Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan.
Author's Note: I haven't written anything in a very long time and English is not my first language, so if anything sounds odd to your ears, please let me know :)
844.
When she first caught sight of him, she didn't like what she saw.
Antonia remembered how the headquarters had buzzed with gossip even days before the three criminals from the underground must have seen sunlight for the first time.
Usually, she did not like to participate in chitchat. She found it tiresome and absolutely dispensable and, in her humble opinion, there were always more relevant things to discuss than the lives of people you did not know. Especially when you were part of the survey corps.
But in this case, she found herself listening intently to her comrades' theories and complaints. Afterall, something unprecedented was about to happen.
A mixture of emotions had been tangible in the air, ranging from disbelief, distrust and disagreement to defensiveness towards the prospect of having to accept three thugs in their ranks who possessed the audacity to join the scouts without having received any proper training beforehand.
Although, she was sure that all of her comrades who seemed like they had made a silent vow to not accept any of the newcomers were also dying with curiosity.
Undoubtedly, everyone wanted to know why they had been dug up. There just had to be something special about them, something big enough to justify some nameless criminals to skip the tormenting three years of being a cadet.
She couldn't imagine it to be talent or combat skill like her squad leader had claimed it to be. Her class had included people who had been impeccable with the omni-directional mobility gear the minute they put it on. People who just could not be wrestled down and were flawless fighters in every regard. People whose perception and quick wit was sure to prove lifesaving.
None of them, not even those who were, under the envious eyes of their comrades, referred to as prodigies behind their backs by their superiors, had been faced with the option of joining a regiment earlier.
On the other hand, the survey scouts' lines seemed to get thinner with every expedition they carried out. They undeniably were short on people.
Still, recruiting people who had not undergone any military training seemed reckless and, frankly, the not unlikely prospect of having to see them slaughtered the first time they'd go behind the walls did not seem like something to heighten the morale. As if that wasn't already low enough.
But in the end, Antonia, like everyone else that had been ordered to gather in front of the stage to welcome the new recruits, could not wait to see what all the fuss was about.
For the first time, she wondered what life in the underground must be like. No sunshine, probably. Loads of poverty. Loads of criminality. Do they have an infra-structure like we do?
It must've been depressing, she concluded, they must be very happy to be here.
As she found her place at the end of the line, she was rather glad that the squad leaders stood in the front row and were the ones who would be exposed to Commander Keith Shadis's critical eye and thus the ones who would be the first ones to find out whether or not he was in a good mood.
While her family and basically everyone who lead a quiet life inside the walls thought it required a bravery that could easily be confused with stupidity to join the survey corps, Antonia had to admit that all of this attributed bravery disappeared into thin air at something so banal as the commander screaming at her.
The downside of her position was that she could only see the three figures that the commander had brought along with him once they stood on stage.
Antonia stared at them in disbelief.
Brief looks to her right and left told her that her comrades were equally fazed by the appearance they made.
While the rest of the corps stood in perfect composition and order, the newcomers stood out like a sore thumb.
One of them, a tall man with blonde hair gave a poor imitation of their military stance. The other two of them, a young woman and a surprisingly small man, did not even try to make an effort. While the red-haired woman was impertinent enough to grin at them widely, the latter wore his arms crossed and a facial impression that might have been somewhere between boredom and distaste.
She scoffed in mild amusement. Their first impression they gave, Antonia thought, was awful.
Once they stated their names in the least appropriate way for an introduction, she was sure that they were going to have a hard time assimilating.
Maybe they did not even want to assimilate. None of them gave the impression that they wanted to be here. Nor that they held any respect for either their superiors or the survey corps itself.
Judging by the looks on her comrades' faces, they were having similar thoughts. And they did not look like they were keen to help the newcomers with settling in. Even Hange didn't look excited anymore.
But who could blame them, really?
The idea of showing them the ropes of everything surely did seem more tiresome than attractive.
She caught a part of her hoping that they would not be assigned to her squad so she could judge being made responsible for them in any way.
When Shadis announced that the trio would from now on be under squad leader Flagon Turret's wing, Antonia let out a breath she didn't realized she had been holding in.
While she was relieved that she would not have to get involved with them anytime soon, Flagon seemed equally reluctant to have them in his squad.
Antonia eyed the new recruits expectantly, wanting to seize their reaction to their superior's warm welcome.
While Isabel and Furlon half-heartedly attempted to disguise any mutual feelings they might have towards their squad leader, Levi briefly sized him up with a disparaging look that stayed on his face as he and the others left the stage. To Antonia, it seemed like he had just decided that he'd be able to take him down. Easily.
She found herself staring after them, feeling lost for words. She had been more amused than shocked by the lack of etiquette, that was something easily drilled into the brains of cadets. Furthermore, the superiors had a way of making sure that rudeness and disrespect were also things soon to be unlearned
But the obvious hostility and arrogance that the short man had displayed unnerved her.
Her initial curiosity in their history was mixed with discountenance.
Maybe the others were right.
There probably really was no need to occupy her mind with arrogant thugs who had the cheek to look down on the survey corps' skills and work. Who clearly did not appreciate the prospect of freedom that could only be felt in the outside world over a criminal life in a sunless prison.
In the end, what good would it do to bother with them? Someone else would eventually disclose if there was any big or small conspiratorial reason behind them being brought here. Probably Hange, she mused and felt her mouth twitch upwards slightly. Hange's magnificent brain was always fast when it came to solving puzzles and beating her was impossible.
But in this case, Antonia could not see any competition take place anytime soon. From the upset chatter of her comrades that had gotten louder once the commander and the newcomers were out of sight, she could deduce that no one would approach them to ask any questions.
Instead, her comrades were hoping that the new recruits would get their asses kicked at training next day. She could understand that sentiment very well.