"One more lap, pick it up, now!" bellowed the drill instructor.
The members of the 100th training squad ran across the field in the morning sunlight.
Training had started just before dawn, their only fuel came in the form of a cooked egg, a piece of bread, and a cup of coffee.
They had been running for nearly two hours.
As the dust kicked up from the grassless, dirt landfill, Petra could feel the sheen of sweat stinging her eyes, her lungs were raw and on fire. She blinked against the pain and continued to run. She felt a rush of relief as she neared ever closer to completion.
A loud voice boomed, breaking her concentration, "Ha! Gullible cadets, you thought this was the last lap?! Five more!"
A rumble of dissatisfaction went up from the exhausted group.
"What was that? You wanted more? Fine! Ten more!"
This time the cadets wisely kept quiet, and all that could be heard was the sound of boots hitting the ground and the sharp exhales of labored breathing.
X
At the mess hall, Petra stared blankly ahead as she mechanically ate the night's dinner, a small portion of chicken, green beans, and half a potato.
Everything in her body hurt.
The day had been exhausting, and she could feel the protesting heat of her muscles radiating outwards. She knew tomorrow morning her body would be screaming, but for now, she would eat in silence and soothingly knead her exhausted muscles.
"Hey," came a deep rumble from the man who appeared in front of her.
The voice quickly broke Petra from her reverie, and she looked up to see a tall, somewhat weathered man with short, platinum blonde hair.
He held a tray in one hand, "Can I sit?"
"Oh, I'm sorry - please do!" Petra moved her drink slightly on the table. "Sorry...I was just thinking of how much everything hurts." she explained.
"No kidding!" he grimaced as he moved to take a seat.
"Petra," she began conversationally. "My name is Petra Ral."
"Auruo," he replied with a wide grin, "Auruo Bossard."
He took a swig of his drink before setting it on the table. "I'm surprised," Auruo began as his eyes casually looked to Petra, "You're such a tiny, cute girl...how is it that you wound up here?"
Petra flushed, "I...well. It's hard to explain."
"Ah, even better." he grinned, "Let's hear it."
She nervously tucked a stray wisp of auburn hair behind her ear, "Well...I...umm...feel really exposed telling you this, but you're my teammate. If I need to trust you to watch my back out there, I can probably trust you with my story, right?" she smiled with good humor.
Auruo boasted, "Of course! You couldn't spill your secrets to a more trustworthy man."
"Ha...well…" Petra began slowly, "I grew up in Trier. My family lived in the fields between Wall Maria and Shiganshina district. Since we were the last stop before the Wall, the Scout regiment would pass through and pick up supplies." She moved to take a sip of water, "Oh, we ran a supply store, my family." she detailed.
Auruo propped his face in his hands and nodded for her to continue.
"When I was little, a Scouting unit was preparing to head outside of the Wall. My father always believed in helping them...so he gifted them with supplies, free of charge. I passed out apples to them." She sighed as she fell back into her memories, "I think I realized then, that many of them wouldn't come back...so I cried. One of the soldiers comforted me...he gave me a flower from outside the Wall. He told me not to be afraid, and that there were many beautiful things out there."
She looked to Auruo, but his face was unmoving.
Petra rubbed the back of her neck nervously and continued, "He told me that our choices needed to be guided by our hopes, not our fears…I suppose I want to believe that I'm making that choice now…" She paused, "I'm still not sure." she smiled through her embarrassment, "...um...yeah, that's why I joined."
A long pause stretched between them.
Auruo stared at her disbelievingly. He finally spoke, "You joined the training corps because of a flower?!"
Half a second later he burst into uproarious laughter.
"Were you even listening?! That was just part of the reason!" Petra exclaimed, mortified.
Auruo clutched his side and laughed harder.
"You're such a jerk! I should never have trusted you!" her brow furrowed angrily. She crossed her arms with a resentful huff.
As she retreated into her thoughts, she reflected.
It was rather foolish.
Perhaps she really was just a starry-eyed, foolish girl. She had wanted to see the stretches of endless water, once called oceans. She had wanted to pick up wispy grains of sand and run them through her fingers, and she had wanted to see a field where those beautiful flowers grew...but she had also wanted to sleep and not feel the slight tremble of the earth as Titan feet stalked the outer walls.
There was a deep-rooted, overwhelming desire to break the stone-walled cage and fly into wondrous world where humans once freely roamed, but the terror of uncertainty gripped her.
It was a pull that thrilled and scared her. Petra's stomach began to knot as she questioned her decisions. A wave of homesickness hit her in the gut, and she felt herself withdraw internally.
Sensing the sudden shift, Auruo quickly quieted and cleared his throat. "Hey, I'm sorry...I guess I was just surprised by your honesty."
Petra looked up from her daze.
"I'll tell you my story so we're even..." he offered amicably.
Before she could respond, Auruo lowered his elbows on the table, leaning forward and speaking softer than normal, "I have five younger brothers and sisters...and my parents struggle sometimes. They would never tell us...but I saw it." He sighed to himself as his fingers traced around the mug in front of him, "The stipend from being a recruit will help them...plus, I get free food and a warm bed here. That's one less mouth to feed."
"Auruo…"
"I also get to talk to pretty girls." he added slyly.
Petra couldn't help but smile. He was a little obnoxious...but he had let his own guard down to comfort her, and it filled her with a sudden fondness for him.
Auruo slumped slightly into his chair, oblivious to Petra's musings. "Yeah, I know it's not the most noble reason," he looked away, embarrassed, "...joining the military for money."
