The harsh sun beat down on the recruits, one of the many hardships they had to endure. The sky was a brilliant blue, but the cadets' attention was on the grizzled instructor who was stalking back and forth amongst their ranks. Standing at six and a half feet tall, Keith Sadies dwarfed even the tallest of the recruits, with some not even reaching as high as his chest. With a shaved head, the only hair on his face was the dark brown soul patch that covered his chin. His hazel eyes lay sunken in their sockets, and his face was adorned with an unflattering assortment of wrinkles that made him appear even older than he was.

Ada shifted from one foot to the other, more out of boredom than anxiety. To her, being forced to stand still for an extended period of time was miles worse than any snide remarks the instructor could make to her. She could hardly turn to Rasmus and strike up a conversation, as the instructor had already proven his keen hearing. She wasn't as worried about herself, but she would hate for her friend to get in trouble because she was getting restless. The only respite from this torture was the unexpected entertainment provided by an auburn-haired girl who was caught eating a potato during their induction. Sadies' outrage was made even more amusing by the girl's confusion over his frustration, and her offering him 'half' of the potato. The girl had sighed when he'd told her she would be running laps for the rest of the night, but her face really fell when he told her she'd lost meal privileges for the next five days. Ada smiled inwardly, not ignorant to the girl's plight, but unable to overlook the humour of the situation. As the chatter of the other trainees around her died, Ada looked over to see the instructor approaching their section. He walked up to a boy with ash blonde hair who was standing to the other side of Rasmus, and glared down at the already-intimidated cadet.

"What's your name, maggot?"

The boy gulped and stood as tall as he could. "Milieus Zeremski from Jinae, sir!"

"Jinae, eh?" Sadies got in Milieus' face, the boy's wrinkling nose an indication that he could smell the instructor's breath and it wasn't pleasant. "That's the same town that smiling idiot Bodt is from, isn't it?"

"Yes sir." Milieus had squeezed his eyes shut, seemingly trying to block out the sight of the instructor.

Sadies snorted. "You can't even look me in the eyes when talking to me, Zeremski? How do you plan on facing a titan when you can't even face a man who's a third of its size?!"

Milieus' eyes flew open. "S-sorry s-sir," he managed to stammer as the towering instructor loomed over him.

"Pathetic," Sadies spat. "Tell me, Zeremski of Jinae, why are you and Bodt the first two maggots from your wretched town to ever enlist in the military? Are you really the best that Jinae has to offer?"

Milieus drew a breath and stood at his full height. "I'm afraid so, sir. I'm here to protect humanity, and to make sure that what happened to Wall Maria doesn't happen to Wall Rose."

"Ah, I see how it is." Sadies raised an eyebrow. "Bodt is the foolish idealist and you're the sacrifice sent to be slaughtered. Next!"

The intimidating veteran left Milieus looking downcast, and began walking towards Ada and Rasmus. She watched cautiously as Sadies made eye contact with Rasmus, and the pair stared at each other for a moment before a flicker of acknowledgement appeared in the tall man's eyes. Wordlessly, he brushed past her friend and came to a stop directly in front of her.

"Who are you supposed to be?" he shouted, glowering at her. Thankfully, she had seen him go through this process with other recruits and knew what to expect, but she was still surprised by how imposing the man was up close.

Putting on her best smile, she declared "Sir! Adelheid Hummel from Shiganshina District!" She watched the instructor intently, awaiting his follow-up question.

Raising an eyebrow, Sadies continued. "Why are you here, Hummel of Shiganshina?"

"To hit the Titans where it hurts!" she declared proudly. She placed her right fist over her heart and her left hand behind her back, forming the signature salute of the military.

"To hit the Titans where it hurts?" Sadies repeated, his face unreadable. Ada, unsure what she was supposed to do, offered an emphatic nod. The instructor closed the space between them until Ada could smell his breath, which stunk just as one would expect of grizzled soldier unconcerned with hygiene. "That kind of thinking makes you certified Titan chow, Hummel!" he bellowed, his breath blowing her hair back and sending droplets of saliva raining down onto her face.

Grimacing, Ada wiped her face with her sleeve, thoroughly revolted. As Sadies moved on to the person next to her, Ada sighed and began fixing her hair. "Say it, don't spray it," she muttered under her breath. As soon as the words left her mouth, the field seemed to grow unnaturally quiet. Sadies paused mid-sentence and turned around slowly, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

"What did you say, Cadet? Speak up so the rest of us can hear you."

