Moonlessite
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What seemed like countless heads all hovered in front of her, all of them lined in neat little rows underneath the blistering sun. One hundred and fifteen recruits, all looking at her as if she were the commander of the Military Police or something. Instructor Krause stood in the middle of the dirt field in front of the new recruits, a stone-cold glower present on her features as she gazed at all of them. She caught sight of several of them already sweating under the heat of the flaming orb way above their heads, and she took delight in watching their discomfort. Most of them wouldn't make it through the first day-- only a percentage of them would remain after the first week. It was best to get through the weakest of this lot straight away, not for her sake, but for everyone else's as well. Useless rabble didn't have a place in the military.
"I've been overlooking the task of whipping you miserable brats up into shape for too long," the commander bellowed, raking a flinty glare across the board. "Just to help put an end to a too-long war." She began walking up alongside the first row of cadets.
Jericho had his arms crossed, a cynical, arrogant gleam in his eye as she passed him.
"I want you to give me your heart, your soul, and your mind. Do you know what that means?" She stopped abruptly, turning towards the adolescent, her voice lowering down to a hiss.
"Sounds like something I'd hear in a brothel," Jericho replied without a second beat, a roguish ghost of a smile on his lips. A ripple of quiet laughter, gasps and murmurs rose in the air for a few moments as the commander and the youth exchanged glares of steel.
"A quick tongue," she spoke up first, almost approvingly. "Spitting image of him, too." Jericho's brow raised up in confusion for a moment, his guard let down. Suddenly, a lightning quick, well placed fist to the gut had the delinquent doubling down, a cough rising in his throat.
"But I've no need for street rats with clever words," she continued, her tone stone cold. "Soldiers is what I aim to make of you, because only soldiers can face a Titan."
She continued down the line, this time coming across a tall sort of girl with hair plated silver. Krause noticed the broadness of her shoulders and thickness of her thighs, and she could tell that this particular person had been quite the worker before she enlisted. Nevertheless... "God damn, am I looking at a boy or a girl?!" she cried out as she feigned horror. "What is your name, rookie?!"
"Vivian Schweiss, sir!" She could have sworn the girl's face contort as if in pain, though she reverted back to her stoic self in half a moment.
"Schweiss! You're fucking ugly, you know that?! Hell, you even sound like a boy! You're probably a disappointment to your Ma and Pa, that's why they sent you here, didn't they! Couldn't even marry you off, 'cause no one wants to fuck a beast like you!"
"Yes, sir!" Vivian's voice became slightly higher pitched than before, sweat beading along her brow. "You are completely right, sir!"
"Damn right I am! And don't you forget it!" Krause snarled back into her face before she turned back to the next recruit down the line. The next few weren't that fun to deal with, until she got to another soldier...
The next recruit was a blue-eyed boy with black hair that was well-kept. Krause could hardly see a speck of dirt on his uniform, which only bittered her already soured mood. "Name?" she asked, her jaw clenching and unclenching as she waited for his reply.
“Fabio Bier!” the recruit shouted, saluting with his right hand.
"Fabio? What kind of name is Fabio?!" Krause yelled into his face with fury. "Did your mom even love you? No, I don't think she did, if she named you that-- but I guess it kind of fits-- you look like a puddle compared to the rest of this sorry lot! Why, I bet you'll be the first one to be Titan food!"
Fabio audibly gulped, looking disturbed. Titan food.
The memory of gigantic hands and tombstone teeth briefly shattered across his mind’s eye.
Krause turned to the boy next to him. The next recruit down the line was a blond, blue-eyed boy with a rather smug expression on his features. Krause quirked a brow at him, already knowing what to expect from someone who held his head so high. "What's your name boy?" she asked him, his presence already irking the hell out of her.
Like the other recruits before the fair-haired boy, he donned the signature salute with one hand over his heart and the other behind his back. "Alastair Reginar," he announced himself, still keeping his head held high in an air of superiority. "I originate from Ehrmich, and you can expect a noble such as myself to be a cut above the rest of these lowborn," he asserted, taking a quick glance at the other recruits.
For a long moment, Krause simply stared into the recruit's face with a pained expression, as if she was having difficulties processing the stupidity that he had spluttered towards her. The silence was finally broken with another snap of her arm, and her first sank deep into Alastair's stomach in a punch more brutal than the last one that she delivered. "Noble? What you are is a maggot, son, so take your time writhing in the dirt like one!"
Alastair could feel his feet lift slightly off the ground as her fist connected with his stomach, his once smug face now twisted with pain. With his knees buckling the cadet quickly went to the ground as he clutched his stomach, too busy coughing and gasping for air to say anything back. This wasn't the first time he'd been punched, far from it, but this was sure as hell the worst slug he's ever felt.
Krause smirked down at the boy before she turned away. This next recruit was a girl with brown-colored hair. Krause wondered what was going through her head as she stood there at attention. Probably thinking she's a hero like the rest of them, she thought with irritation. "What's your name, girl?"
"My name is Sera Mayer, Sir!"
"S-sera M-M-Mayer," Krause stammered, clearly mocking Sera's stutter with a wicked grin. "You gonna be standing still and sounding stupid during these two years, recruit?!"
"No-No, Sir." Sera maintained the same posture. "S-sorry for the way I s-speak, Sir. I was born with a severe s-speech impediment, Sir. And no, I don't plan on standing around doing nothing. I plan on retaking Wall Maria!"
"How humble," Krause sneered down at her. "Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that bullshit? How many times I've seen people want to be heroes, just for them to quit or die?! You'll just be another of their numbers."
Sera was starting to get more than a little angry. "Sir." She started. "Not once in my life have I ever g-given up. And unlike everyone else you sent off to die, I have the d-d... the determination it takes to s-survive. I need to retake Wall Maria. I p-promised my Father I would.''
"A big promise for such a small girl," the instructor mused, her glare still firm on Sera's features. "If you're so dead set on it, then prove it to your comrades on the battlefield. I'm not one for empty words."
"Yes Sir. I don't know i-if the Titans can even feel scared.'' She looked straight into the eyes of her superior. "But I'll sure as Hell fr-frighten them as best I can.''
Instructor Krause continued down the line until she came across her first redheaded recruit. Unlike the rest, this one was smiling, which took her aback and irritated her at the same time. Snarling, she leaned close, her eyes glaring into hers. "Think this is funny?!" she roared out. "What's your name, girl?!"
