Originally posted to my tumblr. Set during the training arc. Enjoy!


Krista opens her eyes when she hears the usual sound of the wake-up call from outside the barracks-and regrets it instantly. The early dawn light stabs into her tired eyes and exacerbates her headache, which stubbornly clings on from the night before. Apparently a good night's sleep didn't make it go away. She feels achy and sore all over; today is going to be miserable.

Beside her in the bed, Ymir stirs awake and groans. She looks paler than usual, and her eyes and the tip of her nose are bright red. From the looks of it, she feels as badly as Krista does.

Slipping out of bed, Krista shoots her a wan smile and starts to get ready. "Time to get up and go to training," she announces, her voice rough and lacking a bit of her usual cheer. They get dressed in silence-the process takes longer than normal, since they're hindered by stiff muscles and sore limbs.

Breakfast is an unappealing idea, but Krista knows that she needs to keep up her strength. She forces herself to eat half of her bread before giving the rest to Sasha. Ymir sits beside her and nibbles at her own loaf, her eyes half-lidded with exhaustion. They both wince when they're called to training.

Today, they're supposed to run ten miles-a daunting task for healthy cadets, let alone sick ones. Still, Krista puts on a brave face and vows to try her best. She's a cadet now; this is her life.

The sky is full of ominously dark clouds and a chilly wind blows through the camp-obvious signs that it's going to rain. Despite her best efforts, Krista only manages to suppress her shivers for the first few laps (that wind is COLD). Ymir, of course, notices immediately and offers Krista her jacket.

"But you're cold too!" Krista protests.

"You need it more than I do," Ymir insists. Krista takes the jacket and slips it on, too tired to argue today. The warmth of the extra layer helps, and Krista starts to let herself believe that today won't be too horrible. Then, the heavens open up and it starts to rain.

Of course, it's not just a light drizzle, which would be irritating and inconvenient but bearable; no, it's a complete downpour that makes it difficult to see and turns the ground into treacherous mud. And of course they're expected to just keep going.

At first, Krista tries to use one of her jackets to keep from getting totally soaked, but she quickly realizes that it's a futile effort. She's reduced to trudging forward blindly, head down to keep the water out of her eyes. She loses track of how many laps she's done; Ymir has to tug on her arm when they're finished to snap her out of her daze.

By some miracle, there's soup for dinner. Krista is immensely grateful for the warm food, even if she's shaking so hard that it's difficult to eat. Showering helps as well-the water isn't terribly warm, but it's still better than the rain and it's a relief to be able to scrub off the dirt and mud.

Warmed up slightly and blessedly clean, Krista collapses into the bed. She jerks back up immediately when a coughing fit hits and scrapes out her throat.

"That doesn't sound good," Ymir says with a worried frown.

"I'm okay," Krista insists hoarsely. "It's just a cold." Ymir doesn't look very convinced, and Krista sighs. "I'll go see a medic if it's still this bad tomorrow, but I'm fine. I just need a little sleep." She pulls the covers up and scoots next to the taller girl, frowning when she notices that Ymir is radiating even more heat than usual. "I think you're running a fever," she says, concerned.

"I'll go to the medic if you will," Ymir says, smirking a little.

"Fine, we'll go tomorrow morning if it's still bad," Krista reluctantly agrees. Ymir's warmth is comforting, and she dozes off quickly. A little rest and she'll probably be fine."


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