IN WHICH ARAMINTA GRADUATES!
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ARMS TONITE ∕ CHAPTER TWO

THERE WAS NOT A LOT ABOUT ARAMINTA Holm that really stood out. Her strength was average, her aim was average, her intelligence was — you guessed it — average. But, there were two things that put her above the average soldier: her speed, and her endurance. As they discovered very quickly, after she spent hours running alongside Sasha, she was very fast and very good at maintaining a steady pace.

Still, speed and endurance, it seemed, was not much compared to other cadets — especially Mikasa Ackerman, who seemed to be blessed with literally every single skill possible to be the perfect soldier, and it seemed like it was so easy for her. Araminta envied Mikasa more than any other soldier in their class.

      Their current training exercise was going well enough. It was one of their final ones, which also meant they were being scored. And just their luck, it was pouring rain. Not a light drizzle, pouring. Araminta's hood was water proof, so she didn't have to worry much about getting cold and wet, but what she did have to worry about was the mud growing slicker and slicker beneath her boots.

      She was close to the front of the pack, running towards their destination and maintaining a steady pace. The ODM gear that hung around her shoulders was beginning to make her bones ache a bit, but she persevered nonetheless. Beside her was Sasha, who seemed like she was growing more and more exhausted from all the running.

      Just like she had been trained to do, she scanned her surroundings, watching out for anything out of the ordinary. She knew there were targets made to look like Titans out here, and if she were the first to find one and kill it, that would be a huge point boost. It was a few more meters of running before she noticed the cutout looming back behind some trees, and although she was quick she wasn't the first to notice.

      Shedding her hood, she powered up her ODM gear, aiming the grappling hooks towards some trees near the target. The feeling of the wind in her hair as she propelled herself through the air on top of the cold rain against her hot face was incredibly refreshing after she had just done so much running. There were three others behind her, going for the same Titan cutout.

      First was Jean, who unfortunately Araminta still hadn't had the chance to punch yet. One day, Araminta. One day. He had turned out to be a decent enough soldier, for being an asshole that is. Sometimes, he was even decent enough she could be friendly, but most of the time when Jean and Araminta were in the same room, they were fighting. She still really wanted to punch him.

     Then there was Bertholdt, who was a talented soldier but in Araminta's opinion was lacking in the personality department. Neither of them were very outgoing people, so besides their shared friendships they didn't interact a lot. Based on their few interactions, though, she had noticed he was a bit of a pushover, possessing barely any aggressiveness compared to Araminta who was probably a tad too aggressive.

      Finally, there was Annie Leonhart. The blonde girl was incredibly talented, especially in hand to hand combat (a subject she had eventually helped Araminta with), and if it wasn't for her standoffish personality, she could have easily snatched the top one title in Araminta's opinion. In another world, where she wasn't completely intimidated by Annie, Araminta truly believed the two of them could have been friends.

      In a swift movement, Araminta rose her swords and sliced through the simulated nape on the back of the cutout. As she landed on the ground behind it, stuffing her blades back into the holders designed for them, she glanced up to admire her handiwork. Perfect. She cheered silently for herself, knowing getting the first cut and a perfect cut might be enough to push her score higher.

Jean didn't cut deep enough, she noticed that very quickly. She also noticed him begin to use his gear again to latch onto some trunks and fly through the trees. If anyone was going to find the next Titan target, it was him. Her lips pressed themselves together as she released her own hooks, lifting herself off of the ground.

       And her intuition was right, Jean very quickly found another Titan. Unfortunately, she hadn't been the only one that followed after Jean. "I knew I was right to follow you!" The voice of Connie Springer rang out, and his bald head emerged from the trees. Araminta narrowed her eyes, grabbing onto a tree branch to stop herself for a moment.

      She watched as a flash of brown hair seemingly appeared out of nowhere, getting the first slice. Sasha cheered loudly, falling all the way to the forest floor before her ODM gear pulled her back up. Araminta huffed, glancing around in an attempt to find another Titan.

"Oh! 'Minta! Did you see my kill?" Sasha appeared in front of Araminta, smiling widely. The dark haired girl narrowed her eyes at Sasha in jealousy, before looking away to continue her observation.

"How could I miss it?" She mumbled in response as she looked around. The sound of another wire ripping through the air caught her attention, and she looked over to see Connie had joined the two of them in the trees. Sasha seemed pleased by her response, beaming proudly at her.