“Nina Polgar, sir! From the sticks of southern Wall Maria.” She announced brightly to Krause, lips curling further from the fluttering nervousness unfurling in her chest, filling her with a flighty energy as she stared determinedly back at the instructor. With her hand propped on her chest in an eager salute, Nina declared, “not funny, no sir, I’m just happy to be here! I want to help humanity!”
Nina's bright personality only soured hers even more, and Krause leaned forward so that their noses were touching. "Help humanity?! With that sorry face?!" she roared as spittle flew forth from her mouth and landed all over Nina's cheeks and jaw. "Will you keep smiling as your comrades are eaten by Titans all around you?! Huh?! Answer me!!"
That comment ruffled her feathers. Nina bristled, frigid eyes narrowing in on the commander. Pushing past the urge to wipe the spit from her face, she laughed, a mellow thing that rung out in the stilted air. “That’s a harsh thing to ask a girl who lost her parents to Titans.” Nina finally answered, the sides of her mouth dipping into a thin line. “Do you think I smiled then? Answer me.”
"Boo hoo," Krause answered, unsympathetic. "Would you like me to start playing the violin? I don't owe you an answer, girl. Join those other idiots on the track, and don't stop running."
“A chance to start training early, how generous.” Nina remarked, lightening up again. Her eyes curved into crescents as she grinned at the instructor one final time before jogging to join the others running.
There were a few other recruits, all as bland as the last. There came the time when she stumbled upon a small, blond girl with a black headband. Her eyes watered, though tears didn't stain her cheeks. Krause narrowed her eyes down at her, but before she could even say anything, the girl's mouth opened to let out a shriek.
"Elke Vinter, sir! From Shinganshina, sir! I want to retake Wall Maria, sir, and kill Titans, sir!" the girl screamed up at her in what seemed like a mix of vigor, passion, and fear.
"You going to be crying like that when the Titans are eating you, girl?!" Krause hissed at her, somewhat bewildered about her reaction. "You going to cry for your Mama all the way to the end, aren't you?! You're just going to be Titan fodder along with the rest of this group, isn't that right?!"
"No, sir! I'll be as useful as your best soldier, sir!"
"I highly doubt that!" Krause snarled, turning away from the girl and focusing in on her next quarry. She didn't want to beat the girl to the ground, not yet, anyway. It was best to let people marinate in their self-pity and doubt for a little while.
Her next victim was a fairly tall, dark-haired boy; he was taller than even her, and she wondered what his parents fed him to make him grow so big. Instructor Krause opened her mouth to ask him his name, only to find that her words had caught in her throat. Wait... were his... eyes closed? "Boy..." she growled, a deadly look coming across her expression as she stared up at him. "Are... are you asleep...?"
His eyes, in no rush, fluttered open and Leon exhausted a yawn while rubbing his face. He got a quick peak at the instructor and then another glance at everyone around him. This was either a very scary sleep paralysis demon or he had sleep walked himself somewhere he did not want to be. He looked down to his pants, hoping this was one of those dreams with his pants still on (thank god).
His eyes almost went back to sleep before flashing open with immediate energy. There was a realization, a call to action that suddenly took over his body in full force. He signaled a salute, bellowing from the depths of his stomach. His posture was utterly magnificent, perhaps even perfect. What once had been a lazily slouched spine had sprung up like a bean sprout. Though his visage bore a pale property, there was a pink hue creeping upon it. Light very quickly returned to his brown eyes like he had just arisen from the dead.
"No mom-." What once had been a cute pink color had turned to roses. "MA'AM!"
Leon's eyes glanced away and begun scouting his surroundings. From the tip of his brow leaked a small bead of sweat. He already had a good idea what was coming next and his was preparing his body for any punishment and mind for a thorough scarring. What had been solid constitution was now overly rigid and looked like it could come apart any second.
Mom. Did this boy actually call her... "mom"? "Wh... what," she hissed under her breath, blinking at him as if he had grown wings and flown away in front of her. An eternity passed before she suddenly slammed her first into Leon's cheek, knocking the boy completely off balance before she backed up her first strike with a well-placed kick to the gut. "Get out of my face, you piece of shit! Go run laps! NOW!"
Leon's reaction time was slow. When the first punch landed against his cheek, his body was still rendering the pain once her boot hit his strap. When his back hit the ground, his body went still, his eyes motionless and brain processing the situation. What had just been a nice dream about owning a kitten farm had turned into a sharp pain in his stomach. Thank god he had skipped breakfast today, was his only thought before kicking himself up and striking a salute.
"Absolutely ma'am! I was way out of line, I appreciate you going easy on me." Leon's pained voice responded.
His salute was followed by a bow of his head before jogging to the training field. He did not look to dissatisfied, his thoughts were still of that kitten farm.
Her next victim was another boy, this one with a stupid expression on his face. Little by little, Instructor Krause's mood became worse and worse, as one could see. Her face had become red with frustration and fury, and Benedikt's posture only worsened her state. "And what's your name, boy?"
"I'm Benedikt!" The idiotic expression on the young aspiring soldier's face remained. Suddenly, the beast residing in his belly let out a low growl. "Hey ma'am... Do you by chance know when we'll be able to eat because I'm starving!" His face lit up at the mere thought of food or stuffing his mouth.
"Huh?!" the instructor blinked at the sudden question. This lot was more interesting than the last one, that was for sure. At least no one cried yet, save for that one girl. "With that disrespect, maybe you should just go hungry for the night!"
Terror sucked the very breath from his mouth and the color quickly drained from his face. "No..! Anything but that!" Once again a growl came from his stomach. Instead of mentioning food again with the risk of not eating anything, he just stood and withstood it. A visible frown on his face and what appeared like he was about to cry. "Food..." He managed to utter in a whisper-like voice. The boy's voice sounded raspy and dry like nothing had been in his throat for days.
Krause was bewildered by this recruit's reaction. Judging from his appearance, the boy had been starving. Pity nipped at her heart, if only for a moment, since she had once known the sting of hunger. Though, she didn't allow this to permeate across her face. Steeling herself even more, she growled, "Maybe it's best for you to let that hunger ferment for a bit, boy. Join the others on the track!"