Ada swallowed cautiously as she stared at the instructor's feet, trying to come up with the right words to get her out of this situation. How had the old man heard her, when she herself had barely heard her own whisper? "I…" she began, before trailing off.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Sadies asked menacingly, planting his face right in front of hers. "Well, I'll tell you what I heard. I heard you say something that sounded like 'say it, don't spray it'."

Ada let out a small gasp as the instructor leaned down to grab her collar, pulling her in until they were nose to nose. "Let me make something absolutely clear, Cadet. I make the rules around here. If I choose to spray it, then I'll spray it. Understood?" She gave a slight nod, wishing this humiliation would end. Unfortunately for her, Keith Sadies had other plans. He spat a large glob of phlegm at her face, which landed on and proceeded to slide down her forehead, forcing her to close one eye. "Five laps around the training ground, now!"

Ada's mouth fell open. "But sir!" she protested.

"Make that ten!" Sadies roared. "Were you not listening when I said I make the rules, or do you have shit-for-brains?"

Ada sighed, resigned to her fate. "Yes sir," she grumbled, praying that this was not a sign of things to come in the Cadet Corps.

"What was that, shit-for-brains? Speak up!" the instructor bellowed.

"Yes sir! Ten laps coming up sir!" she chimed, feeling the burning gazes of her peers as they watched her degradation intently.

The instructor narrowed his eyes. "Then get a move on it!"

Rasmus stood on the porch outside of the mess hall, leaning over the railing and watching as the sun hung ever lower on the horizon. He had counted Ada pass by nine times, so she should be finishing her tenth lap soon. He was disappointed that she had gotten herself into trouble on the first day, though he wasn't all that surprised. Caution had always been his thing. Which was ironic, he realized, because he had been the one to suggest they join the military. Such a bold decision was seemingly out of character for the guarded boy who was always pulling Ada back before she acted on impulse.

As if conjured by his thoughts, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up to see Ada shuffling towards him, her hair slick with sweat and her clothes sticking to her sides. She seemed to have left her trainee jacket back at the barracks as they were instructed to do.

"Can you believe that old geezer?" she complained. "He spat in my face and made me run ten laps! Did you see that?"

"Yeah, I saw. I guess next time you'd better make sure he's out of earshot before you mock him," Rasmus replied.

"I thought he was!" Ada protested. "Didn't you see all the wrinkles on him? How was I supposed to know he has the hearing of an eagle?"

Rasmus chuckled. "Actually, eagles are better known for their eyesight."

Ada stuck out her tongue at him. "Who cares, you know what I mean. I swear, it will take like ten showers before I feel clean again!" As she paused for a moment, an audible growl broke the silence. Ada glanced down at her stomach and then back up at Rasmus sheepishly. "Say, is there still some food left in the mess hall?"

"Last I checked there was," Rasmus confirmed. "We should go and grab some before it closes for the night." He turned towards the entrance, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"Wait, you haven't eaten yet?" Ada asked, giving him a worried glance.

"No," Rasmus admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "I guess I didn't want you to have to eat all by yourself."

"Oh, so that's what this is about," Ada replied, a cheeky grin forming on her face. "You just didn't want me to eat alone, and this decision had nothing to do with the fact that you suck at getting to know new people, and need my help to break the ice." She gave him a teasing wink. "I get it now."

"It's not that!" Rasmus exclaimed, but gave in when Ada offered him a knowing stare. "Well…maybe that too."

Ada snorted. "What would you do without me, buster?"

"Yeah, yeah." Rasmus rolled his eyes, though he couldn't help but feel thankful for his exuberant and outgoing friend. Despite the trouble she always seemed to cause, her loyalty to him was unquestionable, as was her tolerance of his shortcomings. Whichever way you looked at it, she was as true a friend as they come. "Now hurry up," he told her, "I don't particularly feel like starving tonight."

Luck was on their side as there was still enough bread and broth to split between the two of them, despite being last in the meal line. Or perhaps this had less to do with luck and more to do with the absence of a certain ravenous village girl, Rasmus mused. As the pair made their way back into the seating area, his thoughts were interrupted by a voice laced with conceit.

"Well, if it isn't shit-for-brains." A haughty-looking boy with an undercut and a suit vest watched them with taunting eyes, his head resting lazily in his palm, arm propped-up on the table. "Sadies really tore you a new one, didn't he? Are you finished those ten laps he gave you?" Rasmus stiffened, knowing where this was headed.

Ada scoffed, turning to stare the boy down. "Jean Kirschtein, right? Or should I say, Mr. MP?"

"Ada…" Rasmus began.

