I don't own any of this, yadda, yadda, yadda, you get the idea.

Paradis Royal Army Wilderness Survival and Orienteering Exercise

This exercise has traditionally been the first major field exercise undertaken by recruits of the Paradis Island Military, and still remains a proverbial rite of passage to this day. The exercise consists of dividing recruits into teams of two and giving them a route to follow through the countryside to test their orienteering skills, with their destination often being a winter camp of sorts.

In order to verify whether teams followed their intended routes, path markers are set out along each of the routes with something unique inscribed on them. Recruits write down what is inscribed on these markers as they encounter them, thereby allowing instructors to both test the navigational skills of recruits, and ensure that they actually follow the intended path.

An excerpt from an Eldian Military History Textbook, 856

November 847

Skip frowned as he studied the map for what felt like the hundredth time that day, trying to pinpoint where exactly the damned path marker was located. According to the map, the marker he needed to find was supposed to be in a small grove of trees about hundred meters directly in front of him. The only problem was that there was no grove of trees directly in front of him. He idly wondered if the thinner mountain air was starting to affect his judgment. Deciding a second set of eyes would probably help, he looked over his shoulder to his partner, who was currently surveying the valley below them.

"Hey, Mina! Can you come look at this map for me?"

Mina turned and nodded. "Not sure how much help I'll be, but sure."

Skip shifted over to allow her to view the map. "The map says there's a cluster of trees a few hundred meters directly ahead," he motioned vaguely in front of them, "but obviously there's nothing there. I just want to make sure I have this oriented correctly."

When Mina nodded in acknowledgement, Skip stood and took a few steps back, facing the valley that she had been gazing at moments earlier. His tired eyes were beginning to sting a little. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Damn nightmares just wouldn't leave him alone sometimes. They weren't as frequent as they used to be, but they still caused trouble from time to time. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, involuntarily shivering a little at the influx of cold air stinging his lungs.

"You've got it oriented correctly. I think. I guess the map is just wrong."

Skip let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes before turning back to his partner, who was watching him with a degree of concern. He trudged back to the map with a scowl. Skip gave it one more glance to see if it still had any clues as to where their next path marker was, before finally giving up on the deceitful piece of paper. He picked it up and began re- folding it. "Alright. We'll just keep moving along the supposed path. If we're lucky, we might spot some trees not far off the trail."

Mina nodded again, standing up as well. "Didn't you used to do something like this for a living?" she questioned.

He snorted. "Yeah, except our maps were accurate, and most of the time there was a fairly obvious road to follow." Skip paused for a moment, sliding the map into the pocket of his parka before grumbling, "When we get to winter camp I'm gonna find whoever made this map and shove it up their ass."

Mina chuckled nervously, raising an eyebrow at Skip. "I hope you're not being serious."

"I just might be if this bullshit keeps up," he muttered just loud enough for both of them to hear.

Several treeless kilometers and an hour later, Skip simply decided that finding the marker was a lost cause, and that they should continue on their way to the camp. When asked about whether Shadis would penalize them for it, he merely shrugged and said, "What's he gonna do, kick us out because his own staff screwed up?"

The marker, though, was the least of Skip's concerns as the sun began its descent towards the horizon. No, his main concern was that he and Mina had been caught with no shelter on an exposed mountaintop with nightfall fast approaching. He came to a stop as he surveyed their surroundings. The mountain's slope had leveled off for about half a kilometer, resulting in a relatively flat field of snow. How the wind didn't blow everything into snowdrifts, he did not know. 'Well, at least we probably won't have to worry about being buried,' he mused. Skip frowned as a stiff breeze blew into his back. The wind seemed to have been getting stronger over the last hour. 'The wind should be dying down as the sun sets, not picking up.' He noticed Mina had come to a halt as well, looking out over the field with him. "We'll have to stop here," he said. "Climbing mountains after dark is never a good idea," Skip glanced up to the cloudy sky. "Especially without the moon."

Mina nodded in agreement, folding her arms. "Where are we going to set up, though? There isn't exactly much shelter out here."