"Yes... Ma'am..." Benedikt slowly swayed into a jog like some zombie. He looked like he barely had any life in him. "Food..." Because of his lack of energy, he easily fell behind all the other students. Moving much slower than he usually would. "Food........" He continuously uttered as he dragged himself along the track. "Soup... Potatoes... Bread..!" Benedikt's speed and acceleration failed to pick up. One could say he was barely jogging with the terrible hunched over form he had. Another growl came from his stomach.
Instructor Krause turned and glanced down the line at the next recruit. This one was blond-- and young, much like the other recruits that stood at attention. "Name?" she demanded in a sharp, harsh bark, her green eyes unforgiving as she glared down at him.
"Ramiel," he plain-spokenly articulated, jacking back his neck to color to his view the instructor, giving her a once over. Hubris was Ramiel's only anchor now, which was why he stunted back at her viridian eyes with his island yellows. The family he had abandoned was dead. His last name should have been buried with it. Still, his tongue bordered on a taste of saline when he elaborated with, "Diakos."
"Coming off so strongly... is that right?" Krause growled into his face. "Drop that routine, recruit. It's not helping your stringy frame. I bet I could snap you in half like I would a stick."
"Try me once you're done training me, instructor," Ramiel brazenly grinned, "If you do well, I should be able to win by the end, no?"
The boy's reply was short and to the point-- and it was a reply she didn't expect. Krause smirked down at him, meeting the glare in his eye. "Better get started then. Join the others on the track, Diakos."
Krause looked to the side at the girl that had been next to Diakos. Ah, her second red-head. This girl had glasses, it seemed, and... a very shiny red nose. Krause leaned close to her, her eyes daggers as she peered into Jo's own. She recognized the tell-tale glaze to her eyes, along with the tangy scent that permeated off of her. "Name." It wasn't a question. Her gaze was dark as she awaited her reply, eager to see how she would react.
Stars don’t twinkle until their light passes through the world's atmosphere.'
Was that really true? Jo had wondered whether all the books she had read actually had a lick of truth in them. It was strange to think of that now, even as the commander had torn shreds off the new recruits around her. She would be one of the next ones. Not because of a mild timidness or a clear delinquent look to her, no, but simply because she looked as if she was putting on a mean demeanour. She couldn't help making a face like that.
And of course, it wasn't long before the commander came into her line of sight, dark eyes piercing Jo's lighter ones and simply asking for a name. She willed herself not to look away. To stare right into her eyes.
Standing tall and proud, and banging her fist so hard against her chest it could have rattled her ribcage, the spectacled teen proclaimed, "Jo Schreiber from Karanes District, ma'am!" Though she seemed unshakeable from the outside, a certain tension radiating throughout her body, even if her eyes refused to widen at the sight of the commander's narrow-eyed and dark expression.
''Tomatoes are fruits, not vegetables...snails can sleep for three years...' Jo repeated inside her head as she stared down the commander, waiting for whatever insult that would come for her like the others. Her eyes? Her hair? Her scent? Her family name? Somehow, she counted all of them to be combined into something that was meant to throw her off. All she could do was repeat those facts in her head, begging herself not to come out with something stupid in front of the commander.
"You're the first recruit out of this group that wears glasses! What, are you so blind that you can't see where you're going, four-eyes?" Krause spat again. "And what's with that red nose?! Are you a goblin or something? Speak up, rookie!"
Jo felt herself stiffen, but once again, answered, "Only slightly, ma'am! I'm short-sighted, but it's medical term is called myopia, and long-sightedness is called hypermetropia!" She felt sweat gather along her hairline. Goddamnit! Sure, that wasn't as bad as spewing out something totally unrealated to the situation, but she was expecting it to come sooner or later.
"I'm no goblin, ma'am! Just a very allergic human!" Jo insisted, feeling a strong urge to raise her hand and rub at her nose, in turn, only making her nose redder, and subjecting her to more ridicule.
Krause was caught off-guard by the onslaught of random information that spilled from the girl's mouth. Allergies? What did she care about allergies?! "You being a smart-ass?!" she asked her in a booming voice, her expression more annoyed than before. "Do you want to join Mr. Jerry and the rest on the track over there?!"
Jo had caught the commander off-guard but that certainly hadn't helped matters at all. Not only that, but the commander was threatening that she run with another recruit. She let her eyes drift over to the track, before she remembered herself, and she tried to scamble for some sort of recovery, "N-no, not at all, I'm just, uh, showing you the breadth of my knowledge! Ma'am!" She quickly added.
Somehow, she knew her odd jobs wouldn't prepare her for whatever kind of run the Commander was putting her through.
Jo's reply only irked her even more. It was obvious that this girl was trying to get at her, and Krause refused to show any weakness in the face of smart-assery. "I think you should join them after all," she growled darkly, "So get moving!"
'Shit. Shit. Shiiiii--' Jo, not being able to do much for her case now, simply replied with, "Yes, ma'am!" How embarrassing. She didn't come here to be humiliated, and yet, she did a perfectly good job of running herself into that trap. She turned and started rushing her way towards the track. She'd have to come back from this. But she also had to actually live through this running first.
This next recruit was another dark-haired boy that looked a little too eager for her tastes. "Name?" she snarled, becoming more and more frustrated with each passing recruit that she had to deal with. This lot was going to be hell to handle, that was for sure.
"Laurence Arnault, Ma'am!" He said enthusiastically with a smile on his face. It wasn't dopey nor was it charming. It was simply his every day smile, but his tone certainly held an eagerness most of the recruits didn't hold. "But most simply call me Laurie."
"Laurie?! What is that, a girl's name? You should be ashamed of yourself. Do you have any balls hanging between your legs, boy?" Krause spat with disgust.
Laurie cocked his head to the side. She wasn't wring, even he found it a bit feminine but so what? He liked it plenty still. "I do. If you'd want to check it out you could but I don't know if that's appropriate." He shrugged at her, unfazed by the insult she's given him.
Krause's eyes widened at Laurie's reply; it was almost as if everyone around her would be able to see the smoke that emitted from her ears. Since her firsts were already sore from punching kids all day, she glanced over to where the others were running. "Run," she snarled. "Before I beat your god damn ass to the ground, boy!"
A momentary look of bewilderment flashed on his face as his mind ran miles as to why Instructor Krause had started to look rather exasperated. He didn't argue, figuring it was better to follow rather than ask why. He figured there must have been something wrong with what he said but all he did was give his opinion. "Yes, ma'am." He said with a smile before turning around to join the others that were taking laps.