       "Sorry we stole your kill, Holm. Or Jean's kill that you were going to steal, I guess." Connie followed her gaze, glancing around them. With a defeated sigh, Jean landed down next two the three of them, leaning against the trunk of the large tree.

He shot the three of them a glare. "Point stealers." He grunted, resting his head back. No Titans in sight. Araminta growled quietly to herself, growing frustrated.

"Please, don't act like you didn't get that first Titan because you were following me." She hissed at Jean, who rolled his eyes in response. Should she punch him now? Maybe not, he might fall out of the tree. It would, once again, have to wait. The light haired boy shot her a glare, which she pretended not to see.

She chewed her lip, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm gonna move up, try to get a better vantage point." Why she was telling them her plan of action when they were basically supposed to be competing, she wasn't sure, but it was too late to do anything about it. Using her gear, she launched herself to one of the higher branches, unsurprised when she heard the others following her.

Then she spotted it, another Titan target hidden between some trees. And unluckily, the others saw it too. "Oh, mine!" Connie called out, to which she clenched her jaw. No way she was going to let this short, bald kid take her kill. As she flew towards the Titan, her hair whipping against her cheeks, she clicked her blades into place.

It felt as though she was moving in slow motion, approaching the target and lifting her blades. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that Connie was coming in close beside her. Still, she managed to be faster than him, slicing through the nape and making, once again, a perfect cut. Was it a fluke? Or was her aim improving? She was unsure. Connie, however, was also able to make a perfect cut just a second behind her.

The two of them both landed on another tree branch, and clicked their blades back into place. "You suck. I called that one." Connie glared at her, to which she smiled smugly in return.

"Only because you're a cheater and were following me." She retorted matter of factly, placing her hands on her hips. Take that, baldie! That's what she should have yelled before slicing the simulated nape. Hm, she'd have to save it for when they were fighting real Titans. "You--"

      Before she could even get a word in, a large figure landed on their branch, causing Araminta to nearly lose her balance. She didn't even have to turn around to know it was Reiner Braun, and immediately she felt her cheeks get hot.

      Okay, she was a teenage girl, and she spent every moment of every day with other teenagers, of course she was going to form a crush on one of them eventually. He was tall, he was strong, and had always been kind to her, of course it had to be Reiner. And he helped her when she fell during one of their other training exercises! She stiffed up once she realized he was behind her, her amber eyes growing wide.

       Connie noticed her change in demeanor when the blond showed up, and began to snicker loudly. She shot him a deadly glare in hopes of shutting him up, but he continued laughing even louder.

      "What's so funny?" Reiner asked, and though Araminta couldn't see him she could feel his green eyes jumping between the two of them.

      "Nothing, nothing, Araminta just--"

      "I told him a knock knock joke." Araminta quickly cut him off, raising her fingers to massage her temple after she realized how stupid her excuse had been.

      "Really?" Reiner took a step forward, so Araminta could now see him out of the corner of her eyes. So stupid. She was supposed to be trying to get the best score she could, not panicking over her stupid school girl crush.

Connie chuckled. He sounded so evil, an evil chuckle like he was the devil watching her completely humiliate herself and finding joy in it. Curse him and his bald head. "Yes, really, Reiner. You should share it with him, Ara!" He nudged her, and she swore if Reiner wasn't there she would have pushed him off the tree.

"Haha, yeah... Um, knock knock." Araminta glanced up the blond awkwardly, wishing she could just roll over and die. Oh god, what knock knock jokes did she even know? She would need to think fast.

Reiner rose an eyebrow. "Who's there?"

"W-Wooden shoe." Araminta blinked, realizing how horrible this joke was going to be. So stupid. So stupid!

"Wooden shoe who?"

"Wooden shoe like to hear another joke?" She covered her face with her hand, hoping he didn't realize how horribly red she was. Connie stared at her, eyes wide as if he just couldn't believe the stupid words that came out of her mouth. The three of them stood in silence, Araminta briefly wishing she had just died back in Shiganshina, before Reiner started laughing. Laughing! He thought her joke was funny!

       "Oh, I get it! Because it sounds like 'wouldn't you', haha, nice, Araminta." He gave her back a firm pat. "Very funny..." Very funny. Well, at least she wasn't totally ruined. She was still going to kill Connie though.