"I think you have your heart in the right place, Auruo. Helping your family so selflessly is...very noble."
He looked back at her and was met with her compassionate golden eyes and disarming smile.
Auruo's face flushed with a different kind of embarrassment, and he averted his eyes with a cough, "You know...you're a little quick to act so wife-like. You've got a long way to go before you can bag me." he teased.
Petra raised an eyebrow with good humor and laughed.
They continued to finish their evening meal at the mess hall.
X
"Today we'll do the Comrade Carry exercise." The instructor looked to the rows of trainees. "You will pair off in two's and run the obstacle course while carrying the weight of a fellow trainee." The instructor paced the rows of cadets eyeing each one of them meaningfully, "In the field, many things can go wrong...among them, the malfunction of Omni-gear. You've already trained extensively on building your personal endurance...this exercise will test your strength, endurance, and mental fortitude for when your fellow soldier is down."
The instructor's eyes bored deeply into the trainees, "Before we begin...let it be known that you should only attempt this if you're confident you can retreat safely. The average human stride is 1.5 meters...I don't need to do the math to tell you that a Titan will catch up to you if you don't have an escape route planned."
The cadets looked to each other with apprehension.
"Alright, pair up!" the instructor bellowed.
Petra and Auruo looked to each other.
"So..." Auruo drawled, "Shall I carry you bridal style, wife?"
Petra sighed and shot him an irritated glance, "No, I think you're supposed to-hey!"
She let our a cry of surprise as she felt her legs being scooped out from under her - the surprising imbalance instinctively caused her arms to quickly reach out. She grasped and pulled against Auruo's shoulders, her face inches from his.
She quickly re-adjusted with embarrassment, and allowed her arms some slack, "I thought you were joking?!"
Her open hand hit him against his chest in retribution.
"Ow! Fiesty harpy." Auruo scolded.
Petra closed her fist and punched him in the chest.
"Oww!"
"Stop the lover's quarrel you two!" belted out the instructor with reproach.
Petra flushed as her fellow classmates turned to them with amusement.
"I blame you for this…" Petra whispered harshly.
"You should learn to be a meek, docile wife." Auruo countered with a grin.
Suddenly a sharp whistle cut through their chatter, which signaled the start of the course.
Petra let out a cry of surprise as she felt herself being carried swiftly across the field. The obstacle course simulated a structurally collapsed town. Granite stones littered the course with piles of rubble, disintegrated stairs, and collapsed columns.
Auruo easily carried her through the streets, making a quick left turn down an alley and up a small flight of stairs. It didn't take long for him to quickly make it across the finish line.
He looked down at Petra with an arrogant smirk, "See that? I got you out of there faster than anyone else."
Petra looked behind her. He did, in fact, make incredible time. Some of the recruits struggled with the extra weight, as their legs carried them across the obstacle-ridden field. It took several minutes until the last teams made it through.
"Alright cadets, we'll run the same drill back the way we came. Switch places!" the trainer commanded.
Auruo scratched the back of his neck with apprehension as he addressed the instructor, "Sir, I...don't think that's...quite fair." He eyed Petra's petite form as he towered over her.
It didn't even occur to him that she would be required to do the same, she was one of the smallest cadets in the 100th training corps.
The instructor eyed Auruo with annoyance,"Quiet Bossard! We'll see how you feel when all that stands between you and becoming Titan puke is your teammate - you better pray she can lift you." He turned to Petra, "Ral, get over here!"
Auruo stared at Petra helplessly. This would be an exercise of sheer embarrassment, he thought to himself.
To his surprise, Petra strode to him before pushing her back to his front. He flushed, surprised by the contact.
Without warning, she lowered her knees slightly and threw his arm over one shoulder, and his leg over the other shoulder - slinging him across the length of her shoulder blades. With a huff, she lifted him off the ground.
The whistle sounded and she began to run the course.
"Gah! Wha-?" Auruo let out an incoherent cry as he was carried roughly through the town.
"Easy...oof! Go easy!" he protested.
She huffed as she ran, "Stop whining! I'm saving your life, remember?"
Petra made surprisingly good time as well. As soon as she crossed the finish line, she allowed her legs to buckle and the two of them landed in a messy heap.
As more teams crossed the finish line, classmates began to run to Petra with awe. The two were still on the ground; Petra with exhaustion and Auruo, recovering from shock.
One of the female cadets kneeled next to Petra, her arms wrapping around her shoulders as she hefted her upwards. The cadet exclaimed in surprise, "That was incredible! I had no idea that you were so strong!" She gushed happily, "How did you do it?"
"Grain-" Petra bit out as she struggled to catch her breath, "Back home, I had to carry sacks of grain from the store when the horse went lame."
A male cadet helped Auruo up from the ground, he grinned, "How's it feel, Auruo? Doing ok?"
"Fine…" he replied, "...just emasculated in front of the class is all."
The cadets broke into laughter.
Days and night passed, and the 100th grew stronger, trained harder, and prepared for the day of their conscription.
==Author's Notes==
Alright, confession time. Were it not for the fact that this is a Rivetra fic, I could see a very cute ship with Auruo x Petra. WHOA, lower the pitchforks...it's not a super popular pair...but I'm just sayin' it has an endearing quality to it.
As a note - Levi will be in the next chapter...promise! Stick with me!
Also...another confession from a pervy author. I've already started writing the naughty bits because those are the most fun to write. Yep...can't wait to unleash that upon the world. (^_^);;
Please R&R! It really makes my day :D
