[AN] I honestly think this is the fastest I've ever updated a fic. I'm usually slow at this, but I love SnK so much that I'm really eager to write it.

as for this chapter's quote, I chose it because of how incredibly misguided it is. a girl can be intelligent and still care about her physical appearance. when did it become taboo to wear makeup and do your hair? feminism doesn't exclude femininity.

now that I got that off my chest. rant over, and enjoy this shitty shit fic

"They love their hair because they're not smart enough to love something more interesting." -John Green, Looking for Alaska

Chapter 3: Tulips

Nephele had no qualms with rain. It cleansed and gave life to the earth, after all. However, she didn't really appreciate having to run ankle deep in mud, her cloths soaked through and chilling her to the bone. Those stupid raincoats only covered so much, after all. On top of everything, this was one of those rare circumstances in which wearing her heels would have been extremely inefficient. They'd just sink tight into the mud, hindering her movement, and, worse, possibly getting ruined beyond any hope of restoration. So, she sucked it up and stuffed her feet in the boots. They didn't seem able to do their job, as her feet would squish in her socks with every step.

"Can't you run any faster? Even Armin is doing better than you!"

'That's pretty easy for you to say, Shadis. You're on a fucking horse.'

In this particular squad, being compared to Armin Arlert in terms of physical capability was considered one of the biggest insults, which Nephele thought was cruel but accurate. He was the most intelligent cadet in the whole corps, and many agreed that he'd make an exemplary strategist, but the kid wasn't too great outside of the classroom.

It was a pretty fatal blow to her pride to see Armin trudging along ahead of her, visibly exhausted but still determined as the group continued down the forest's winding path. The path would occasionally rise into steep inclines that took all of Nephele's energy to climb up, and sudden drops where the force of gravity was the biggest threat, and could send a person tumbling into a tree with one misstep. Tree roots rose from the earth in some places, and many cadets fell victim to them, tripping over the trees' outstretched legs and twisting their ankles during their falls.

Nephele observed as Reiner fell back into step with the other blonde. They exchanged words, then Reiner shouldered Armin's pack along with his own, but Nephele was unable to hear their conversation over the roar of pouring rain and the rise and fall of dozens of boots slapping down on the mud.

Her legs fell like anchors, her body ached, her stomach felt like it was being wrung like a dish rag, and she was about to vomit from exertion and embarrassment. That would not be pretty.

"Ah, fuck it. My feet are already wet and cold anyways."

Though Nephele had no idea why, she suddenly came to a stop, pulling off the atrocious boots and gray woolen socks, then tossed them into the forest's green depths. Unhindered by them now, Nephele summoned every last reserve of strength to push forward.

She would not fail. 'Kill them all, to the last.'

Mud splattered all around her, but the steady onslaught of relentless rain kept her feet mostly clean Clean, but terribly cold. Nephele caught up with Armin in a few moments. He was breathing heavily, wheezing with each inhalation even though he was no longer carrying his pack. He blinked rain from his eyes, staring at her in surprise. Then, he glanced down at her feet, stunned to find that she was running barefoot.

"Ambrosia-san! What happened to your boots?" he shouted over the rain and Shadis, who was yelling at other cadets up ahead.

Nephele smirked, shrugged, and flashed a row of pearly white teeth. They weren't perfectly aligned, but it was evident that she cared a lot about oral hygiene.

"I ditched them," she replied, then quickly changed topics. "Are you really going to let Muscles over there get the better of you? Come on, Arlert-san! Have some faith in yourself!"

Never before had the two spoken to each other, yet Nephele didn't seem to care about their unfamiliarity. Armin never wanted this. He was so sick of being protected by others. Eren... Mikasa... It was bad enough when they were saving him from bullies, but against titans?

Never again will he let someone risk their life because he was too weak to save himself. 'Natural selection.' A concept he had about before and has feared ever since. He was weak, and natural selection was coming for him.

"I already know!" Armin's eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed. Nephele wondered if that was because of how hard he was pushing his body, or if it was out of spite for how weak he was.

Maybe it was both. Whatever it was, that expression fueled Nephele's spirit. It was evolving. No longer would she be a flower, rooted safely in her garden and ignorant of the world around her, waiting to be cut down. She was a bird now, and she was learning how to fly.

Armin grabbed his pack from Reiner, who watched, bewildered, as he ran onward.

