of a bitch!"

Zero shot the right side of his gear into the throat of the Titan to use as his pivot point and used a burst of gas on the left to make the sharp turn and get behind the beast. He was ready to get his first and last kill of the day. He swung his swords with all his might as he zipped behind it. With excitement and found the nearest tree branch and stopped to look at his kill for the day. "I missed??? How in the world did i miss?" Then a different squad of students flew by and dug their blades deep into what shouldve been his kill. The squad mustve saw him miss because they all laughed as they passed him on the tree branch.

"Ill just go back to the others i guess." Zero slowly made his way back to the others where they last were. They had gotten Tink up on his feet and ready to get back to camp. "Guys i missed the last Titan." he said with total depression. "The last time I missed one was when we were learning how to use our Maneuver Gear." He started to doubt his placement in the top ten and doubting if he should even go in the 72nd Battalion.

[Scout]

A pair of cables stuck into the ground directly beside Alois, Ava's lightning quick descent made an audible thud as her feet met the forest floor and her knees absorbed the impact. "Driuker! What the hell was that?" She asked venomously, pushing Alois back and taking a knee. "Dammit," She muttered before noticing Zero, who was ready to take off again. "Heidrich, join him - you guys know not to go running off alone. Whether we're safe in training or not, never go it alone," She warned him, pointing sternly, "That's an order." Once Alois was gone, she shook her head in annoyance and grabbed the hem of Driuker's shirt, yanking it up. "Don't get any ideas, Tinker," She spat slightly before muttering, "What the hell were you thinking... You need to test your equipment out off the field before trying it out here at full speed." Her eyes ran over his abdomen and chest quizzically. There was significant bruising on his chest and she furrowed her brow. Her fingers gingerly reached out and touched what was likely very sensitive flesh. She didn't want to hurt him, but she had to find out how badly he was injured; her scores on the Field Medic portion of the test were out of this world, but there was only so much she could do.

She looked at the flare on the ground... Did he throw it up with his right arm? But the flares were on the left side of the body... "Tell me how this feels," She said, softly taking hold of his left arm and starting to move it. He gasped initially, telling her to stop almost instantly. She nodded, "Dislocated... Clumsy idiot," She pointed out, giving him a small smile. "This is going to hurt a lot, so close your eyes and watch the ground, because I'm not telling you when-" She explained, lining up to his shoulder and holding it. In the middle of her statement she let out an "oof!" and a small popping and cracking noise sounded as his shoulder popped back into place. She'd ask about how he felt breathing, but she was sure that if it was hurting, that speech would only be that much harder.

"I know your pretty beat up, but you gotta stand up, alright? I think one of your rips is broken... Don't worry, I think it's hairline, but it's still very dangerous. Breathe with some shallowness, it'll hurt less if you take a small breath, hold it for a very quick moment, then let it out. If you go too deep, it'll hurt a lot." She instructed, moving to his other side. She pulled his right arm up over her shoulders and helped to hoist him to his feet, her hand resting on his hip to keep him steady. "We'll walk back... Baka." She said with a grin.

Meanwhile, Jonah had watched Zero catch his ball and end the game. That was fine, considering the circumstances, but then the boy took off without handing it over. If the ball was lost, he'd be sincerely aggravated. "Don't lose that!" He called out seriously as Kiryuu took off. However, he leaned himself up against a tree as Alois shot off after him and watched Ava diagnose the injured Driuker. As the machinist was pulled onto his feet, Jonah took his other arm carefully, not wanting to hurt the just recently fixed shoulder. He didn't say anything as the three of them started to walk back to the camp.

[Goldenflame27]

Almost an hour after his spectacular crash, Tinker and Ava finally made it back to the training grounds with the remainder of their team. The pain in Tinker’s ribs had steadily gotten worse and his arm had grown numb from wrist to shoulder. Also, Tinker’s back had taken a severe beating from the tree and was now pretty bruised. Ava’s triage had stabilized the worst of the injuries, but it had been decided that further work was necessary to get him back to top condition. Therefore, the aspiring battalion would make the medical tent their first stop when they returned to camp.