"Sleep with both eyes open," she mouthed to him, discretely enough so Reiner couldn't see. For once, he had shed his smug expression, instead looking terrified for his life.

      ARAMINTA LOVED EATING WITH SASHA, she really did, but eating with Sasha meant eating with Jean, Marco and Connie, which on some days was just too much for her. As per usual, Jean was going on some rant about something stupid, and Araminta wasn't paying attention. She prodded her soup with her spoon, resting her chin in her hand as she tried to ignore his annoying voice.

"If you use inertia, you'll use up less gas." Apparently, he had grown to become an expert in ODM gear.

      "Easy for you to say." Marco replied. Yes, Jean was known for being very talented with ODM gear, but that did not mean she wanted to listen to him rant about it. She shifted her gaze to the side, noticing familiar teal eyes glaring at Jean. She chuckled to herself, noting that Eren was just as annoyed as she was.

He seemed to realize she was looking at him and shifted his gaze to meet her own, a bored look on his face. "I'm sorry," he mouthed, and she assumed he was referring to the Horse Face rambling across from her.

A smile rose onto her lips. "He's crazy," she mouthed back, lifting one of her fingers to twirl around her ear. Crazy. Eren returned the smile. Armin, who was sitting beside Eren leaned towards him and whispered something she couldn't hear, though whatever he said seemed to bother Eren since he looked towards his friend accusingly, while Armin giggled. It seemed their shared little interaction was over.

      "Hey, Marco!" Jean was yelling, before slamming his hand down on Marco's head. She literally looked away for two seconds, what the hell happened? "Stop acting and say what your really feel!" Horse Face scolded. "You want to join the Military Police so you can live a safe and peaceful life in the interior!"

"Is that... Not the exact reason you want to join the Military Police?" Araminta knit her eyebrows together in confusion, letting go of her spoon so it sat on the edge of the bowl. Jean glanced over at her.

"Look, Araminta, we're not all crazy and suicidal like you, and looking to join the Scouts." He turned his full attention to her, folding his arms as he leaned against the table top.

      "Is that really what you think it means to join the Scouts? That you're crazy and suicidal?" She tilted her head at him, narrowing her golden eyes. "You're genuinely stupid if you think that, Jean."

Jean stared at her in silence for a moment, and before he had the chance to respond, Eren chirped in on the conversation. It seemed like the two of them were always saving each other from tense situations in the dining hall. "The interior is pleasant?" He spoke up. She tilted her head to look over at him. "This place was apart of the interior until five years ago."

       "What're you trying to say, Eren?" Jean asked in a low voice, his eyes growing dark. This was going to be interesting.

      "It must be pleasant inside your head no matter where you are, Jean." Araminta couldn't help but giggle at that, and it seemed most of the other cadets in the room couldn't help themselves either. A batch of laughter erupted through the dining hall.

"You bastard..." Jean muttered, balling up his fist on the table. Araminta leaned back, sensing a fight was coming on. An opportunity to punch him, maybe? Oh, she hoped so.

They continued to argue, spitting insults until something Jean said caused Eren to erupt. "You piece of trash!" He shouted, leaping up from his spot on the benches. Jean jumped up as well.

"Shut up! This is reality!" They took two steps towards each other, Eren reaching out to grab onto Jean's shirt. Araminta was not the type to egg on a fight, but she desperately wanted to. They stared each other down, close to throwing fists.

"Eren, stop!" Armin spoke up from his spot at the table, looking as scared as if he was the one in the fight. His words didn't cause either of the two to budge, and instead they continued to try and intimidate each other. What did stop them, however, was Mikasa standing to come between them.

"Stop that," she scolded, grabbing Eren's hand and lowering it. Araminta watched curiously as they held onto each other's gazes for a tad longer than they should have. Hmm. Were they... Together? Maybe not, but they probably at least liked each other. Araminta shook her head. Why was she even speculating over other peoples relationships? Weird.

But then Jean interrupted the moment, reaching over and lifting Eren off the ground as he pushed him against the wall. "Stop kidding around!" He shouted. Oh, this was the perfect opportunity to punch him, to knock her knuckles against his nose and shut him the hell up, but this wasn't her fight. When she punched him, it was going to be for herself, not for Eren Jaeger. She might punch anyone else for Eren, though.