"Doesn't really matter. With an open field like this, the wind's going to be blowing into us the same regardless of where we are." Skip idly kicked at the ground beneath him, testing the depth of the snow. "We'll probably have to dig a hole to keep us out of the wind. If we get lucky, we can dig a hole deep enough to cover with a blanket."

With a plan in mind, the pair set off into the snow field. They chose their spot around halfway through the field, pulling their folding spades from their packs. The cadets worked in silence, shoveling away snow until they hit the ground below.

Skip's spade thunked against the ground, unable to penetrate far enough to dig anything up. "Damn," he cursed. Skip elaborated as Mina looked over to him questioningly. "The ground's frozen solid. This is as deep as we'll get."

Mina frowned at their shallow hole. "The hole's barely deep enough to keep us out of the wind."

"We can pile up some of the excess snow around the rim, but after that we should settle in for the night."

A few minutes later, Skip sat huddled against the shallow wall of their hole, feeling the chill settling into his bones despite the blanket wrapped around him. He pulled his scarf up around his face, hoping to keep the frostbite away. He flinched slightly as he felt Mina settle in right next to him, tossing her blanket over both of them. He turned to look at her, eyebrow raised.

She refused to meet his eyes. "It'll keep us warmer," she mumbled, sounding slightly defensive.

Skip returned to staring blankly at the other side of the hole, idly contemplating whether it was the scarf making his face abnormally warm. Feeling his partner shiver slightly, he unwrapped himself from his blanket, and tossed it over them, on top of Mina's blanket. The pair sat in silence for the rest of the night, listening to the wind as unconsciousness slowly claimed them.

The next day was upon them soon enough, and after a quick bite from their ration bars, they were on their way again. It was a mostly quiet walk, only broken up by the occasional small talk attempt or complaint about the exercise. At least, until Mina started asking questions about Skip's life, for whatever reason.

"So, I heard you were a courier before you joined the military?"

Skip briefly glanced at Mina out of the corner of his eye, wondering what had prompted the question. "Yeah, I was. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "Well, you are a little young to be a courier, so I guess I was just curious about how you became one."

Skip glanced at her again, considering what to say. "I was a refugee kid who couldn't find work, until someone came along and offered me a job. Guess he took pity on me or something." He didn't really want to talk much about this.

Mina lowered her gaze to the road, speaking softly. "That's right. You lived in Shiganshina at first."

An empty feeling began to form in the pit of Skip's stomach. He really didn't want to talk about that.

"So who is he?"

Skip blinked. "Huh?"

Mina looked up at him. "The guy who gave you the job."

"He was a friend of a friend."

"Was?"

Skip frowned slightly. "He was killed during a delivery a year or so back."

Mina's eyes widened slightly. "Oh… I'm sorry to hear that."

Skip shrugged. "He was delivering something dangerous, and the Interior Police got to him. Nothing more to it."

Silence prevailed for a moment as the two continued to trek down the mountain road. Shadis had apparently decided to have mercy on them after their cross country climb up the mountain, and had put them on an actual road until they reached lower ground.

"What was he like?"

Skip's frown deepened imperceptibly. What was with all of the questions? He took a moment to ponder his response. "Somehow one of the smartest people I've ever met, and the dumbest at the same time." He saw a bend in the road ahead. "Never knew when to quit, until it was way too late."

He could practically see the next question forming on Mina's lips as they turned the bend, only to have it silenced by what they found on the other side. A rockslide had blocked the road, leaving no safe way forward.

"Well, this is unexpected," Mina stated, likely trying to lighten the mood a little.

Skip, meanwhile, grumbled obscenities under his breath as he pulled out the map and a pencil to mark the location of the rock slide. Once finished, he refolded the map and put it back in his parka. He glanced up to see Mina looking at him expectantly. "The road branches off further back, so we still have a way out of these mountains. The bad news is that they might be a little more dangerous than the main road."

Mina shrugged. "Not like we have much choice."

Skip grunted in agreement, feeling his annoyance building.