The tent in question was large, vaguely rectangular, and made of a thick white canvas. Placed midway down the main thoroughfare of camp, this medical center tended to all of the injuries received by trainees or instructors during training. The tent was currently occupied by only about ten other injured trainees and roughly the same number of medical personnel to tend to them. Upon entering the tent, Tinker was immediately accosted by a number of nurses who all began to pepper him with all sorts of questions as to the nature of his injuries. He began to answer, but Ava cut him off, answering in his place. The head nurse nodded several times and ushered poor Druiker to a bed. She then cleaned his wounds and wrapped his ribs, chittering away the whole time about how much of an idiot he’d been for trying ‘such a crazy little stunt’. “Yeah, well when I fix the turning hook, it’s gonna change everything ‘bout how we use those omni-detectional equirenment,” He responded somewhat groggily. “Hey, wadja do to m’ head?”

“Quit yer fussin’ laddie. It’s just the salve we put on the cuts. It’ll make yuh bit groggy, best you sleep fur a bit.” And sleep he did. Just as the woman finished the last of the cuts along Tinker’s arm, his eyes slipped shut and darkness embraced him.

Some time later, Tinker awoke, still groggy and with a raging thirst. He tried to sit up, but let out a slow groan of pain, and collapsed back down to the bed. A nurse calmly strode over and handed him a small wooden cup of water. Tinker nodded his thanks and took in his surroundings as he drank. Several of the other patients in the tent had been moved out and there was now a young woman walking about in the tent wearing full training gear. The woman was currently leaning in and talking quietly to a fighter who had somehow lost his arm up to nearly the elbow. She saw his glance and strode towards him confidently. “Good e’en, Druiker. And how ye be?” it was only then that Tinker recognized her as Sanja Petrov, the thirteenth ranked warrior in Tinker’s class.

“I’ve been better, Sanja, how are you? And who’s that man off over there who you were talking to?”

Sanja laughed and clapped Tinker on the shoulder. “I’m fine. That man is the last surviving fighter of a flight of scouts recently beset by Titans nearby. I was just discussing what a great Evil these Titans are. They’ll bring about the end of the world, you know!” Tinker shook his head at her overreaction and thought well, I guess everyone’s entitled to an opinion. By then, Sanja was talking again: “by the way, my own team recently disbanded. I was wondering if perhaps yours has another opening? I’ve tried several other teams, but they all seem pretty happy with their current composition.” Tinker promised to speak to Ava on her behalf and Sanja, in turn, promised to assist him in returning to his bunk. Several minutes later, when the pair were just barely in sight of Tinker’s tent, a messenger on horseback came thundering past. When asked what the hurry was, the man responded with the news that the scout- the man with whom Sanja was just speaking- had just killed himself.

[GambolMuse]

Go figure that the brains of their team would make a stupid move like that. Seriously, it was training, who injured themselves that badly during training? Tinker apparently, now they may end up having to slow down their regiment a bit to let him recuperate. Giving his teammate's bruises a light prodding the redhead frowned when he was shoved back abruptly, looking at Ava before breaking into a smile. Ah, of course she was taking charge, she always did. Chuckling under his breath he got into the typical military stance, laying his arm over his chest before throwing in a little bow. "Your wish is my command, My Lady." he joked, turning and waving to the pair, "Try getting back in one piece, Tink." Releasing the gas on his maneuver gear he shot up into the trees once more, laughing as he slingshot well above where he'd stuck to and swung himself forward again, picking up momentum fair easily. Using his speed it was easy enough to catch up to Zero, and Alois had to make it a point to slow himself some in order to keep pace with his friend. Having caught the tail end of Zero's lamenting he smiled, waving his hand in a dismissive fashion. "Relax, we're here to pick up your slack," Alois teased, grinning before rubbing at his nose to relieve an itch, "But seriously, it's training, don't get bent out of shape. It's not like those wood cutouts are going to make you pay for it."

In no short order the bulk of 72nd had made it back to the barracks, with Ava and Tinker showing up some time afterwards. By then everyone had dressed down into more comfortable wear and had been lounging around in their respective housing areas, many of whom were chatting about Tinker's slip up. For the most part it was not uncommon for recruits to make mistakes like that, even this far into training. People got overzealous, wanted to show off or just plain made a mistake and things happened, that was an accepted part of it all. When you were in the top 10 students however and slipped up everyone in the entire battalion knew about it. Like wildfire it spread throughout the ranks and in no time it was a topic amongst many groups. After all there was little to talk about tonight, really the bulk of their day had been that sole practice and naught else. Though normal banter had very little interest for Alois he found himself increasingly annoyed by how everyone was speaking of Tinker. It was fine for them, those in the top 10 to joke about it, they were his peers and comrades in arms. But the others were beneath them to a point. He didn't think of it as their being lesser though, more that it aggravated him they were questioning Tinker's placement. He had earned his position, all of them had, and a little hiccup didn't change that.