      "Let go! It's going to rip!" The said boy shouted defensively, trying to push Jean away, though he didn't seem to want to budge. Everyone watched in awe and shock, as if this same fight didn't happen once a week. Well, if she wasn't going to punch anyone, she might as well eat her soup instead.

      "Clothes don't matter!" Araminta scrunched up her nose as she listened. "I'm so jealous of you!" Oh. Well. That was interesting. She dropped her spoon out of surprise, raising her eyebrows as she watched the fight. Was this some sort of love triangle, where Jean liked Mikasa but Mikasa liked Eren? That would explain so much.

      "Huh?! What are you saying?" The entire room had frozen, eyes wide as they stared at the pair in shock. It seemed nobody had been expecting for Jean to say something like this. Had three years of tension between this love triangle been leading up to this? It was very entertaining, but she was also very thankful she wasn't the one caught up in such a dramatic mess.

      Her eyes flickered to Reiner, who was quietly sipping out of his mug. Would she cause a big scene like this for him? Probably not. What she felt for him was puppy love, and she would probably be over within the next few months. It wasn't something to dwell on, truthfully, soon she would be fighting Titans and romance would be the absolute last thing on her mind. Still, the crush made life stuck in the training camp at least a little more interesting.

      Suddenly, Eren was moving, grabbing onto Jean's shoulder and raising his leg to kick him right at the knee. And then Jean was falling to the ground, landing with a hard thud. Immediately, Araminta recognized the move, since she had asked Annie once before to teach it to her. It seemed Eren had the same idea, adopting the combat trick and making use of it. Once again, Eren had surprised her.

      "How can you call yourself... A soldier?" Eren loomed over Jean, the lanterns hanging behind him causing a long shadow to hang over the lighter haired boy. He had just said what everyone else in the dining hall had been thinking, since apparently he was the only one with enough courage to do so. Jean stared up at him, stunned by his words.

      The door to the cabin slowly opened up, revealing Commander Shadis who must have heard the whole thing. "I heard a loud noise just now." He said, his face partially hidden by the door. Good, she preferred looking at as little of his face as possible. His eyes glanced around the room, before falling on Eren and Jean. "Someone wanna explain what's going on?"

      If it was anyone else (except for maybe Sasha or Christa), Araminta would have stayed quiet. But, she and Eren had a habit of saving each other from situations like this, and she wasn't about to break that habit. She cleared her throat, sitting up straight. "It was just Sasha, she farted." She lied, to which her friend gawked at her incredulously.

      "What?!" She exclaimed, her brown eyes filled with horror. Everyone tried to hold in their laughter.

      "You again?" Commander Shadis asked in disbelief, raising his hand to cover his nose. Sasha gaped. "Learn a little modesty!" He snapped, before turning to leave. A heavy silence lingered in the room, until they knew for sure he was gone, and then they all burst into laughter.

      Sasha grabbed onto Araminta's shoulders, shaking her and yelling at her. "Why would you say that?! He already hates me! I trusted you, 'Minta!" Araminta simply smiled smugly in response, proud of herself for coming up with a good enough excuse to get Commander Shadis off of their case. While her friends raging shouts continued on, she glanced towards Eren out of the corner of her eye, hoping to see his reaction. But instead she just noticed him staring down at the table, apparently still incredibly irritated.

       After a moment of her staring at him, he seemed to be able to feel her eyes burning holes into him. He glanced up, his teal gaze meeting her own, and she swore she saw a hint of pink brush his cheeks. "Thank you." It seemed as though they'd returned to mouthing words to each other.

       She grinned.

      218 CADETS. THAT WAS HOW MANY had made it to the graduation ceremony. 218 cadets lined up, their hands over their hearts in salute. Somehow, out of all 218 cadets, Araminta had made it into the top 10, snagging the number 6 spot right above Jean Kirstein. It wasn't top 5, or top 1, but it was above Jean and that was enough for her.

Commander Shadis was giving some heartfelt speech, and though Araminta should have been listening, her mind had drifted to her family, specifically to Marina. In another world, she would have been the one standing in Araminta's position, fulfilling her dream of becoming a Scout and fighting for humanity. She would have been the one out there making their very much alive family proud, sending home letters about her adventures beyond the walls.

Araminta hoped she made Marina proud. She hoped she made Marina, her father, and her mother proud of her. And if she hadn't made them proud yet, she would continue working towards that goal, going beyond the walls and learning about the titans so their deaths weren't all for nothing. Even if it meant her dying in pursuit of learning about the titans, she would make her family proud.