Skip had to suppress a growl when they found their path blocked by a rockslide yet again. They had burned the last two hours backtracking and following a different road, only to be forced to backtrack a second time. He glanced up to the sun, directly overhead. They couldn't afford to keep doing this if they wanted to make it out of the mountains by nightfall. Scowling, he pulled out the map from his pack to find an alternate route yet again. As he did so, he idly noted Mina poking around the side of the road. Specifically the side of the road that ended in a sheer drop of at least 100 meters to the bottom. He momentarily wondered if he should warn her to stay back, but quickly dismissed the thought. She had enough common sense to stay away from the dangerous cliff. Probably.

He was drawn from studying the map when he heard her call out to him.

"I think I found a way around!" She exclaimed.

Skip, somewhat skeptical, joined her where she was standing. She pointed to a rocky outcropping next to the rockslide, where he spotted a small ledge going around the outcropping. He furrowed his brows as he studied the potential path. The ledge was small, but still large enough for a person to theoretically walk on. Even so, his lizard brain screamed that even attempting to use the ledge would be a bad idea, and he agreed.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure about that."

She looked at him, bewildered. "What do you mean? We could totally make it around on that ledge!"

"And take the risk of that ledge breaking while one of us is on it? I don't think so."

"We don't have time to keep backtracking like this. It's a risk we'll have to take!"

"Is that kind of risk really worth it?"

"Haven't you ever heard of 'no risk, no reward'?"

Skip threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "Fine! If you want to take your chances with the ledge, be my guest. I'm not cleaning up your body if you fall, though."

Mina narrowed her eyes slightly, watching her partner return to the map. "Jeez, you don't have to be a jackass about it."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Skip shot back.

Despite his attitude, Skip couldn't help himself from glancing over his shoulder to watch his partner attempt the crossing. As she took her first shaky steps onto the ledge, a feeling of danger grew in the pit of his stomach. Skip stood up, and quietly approached the ledge. A moment later, he had a feeling that he couldn't quite identify, but it felt familiar. The pit in his stomach grew, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. By the time the ledge broke from under Mina, he was already lunging to grab her arm.

He just managed to catch her wrist, nearly sending himself over the edge as well in the process, but managed to steady himself at the last second. He waited a moment to see if anything else bad would happen, before blowing out a sigh of relief. Mina still appeared to be in shock over what had just happened, and stared into the void with wide eyes. Feeling satisfied that they were in a reasonably safe position, Skip began to haul his partner up from the cliff face, grunting from the exertion. This seemed to snap Mina out of her daze, as she reached up and grabbed the ledge with her free hand to help pull herself up.

Once she was safely over the top, Skip felt his frustration from the day boiling up now that they were out of danger. "Don't you have any sense of self- preservation?" He turned to retrieve his discarded backpack. "I mean, honestly, what possessed you to even think trying that way was a good idea? Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, you should listen to the guy who spent the last year doing stuff like this when he told you 'trying to walk on that ledge is a pretty stupid idea'?"

When no response came, Skip turned around. Mina continued to sit, unmoving, gaze never leaving the ground. He sighed, reigning himself in. He felt a little guilty at just exploding at her like that, but he figured his partner needed a stern talking to after what just happened. He decided to apologize to her later, after she had recovered from her brush with death, and after he had cooled off a bit. Still, he knew they needed to get moving. Walking over to her, he offered her a hand. "Hey, we need to get moving if we're gonna get out of here before dark. I think we can still make it."

Mina nodded slowly, taking the hand and pulling herself up. They started back down the road they came from, hopefully for the last time.

Luckily for the cadets, they weren't forced to backtrack again. By the time Skip and Mina climbed their way down out of the mountains, it was already mid afternoon. They burned another few hours making their way to their original path, having been taken a ways off by the smaller side roads. Upon returning to the main road, Skip immediately spotted a path marker, taking out a notebook to write down what was inscribed on it. Once done, they resumed their trek, with the sun sinking ever lower in the sky.

Skip occasionally glanced over his shoulder, just to make sure Mina was still with him. She had been trailing a few paces behind ever since the ledge incident, her eyes still downcast. He frowned a little, he still figured he should apologize. That could wait until they decided to stop for the night, though.