"I would have loved to see the look on his face when he fell! Can you imagine it?" one boy chortled, his freckled face twisted into a wide smile as he laughed.

"Yeah, he's supposed to be some genius or somethin', but what kind of genius goes and does that?" another asked, his bright orange hair reflecting off the oil lanterns, "Bet he was faking it to get attention from that Ava girl."

Those two, and another three at the table burst into a chorus of laughter at the expense of Tinker's misfortune. They had been at it for a while now, essentially stopping their game of cards in favor of gossip. A third member of the group, a black haired boy with slight stubble pretended to fall onto the table, inciting more laughter before he feigned a puppy-dog look. "Oh please help me Ava... I fell down and need help..." he mumbled, grinning incessantly as he then made groping motions with both his hands. The group was into their taunting too much to realize Alois had risen from his seat and come over. The black haired boy had his arms still up when he felt someone grab one, and instantly yelped in pain when it was wrenched behind his back. A hand laid itself on the back of his skull and slammed his head into the table, making him groan painfully.

"If you want to see a medic so badly I can help," Alois said, grinning as he applied more pressure on the boy's arm. Hearing the sound of chairs scraping on the floor he glanced up, noting the other four boys who had risen and looked ready to come to their friend's defense. Reaching back into his belt he withdrew a folding knife, flicking it out and pulling the black haired boy into a sitting position. "Hey now, we're all just having a laugh here, right? It sounds like you want to see my friend Ava, so how about I give you a reason to go there?" Moving the knife somewhat close to the boy's head he held it steady, satisfied by the uneasy whimpering his fellow recruit made. Just as he figured, they were high and mighty until someone who could put them in their place came along, then they were like dogs with tails between their legs. Another sound grabbed Alois' attention then, this time it was the door opening up. Pretty soon thereafter a booming voice screamed at him from across the room and in no short order demanded he stop what he was doing.

Flicking the knife closed Alois returned it to its spot, releasing the black haired boy and turning to face their instructor. An older, bald man with sunken, furious eyes and a goatee, and a face that just screamed discipline. Everything about him did really, there was a reason he was in charge of recruits. Initially Alois had been fair unsettled by the man if only because it was the one person he couldn't get to, and while still the case he had come to accept it. Now it was a bit more of a respect, at least on his end. His tendency to get a bit violent with fellow recruits likely hadn't made him a favorite of their instructor.

"Heidrich, quit fuckin' around with your classmates! They're not Titans so I don't know why you're drawing a blade on them!"

Striking the military salute for the second time today Alois adopted a straighter expression, nodding his head as he stared straight ahead. "Sir, my mistake! It won't happen again!"

The instructor made no qualms about expressing his skepticism, scoffing as he stared down the young warrior. "As if I haven't heard that bullshit excuse for an apology a dozen times now. Be lucky you're valued, otherwise your ass would be toast by now!" Folding his arms behind his back he looked about the room, noticing many recruits were now watching the scene unfolding. Slamming his foot harshly into the floorboards everyone quickly got back to their business, leaving him and Alois to finish. Marching over to the group of boys he frowned disapprovingly, already knowing they had somehow agitated Heidrich. That was always the sole common factor, someone pushed his buttons and he snapped. "You should all keep your damn traps shut, and count yourselves lucky you're in training. Were we out in the field there would be no one to keep someone from gutting you for running your mouths, bear that in mind." With that the instructor turned and left, having other matters to attend to.

Alois took no satisfaction in the instructor's berating of the other boys, he didn't feel as though it had done what he'd hoped. If he had been allowed to keep at his little rouse then he could have easily scared them into submission. He would never actually take a knife to a fellow recruit, not unless they really, REALLY deserved it. Trashing his closest comrades was a low move but it didn't warrant being stabbed. Smirking to himself the redhead glanced back once more at the group before going back to his table, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms over his chest as his feet went onto the table. Speaking of Tinker though, when was he supposed to be back into the swing of things? And when was Ava going to be back?