After his first few steps, he realized that Instructor Krause didn't tell him how much running he would do. "How many laps are we talking about again?"
"Until I tell you to stop," Krause snapped before she turned away from him, leaving no chance for him to complain to her.
"Okay, you're the boss," Laurie said back with his hands up in the air before jogging away to run. "Later guys." He said to the other cadets that he passed by.
She turned to the next one down the line. This whole spiel was getting her more than heated under the collar. Another dainty, flowery recruit, huh? Krause ground her teeth together. "What's your name, girl?" she asked, venom dripping from her voice as she glared down at Elyse.
"Elyse-" The short brunette stated softly, her eyes and voice both shaky and unfocused at the hands of this unnatural experience. Hesitating briefly, she would continue, somewhat raising her voice yet simultaneously amplifying the discomfort by accident.
"Elyse Hildebrand, Miss!"
Krause suddenly straightened up from her leaning forward, surprised with her answer. Ah, yes, this was the girl that they had told her about. "Hildebrand..." she muttered, her glare not lightening as she thought. "Oh, I remember now. You're the sorry excuse for a soldier that needs a bodyguard on her tail at all times! Does he help you wipe when you shit?!"
The coarse, rough, words of the instructor's words landed brutally blow by blow. In no way was Elyse ever set up for this blunt and explicitly degrading experience, but she had to bite through, regardless of how incompetent her retaliation would be.
Eyes glowed with what seemed like a symbiosis of fear, agitation and discomfort, though the latter was admittedly more present. Her voice was much the same.
"I didn't choose for a chaperone, Miss. I-", her eyes trailed upwards hesitantly, finally dignified enough to look at the instructor - well, at least for a second, that is. "I can handle myself!" She would swiftly push out, squinting her eyes as she raised her voice in an almost theatrical, clearly novice way with a beautiful voice crack to boot.
Well, this girl was much more pitiful than she thought. She looked like a deer stunned out of her mind. What a shame. "Can you? I doubt it!" Krause snarled. "You're the most pitiful thing I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot compared to that Vinter! What do you have to say for yourself?!"
Most pitiful. Most. Pitiful.
Bruises turned into blatant cuts as the words flashed by, leaving Elyse almost frozen in place. Never had someone raised a tone like that to her, not even her siblings.
Though admittedly painful and unexpected, the young Brunette's inner flame wavered at the sign of this attack, fueling her mind with just enough agitation-induced confidence to respond.
While her admittedly stressed expression ensued, some grit joined into the mix of negativity, her following words now somewhat more powerful and composd than those before.
"I-I'll prove I can. I promise, Miss!"
Krause knew that she had struck a nerve. Grinning, she decided to let the girl relax for now. "Fine. Prove to me that you aren't just some worthless scrap," she cackled in a mocking tone, as if she didn't believe her. Turning away, she went to the next person.
Instructor Krause came upon another recruit, this one having a firm face and rather long hair. Of course, it was obvious that he was trying to impress, which irked her. What was with recruits and trying to look like they were all the main character of a fairy tale book? "Name?" she spat at him.
The dark-haired recruit seemed to stare right through Instructor Krause as the boy stood at attention, clutching his fist adamantly over his heart. "Halvor Verdende, ma'am!"
"And did you cut your hair yourself, Verdende?" Krause barked as she took a strand of his hair between her fingers and pulled a bit too roughly. "Or was the person who did it blind as hell? Cause, god-damn, that's a shitty ass haircut, boy!"
"I couldn't afford a barber before I came here, ma'am," Hal had been slightly taken aback by the instructor's sudden tug on his hair, instinctively pulling back from her fingers in a small recoil and remaining steel-faced. "But it's not as important as devoting my heart to serve humanity!"
Krause's eyebrow twitched when the boy pulled away from her touch, grinding her teeth together as to not explode right then and there. "Oh, really? I'll show you what's not as important," she stated, her look much darker than before. In a swift moment, she brought her leg up, slamming her knee straight between Halvor's legs. She didn't even give the boy a chance to regain his senses from his place on the floor before she snarled, "Get the fuck back up, Verdende, before I kick your head in!"
His expression immediately shrunk as Hal felt the instructor's sharp knee strike him directly in the groin, crumpling to his knees and bringing his hands to cover the region by reflex. "Y-yeah," his tone came off several octaves higher than normal, trying to quell the rumbling in his legs as he stood back up. He struck the salute towards Instructor Krause once more, his brow twitching slightly. "Ahem, yes, ma'am!"
Krause had all but lost her patience. The recruit that she came upon next was... wait, didn't she already speak to this girl before? Krause blinked down at the girl, wondering if she was being fucked with or the other one had swapped positions with another recruit. But when she looked back at where Elke was supposed to be, she saw her quivering form still holding her salute. Did she really get dealt twins? "Hilarious," Krause growled, the hands behind her back clawing into each other. "You're a twin, huh? What's your name, girl?"
Anke was seething. She didn’t care that this woman was in charge of them. What gave her the right to treat Elke like that. The other twin gave a half-baked salute and through clenched teeth, “Anke Vinter!”
"I've never had twin recruits in my presence before! And with a face like that, what they say about twins has to be true!" Krause snarled. "Twins only have half a brain each! Why did you even enlist? Do you really think a roach of your caliber can do anything for humanity?!"
Anke grit her teeth. She really wanted to deck this lady. She gripped her right hand as the knuckles went white, but before the young firecracker did something that'd probably get her in the kind of trouble she wasn't aiming for, she smirked. Anke looked up into the instructors eyes, dropping her salute she said, "I'll definitely do better than you. They must have relegated you to training kids for a reason. Must be because you're scared of Titans so ya beat kids to feel brave."
Krause's eyebrow twitched again, but this time, she couldn't keep silent. She glared at Anke as words bubbled at the back of her throat, but the words she did let out weren't only directed at the small girl in front of her. "You are all a sorry, garbage group. You're not even worth my time," she snarled, her voice hoarse from all of her screaming. But something even darker bubbled in the back of her words-- disappointment, frustration, and anger. "All of you, get your asses on the track and start running! First person to drop to the ground gets no dinner tonight!"