By sunset they found themselves in an Alpine forest, and Skip decided that it was as good a place as any to stop for the night. Setting up camp was a quiet affair, with Mina setting up some rudimentary shelters while Skip got to work on a fire. Before long, they were sitting by the fire, letting their still- frozen bones thaw out. Skip glanced across the fire at his partner, finding her staring into the bright orange flames.

He decided to try and lighten the mood a little, cracking a small smile. "You know, staring at a bright fire probably isn't so good for your eyes."

Mina's eyes briefly flickered up to meet his as she shrugged, before returning to the fire. Sighing, Skip decided to take the direct approach. "Hey, uh, about earlier today."

She met his eyes again, though she held his gaze this time.

"I shouldn't have gone off on you like I did. That was out of line. I've just been pretty tired lately, and…" Skip shifted his gaze down to the fire. "Well, I have a bad tendency of saying the first thing that comes to mind, whether or not I should actually say it. As you can imagine it gets me into trouble sometimes…" He chanced another glance over the fire, seeing a slight smile on Mina's face."I guess what I'm trying to say is, sorry about snapping at you. Knowing me, it'll probably happen again, but don't take anything I say then too personally."

Mina gazed at him for a moment, as if assessing his sincerity, before shaking her head slightly. "You don't have much to apologize for, but I appreciate the thought." She hesitated for a moment, deciding whether to say something before continuing. "Besides, it's nice to know that you do actually have a heart in there."

Skip raised an eyebrow, feeling mildly insulted. "Uh- huh. And what's that supposed to mean?"

He watched as Mina winced slightly, no doubt thinking she hit another nerve. "Well- you see," she started slowly, "you're friendly enough to everyone on the outside, but it seems like that's as far as it goes."

Skip shrugged. "Maybe that's as far as I want it to go."

"You see, I don't think that actually makes a difference. If you ask me, it's certain that you'll end up caring about someone in more than just a surface- level way in this place."

Skip shifted in his spot a little bit, uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking. He never really liked talking about feelings. Too complicated, too messy. "Agree to disagree then. Can we talk about something other than my personal feelings?"

Mina smirked, seeing as she had found a way to make her fellow cadet uncomfortable. She put a hand up to her chin in false contemplation. "Hm… How about I get to ask you one question, and you have to answer it. If you do, I'll drop the subject of feelings."

Skip gave her a half- hearted glare. She was clever, he'd give her that. "Fine, shoot."

"Why did you join the military?"

That was a fairly easy question. Well, easy in the sense that the answer was pretty simple. Unfortunately, Mina probably wouldn't take 'I don't know' for an answer, so Skip took a few moments to order his thoughts. "To tell you the truth, I don't really know. I just felt like it was something I had to do. Maybe it was to have a chance at avenging Shiganshina, maybe it was out of some higher duty to defend humanity, maybe even just for the hell of it."

"I think you'll find your reason soon enough."

"Maybe."

Another moment of silence passed.

Mina sighed. "I joined to get away from my parents. They just don't seem to understand that they can't shelter me and control my life. It felt kind of suffocating to me."

"Don't you need your parents' permission to join the military?"

A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. "Only their signatures on the enlistment papers, which may or may not have been easily forged."

"My, aren't you a devious one." They shared a light chuckle, before Skip grew more serious. "Honestly though, I think they were only doing what they thought was best for you." He could already see Mina opening her mouth to protest, so he quickly continued. "I'm not arguing with your -probably- illegal decision. Hell, I would've done the same thing in your place. I'm just saying that you shouldn't resent them too much for how they raised you." His voice dropped to just above a whisper. "Don't throw away your relationship with your parents so easily, cause you never know when they'll be gone forever."

A heavy silence descended over the cadets, as they both briefly lost themselves in their thoughts. Skip was the first to return to reality, deciding to lighten the atmosphere a little. "Alright, question time's over. Can't be spilling all of my secrets in one night, eh?"

Mina looked a little surprised by the about face in his demeanor, but decided to play along anyways, jokingly pouting. "Aw, you mean you're not gonna tell me about how you learned to pick locks like a professional burglar?"