"Come on, Ambrosia-san! Are you really going to let me of all people beat you?" he called out over his shoulder.

Grinning widely, Nephele pulled her hood down and let the rain wash the disease of self-doubt away.

"I'm right behind you."

Soon, the trees became blurred streaks of green as she passed them.

"She's pretty hot, I'll give her that."

"I don't know. She kinda looks like a twelve year old."

"She's actually eighteen."

"Nice! An older woman."

"What does it matter?" Eren had had enough. He tried to seem less bothered by the conversation than he actually was by blowing on his bowl of soup to cool it off, the steam rising from the contents and warming his face. "Titans don't care how 'hot' you are when they're eating you."

Connie raised an eyebrow at Eren's comment, smirking mischievously as he scratched his shaven head. "Did Nephele do something to piss you off, Eren?"

Jean mirrored Connie's grin, leaning forward somewhat towards the brunette boy on the opposite side of the wooden table. "Yeah, Eren. Did she reject you or something?" he questioned.

"Of course not! It just pisses me off. She doesn't take her training seriously, always bitching about the uniform and showing up late to drills because she's too busy doing her makeup." By now, Eren's blood was boiling hotter than his unattended soup.

"I don't know," Armin intervened, coming to the aid of the girl in question. "She seemed pretty serious yesterday. I'm surprised she decided to take off her boots and get her feet dirty because she couldn't run well in them. I think that at least says she's dedicated." He took a sip of his coffee before quietly adding, staring into the brown liquid, "Nephele seems like a nice person."

Eren snorted, propping his chin up on his hand and scanning the dining hall for any sign of the short red-head. "Whatever. I'm just surprised she hasn't gotten kicked out yet."

Across the room, Mikasa spotted a flurry of deep red curls, and pointed in their direction. "Look. She's getting food."

Every person seated at the table - Jean, Connie, Armin, Eren, Mikasa, Sasha, and Marco- turned their heads to catch a glimpse of the "chick with a foot fetish" as Connie now liked to refer her as. He needed to come up with a shorter nickname. Maybe "Foot Freak?"

"Who is she friends with?" Marco wondered aloud.

"No one. Probably think she's better than everyone else," Eren muttered.

"Why are you being so mean?" Armin asked, frowning in disapproval.

"Because she's an insult to those of us who came here for a reason," he said, pointedly glaring at the back of Nephele's head as she piled potatoes, bread, and the scarce amount of vegetables that were available onto her tray.

"I'm going to talk to her!" exclaimed Armin, determination flashing in his eyes.

Marco -bless his soul- smiled warmly and nodded, getting up from the bench. "I'll go with you."

One by one, all but Eren -and, by association, Mikasa- left the table to join Nephele. Eren scoffed in disbelief and started stuffing his face with food to busy himself.

"Eren, slow down. You'll choke," warned Mikasa, her expression a blank slate as usual. She didn't know Nephele, and had nothing against her because so far she hadn't risen a hand against her family, Eren, but of course she chose to stay by her step-brother's side rather than join the procession advancing towards Nephele.

"Don't patronize me, Mikasa," Eren grumbled. He then realized how inconsiderate he was being, sighed, and looked down.

"Why are you so upset?" Mikasa inquired, looking vaguely worried, but that shimmer of concern in her dark eyes was only the tip of the iceberg.

"It just pisses me off when people treat this like some kind of camp or vacation," he murmured, no longer in the mood to eat.

"Maybe Nephele is driven by a purpose as well. One that you don't understand because you haven't been in her position, just as she hasn't been in ours."

Out of words to say, Eren turned his head away and started staring at the bleak, oak walls with annoyance. "Whatever."

"Oh, hello, Arlert-san" a pause as Nephele scanned the faces of his entourage, "and company."

"Hey, Ambrosia-san. I hope you don't mind if me and my friends sit with you?" Armin asked innocently.

"Yeah, Eren's being annoying. As usual," Jean muttered.

Armin laughed nervously, and Nephele smiled softly in response to their request. "Of course. I don't mind. I'm Nephele," by the way, she said. This was followed by the stereotypical string of introductions, where everyone stated their names and awkwardly waited for someone to initiate conversation.

She started carrying her tray to an empty table, and the group awkwardly followed behind her, taking their seats around her.

'Is everyone here socially challenged?'

Without acknowledging them, Nephele picked up a slice of bread and delicately began nibbling away at it. Truthfully, she was somewhat upset that they didn't seem to be comfortable around her. Why was that? She wasn't at all intimidating.