A collective wave of disappointment slammed into her, though no one uttered so much as a groan of discontent. The recruits all moved as one as they filtered onto the track and started off at a light jog. Instructor Krause watched them run into the distance, a dangerous fire in her gaze as their figures became smaller and smaller. Kids... they were just kids, all of them. She sighed, deciding to lean against one of the cabins and watch them from the shade.
And so, the recruits ran for what seemed like countless hours, until the sun dipped behind the horizon.
"I've been overlooking the task of whipping you miserable brats up into shape for too long," the commander bellowed, raking a flinty glare across the board. "Just to help put an end to a too-long war." She began walking up alongside the first row of cadets.
Jericho had his arms crossed, a cynical, arrogant gleam in his eye as she passed him.
"I want you to give me your heart, your soul, and your mind. Do you know what that means?" She stopped abruptly, turning towards the adolescent, her voice lowering down to a hiss.
"Sounds like something I'd hear in a brothel," Jericho replied without a second beat, a roguish ghost of a smile on his lips. A ripple of quiet laughter, gasps and murmurs rose in the air for a few moments as the commander and the youth exchanged glares of steel.
"A quick tongue," she spoke up first, almost approvingly. "Spitting image of him, too." Jericho's brow raised up in confusion for a moment, his guard let down. Suddenly, a lightning quick, well placed fist to the gut had the delinquent doubling down, a cough rising in his throat.
"But I've no need for street rats with clever words," she continued, her tone stone cold. "Soldiers is what I aim to make of you, because only soldiers can face a Titan."
She continued down the line, this time coming across a tall sort of girl with hair plated silver. Krause noticed the broadness of her shoulders and thickness of her thighs, and she could tell that this particular person had been quite the worker before she enlisted. Nevertheless... "God damn, am I looking at a boy or a girl?!" she cried out as she feigned horror. "What is your name, rookie?!"
"Vivian Schweiss, sir!" She could have sworn the girl's face contort as if in pain, though she reverted back to her stoic self in half a moment.
"Schweiss! You're fucking ugly, you know that?! Hell, you even sound like a boy! You're probably a disappointment to your Ma and Pa, that's why they sent you here, didn't they! Couldn't even marry you off, 'cause no one wants to fuck a beast like you!"
"Yes, sir!" Vivian's voice became slightly higher pitched than before, sweat beading along her brow. "You are completely right, sir!"
"Damn right I am! And don't you forget it!" Krause snarled back into her face before she turned back to the next recruit down the line. The next few weren't that fun to deal with, until she got to another soldier...
The next recruit was a blue-eyed boy with black hair that was well-kept. Krause could hardly see a speck of dirt on his uniform, which only bittered her already soured mood. "Name?" she asked, her jaw clenching and unclenching as she waited for his reply.
“Fabio Bier!” the recruit shouted, saluting with his right hand.
"Fabio? What kind of name is Fabio?!" Krause yelled into his face with fury. "Did your mom even love you? No, I don't think she did, if she named you that-- but I guess it kind of fits-- you look like a puddle compared to the rest of this sorry lot! Why, I bet you'll be the first one to be Titan food!"
Fabio audibly gulped, looking disturbed. Titan food.
The memory of gigantic hands and tombstone teeth briefly shattered across his mind’s eye.
Krause turned to the boy next to him. The next recruit down the line was a blond, blue-eyed boy with a rather smug expression on his features. Krause quirked a brow at him, already knowing what to expect from someone who held his head so high. "What's your name boy?" she asked him, his presence already irking the hell out of her.
Like the other recruits before the fair-haired boy, he donned the signature salute with one hand over his heart and the other behind his back. "Alastair Reginar," he announced himself, still keeping his head held high in an air of superiority. "I originate from Ehrmich, and you can expect a noble such as myself to be a cut above the rest of these lowborn," he asserted, taking a quick glance at the other recruits.
For a long moment, Krause simply stared into the recruit's face with a pained expression, as if she was having difficulties processing the stupidity that he had spluttered towards her. The silence was finally broken with another snap of her arm, and her first sank deep into Alastair's stomach in a punch more brutal than the last one that she delivered. "Noble? What you are is a maggot, son, so take your time writhing in the dirt like one!"
Alastair could feel his feet lift slightly off the ground as her fist connected with his stomach, his once smug face now twisted with pain. With his knees buckling the cadet quickly went to the ground as he clutched his stomach, too busy coughing and gasping for air to say anything back. This wasn't the first time he'd been punched, far from it, but this was sure as hell the worst slug he's ever felt.
Krause smirked down at the boy before she turned away. This next recruit was a girl with brown-colored hair. Krause wondered what was going through her head as she stood there at attention. Probably thinking she's a hero like the rest of them, she thought with irritation. "What's your name, girl?"
"My name is Sera Mayer, Sir!"
"S-sera M-M-Mayer," Krause stammered, clearly mocking Sera's stutter with a wicked grin. "You gonna be standing still and sounding stupid during these two years, recruit?!"
"No-No, Sir." Sera maintained the same posture. "S-sorry for the way I s-speak, Sir. I was born with a severe s-speech impediment, Sir. And no, I don't plan on standing around doing nothing. I plan on retaking Wall Maria!"
"How humble," Krause sneered down at her. "Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that bullshit? How many times I've seen people want to be heroes, just for them to quit or die?! You'll just be another of their numbers."
Sera was starting to get more than a little angry. "Sir." She started. "Not once in my life have I ever g-given up. And unlike everyone else you sent off to die, I have the d-d... the determination it takes to s-survive. I need to retake Wall Maria. I p-promised my Father I would.''
"A big promise for such a small girl," the instructor mused, her glare still firm on Sera's features. "If you're so dead set on it, then prove it to your comrades on the battlefield. I'm not one for empty words."
"Yes Sir. I don't know i-if the Titans can even feel scared.'' She looked straight into the eyes of her superior. "But I'll sure as Hell fr-frighten them as best I can.''
Instructor Krause continued down the line until she came across her first redheaded recruit. Unlike the rest, this one was smiling, which took her aback and irritated her at the same time. Snarling, she leaned close, her eyes glaring into hers. "Think this is funny?!" she roared out. "What's your name, girl?!"
“Nina Polgar, sir! From the sticks of southern Wall Maria.” She announced brightly to Krause, lips curling further from the fluttering nervousness unfurling in her chest, filling her with a flighty energy as she stared determinedly back at the instructor. With her hand propped on her chest in an eager salute, Nina declared, “not funny, no sir, I’m just happy to be here! I want to help humanity!”