Skip chuckled a little, laying down to sleep. "If I did, I'm afraid I'd have to kill you. Now go to bed. We still have a ways to go, and I am not dragging you to winter camp if you pass out from exhaustion."

Their third day of travel was smooth sailing. They found the last path marker relatively quickly, noting it down, and continuing. With no more path markers to worry about, the cadets found themselves chatting and lapsing into companionable silences over the course of the day. Skip took the opportunity to appreciate what remained of the fall colors before the monotone of winter truly set in. Even though the day's journey was easy compared to the last two days, it was still a long march to their destination.

Dusk had fallen by the time Mina and Skip arrived at the winter camp. Having given their verbal report of their exercise to the Commandant, they simply waited for him to review their annotated map and give his final verdict on their performance. Skip noticed Mina tense a little when Shadis looked up at them, finished reviewing their map.

"Despite missing several path markers, and arriving dead last out of all of the other teams, you still performed reasonably well given the circumstances. You completed your objectives to the extent you were able, and for that you get a passing grade for this exercise."

Both cadets relaxed a little.

"However, you would do well to keep in mind that a good soldier is adaptable, and will be able to make the most of their changing circumstances. That is all."

The two filed out of the office after saluting Shadis, feeling the weight of the past couple of days beginning to come down on them. Skip released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, absentmindedly watching it steam in the cold twilight air. Mina also released a breath, her shoulders sagging with relief. They began to walk to their cabins, feeling thoroughly worn out.

"I honestly thought he was going to chew us out for doing poorly," Mina remarked.

Skip shrugged. "The Commandant is a mean son of a bitch, but he also recognizes that some things are out of our control, and gives credit where credit is due." A pause. "At least, that's my read on him."

"You think he's gonna let us sleep in tomorrow?"

Skip snorted. "Not a chance in hell. He'll probably have us all up running a mile before dawn."

Mina groaned. "Well, better get to bed then." They came to a halt as they reached the bunks. She turned to give him a tired smile. "Well, thanks for saving my clueless hide. I don't know what I'd have done without you."

Skip replied with a small smile of his own. "Don't worry about it. Better to figure it out now rather than when it really matters. Now go get some sleep. You're gonna need it."

She nodded to him, gave one final wave, and turned back to the womens' bunks. Skip watched her go for a moment, before returning to his own bunkhouse. When he entered, he was greeted by Reiner, a suggestive smirk on his face. A smirk that was mirrored by many of the other occupants.

"You're awfully late," Reiner stated smugly.

Skip raised an eyebrow. "We came across some roadblocks on the way here."

"Just some roadblocks?" Reiner's smirk widened. "Or maybe you and Mina were engaging in some… risque activities. Nothing the Commandant wouldn't approve of, I hope."

Had the lighting not been so dim, the others may have been able to spot the slight blush that had formed on Skip's cheeks. Despite feeling his own face heat up slightly, Skip decided to retaliate in kind. "Nothing like that happened out there. It was too damn cold for us anyway." A predatory grin then formed on his face. "Though I can't say the same for you and Krista, all by yourselves out in the woods. I hope you two weren't engaging in any behaviors the Commandant wouldn't approve of."

Reiner's smirk briefly wavered as snickers and chuckles were heard amongst the other cadets. The two young men stared each other down, before Reiner himself chuckled, his smirk morphing into an amused smile. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up, will you? Seriously though, good to see you two made it here in one piece, even if it did take you three whole days. We were starting to get worried about you guys."

Skip's smirk also morphed into a small smile as he walked past Reiner, lightly slugging him in the arm. "Yeah, good to see you too, big guy." He dropped his equipment on the floor next to an empty bunk. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm gonna crash for the night."

Did this chapter take over a year for me to write? Yes.

Was it worth it? Probably not.

Did the AoT Anime Finale motivate me to get back to work on this? Perhaps.

Up Next: Scenes from a training camp- Skip & Annie discuss the nature of reality, Mikasa and Skip lose their horses, Skip & his merry band of misfits stumble through night training, and Skip tries (and fails) to avoid making friends.