"So, Nephele-chan," Marco began, trying not to be too overwhelming. "Where are you from?"

She glanced up from her food, making direct eye contact with Marco as she answered. Her mother taught her that this was the polite thing to do. "I'm from a small mountain village north of Shiganshina. What about all of you?" Redirecting the question after answering briefly; also a polite thing to do.

"Ragako village in Wall Rose," beamed Connie.

"Trost," was Jean's brief reply.

"Dauper!" Sasha said, smiling.

"A village in Wall Maria," said Marco.

"I'm from Shiganshina."

Everyone waited for Nephele's reaction to this revelation, but instead she just nodded somberly. She finished her bread. Sasha stared longingly at her potato on the tray, her eyes hazed over and a lopsided grin warping her features.

"A-Are you gonna eat that?" she asked, pointing at the potato as if she could somehow cause it to levitate into her mouth with her finger. Connie chuckled at her brash behavior as Jean rolled his eyes.

"You can have it." Nephele laughed a little as she picked up the potato with a napkin and reached over the table to hand it to Sasha, who eagerly snatched it and began eating like an apple, without any butter or salt.

"You're a saint," Sasha mumbled around bites, groaning with happiness.

"You don't have any meat on your plate," Connie noted. All she had left was an apple and a small bowl of broccoli.

Nephele nodded in affirmation, picking up her fork and beginning to eat each piece of broccoli one by one. After swallowing, she stated, "Nope, I'm a vegetarian."

Sasha nearly choked around her potato, but was able to compose herself and swallow the last bite. "Seriously? Why?!"

Nephele shrugged, looking away. "I just don't think it's ethically right. Titans are humanity's predators, are they not? And humanity's goal is to win against them. So I just don't think it's right to eat animals when we feel such hatred towards titans for eating us, and then feel no guilt about it. If I am to eat meat, then I am to condone the actions against us made by the titans."

While Armin contemplated her reasoning, most everyone else stared at her in shock. Marco, however, gave her the thumbs up and smiled widely. "Good! We all need morals to follow, and I completely understand why you made that decision," he stated. Good old Marco, the moral compass of the 104th trainee squad.

"Than you," she smiled, eyes closed and head tilted.

"I get it, too," agreed Armin. "But understanding a person's reasoning and following their logic are two different things. Besides, now we know that titans don't really eat humans for nourishment, as humans eat animals." He scratched the back of his head. "So please understand if I continue eating meat."

"True, but I can get nourishment from sources other than animals, so I'd rather not eat meat if I have the choice. You can eat as much meat as you want. It's you body," she reassured, beaming.

Nephele had finished her broccoli, and stared at the apple as she contemplated what to do. Yawning, she finally rose from he seat, stretching until the bones in her back cracked satisfyingly. "Well, I'll be heading off now."

"But it's only eight o'clock," Jean said, wondering if she was tired at such an early hour. Maybe she was exhausted from today's drills.

"Yeah, are you tired?" Connie asked as well.

"Nah, I'm going on a run."

"But why?" Jean asked, chuckling and shaking his head. "You can get plenty of running in tomorrow."

"Yeah, Shadis would be happy to make you run around the barracks until you dug a trench," joked Connie.

"I like doing things at my own pace," Nephele said, her curls bouncing as she bowed to the group. She polished the apple on her shirt and sank her teeth into the fruit, severing a piece."Thank you for keeping me company. Goodnight."

Nephele picked up her tray then turned on her heel, becoming a blur of red and tan, but stopped when she heard Jean behind her.

"W-Wait. Would you mind if I came with you?" he asked, looking to the side as if by doing so she wouldn't see the pink staining his cheeks. She turned towards him, head tilted slightly, and grinned.

"I don't know. Can you keep up?" she mused, pulling on one of the curls framing her face.

"Don't underestimate me," Jean warned facetiously.

"We'll see," she replied, waving her hand at him over her shoulder as she went to return her tray, her heels making delicate taps every time they made contact with the floor.

Once the pair had left, Connie leaned in towards the remaining cadets at the table, candles flickering precariously as the door opened and a gust of wind floated inside.

"Do you think Nephele is Jean's next victim?" he asked.

On the other side of the dining hall, Eren shared the same thoughts. "What the fuck is horseface doing with Ambrosia?"