FwikCLANKssshhh. FwikCLANKsshh.

Over and over again, Brooke fired her 3D maneuver gear, the hooks sinking deep into the flesh of the trees that towered too far to see above them, blocking out the blue sky and almost all light. She couldn't see very far into the forest--a definite downfall. She cursed herself for getting so far off where she and the rest of her training squad had seen during on-the-ground training.

Suddenly, a large shape came into her view. Finally!

A Titan!

Brooke sped up, giving a slight swing to her flight. 'Going to have to get that looked at...' she thought absentmindedly as she grabbed her swords.

Her teacher's voice rang in her head. 'Heh... He really drilled the lessons into us if this is happening.' As the Titan grew closer and closer--probably a 10-metre class by the looks of it--she narrowed her eyes against the winds beating against them, a grin spreading across her face. 'Remember, Rook, get the back of the neck,' Aik had said. He had reached over, tapping her neck. 'Riiiight here. Otherwise the Titan'll just grow back.'

"HYYYAAAAAUUURRRRGGH!" Brooke screamed, partially in rage and in joy--pure, unbridled ecstasy. She raised her arms automatically--drilled in during her and Aik's one-on-one training sessions to sharpen one another--then swung down, slicing the Titan's neck open in a V shape as the maneuver gear whipped her forward.

As she grew closer to the limit of her 3Dmg's wires, she let one return to its canister, jerking her towards the other side. She flipped herself onto the tree, climbing with the wires until she reached a strong branch. She effortlessly hoisted herself onto it, marveling at the new strength in her arms. She sat, sheathing her swords, trying to remember the way through the forest, when she heard maneuver gear approaching.

"Oi! Already got this dummy!" she called to the approaching figure. She was lucky she was faster than most--otherwise, this training dummy Titan would've gone to her trail--

Oh crap. That...was a long coat.

Brooke dragged her hand down into her face and got up from her resting place, which had just gotten comfortable. She didn't want to get I to any more trouble with the approaching Shardis for slacking on top of yelling at him. She saluted quickly, then flew off as quickly as possible.

Shardis stared after her, expression unreadable. He pulled a clipboard covered in little notes out of his trench coat and added a piece under Brooke's name.

'Brooke Aldaine:

She has a high level of skill with 3D maneuver gear, though it needs refining. She is able to move quickly, but uses too much gas. She has a high level of compassion and empathy with others, making her a good team worker. However, she appears to exclusively interact with her brother, Aiken Aldaine.

Shardis held the pen to the paper for a moment, pooling ink into a small dew-sized droplet on the sheet, then lifted it. He glared at the ink.

"Well f**k you too," he said out of habit, then put the sheet into his jacket to check on the other trainees.