Her face was wet. Why was her face wet? Her eyes flicked up, but there weren't any clouds in sight, so it wasn't raining. Then why was her face wet? As her vision became blurry, she realized the source. She was crying. Oh, she always picked the absolute worst times to become emotional. In a panic, she tried to blink her tears away before anyone noticed, wishing she could just reach up and wipe them away without drawing attention to herself.

Besides her, Eren must have noticed though. He glanced down at her out of the corner of his eye, his eyebrows knitting themselves together as he noticed her glossy cheeks. Are you okay? his teal eyes seemed to ask. Maybe it was something to do with their similar trauma, but he had always been very understanding of her feelings—which she really didn't share very often. Her other friends were always kind to her when she was down about it, ensuring her that they were there for her whenever she wanted to talk, her with Eren she didn't need to talk. It was like they had some sort telepathic bond where they didn't require speech to communicate.

      Something tugged at the corner of her lips.

      In a discreet enough way so only he would be able to see, she nodded curtly. He cocked an eyebrow, it seemed he wasn't convinced by her nod, but glanced away nonetheless. No, she wasn't okay. She was closing a large chapter of her life, and it was a hard chapter to let go of. Yes, the last five years had been hell, but everything else before it was overflowing with happy memories. Trying on the new skirts her mother made for her, and seeing the grin on her face as she twirled around. Staying up late with her father as he taught her how to read, overwhelmed with pride when she got a sentence right. And doing just about everything with Marina—singing, running through the market, stopping to smell flowers, and occasionally picking them to put in each other's ears. Back then she had been so excited to grow up, now she wished she could relive her childhood over again.

But she wasn't a child anymore. She was a grownup, a soldier. A weapon bred for war. So no, she really wasn't okay. It was hard to accept she was moving onto such an important piece of her life that she wouldn't get to experience with her family. However, she did have friends and classmates to share it with. And maybe, just maybe, that would be enough. She might not be okay now, but she would be eventually.

      The cadets, after the painfully boring ceremony, were given a chance to celebrate. Araminta stood with Sasha and Connie, swishing around the liquid in her cup as the two of them spoke. The contents of her mug were unknown, so she was a little iffy about drinking it. Was it alcohol? Or just some kind of juice she had yet to try? Her nose scrunched up as she eyes the beverage suspiciously.

      "I can't believe it! We're going to the interior and joining the Military Police!" Connie exclaimed, raising his mug so Sasha could clank hers against his as a cheer. Right, the two of them had also made it to the top 10, which meant they qualified for the Military Police, which also meant Araminta only had a few days left with them. Connie glanced down at her, noticing she was considerably less thrilled than they were.

"So you're um, one hundred percent sure you're joining the Scouts?" Sasha asked awkwardly, reaching up to scratch the back of her neck.

Araminta nodded, eyes still trained on her mug. "Yeah. I want to learn all about the Titans, and I'm not going to do that by hanging around in the interior." She finally decided to try whatever was in the mug, raising it to her lips to take a sip while the other two watched. Almost immediately she spit it out. "What is this stuff?" She asked, trying not to cough it up. Instead of answering, Sasha and Connie shared a look before bursting into laughter. It took all her strength not to smack the two of them over their heads with her mug.

      Before she had the chance, though, she was very rudely interrupted. "You can't beat them!" Araminta didn't even have to look to know Eren was somehow involved in whatever was going on. The room fell silent as everyone turned their attention to the edge of the room, where Thomas Wagner had unexpectedly made the outburst. He became flustered when he realized everyone's eyes were on him. "Oh, y-you should know. They've eaten tens of thousands of people! When we lost 20% of the population, the answer was clear. Humankind... Can't defeat the Titans." Here we go again.

       The mood in the room instantly deflated. Araminta could feel Connie and Sasha's sad eyes on her, and she had an idea of what was going on through their minds. They thought they were going to lose a friend. If she could offer them some kind of reassurance that everything would work out fine, and that she would survive, then she would, but honestly she didn't even know if that was true. She was probably going to die when she joined the Scouts, but she had already decided a long time ago that it was a risk she was willing to take.

      "So?" Eren's counter seemed to take everyone off guard, lifting their previously hung heads to look at him. "Do we just give up because we think we can't win?" He asked rhetorically, eyes surveying the room. They met her own for a split second, and he swallowed hard before continuing his scan of the room.