Nina's bright personality only soured hers even more, and Krause leaned forward so that their noses were touching. "Help humanity?! With that sorry face?!" she roared as spittle flew forth from her mouth and landed all over Nina's cheeks and jaw. "Will you keep smiling as your comrades are eaten by Titans all around you?! Huh?! Answer me!!"
That comment ruffled her feathers. Nina bristled, frigid eyes narrowing in on the commander. Pushing past the urge to wipe the spit from her face, she laughed, a mellow thing that rung out in the stilted air. “That’s a harsh thing to ask a girl who lost her parents to Titans.” Nina finally answered, the sides of her mouth dipping into a thin line. “Do you think I smiled then? Answer me.”
"Boo hoo," Krause answered, unsympathetic. "Would you like me to start playing the violin? I don't owe you an answer, girl. Join those other idiots on the track, and don't stop running."
“A chance to start training early, how generous.” Nina remarked, lightening up again. Her eyes curved into crescents as she grinned at the instructor one final time before jogging to join the others running.
There were a few other recruits, all as bland as the last. There came the time when she stumbled upon a small, blond girl with a black headband. Her eyes watered, though tears didn't stain her cheeks. Krause narrowed her eyes down at her, but before she could even say anything, the girl's mouth opened to let out a shriek.
"Elke Vinter, sir! From Shinganshina, sir! I want to retake Wall Maria, sir, and kill Titans, sir!" the girl screamed up at her in what seemed like a mix of vigor, passion, and fear.
"You going to be crying like that when the Titans are eating you, girl?!" Krause hissed at her, somewhat bewildered about her reaction. "You going to cry for your Mama all the way to the end, aren't you?! You're just going to be Titan fodder along with the rest of this group, isn't that right?!"
"No, sir! I'll be as useful as your best soldier, sir!"
"I highly doubt that!" Krause snarled, turning away from the girl and focusing in on her next quarry. She didn't want to beat the girl to the ground, not yet, anyway. It was best to let people marinate in their self-pity and doubt for a little while.
Her next victim was a fairly tall, dark-haired boy; he was taller than even her, and she wondered what his parents fed him to make him grow so big. Instructor Krause opened her mouth to ask him his name, only to find that her words had caught in her throat. Wait... were his... eyes closed? "Boy..." she growled, a deadly look coming across her expression as she stared up at him. "Are... are you asleep...?"
His eyes, in no rush, fluttered open and Leon exhausted a yawn while rubbing his face. He got a quick peak at the instructor and then another glance at everyone around him. This was either a very scary sleep paralysis demon or he had sleep walked himself somewhere he did not want to be. He looked down to his pants, hoping this was one of those dreams with his pants still on (thank god).
His eyes almost went back to sleep before flashing open with immediate energy. There was a realization, a call to action that suddenly took over his body in full force. He signaled a salute, bellowing from the depths of his stomach. His posture was utterly magnificent, perhaps even perfect. What once had been a lazily slouched spine had sprung up like a bean sprout. Though his visage bore a pale property, there was a pink hue creeping upon it. Light very quickly returned to his brown eyes like he had just arisen from the dead.
"No mom-." What once had been a cute pink color had turned to roses. "MA'AM!"
Leon's eyes glanced away and begun scouting his surroundings. From the tip of his brow leaked a small bead of sweat. He already had a good idea what was coming next and his was preparing his body for any punishment and mind for a thorough scarring. What had been solid constitution was now overly rigid and looked like it could come apart any second.
Mom. Did this boy actually call her... "mom"? "Wh... what," she hissed under her breath, blinking at him as if he had grown wings and flown away in front of her. An eternity passed before she suddenly slammed her first into Leon's cheek, knocking the boy completely off balance before she backed up her first strike with a well-placed kick to the gut. "Get out of my face, you piece of shit! Go run laps! NOW!"
Leon's reaction time was slow. When the first punch landed against his cheek, his body was still rendering the pain once her boot hit his strap. When his back hit the ground, his body went still, his eyes motionless and brain processing the situation. What had just been a nice dream about owning a kitten farm had turned into a sharp pain in his stomach. Thank god he had skipped breakfast today, was his only thought before kicking himself up and striking a salute.
"Absolutely ma'am! I was way out of line, I appreciate you going easy on me." Leon's pained voice responded.
His salute was followed by a bow of his head before jogging to the training field. He did not look to dissatisfied, his thoughts were still of that kitten farm.
Her next victim was another boy, this one with a stupid expression on his face. Little by little, Instructor Krause's mood became worse and worse, as one could see. Her face had become red with frustration and fury, and Benedikt's posture only worsened her state. "And what's your name, boy?"
"I'm Benedikt!" The idiotic expression on the young aspiring soldier's face remained. Suddenly, the beast residing in his belly let out a low growl. "Hey ma'am... Do you by chance know when we'll be able to eat because I'm starving!" His face lit up at the mere thought of food or stuffing his mouth.
"Huh?!" the instructor blinked at the sudden question. This lot was more interesting than the last one, that was for sure. At least no one cried yet, save for that one girl. "With that disrespect, maybe you should just go hungry for the night!"
Terror sucked the very breath from his mouth and the color quickly drained from his face. "No..! Anything but that!" Once again a growl came from his stomach. Instead of mentioning food again with the risk of not eating anything, he just stood and withstood it. A visible frown on his face and what appeared like he was about to cry. "Food..." He managed to utter in a whisper-like voice. The boy's voice sounded raspy and dry like nothing had been in his throat for days.
Krause was bewildered by this recruit's reaction. Judging from his appearance, the boy had been starving. Pity nipped at her heart, if only for a moment, since she had once known the sting of hunger. Though, she didn't allow this to permeate across her face. Steeling herself even more, she growled, "Maybe it's best for you to let that hunger ferment for a bit, boy. Join the others on the track!"
"Yes... Ma'am..." Benedikt slowly swayed into a jog like some zombie. He looked like he barely had any life in him. "Food..." Because of his lack of energy, he easily fell behind all the other students. Moving much slower than he usually would. "Food........" He continuously uttered as he dragged himself along the track. "Soup... Potatoes... Bread..!" Benedikt's speed and acceleration failed to pick up. One could say he was barely jogging with the terrible hunched over form he had. Another growl came from his stomach.