Jean chuckled. "You act like that's an insult. If you're not aiming to finish in the top 10 and join the Military Police, you either know you're not good enough to, or you're an idiot. I wonder which one you are."

"Ada…" Rasmus repeated, more forcefully this time.

"Yeah? Well, you act like that's a compliment," Ada retorted. "Why you think you're so high and mighty compared to those of us who actually want to make a difference baffles me. By the way, how's the face?"

"Alright!" Rasmus grabbed Ada's arm and began dragging her away from Jean's table, almost spilling both of their food trays in the process. "Let's go find a table. See you later, Jean."

"Yeah, whatever." Jean seemed disappointed as he shifted his attention back to the food in front of him.

Once Rasmus had dragged her out of earshot of Jean, Ada hissed in his ear. "What'd you do that for?" It was a reaction Rasmus had expected of her, though he was surprised that she had the patience to wait until they were safe from the boy's prying ears.

"What did I do that for? What did you do that for?" Rasmus lectured. "Seriously, picking fights on the first day?"

"We were just joking around."

"And getting in trouble with the instructor?" Rasmus huffed. "Ada, we're going to be living with these people for the next three years, so we should at least try to get along with them."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. So, who do you want to 'get along with' then? Blondie McBeefcake over there? Or maybe you'd prefer Freaky Freckles to stare at you with her beady little eyes?"

"How on earth do you come up with these names?" Rasmus asked, shaking his head in disbelief. Though the nicknames were obvious exaggerations, they did seem to fit the muscular blonde and the freckled brunette quite well.

Ada shrugged. "Hey, you get who I'm talking about."

As he surveyed the room, Rasmus was disappointed to note that every table was occupied by at least one person. He had been cautiously optimistic that he and Ada could have a table to themselves, but he had always known this could be a possibility.

"You know, if you're having trouble deciding then I could pick a table for us," Ada suggested. Just as Rasmus was considering taking her up on her offer, he caught sight of a waving hand out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, it's Milieus," he said, leading Ada towards the ash blonde boy's table.

She raised an eyebrow. "You mean that village boy who was beside you during initiation?"

"Yeah," he affirmed.

"Who's the guy sitting with him?"

Rasmus squinted his eyes in the hope of getting a better look at Milieus' companion. "Not sure," he replied, approaching the table and setting his tray down across from Milieus.

"Hey! Rasmus, right?" The boy seated beside Milieus had chestnut brown eyes, dark slicked-back hair, and a friendly grin. When Rasmus nodded, he continued. "The name's Nack, Nack Tierce." Shifting his gaze to Ada, he said "hey, and you're…" before trailing off.

"Shit-for-brains, right?" Ada laughed as she slid into the chair across from him.

Nack gave a lighthearted chuckle. "Well, I was going to say Adelheid, but that works too."

Ada grinned. "Call me Ada."

"Sure thing, Ada."

"So," Milieus said, looking between Rasmus and Ada. "You two know each other?"

"Oh yeah, Rasmus and I have been tight since before I can even remember, like two peas in a pod." Ada smiled. "I swear I know him better than I know myself."

"Oh," Nack said, his tone growing serious. "So that means that you're both from Shiganshina, right?"

"Dude!" Milieus whispered urgently, looking very uncomfortable. Ada's smile faltered, and Nack wore an apologetic expression on his face.

Rasmus lowered his gaze to the food on his tray. "Yeah…we are."

"Look, I'm sorry," Nack said. "I didn't mean-"

"-It's fine, don't worry about it," Rasmus assured him. "What about you two? Where are you from?"

"Me? I'm from the east side of Wall Rose, just outside Karanes," Nack explained.

"I don't know if you remember, but Marco and I are from Jinae," Milieus said, gesturing to a table across the mess hall. "He's the friendly guy with the freckled face."

Nack laughed. "Right, Sadies was pretty rough on you out there, wasn't he?"

"I wish he was completely wrong." Milieus looked down as he spoke. "It was my decision to join the military. In fact, my parents were adamantly against it, but they came around when I told them I was determined to join because I wanted to be part of something. Something bigger, and more important than our town. But, I can't help wondering if I would have made the same choice if Wall Maria hadn't fallen."

"You're thinking way to hard about this, man," Ada interjected. "The truth is, he's just a piece of work and he's trying to get in your head."

"How did I know you were going to say something like that, shit-for-brains?" Nack said with a grin.

Ada made a face. "Shut up," she said, playfully sticking her tongue out at him.

"She's right." The three other table occupants all turned to look at Rasmus. "He's just trying to intimidate you. You didn't do anything wrong; he did that to everyone. He's trying to assert dominance."

