Chapter Two.
"We're nearly there!" Ethan cried out loudly, as he swung through the tree tops freely his skill with his Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear (3DMG) becoming very obvious as he was able to skillfully maneuver between a collection of thick tree branches without touching a single branch. Trailing not far behind him were three others, all former cadets from the 103rd and newly recognized members of the Survey Corps. They all proudly now wore the symbol of the wings of freedom and sported the signature green field cloak. However, Ethan and the others knew very well that they had a far ways to go before they had officially earned the right to call themselves true members of the Survey Corps.
"It'll be a shame once we reach the checkpoint and you're not in first anymore!" A female soldier cried out, as she skillfully launched herself through a small gap in the trees and quickly followed up by hooking onto the next tree branch with her 3DMG. The girl along with Ethan was one of three cadets that had ranked top ten in their class and volunteered to join the Survey Corps. Ranking number nine in her class her skills landed within the ability to maneuver through nearly any type of terrain with the 3DMG as she demonstrated the skill perfectly in the final exams of their training by perfectly passing through a tight alleyway between two barracks. She had short choppy chestnut brown hair in a ponytail that had a reddish tint to it, fair skin with freckles, and a pair of full lisp that were almost always in a devilish grin.
Hanna Lager.
Ethan smirked at her usually overconfidence, "You may be more maneuverable, but I'm faster and more resourceful!"
"Only someone who wasn't resourceful would call himself resourceful," A third soldier chuckled softly, as the black haired boy appeared from Ethan's blind spot and used a nearby tree branch to swing himself high into the air where he hooked onto a lower branch to swing himself forward at an amazing speed. Unlike both Ethan and Hanna, he had not made the top ten in class mostly due to his relax nature and go with the flow type of personality. Most assumed at first it was because he had never seen a Titan before, but it became quickly apparent that he was stuck going down the stream of social norms by nature. His skills mostly fell within the category of being resourceful and knowing his facts. His jet black hair was neatly combed to the side, he wore a pair of thin framed glasses which were secured in the back by a strap when in the field, and his height was a few inches above Ethan's average height.
Lawrence Carter.
"One day I'm gonna smack that cocky smirk off your face," Hanna groaned lowly. Lawrence was constantly getting lost in his thoughts and while he didn't itend to do so, many thought at first he was simply being arrogant and ignoring others whenever he did get lost in his day dreams.
"I have no idea what you're speaking about," Lawrence called out, with a joyful laugh as he entered a flashy front flip and quickly flung himself forward with the help of his 3DMG.
Ethan sighed heavily, "For someone who is extremely laid back you really do come off as an arrogant fool."
"You shouldn't get distracted by these commoners when we're having a race, Winters!" A blonde haired soldier laughed loudly, as the soldier flew past the three with lightening quick speed and nearly sent Hanna and Lawrence crashing into each other. Ethan sighed heavily as he flashed the other two a smirk and unleashed a powerful stream of gas from is 3DMG which sent him flying forward, his eyes plastered upon the blonde haired soldier who had just flew past them. The soldier had short blonde hair that was short on the sides, his eyes were a playful emerald green, and his muscular build was perfect for a soldier; or as Ethan liked to say he should of became a field worker so he could pull carts all day with his fellow worker oxes. While not ranked within the top ten of his class, he was just as equally as skilled as Ethan and was only demoted from the top ten due to his aggressive habit of picking fights with others.
Oliver Ross.
"You shouldn't get into some many fights or else maybe you could of been in the top ten," Ethan called back, grinning as he hooked into two branches that towered above Oliver and using another powerful stream of gas he launched himself right over Oliver's head. Dropping before Oliver he quickly entered another swing and nearly caused the blonde haired soldier to spin out of control.
Oliver grinned widely as his competitive nature made him love these types of playful bickering, "I have no intentions of joining those stuck-up Military Police! You were the only one who really gave me the thrill of competition so wherever you go, I go!" While Ethan was only ranked number seven in their class, the others ahead of him were more skilled in specific fields while Ethan held a well graded level in every field making him the perfect candidate for Oliver's rival. Ethan may of not excelled at one specific field, but he was advanced in nearly all fields making him a well balanced and skillful soldier.