[Cicoco]

Finally back after what seemed like one of the longest training sessions in a while, Kiryuu headed to his tent to get into his more civilian like clothes. In the midst of his changing he tried to recreate the moment of his miss to figure out where he had gone wrong.

"Maybe it's because I took my eyes off my target, or I had too much speed causing me to jerk away at the last second? Whatever...I'll get it later." He started out of his tent to clear his mind on a nice relaxing walk. After about half and hour he noticed that everyone was giving him a certain look like they wanted to ask him dozens of questions.

"Whats everybody looking at?" he said with a very puzzled look. A girl he had seen from somewhere came up to him and started to burst out questions "What happened to Tinker? Why did Alois pull his knife out on that guy?" Stunned by the girls speed of the two questions, he stammered with a response.

"We-well what I saw with Tink was he tried to use a hook to turn instantly around a tree and it did not work at all. And what did Alois do?!" The girl didnt seem too surprised about what Tink had done because he always does things with his inventions, but she did seem thrown off about him not knowing about Alois' little stunt. She told him what had happend, Kiryuu tried to rush for the mess to ask why but got bombarded with one more question. "If you're in the top 10 of the cadets, then why did I see you miss today at training? I thought you all were supposed to be perfect?"
That's when Kiryuu realized where he had seen her at, swinging past him and killing the Titan that was supposed to be killed by his blades.

"Uhh it wa-was from me going to fast a-and I took my eyes off of the target when I swung." This was the best explanation he could give at the time. She laughed at him and walked away back to whatever she was doing. As he was walking to the mess hall, he noticed a man with no arm being rushed into the medic tent. He ran into the tent to see who he was and saw the emblem of the scouts. Not wanting to interrupt he turned to walk away and saw Tinker laying there sleeping after his catastrophic incident. Zero walked out and headed back to his tent not caring about Alois' most recent misadventure anymore. Once he got back he slid into his bunk for a little shut eye.

Kiryuu woke up to the sound of a horse thundering past. He ran outside to see the commotion but he just caught the tail end of what he said to two cadets "He just killed himself!".
"How much worse can this day really get?" Kiryuu said in his groggy after nap voice.

[Scout]

