"...Isn't it amazing what the human body can do?" - Edith M. Brown's Diary, 847

Summer 847
Military Boot Camp

Garbed in the military uniform of the cadets, Edith stood, spine straight, arms crossed behind her back among 200-odd hopefuls of the 104th cadet corps. At 17, she was one of the older cadets in the ranks, however as per usual her short stature made her appear younger than she actually was, letting her fit in slightly with some of the younger cadets.

"STRAIGHTEN THOSE SPINES PISS-ANTS! THE 104TH CADET CORPS BOOT CAMP STARTS NOW! ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF! I'M COMMANDANT KEITH SHADIS AND YOU WILL GROW TO HATE ME!

TRAINING IS GONNA BE WHITE-KNUCKLED RIDE THROUGH HELL IF I'VE DONE MY JOB, YOU'LL BE WAKING UP IN COLD SWEATS WITH MEMORIES OF THIS PLACE FOR EVERY NIGHT FOR THE REST OF YOUR MISERABLE LIVES!

RIGHT NOW YOU'RE NOTHING! LIVESTOCK! BUT OVER THE NEXT THREE SOUL CRUSHING YEARS, YOU'LL LEARN TO TAKE DOWN YOUR OWN GOLIATH! REMEMBER THIS MOMENT WHEN YOU COME FACE TO FACE WITH THEM! CAUSE HERE'S WHERE YOU ASK YOURSELF.

AM I A FIGHTER OR, AM FEED? AM I GONNA BE GROUND UP TO PULPY HUMAN GRISTLE BETWEEN BOULDER-SIZED INCISORS OR, AM GONNA BE THE ONE TO BITE?!" declared Shadis as he stood on the platform before them. Well, isn't he just a little ray of sunshine. Edith thought as Shadis remained on the stage, letting his words seep in before he stepped down and began to prowl down the rows of cadets.

"HEY MOP TOP!" Shadis called as he came to a stop in front a young blonde-hair male in the third row.

"Sir!" saluted the blonde, fist over chest as he stood to attention.

"WHAT DO THEY CALL YOU MAGGOT?!"
"Armin Arlert from Shiganshina, sir!"

"WOW, SERIOUSLY? WHY WOULD YOUR PARENTS CURSE YOU SUCH A DUMB NAME?"

"It was my grandfather, sir!"

"CADET ARLERT, WHY'S A RUNT LIKE YOU HERE?!"

"To help humanity overcome the Titans!"

"THAT'S DELIGHTFUL TO HEAR, YOU'RE GONNA BE A GREAT LIGHT SNACK FOR 'EM!" retorted Shadis as he forcefully turned Armin around by his head, "ROW THREE ABOUT FACE, RUNT!"

Shadis let go of the blonde's head as he continued on down the line, coming to stand in front of another blonde. "WHAT DO YOU CALL YOURSELF?"

"Sir! My name is Thomas Wagner I'm from the Trost District!"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

The Commander of the Cadet training corps meandered down the trail, followed by his lieutenant, watching over the newest recruits."Look at him go, the man is a master when it comes to fresh-faced recruits" commented the Commander.

"That takes me back" added the lieutenant as the group watched on while Shadis shouted in the face of some girl from Karanese."What's the point of all the intimidation?"

"It's a rite of passage. Through stress and degeneration, we revert them to blank slates. From there we can mould them bit by bit into proper soldiers. He is the first step in that process"

"There's some he's passing by" The lieutenant noted.

"A drill instructor is nothing compared to what those recruits have seen. They were there, witnesses to the Titan attack two years ago, you can read it in their faces...Come on, let's go"

Shadis continued on down the rows, calling on a Jean Kirschtein from Trost who wanted to be an MP, a Marco Bott who was too friendly for his own good, a Connie Springer from Ragako Village who seemed a little thick and finally came to a stop in front of a Sasha Braun who had the audacity to not only eat a baked potato at a time like this but to offer the lesser half of said potato to Shadis.

"Man! I thought Shadis was gonna kill Potato Girl!" exclaimed Connie as he stood amongst a couple of stragglers outside the mess hall later that evening, now dressed in casual wear.