      "Well..."

      "You're right. We've been on the losing side. But that's because we didn't know how to deal with Titans. Standard warfare is meaningless against the Titans. We may have lost, but everything we've learned in that battle will be key to bringing back hope! Are we going to abandon everything we've learned, after so much sacrifice, and just become Titan fodder? You're joking, right?! I'm gonna drive out every last one of those Titans, and leave these cramped walls! That's my dream! Humankind hasn't lost yet!"

      Well, if Araminta hadn't already been sure of joining the Scouts, she definitely was now. It seemed Eren Jaeger had a way with words, and getting people inspired. She admired it. Maybe her friends would understand now why she wanted to do it. And maybe, just maybe, they would change their minds about retreating into the safety of the interior.

       Eren rushed out of the room, followed by Mikasa and Armin. Should she go, too? To thank him for his words? Maybe not, he seemed to be in a lot of distress. She would probably have to thank him later, when he was calmed down. But honestly, when was Eren ever really calm?

      The room was tense after his grand exit, a thick silence hanging in the air. Araminta turned to face Connie and Sasha, who stood with their mouths agape and seemed to be stunned. "He's right, you know. We trained for fighting Titans, not for cowering in the interior." She paused as the two of them looked at her, hoping her words didn't strike a chord with them too badly. "You're both amazing soldiers. You have so much potential to help humanity, and I... I would love it if you guys joined the Scouts with me and fought by my side." Her cheeks were hot, embarrassed from showing so much affection towards the two of them.

They stared at her in silence, shocked by her words. She usually didn't compliment people like that, and never once had she asked them to join the Scouts with her, so she understood that her words might catch them off guard. After a painfully long silence, Sasha took a step towards Araminta, her eyes growing glossy. Oh no, she hadn't meant to make Sasha cry! But then she began to stretch out her arms, and Araminta knew exactly what was coming. Before she had the chance to move out of the way, Sasha had engulfed her into a huge hug, beginning to cry onto her shoulder.

       "A-Araminta, that's the sweet-sweetest thing you've ever said to me!" She barely got the words out between sobs, and reluctantly Araminta returned the hug and wrapped her arms around her. And then Connie joined the hug, pulling them in close to him and she swore he was crying, too. "I... I will join the Scouts with you! We will fight for humanity!" Sasha declared.

       Now it was Araminta's turn to be caught off guard. She hadn't expected convincing Sasha to join the Scouts to be so easy. And guessing by Connie sniffling against her ear, she suspected he had came to the same decision as well. The two of them were so dramatic. But, she appreciated them nonetheless. She reached her arms up, patting the backs of their heads affectionately. "Thank you. You are squishing me, though, so..."

The two of them pulled away from the hug when they heard that, swiping at their eyes to get rid of the tears. "Sorry for squishing you, 'Minta. I just love you so much." Sasha sniffled. There was that word. Love. Her mouth became dry, and she had the sudden urge to drink whatever was in the mug she'd been given.

      "It's okay, don't worry," she brushed them off quickly. "and like I said... Thank you." The two of them beamed at her as she took a large swig of the beverage, forcing it down her throat. Well, now that she'd actually swallowed it, it didn't seem that horrible tasting after all.

      Connie picked up his own mug, raising it up into the air. "To the Scouts, and destroying the titans." His tone was very dramatic as he gave his toast, reminding Araminta of Commander Sadies and his dramatization of everything. This was different, though, it was sweet, and didn't make her want to roll her eyes into the back of her own head.

     "To the Scouts!" She and Sasha repeated in unison, raising their mugs to clink against Connie's. A new chapter of her life with her friends by her side.

      IT WAS SUNNY. THAT SHOULD have been a sign that something was going to go wrong. But it was the last day in Trost District before everyone went their separate ways, her mind was a million miles away from the possibility that there was going to be another attack. She and other cadets were atop the wall surrounding Trost District, assigned to clean some cannons. The view from 50 feet up was gorgeous, the rolling fields shimmering under the sun's glow and the grass dancing in the small breeze. Soon, they were going to become Scouts, and retake their land from the Titans.

      Connie had accompanied Araminta up to the top of the walls, which seemed to catch Eren by surprise. "Huh? Since when are you joining the Scouts?" He asked, eyes wide with confusion. "I thought you were going to join the Military Police?"