Milieus frowned. "But he didn't do the same thing to everyone. He skipped over you, and a few others too. I wonder why?"

Thinking for a moment, Rasmus said "He just looked me in the eyes and moved on. It was almost like he knew that I'd seen them."

"Seen who?" Milieus asked.

"The Titans, when they broke into Shiganshina."

"Wait, so you think this whole initiation thing is about getting us ready to face Titans?" Ada wondered aloud.

Rasmus shifted on seat. "I don't know, maybe."

"Hang on, I thought you were both from Shiganshina. So why did he skip Rasmus and not you?" Nack asked Ada. "I mean, surely you saw Titans too?"

Ada shook her head. "No, I didn't. I was one of the lucky ones. My parents and I made it to the boat before all hell broke loose." Rasmus noticed Ada's fingers trace the necklace she was wearing and fiddle with the golden pendant it held.

"None of us were lucky that day," Rasmus said, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Not the first ones out of Shiganshina, and not those who never left. We all lost something." He glanced back at Ada's pendant, which was decorated with a single letter: a stylized, cursive letter "A". It had been a gift from her parents. Some days he desperately longed for a similar memento to remember his parents by. Other days he pitied her, with every downwards glance, every time it touched her skin, and every conversation it prompted reminding her of her loss. He wasn't sure if it was worse to remember or to forget. He could still recall the day they had given it to her. Burned into his memory, it wasn't something he could forget in a hurry.

It had been a gloomy day, with dark clouds stretching as far as the eye could see. Ada's face was wet, but it hadn't been raining. Tears were streaming down her face. Her parents had watched her with sad expressions, looking frail and helpless. The worst part though, was the fear he saw in their eyes. Those were the eyes of people who were afraid to die. It was the same look he had seen back in Shiganshina.

Her father had reached into his pocket and pulled out the necklace, while her mother explained how they had managed to trade most of their belongings in exchange for it. Ada was frozen still as her father placed it around her neck, but soon broke down crying again. As Ada's mother held her, her father glanced between his daughter and Rasmus.

'Make sure you look out for one another,' he had told them. 'Keep each other safe.' Those were the last words Ada's father had said to them, and after a quick goodbye her mother left them too. Rasmus had to hold the sobbing Ada back to prevent her from going after them. After her strength had left her, she'd collapsed into him, shaking. Once she had grown still and he thought she had fallen asleep, she looked up at him with tear-stained cheeks.

'Why did my mom and dad have to leave?' Staring into her sorrowful eyes, Rasmus had never felt more helpless in his life, not even when he had watched his parents die in front of him. So, he said the first thing that came to mind. He told her that the Garrison didn't do their job, and that's why both of them had to suffer.

"Rasmus, are you even listening?" Ada's face suddenly filled his vision, appearing larger and more mature.

"What?" he asked, looking between his friend, Nack, and Milieus in an attempt to clue in to their conversation.

"Oh, I just said that I was going to head to the boys' barracks, since I still have some unpacking to do," Milieus said.

Nack stretched in his seat. "Yeah, I think I will too. It was a long journey from Karanes, so I have some sleep to catch up on. I'll see you around."

"Okay," Rasmus said as both boys stood up and grabbed their trays. "It was nice talking with you guys."

"Likewise," Nack said, while Milieus simply nodded.

"See ya!" Ada called after them. Then, looking back at Rasmus, she asked "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah." Rasmus noted that Ada had already finished her dinner, and hurriedly dug into the food left on his tray.

"Are you sure? Because you kinda zoned out there." Ada leaned in towards him. "Were you remembering…"

"Yeah," Rasmus said hurriedly, not wanting to broach the subject. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare them off and bring up unwanted memories."

Ada snorted. "Are you kidding? Sometimes you read too much into things. Milieus really did have more unpacking to do, he mentioned it while you were in La La Land."

"Oh."

"Anyways, what exactly were you remembering?" Rasmus felt his gut twist as he looked into her inquisitive eyes.

"It's nothing," he assured her, "just thinking about everything that happened."

"Alright," she shrugged, "just know that you can talk to me about anything."

"Yeah, I-" he was interrupted by the thud of boots on the wooden floor.

"Are you trying to pick a fight?" Rasmus and Ada turned to see a boy with a greenish brown shirt and messy, chocolate brown hair standing up beside his chair and looking furious.

"Stop it you guys," a freckled boy said, trying to intervene. Rasmus figured he must be Marco, the freckled boy Milieus had mentioned who came from the same town.

Jean, still wearing the cocky expression he'd had on earlier, stood up from his chair. "Alright, sure. Makes no difference to me."