Instructor Krause turned and glanced down the line at the next recruit. This one was blond-- and young, much like the other recruits that stood at attention. "Name?" she demanded in a sharp, harsh bark, her green eyes unforgiving as she glared down at him.
"Ramiel," he plain-spokenly articulated, jacking back his neck to color to his view the instructor, giving her a once over. Hubris was Ramiel's only anchor now, which was why he stunted back at her viridian eyes with his island yellows. The family he had abandoned was dead. His last name should have been buried with it. Still, his tongue bordered on a taste of saline when he elaborated with, "Diakos."
"Coming off so strongly... is that right?" Krause growled into his face. "Drop that routine, recruit. It's not helping your stringy frame. I bet I could snap you in half like I would a stick."
"Try me once you're done training me, instructor," Ramiel brazenly grinned, "If you do well, I should be able to win by the end, no?"
The boy's reply was short and to the point-- and it was a reply she didn't expect. Krause smirked down at him, meeting the glare in his eye. "Better get started then. Join the others on the track, Diakos."
Krause looked to the side at the girl that had been next to Diakos. Ah, her second red-head. This girl had glasses, it seemed, and... a very shiny red nose. Krause leaned close to her, her eyes daggers as she peered into Jo's own. She recognized the tell-tale glaze to her eyes, along with the tangy scent that permeated off of her. "Name." It wasn't a question. Her gaze was dark as she awaited her reply, eager to see how she would react.
Stars don’t twinkle until their light passes through the world's atmosphere.'
Was that really true? Jo had wondered whether all the books she had read actually had a lick of truth in them. It was strange to think of that now, even as the commander had torn shreds off the new recruits around her. She would be one of the next ones. Not because of a mild timidness or a clear delinquent look to her, no, but simply because she looked as if she was putting on a mean demeanour. She couldn't help making a face like that.
And of course, it wasn't long before the commander came into her line of sight, dark eyes piercing Jo's lighter ones and simply asking for a name. She willed herself not to look away. To stare right into her eyes.
Standing tall and proud, and banging her fist so hard against her chest it could have rattled her ribcage, the spectacled teen proclaimed, "Jo Schreiber from Karanes District, ma'am!" Though she seemed unshakeable from the outside, a certain tension radiating throughout her body, even if her eyes refused to widen at the sight of the commander's narrow-eyed and dark expression.
''Tomatoes are fruits, not vegetables...snails can sleep for three years...' Jo repeated inside her head as she stared down the commander, waiting for whatever insult that would come for her like the others. Her eyes? Her hair? Her scent? Her family name? Somehow, she counted all of them to be combined into something that was meant to throw her off. All she could do was repeat those facts in her head, begging herself not to come out with something stupid in front of the commander.
"You're the first recruit out of this group that wears glasses! What, are you so blind that you can't see where you're going, four-eyes?" Krause spat again. "And what's with that red nose?! Are you a goblin or something? Speak up, rookie!"
Jo felt herself stiffen, but once again, answered, "Only slightly, ma'am! I'm short-sighted, but it's medical term is called myopia, and long-sightedness is called hypermetropia!" She felt sweat gather along her hairline. Goddamnit! Sure, that wasn't as bad as spewing out something totally unrealated to the situation, but she was expecting it to come sooner or later.
"I'm no goblin, ma'am! Just a very allergic human!" Jo insisted, feeling a strong urge to raise her hand and rub at her nose, in turn, only making her nose redder, and subjecting her to more ridicule.
Krause was caught off-guard by the onslaught of random information that spilled from the girl's mouth. Allergies? What did she care about allergies?! "You being a smart-ass?!" she asked her in a booming voice, her expression more annoyed than before. "Do you want to join Mr. Jerry and the rest on the track over there?!"
Jo had caught the commander off-guard but that certainly hadn't helped matters at all. Not only that, but the commander was threatening that she run with another recruit. She let her eyes drift over to the track, before she remembered herself, and she tried to scamble for some sort of recovery, "N-no, not at all, I'm just, uh, showing you the breadth of my knowledge! Ma'am!" She quickly added.
Somehow, she knew her odd jobs wouldn't prepare her for whatever kind of run the Commander was putting her through.
Jo's reply only irked her even more. It was obvious that this girl was trying to get at her, and Krause refused to show any weakness in the face of smart-assery. "I think you should join them after all," she growled darkly, "So get moving!"
'Shit. Shit. Shiiiii--' Jo, not being able to do much for her case now, simply replied with, "Yes, ma'am!" How embarrassing. She didn't come here to be humiliated, and yet, she did a perfectly good job of running herself into that trap. She turned and started rushing her way towards the track. She'd have to come back from this. But she also had to actually live through this running first.
This next recruit was another dark-haired boy that looked a little too eager for her tastes. "Name?" she snarled, becoming more and more frustrated with each passing recruit that she had to deal with. This lot was going to be hell to handle, that was for sure.
"Laurence Arnault, Ma'am!" He said enthusiastically with a smile on his face. It wasn't dopey nor was it charming. It was simply his every day smile, but his tone certainly held an eagerness most of the recruits didn't hold. "But most simply call me Laurie."
"Laurie?! What is that, a girl's name? You should be ashamed of yourself. Do you have any balls hanging between your legs, boy?" Krause spat with disgust.
Laurie cocked his head to the side. She wasn't wring, even he found it a bit feminine but so what? He liked it plenty still. "I do. If you'd want to check it out you could but I don't know if that's appropriate." He shrugged at her, unfazed by the insult she's given him.
Krause's eyes widened at Laurie's reply; it was almost as if everyone around her would be able to see the smoke that emitted from her ears. Since her firsts were already sore from punching kids all day, she glanced over to where the others were running. "Run," she snarled. "Before I beat your god damn ass to the ground, boy!"
A momentary look of bewilderment flashed on his face as his mind ran miles as to why Instructor Krause had started to look rather exasperated. He didn't argue, figuring it was better to follow rather than ask why. He figured there must have been something wrong with what he said but all he did was give his opinion. "Yes, ma'am." He said with a smile before turning around to join the others that were taking laps.
After his first few steps, he realized that Instructor Krause didn't tell him how much running he would do. "How many laps are we talking about again?"
"Until I tell you to stop," Krause snapped before she turned away from him, leaving no chance for him to complain to her.