      "Hmm, I did. But you and 'Minta inspired me." The bald boy shrugged as he worked on his own assigned cannon. Eren still looked confused.

      "Your speech yesterday. It convinced a lot of people." Araminta chirped in, giving Eren a soft smile. He turned to face her, as if he was shocked by not only her words but her words coming out of her mouths. He then looked down, seeming embarrassed.

      "That wasn't my intention..." He mumbled barely loud enough to hear, a shade of pink settling on his cheeks. Oh, so he was able to make up speeches like that on the spot? Impressive.

      "Including me." Thomas added onto Araminta's previous statement, approaching the small group of them. Eren gaped at Thomas. The blond boy blushed.

       "Thomas, you too?" Before Thomas had the chance to answer, Sasha had finally appeared, holding her jacket closed tight as though she was hiding something.

        "Excuse me, guys? I brought some meat from the officers pantry." She smiled, surprising no one as she opened her jacket to reveal the small bundle of meat. Okay, apparently everyone else was surprised, but Araminta had been expecting something like this.

      "Sasha, don't tell me you stole that!" She lowered the cannon cleaner, letting it fall down to the ground as she stepped towards her friend.

       "You'll be thrown in solitary confinement!" Eren exclaimed.

         "You really are an idiot." Samuel Jackson said almost in amazement as he stared at the brunette girl. "Idiots are scary." Thomas agreed. Araminta glared at them. Yes, Sasha was an idiot, but they weren't supposed to say it out loud.

       Sasha didn't seem to be phased by their insults, too excited about the meat she held, her mouth practically watering. "Let's split it up afterwards." She offered to everyone. "We'll slice it and put it between pieces of bread!"

"Sasha, let's go put it back before they notice it's gone, yeah?" Araminta smiled, stepping towards her friend and putting her arm around her. She didn't need Commander Shadis yelling at her again on their last day.

"Since we have less land, meat is incredibly valuable!" Mina explained. No shit. Araminta rolled her eyes, reaching to grab the meat from Sasha who moved it out of her reach.

"It's alright." Sasha shrugged, stepping away from Araminta and heading to one of the cannons. "Once we reclaim the land, we can raise more cows and sheep!" She said cheerfully as she lowered the meat into one of the small boxes. Araminta couldn't help but smile at the sentiment.

"I'll have some of that meat!" Shouted Samuel, seeming moved by Sasha's words as well.

"Me too." She joined in, folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm going to have some, too! Save some for me!"

"For sure! Me too!"

"You guys..." Eren stood, stunned by the sudden enthusiasm. Araminta couldn't help but laugh quietly to herself at his attitude. She moved to the cannon she had been cleaning, most of the other cadets following suit. As she picked up the cleaner, she glanced back at Eren, who was still just standing there.

"What're you just standing around for, Eren?" She teased, lifting the cannon brush. "If we keep slacking, they're gonna find out." She gestured her head towards the box Sasha had hidden her stolen meat in. A smile spread across his lips, as he turned to face the city. Araminta returned to her cleaning, scrubbing the inside of the cannon.

This was it. This was going to be her chance to avenge the deaths of her family, and prevent any more carnage from happening in the future. They would be able to learn about the titans, and retake Wall Maria. Her chest swelled with excitement as she looked up from the canon, and surveyed the landscape in front of her. What other sights would she see after they went beyond the walls? All she'd ever known were big fields with the occasional rolling hills, and a few mountainsides, what else was out there? She couldn't wait to find out.

A flash of blinding light shot across the sky. Her arm jumped up defensively to shield her eyes from the random light, her hair whipping against her cheeks. What was that? She was scared to open her eyes and see. But she didn't have much of a choice. She had a feeling she knew what it was--after all, it was sunny. On her last day before leaving to join the Scouts, the Her eyes were forced open to see the thing she'd been dreading the most.

       The Colossal Titan. 

omg 😵 we are finally to the battle
of trost !! so exciting! i know the
friendship between eren n minta
has moved kinda fast but there will
be flashbacks in future chapters
to show cute moments in their
friendships aw. also yes i did give
her a small crush on reiner for funzies
🙄🙄🙄 && what abt it?? last thing
i wanted to say was yes i put ara
in the top 10 idc she's a baddie and
deserves to be there 👍