"See, it wasn't my fault," Ada whispered to Rasmus. "Jean's picking fights with everyone." Rasmus just tsked as they watched the boys approach each other.

The room grew silent as Jean and the wild-haired boy stood face-to-face, and just when it seemed like one of them would make a move, a bell rang. Jean sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Hey, I apologize. Sorry for calling you names and dismissing your choice of career." He held out his hand for the boy to take. "Put her there kid, what do you say?"

The other boy paused for a moment. "Yeah, I'm sorry as well," he said, slapping Jean's hand in a sort of handshake before leaving the mess hall.

"I wonder what that jerk did to piss him off so much?" Ada wondered aloud.

"I think it had something to do with calling him a tough guy wannabe." A tall boy with dark hair and surprisingly soft features leaned over from the table next to theirs.

"Pfff," Ada said, addressing the newcomer. "Considering that all he wants to do is join the Military Police and hide behind the walls, I don't think he's allowed to make snarky comments to a boy who's already more of a man than he'll ever be." Satisfied with her insult, she sat smugly, ignorant of the cautioning glare Rasmus shot her way.

The dark-haired boy's eyes widened. "You think so? Personally, I think he's right…I want to join the Military Police too. Having seen what the Titans are capable of, I don't think I'm cut out for anything else."

Ada perked up. "You've seen the Titans? So has Rasmus!"

"You have?" The tall recruit looked at him in surprise.

Rasmus nodded. "I was in Shiganshina when they broke through. Ada was too, but she managed to get out before things went downhill."

"Yeah," Ada affirmed. "I didn't have to go through what he did."

"I see," the boy said, glancing at Rasmus with a thoughtful look on his face. "If you don't mind me asking, what did you have to go through?"

Rasmus swallowed, his throat suddenly feeling very dry.

"You don't have to if-"

"I saw the Armored Titan. I was there when he broke the inner gate." Rasmus sighed and looked away, holding back the tears that threatened to form. "He shattered it into boulder-sized debris. One landed on my parents, and they were…" He trailed off as his voice threatened to break.

The boy stared at him slack jawed. "I'm sorry," he sputtered. "That's horrible. I…they attacked my village too, at dawn. The animals were restless, I think they knew what was coming. It was then that I heard it: a distant rumbling. It grew louder and louder, until they were upon us. Thankfully I made it out alive, but most of our village wasn't so lucky."

"That's awful," Ada breathed, her eyebrows knitted in concern.

"Yeah," the cadet agreed, looking back at Rasmus. "I'm sorry if I brought up bad memories, I was just curious."

Rasmus, having had time to compose himself, shook his head. "I'm fine, really. It's not something I'll ever be able to forget, so I just have to get used to it."

"Hey, don't forget that I'm here to help." Ada placed a hand on his shoulder. "We look out for each other, remember?"

Rasmus nodded in response.

"I'm Bertholdt, by the way," said the boy.

Ada offered him a smile. "I'm Ada, and this is Rasmus."

"Nice to meet you both," Bertholdt said. He pointed towards another table. "Over there's my friend Reiner."

"Blondie McBeefcake?" Ada asked innocently.

"What?"

"Nothing," Ada said, while Rasmus stifled a laugh.

"Uh, okay," Bertholdt said, looking thoroughly confused. "Anyway, and the girl over there's Annie."

Rasmus followed Bertholdt gesturing hand, and his gaze landed on a blonde girl who was sitting at a table by herself. Her hair was done up in a loose bun, and side swept bangs obscured her eyes. Protruding from behind her bangs was a hooked nose that appeared to curve downwards. She appeared disinterested, fiddling with her utensils on her empty tray.

As if sensing his eyes on her, she looked up and met his gaze. Her eyes were an icy blue. Whether it was the colour of her eyes or the cold look in them, Rasmus felt himself shiver and quickly turned away.

"As far as I know, we're the only three from our town who survived," Bertholdt continued. As he spoke, Rasmus took the opportunity to risk another glance at Annie. She had already vacated her seat, and he watched her gather up her tray and deposit it with the other used trays before leaving the mess hall.

AN: Hopefully this chapter provided a bit more for you to sink your teeth into than the previous one did, with more insight into our protagonist(s) and the introduction of some familiar characters. For the record I know that it was never specified where Milieus lived/grew up. I just made the decision for him to be from Jinae like Marco as it's as plausible as any other town or district, and it creates a more interconnected narrative. Hopefully that clears up any questions which might arise surrounding Milieus' backstory. With that, I wish you happiness and good health, and I'll catch you in the next one.