"Okay, you're the boss," Laurie said back with his hands up in the air before jogging away to run. "Later guys." He said to the other cadets that he passed by.
She turned to the next one down the line. This whole spiel was getting her more than heated under the collar. Another dainty, flowery recruit, huh? Krause ground her teeth together. "What's your name, girl?" she asked, venom dripping from her voice as she glared down at Elyse.
"Elyse-" The short brunette stated softly, her eyes and voice both shaky and unfocused at the hands of this unnatural experience. Hesitating briefly, she would continue, somewhat raising her voice yet simultaneously amplifying the discomfort by accident.
"Elyse Hildebrand, Miss!"
Krause suddenly straightened up from her leaning forward, surprised with her answer. Ah, yes, this was the girl that they had told her about. "Hildebrand..." she muttered, her glare not lightening as she thought. "Oh, I remember now. You're the sorry excuse for a soldier that needs a bodyguard on her tail at all times! Does he help you wipe when you shit?!"
The coarse, rough, words of the instructor's words landed brutally blow by blow. In no way was Elyse ever set up for this blunt and explicitly degrading experience, but she had to bite through, regardless of how incompetent her retaliation would be.
Eyes glowed with what seemed like a symbiosis of fear, agitation and discomfort, though the latter was admittedly more present. Her voice was much the same.
"I didn't choose for a chaperone, Miss. I-", her eyes trailed upwards hesitantly, finally dignified enough to look at the instructor - well, at least for a second, that is. "I can handle myself!" She would swiftly push out, squinting her eyes as she raised her voice in an almost theatrical, clearly novice way with a beautiful voice crack to boot.
Well, this girl was much more pitiful than she thought. She looked like a deer stunned out of her mind. What a shame. "Can you? I doubt it!" Krause snarled. "You're the most pitiful thing I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot compared to that Vinter! What do you have to say for yourself?!"
Most pitiful. Most. Pitiful.
Bruises turned into blatant cuts as the words flashed by, leaving Elyse almost frozen in place. Never had someone raised a tone like that to her, not even her siblings.
Though admittedly painful and unexpected, the young Brunette's inner flame wavered at the sign of this attack, fueling her mind with just enough agitation-induced confidence to respond.
While her admittedly stressed expression ensued, some grit joined into the mix of negativity, her following words now somewhat more powerful and composd than those before.
"I-I'll prove I can. I promise, Miss!"
Krause knew that she had struck a nerve. Grinning, she decided to let the girl relax for now. "Fine. Prove to me that you aren't just some worthless scrap," she cackled in a mocking tone, as if she didn't believe her. Turning away, she went to the next person.
Instructor Krause came upon another recruit, this one having a firm face and rather long hair. Of course, it was obvious that he was trying to impress, which irked her. What was with recruits and trying to look like they were all the main character of a fairy tale book? "Name?" she spat at him.
The dark-haired recruit seemed to stare right through Instructor Krause as the boy stood at attention, clutching his fist adamantly over his heart. "Halvor Verdende, ma'am!"
"And did you cut your hair yourself, Verdende?" Krause barked as she took a strand of his hair between her fingers and pulled a bit too roughly. "Or was the person who did it blind as hell? Cause, god-damn, that's a shitty ass haircut, boy!"
"I couldn't afford a barber before I came here, ma'am," Hal had been slightly taken aback by the instructor's sudden tug on his hair, instinctively pulling back from her fingers in a small recoil and remaining steel-faced. "But it's not as important as devoting my heart to serve humanity!"
Krause's eyebrow twitched when the boy pulled away from her touch, grinding her teeth together as to not explode right then and there. "Oh, really? I'll show you what's not as important," she stated, her look much darker than before. In a swift moment, she brought her leg up, slamming her knee straight between Halvor's legs. She didn't even give the boy a chance to regain his senses from his place on the floor before she snarled, "Get the fuck back up, Verdende, before I kick your head in!"
His expression immediately shrunk as Hal felt the instructor's sharp knee strike him directly in the groin, crumpling to his knees and bringing his hands to cover the region by reflex. "Y-yeah," his tone came off several octaves higher than normal, trying to quell the rumbling in his legs as he stood back up. He struck the salute towards Instructor Krause once more, his brow twitching slightly. "Ahem, yes, ma'am!"
Krause had all but lost her patience. The recruit that she came upon next was... wait, didn't she already speak to this girl before? Krause blinked down at the girl, wondering if she was being fucked with or the other one had swapped positions with another recruit. But when she looked back at where Elke was supposed to be, she saw her quivering form still holding her salute. Did she really get dealt twins? "Hilarious," Krause growled, the hands behind her back clawing into each other. "You're a twin, huh? What's your name, girl?"
Anke was seething. She didn’t care that this woman was in charge of them. What gave her the right to treat Elke like that. The other twin gave a half-baked salute and through clenched teeth, “Anke Vinter!”
"I've never had twin recruits in my presence before! And with a face like that, what they say about twins has to be true!" Krause snarled. "Twins only have half a brain each! Why did you even enlist? Do you really think a roach of your caliber can do anything for humanity?!"
Anke grit her teeth. She really wanted to deck this lady. She gripped her right hand as the knuckles went white, but before the young firecracker did something that'd probably get her in the kind of trouble she wasn't aiming for, she smirked. Anke looked up into the instructors eyes, dropping her salute she said, "I'll definitely do better than you. They must have relegated you to training kids for a reason. Must be because you're scared of Titans so ya beat kids to feel brave."
Krause's eyebrow twitched again, but this time, she couldn't keep silent. She glared at Anke as words bubbled at the back of her throat, but the words she did let out weren't only directed at the small girl in front of her. "You are all a sorry, garbage group. You're not even worth my time," she snarled, her voice hoarse from all of her screaming. But something even darker bubbled in the back of her words-- disappointment, frustration, and anger. "All of you, get your asses on the track and start running! First person to drop to the ground gets no dinner tonight!"
A collective wave of disappointment slammed into her, though no one uttered so much as a groan of discontent. The recruits all moved as one as they filtered onto the track and started off at a light jog. Instructor Krause watched them run into the distance, a dangerous fire in her gaze as their figures became smaller and smaller. Kids... they were just kids, all of them. She sighed, deciding to lean against one of the cabins and watch them from the shade.
And so, the recruits ran for what seemed like countless hours, until the sun dipped behind the horizon.
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