Ava rolled her eyes, "Sir, all due respect, Sanja's a bit eccentric... I know she means well and we all have our beliefs, but the Titan's aren't going to bring about the end of the world," She explained, waving a hand to dismiss the other girl's ramblings. The scout before her was in bad shape, but she was making sure his bandages were fresh and all was tended to. She loved working in the medical tents when she wasn't able to be off training or making a difference elsewhere. Nursing and nurturing had always soothed her; plus, many of the men and women she spoke to in the tents had the most fascinating stories if they were willing to share them. "They simply can't," She beamed to the man, to which he somberly replied with a small, polite smile. "The world ended over eight hundred years ago; those abominations already brought it about. We were all born in an ongoing apocalypse. We were born stronger, faster, smarter than those before us - the Titans aren't the end of the world anymore. We're the start of it," She said confidently, patting his leg as she rose from his bed. "Hang in there. I'll be back to check on you later," She promised, clasping her hands behind her back and leaving the room. Several minutes later, she returned, "I didn't even realize I'd be bringing you lu-" A tray clattered to the ground and Ava covered her mouth, stifling a yelp. Food splattered all across the floor as she fell to her knees, splashing some of the soup that had pooled there. "Oh my god..." She muttered as fresh, crimson blood flowed from the man's throat, dousing his shirt, the bedsheets, everything. The girl's eyes began to water as her entire body shook and her eyes drank in the entire scene in front of her. The curtain around his bed was closed and nobody heard him, so they must have assumed he was going to sleep... Finally, she let out a scream, the heat of her charge's soup beginning to seep through her pants and the warmth spread into her knees, stinging slightly. She ignored it. Nurses and doctors flooded the area around her, pulling back the curtain to find the macabre sight. It was far from unique to them, but it was still not an everyday occurence. A pair of larger men on the medical staff held Ava by the arms and lifted her to her feet. They began to pull her away but she shook her head, thrashing against them. "No, no, no!!" She screeched, trying to wrench from their grip, as though she could help the dead scout. Finally, they wrangled her out of the tent, sat her down, and made sure she took a few breaths. She was instructed to get back to her bunk, to which she nodded with an affirmative. Once the girl was on her feet, she felt the nausea and the vertigo set in... His limp body, slackened jaw, glassy eyes... They weren't lively before, but there was still something there... Right? She could swear she saw it. Did her words really mean so little? No matter how she tried, Ava could not find her balance, a hand resting over her stomach as she lost her footing every few steps. She wanted to hurl, her throat constricting tightly as she fought the urge. It would pass... Just focus on something else. Something other than his open throat, something that wasn't his his mouth which hung agape... He looked so pathetic, but he was once a confident warrior, truly unstoppable. She squeezed her eyes shut. No, the last place she wanted to be was alone in her bunk. She headed for the mess hall. As she passed through the door, a large balding man was on his way out. "Good evening, Miss Ekkehardt," said their instructor. "Mhm," She replied in a trance, not even looking to him. In fact, she barely saw what was in front of her as she pushed through the door, taking her route by memory. The training officer frowned at her curt, seemingly rude reply. Had she not looked so vacant, were she not the very same Ava Ekkehardt who turned a team of delinquents into the top ranked squad in the training corps, he would have just about blown a gasket. What was with that squad today? Everybody was out of order. She grabbed her lunch or dinner... or whatever it was. How much time had passed since she left the medical tent..? The shape of the tray in her hand only put her back in her own shoes at medical, the scene flashing before her again. Her knuckles were white as she squeezed the edges of it, barely staying upright. "The fuck was that even about..?" Somebody asked, "That Heidrich kid just... pulled a knife on him?" "Asshole earned it, he runs his mouth every day about somebody doing something... Serves him right." "Ah, yeah, but still... he could've died." A darkness fell over their conversation as the other replied finally, "We all might die. Scouts, Garrison... Hell, the Military Police might be cozy, but they're not safe anymore," He pointed out, returning to his meal as they awkwardly tried to change the subject. Ava ignored them entirely and continued to her table, sitting down. She nearly dropped the tray as she let her grip go and it came down to the table only an inch or two from it. She was thankful that she'd made it to the table without the food covering the floor. She was sitting across from Alois as she poked and prodded her food. "I hear others in the mess here talking about you," She observed, staring at the food before her. "What did you do?" ----- Jonah changed out of his training uniform and into a pair of blue jeans with a black t-shirt. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and went out for a walk, figuring that Tinker was in good hands while Ava volunteered the remainder of her time to the medical tent. He wasn't really that hungry, so he just took his own stroll, letting Kiryuu have his own space to think over the day's misses and successes. Some days were better than others, but they'd have to clean it up if they wanted to survive out there on their own. Nobody approached him, but then again, he was fairly good at keeping the masses away from him. He spotted Kiryuu seeming a bit flustered as one of the lower squads berated him. By the time he got to the girl at the 'head' of the small pack, Kiryuu was gone, but Jonah still found it a bit necessary to put her in place in front of her friends. "Tss! Hey," He called, giving her a rather blank expression as he got her attention like she was some kind of dog. "Who the fu- oh, it's Althaus. What do you want, creep?" She asked as her friends snickered. He rolled his eyes as he held up his hand, showing a small space of air between his index finger and thumb. "What're you doing?" The girl snarled. "Oh, I'm trying to remember how wide I saw your cuts the other day. Because as I remember, you barely even passed your exams to be Garrison corps. Did they tell you yet? What your job will be? ... Oh, that's right, they said you were manning a cannon, didn't they? You see, we have made mistakes, all of us, Kiryuu is one of them sure, and today wasn't the best day in training... But what's funny is that if we miss a cut, then we can get the fuck out of dodge before we get squashed like the tiny little insect you are when the mission goes awry. We're top ten because we adapt, but you don't. In all honesty, it's pretty sad how slowly you react to anything. Those cutouts don't move - I'd like to see you train one day, one day, with us. With him, even. You're nobody." He grinned and patted her head, "But if you wanna try some day, we'll let you drop in on a game of Catcher in the Trees, or run through one of Ava's mock-tests, one of her simulators. Oh, those are fun, you see, she darts off a few minutes ahead of us, sometimes it's her and just one of us. Then the rest of us hunt them without our blades... She's quick, too. You ever see her go all out? When she goes that way, pushing our abilities with the maneuver gear like no trainer could, she's impossible. The fake Titans are good for testing your cuts, but nothing can teach you how to move and respond to movements like that shit... Kiryuu's caught her before. What's incredibly funny, though? You'd get devoured. That man holds his own every time with the rest of us, but you'd lose your shit on day one." The girl was about to be in tears as she met his gaze with daggers in her eyes, her hands trembling. "Y-you bastard... Why would you even... I'm gonna..." "What? What?" Jonah asked, leaning forward and tilting his head, "What're you gonna do? Go cry? Go try to be a Scout? You won't even survive the Garrison Corps, you bitch." He spit on the ground, smiled at her, "Have a blessed day," He taunted, turning on his heel and walking away, letting out a breath. He felt refreshed from it, some kind of thrill came out of it for him. Vengeance was a dish served ice cold for her. Kiryuu was gone, though... That kid needed to get some confidence - he was the top ten and he needed to start holding himself like it. One mistake like that was something to learn from, nothing more. A while later, he returned to the bunks and saw Kiryuu emerging. The boy plastered a grin across his face, "Hey! Buddy!" He said, clapping the boy's shoulder, "It can get much worse..." With a devilish smirk, he leaned in, "Where's my ball? I know you didn't lose it, Zero," He said menacingly. He hadn't heard about Alois, nor the suicide in the medical tent... Nobody hung around him unless he went searching for information, so he didn't clue himself into gossip.