"Yeah, I know. One hell of a first day" replied Eren as the group watched Sasha run laps around the yard, "It's funny being told to run till the sun set didn't seem to upset her as much as loosing meal privileges for the next five days"
"I think she said she was from Dauper, if I remember correctly that's a small hunting village up in the mountains"

"Hey, what's that?" Eren asked looking towards a departing caravan on the other side of the yard.

"They're dropouts. They prefer to work in the fields" explained Edith from where she leant against the railing.

"But...it's only the first day!" exclaimed Armin.

"That's the way it is. Can't handle the pressure, you gotta leave. I can't believe anyone would rather pull plants than fight" commented Eren.

"I know about some of us, but where are you from Eren?" Marco asked as the group turned their focus towards him.

"Same as Armin, Shiganshina" Eren replied, clapping Armin on the shoulder.

"Oh wow! That means..." trailed Marco.

"...You were there that day. The colossal one, did you see it?" Connie asked excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah I did"

Edith chose that moment to slip away into the mess hall to find some dinner.

"Can I sit here?" Edith asked the brunette sitting alone at one of the tables.
"Sure" replied the brunette around a mouthful of gruel as Edith sat down and dunked her roll into her gruel. It wasn't the best, but it was food and they were given double rations, so who was she to complain?

"I'm Eddie by the way" she introduced.

"Eddie?"

"Edith"

"...You and I are gonna be good friends Eddie" declared the brunette,"I'm Gus"

"Gus?"

"Augusta"

"Nice to meet 'cha Gus" replied Edith shaking her hand, "So where ya' from?"

"Orvud. You?"

"Shiganshina"

"Seriously? Shit. Sorry dude"

"No worries...you're not gonna ask?"

"I wasn't gonna pry. 'Sides if I wanted to ask, I could always go over to golden boy" replied Augusta, nodding towards one of the other tables where Eren appeared to be preaching to the group of cadets who surrounded him, most of them from the interior.

"Fair enough...Maria's tits! He sounds like a wallist!" laughed Edith.

"No kidding!"

The following day found Edith and Augusta grouped with the other cadets around several lots of Omni-Directional Mobility Gear rigs as they waited for Shadis to introduce the task. "You ready for this?" Edith muttered to Augusta, a grin on her face.

"So ready" she replied, wearing a matching grin.

"IT'S APTITUDE TEST TIME, SO LISTEN UP! THERE IS NO PLACE FOR YOU HERE IF YOU CANNOT PERFORM! FAIL AND BE SHIPPED TO THE FIELDS!" Shadis declared as cadets began to be hoisted up into the air, many taking a few tries to find the right balance.

The cadet Commander and his lieutenant wandered passed as they surveyed this year's crop of recruits. "We're just drilling the fundamentals here. You can determine a cadet's knack for it just by watching" stated the Commander as his eyes drifted over the current recruits in the rigs, landing on Mikasa Ackerman as he continued "Like her. Completely steady, she instinctively knows what to do and how to make it happen. That's what aptitude is all about. I'd say we'd have several capable cadets this year"

"What about this guy?" asked the lieutenant pointing towards one of the cadets.

"That's precisely why we run these tests. It proves that drive and dedication do not always translate into capability" The cadet in question, Eren, was hung upside down, unable to flip himself upright.

"WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION JEAGER? STRAIGHTEN YOURSELF UP!" Shadis shouted as many of the other cadets began to chuckle, much to Eren's horror. Further down the line, Edith hung from the rig, swaying slightly in the breeze. It had only been a year since she'd last donned the familiar gear, and yet it felt as easy as slipping back into a familiar routine. Muscle memory was a wonderful thing.

Later that evening, once everyone had packed up for the night and gone to bed, Edith had snuck out to the lake to go for a swim. The shared showers were all well and good, but sometimes you just wanted a little bit of privacy. Not to mention the scenery was amazing at this time of night.

Stripping down to her skivvies, Edith left her nightclothes and a towel she'd snagged from the bathroom, on the shore as she went for a swim. The shock of the cold water, brought goosebumps to skin at first, before she dove further into the water, adapting to temperature.