With one final stretch the four of them all launched forward, the burst of sun light hitting their faces as the escaped the thick forest behind them and landed safety on the open grassy field they had set up camp on. The group congratulated each other on another successful run through the course, Hanna bragging above her usual maneuver skills, Lawrence simply getting distracted by the warmth of the sun as it made it seem like he was ignoring Hanna, and the other two continued to bump heads about who finished first. Approaching, the group of newly appointed soldiers were two members of the Special Operations Squad, Petra Ral and Eld Jinn.
"You guys are getting the hang of this," Petra cheerfully welcomed the group with a warm smile.
"Don't get to conformable though," Eld interrupted as he was Levi's second-in-command of the squad and in charge of their training, "It's easily to excel when maneuvering through terrain you've run through several times already. The real test is successfully maneuvering through unknown territory, using both skill and quick calls."
"Why don't we run through the more advance course then?" Ethan asked curiously as he truly desired to properly hone his skills so he wouldn't become a burden for the veteran soldiers in the future.
"We've ran this course for a whole week," Oliver pleaded as he stepped forward, "I know we're ready for the more advanced course."
"I would allow you all as a squad to move forward," Eld explained, "However it seems you're one member short."
Emerging from the treeline was one last soldier, a young blonde haired girl who was just barely able to make the landing as she gasped for air loudly obviously exhausted from trying to keep up with the rest of her squad. The girl was far from the skill level of her fellow squad members, her talents lying within her studies and not out in the field. With such high test scores and advanced knowledge of all topics they had covered in training, the instructors had allowed her below average field skills be overlooked and she was allowed to graduate. However, most people saw her as a burden out in the field and were shocked with her decision to join the Survey Corps. Her long blonde hair was done up, her baby blue eyes darted around the area nervously as she realized she was late, and her cheeks carried a rosy red color.
Sarah Jensen.
"Of course," Hana groaned lowly, she was on good terms with Sarah but in many ways she acted as her babysitter constantly taking care of the absent minded girl and standing up for her.
"I'm so sorry," Sarah gasped loudly in a panicked manner, "I was trying to keep up but it's just more difficult to hook onto branches at the speed you all were going at." Petra sighed heavily as she acknowledged the fact that Sarah had desirable skills for a strategic officer, but couldn't help but feel like her lack of ability out in the field made her an undesirable squad member.
"You will run this course until all squad members finish together at a timely fashion," Eld ordered sternly, as he new Levi wouldn't approve of him allowing a half-assed squad to move forward onto the advanced course.
Oliver groaned lowly in frustration something that caught Eld's attention, "You have a problem soldier?" Petra once again sighed loudly as she knew this squad was a bit rough, with their mixed personalities.
"I just don't get why we all should suffer because of just one squad member," Oliver growled, as he truly hated not being able to move forward in their training.
Eld was about to speak when Petra silenced him and stepped forward allowing her motherly personality to take over, "Over the wall there's no me there's only us. If you wanna survive out there you have to start acting as a team, you're only as strong as your weakest member. You all may be pointing fingers at Sarah right now, but in reality you all have something you must work on if you wanna survive out there."
"All of us?" Ethan repeated curiously.
...
"Oliver you are far to cocky and overconfident," Eld began the rant as they had gathered the five soldiers around the picnic table they used for breaks during the training. Oliver was taken back by Eld's words as he never felt like he was cocky, he simply say it as him being competitive. "You treat each course run as a game and if you don't break that habit you'll become the first to die out there."
Oliver nodded weakly as he glared down at his feet, a sense of guilt and shame overcoming him.
"Hanna you are far too desperate to prove yourself to others," Petra began as she made eye contact with the younger girl who was shocked to hear her call her out on such a thing. Hanna couldn't deny that back in training she had pushed herself way past her limits in order to gain praise and find her spot within the top ten, only so she could be noticed by the others. "If you keep pushing yourself simply for praise and recognition, you'll not only put yourself a risk but the squad."