[GambolMuse]

Alois found himself, once again, sitting by himself during chow. It wasn't wholly unusual, his disposition did have a tendency to alienate him from his fellow cadets. Really with the exception of his classmates he couldn't count many people, if anyone else among his friends. It bothered him if only slightly, and he couldn't well be troubled to go out of his way and befriend anyone. This wasn't some camp where you all sat around and tried to warm up to one another, and at the end of the day it didn't much matter how many friends you had; Titans didn't care if you had one friend or a dozen, they were going to eat you all the same. If someone liked him then fine, he'd count them as a friend, but everyone else he simply had no use for. Realizing he was in a bit of a brooding mood he furrowed his brow, scoffing as he scraped the blade of his knife along the table-top and carving out a small 'x'. There were more important things to worry about anyways, like how graduation was looming overhead and placement would begin soon. With his position in the class he could go anywhere, though there was only one place he'd ever dream of putting himself.

Barely even realizing that someone had joined him, Alois glanced up when he heard a tray shuffle, smiling slightly seeing Ava. Ah, so she had heard of his little antics then? Heh, no surprise she didn't sound approving, but then she rarely did whenever he acted out. In his eyes he was just doing what was right, keeping jerks like those from dragging the good names of his comrades through mud, yet very few people seemed to agree.

"Oh, that? Someone really liked the sound of their own voice and I didn't, so I made him shut up," Alois explained indifferently, smirking as he waved his knife around, "He was all big, trashing you guys, and I didn't want to listen to it. So all I did was walk up to him, all calm like, and put the knife at his throat, and you should have seen how quick his song changed!" Letting out a laugh the cadet leaned on the table, pointing the knife back at the selfsame group he was discussing, "He went from being all nasty and arrogant to shutting right up, pretty sure I heard him whimper too! A spineless brat like that is never going to make it far, if all it takes is a bit of metal at his neck to make him break." The titans could and would do worse to them, much worse. Needless to say that anyone who backed down over a simple two inch blade was going to have quite a hard time fighting those monsters.

Much as Alois would love to keep on about the other cadets he knew it would only bring more trouble, and likely onto his friends as well as himself. While he couldn't care less what was done to him, whether he was assigned extra duties or excessive training, he wasn't going to drag his friends down with him. He was well aware his unique brand of fun had a tendency to create problems, and he wasn't about to bring those problems onto those around him. Flipping his knife closed, Alois tucked it back into his shirt pocket and gave his head a scratch, letting out a bored yawn before glancing at Ava's food.

"You know... We're going to be done soon, are you excited...?" he asked, smiling as he reached out and plucked a single corn kernel from her dish, popping it into his mouth, "I can't wait to cut into those damn things myself. I bet by the end of our first week we'll have a higher kill count than any other team out there, you can bet on that. The damn fields are going to be littered with Titans, and it'll all be thanks to us." Alois wasn't quite looking for the bragging rights that came with slaying the most Titans, albeit it did make a great chip to use when arguing with some of these idiots. He just wanted to kill them, whatever accolades or praise that came afterwards was just the icing on the proverbial cake.