Laying on her back, Edith floated lazily across the water's surface, gazing up at the starry sky, the full moon bathing her and the lake top in an eery glow. Raising her prosthetic hand, she traced different constellations, starting with Matariki and ending with the Southern Cross; as her thoughts drifted back to the latest letter she had received from Peggy.

Things seemed to be going well, she had successfully sealed the engagement to the guy in Stohess, one who was significantly younger than her father had made him out to be. Something she was both glad and disappointed for. Glad that she had found a companion in her arranged husband-to-be and disappointed that she would not inherit the fortune her father promised her. All in all, things seemed to be going well.

With a sigh, Edith dipped back below the water before making her way back to the shore; she was starting to prune. Heaving herself up on to the shore, Edith towelled her braid dry before twisting it up into bun and pulled her dark grey sweatpants on.

The sound of a twig snapping broke the serene silence that encompassed the small area, making Edith snap to attention, her tunic clutched in her hands. Eyes narrowed towards the noise, she listened closely for anymore sounds as she wrapped her tunic around her hands, pulling it taut to use as a weapon if necessary.

"Come out. I know you're there" she called, waiting for the person or people to emerge from the woods. It took a moment for the culprits to sheepishly emerge and when they did, Edith felt the tension fall away as her shoulders sagged.

Armin, Eren, Reiner and Bertodlt all wore red-tinted cheeks as they gazed upon the sight before them. "Sina's tits! Give me a heart attack, why don't you?" Edith complained as she shrugged her tunic on, ignorant to the boys' embarrassment at her scarred shirtless figure and bent to retrieve her towel from the ground.

"W-What are you doing out here?" Reiner managed to stutter out, trying to take hold of the situation as his eyes roved over the bite mark scar that covered the majority of the right-hand side of her torso.

"I could ask you the same thing" she replied, slinging the towel over her shoulder, "But if Eren's head is any indication you're probably gonna try the rigs again, yeah?"

"Uh, y-yeah" Eren muttered.

"Hey Edith" Armin began, "You did pretty well on the ODM Gear earlier, do you have any tips?"

"Uh, well, I've got an unfair advantage since I've used the gear before" she replied.

"What? When?" Eren demanded, stepping forward as he did so.

"I, uh, I was a part of the failed retake of Wall Maria operation. We were given a crash course a couple of weeks before we left"

"...Is-is that where you got the scar?" Reiner asked, speaking up.

"Yeah, I-I got lucky" she replied not looking at any of the boys as she shifted on her feet.

"Wait, if you were a part of the operation, then why are you at boot camp? The survivors got instantly accepted into the service"

"That's only if you want to be a soldier. Since I want to be a field medic, I have to do the standard three years of training"

"Oh"

"Yeah...Well, good luck on the rig" Edith uttered before she made her way back to the barracks, closing the squeaky door as quietly as she could, she dumped herself on her bed by the door. Sleep came soon after.

"Eren Jeager, are you ready?" Shadis asked. It seemed he had a second tone other than shouting.

"Yes sir!" Eren replied, as he was cinched into the rig. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he was hoisted into the air, a look of pure determination on his face. Edith and the rest of the cadets watched on in anticipation as Eren hung upright for a few moments, earning cheers from the crowd before he once again face-planted.

"Lower him" ordered Shadis as Eren was lowered onto his hands and knees, practically begging to be given another chance. It was at times like these where Edith truly remembered how young a lot of these cadets were. Sure they acted older, but at heart, many of them were still children.

"Wagner, please exchange belts with Mr Jeager" Shadis ordered, a calm facade displayed on his exterior.

"Uh, yes sir!" Wagner replied as he removed his own belt and swapped it for the one Eren handed to him. Eren was once more hoisted into the air, this time able to stay upright for more than a couple of moments.

"Your equipment was defective. If given a piece of functional gear, you might not be worthless after all. No one noticed this broken clasp, might have to visit the supply depot and crack a couple of skulls" Shadis stood before him, the broken belt clutched tight in his hands and explained what had happened.

Murmurs ran through the crowd as the other cadets realised what had happened. "So you mean I- I didn't wash out?" Eren stuttered.

"You made the cut. Keep training cadet! Next up is the full gear!"