"Lawrence you are not only full of yourself, but look down on others!" Eld called out the black haired soldier who had been caught gazing off in the distance as he watched two birds make a nest in a nearby tree, "We've already got one arrogant soldier in the Special Operations Squad we don't need another in the Corps!"
Lawrence was snapped out of his dream like state and turned his attention towards Eld, giving the veteran soldier a confused tilt of the head.
"Maybe it's not that you're cocky, but you're far too laid back?" Petra questioned the soldier curiously.
Lawrence quickly looked around to make sure the two were talking about him, still unsure of who the comment was directed towards he shot them both a playful smile and an awkward wave.
"Regardless of your odd personality," Eld cleared his throat loudly, "You're unfocused out in the field as you tend to ignore your squad due to your absent mindedness. In the end, an unfocused soldier is a dead one."
"Sarah you go without saying," Petra called out, "You're studies are so excuse for a lack of ability out in the field. If you don't start catching up with the other you will become a burden which may cost others their lives." Sarah looked down self consciously as she knew her poor skills were the main reason why the squad was being held back. Hanna gently patted her on the leg and flashed the girl a smile, regardless of Sarah being a burden to them Hanna refused to give up on her.
Lastly, all eyes fell upon Ethan who had been awaiting for his death by criticism.
"Ethan you are far too eager to move forward," Eld explained a bit more calmly, "You keep looking forward that you forget to look at what's going on at the moment. You desire to advanced farther into your training that you don't realize that you're leaving others behind and guess what you won't survive out there without the help of others."
"You may not like this," Petra stepped in, "But your brother was right. You don't know what it's like out there and if you're gonna survive you must stop thinking about what you can do in the future and start thinking about what you can do right now. Start by working as a squad and finishing off your first task, before moving on forward towards the next one."
Ethan's fist became tight as he hated the fact that his brother was still right, even when he wasn't around. The reality was that he got so caught up with finishing the course at a new record time that he hadn't even thought about looking around to make sure Sarah was with them and that everyone was falling within their formation.
"You're all dismissed for the day," Eld instructed them, "Think about what we said."
The barracks were silent as most soldiers were fast asleep, in the western hall where most of the newly appointed soldiers from the 103rd were assigned too many were still awake discussing new tactics for the upcoming course run. In the far corner of the western dinning hall was Ethan and his squad all huddled around a candle all their minds wrapped tightly around what was said about them.
"They were just saying those things, because they didn't wanna point fingers at Sarah." Oliver said harshly, as he had been extremely worked up about Eld's comment of him being over confident and cocky.
Hanna roughly slapped his arm, "It's not her fault."
"Continue playing mother and you'll get dragged down by her also," Oliver snarled annoyingly as he folded his arms and glared down at the floor.
Sarah weakly tugged on Hanna's sleeve, "He's right I'll only drag you down."
"Sarah don't let a big lug like him put you down," Lawrence stated with an oddly happy smile on his face as he chuckled softly.
Oliver stretched over the table and grabbed Lawrence by the collar roughly, "What did you say you four-eyed day dreamer?"
"Oh gosh," Lawrence gasped, "Oliver my apologizes I didn't realize you were still here."
"You just called me a big lug," Oliver gritted his teeth as released Lawrence, "I can't tell if you're looking down on me right now or if you really didn't notice I was still here."
The table grew silent as the realization that everything that Petra and Eld had said about them was true. Not only were their differences effecting them out on the course, but it was now effecting the relationship they all had together. Ethan ran his hands through his hair as he released a loud stressful sigh, the realization that they may not ever work as a squad started hitting him. At the end of the day if they couldn't work together on simple details like communicating, then their chances of survival over the wall was pretty much nonexistent. They were no longer cadets, they were soldiers and they had to start acting like ones.
"We still got time until the next course run," Ethan stated coldly.
"Do you think we can do it this time?" Hanna questioned him curiously.
Ethan looked up to find all eyes locked upon him as if they were all waiting for his response, "I know we can."