A Choice with No Regrets (attack on titan)

[Aschu]

One thing controlled our lives.
And that was-
FEAR



It had been years since Wall Maria had fell, but many people still woke up feeling like each day would be their last. Advancements had been made, thanks to the Scouting Legion's use of Eren Yeager, a boy with the mysterious ability to titan-shift.

The some-what victory was soon crushed under-neath the weight of the Female Titan, a titan who possessed abilities beyond that of a normal titan. Even beyond Eren. She was defeated though, thanks to the effort of every soldier in Stohess.

The battle did not come without a price though. Mental scars were made, and even more deaths occurred. This event pushed the Scouting Legion's advancement back by a long run.

As our soldiers recover, a new shipment of recruits are celebrating their final day before graduation together, knowing it may be their last.

​

 

[Aschu]

Andrea was pacing back and forth instead of celebrating graduation in the mess hall with the others. How could she?! That damn ceremony tomorrow was basically going to decide if they would live to see there next few years. Knowing that, there was no way she could relax. AT ALL. Andrea wasn't sure what rank she would be, hopefully in the top ten so she could fix that big ass mess the military police made in Stohess. Damn those people were corrupted.

She wasn't all too sure about the Scouting Legion though, but she would pick them over the Garrison in heartbeat. There was no way she was going to be near those-drunken bastards. She hated alcohol and anyone who drank it irresponsibly. Which was basically everyone in the Garrison. Those bastards were the reason her first dad had died in the first place.

It was cold outside, colder than usual, but she didn't care. The cold had never bothered her anyway, but it was getting on her nerves. Everyone and everything was at this point. No one really thought about their future seriously, not even the people who knew they were bad. The titan's could literally break the wall at any given moment, like how they had at Trost. She was still pissed she wasn't able to go fight for her hometown.

And the damned titan-shifters, they had been right under their noses this entire time, but after that Yeager guy, no one seemed to care about maybe checking other recruits for the ability. Which was why Stohess went down next. She didn't even want to think about the whole mess.

She finally stopped pacing, and looked to the mess hall. It was practically glowing with warmth, almost inviting. She could hear all the cheering, and laughing. She wanted to join them, she really did, but tomorrow was to stressful for her not to accidentally take it out on some else. She glanced at the hall one more time before moving back to the girl's dorm, where she knew she wouldn't hurt someone.

 

[Minx]

Claire watch as others talked, she herself, stood alone at a corner. Blank face, starring at the ground. To others on the outside she looked afraid, but on the inside she was bouncing with joy. To think she would be part of the survey corps, getting to observe titans up close, it made her drool. Even though she's never seen a Titan before, and maybe she could see that other soldier who can turn into one of those things. A fine specimen for her to absorb all the information she could.

But that wasn't all, she could possibly leave the wall, see the outside world, and find new discoveries. All of these thoughts made her freeze in a day dream. All the possiblities so close she could touch them. Only a day away before everything would finally become reality. And just before she could continue on day dreaming, she jumped up and cheered randomly "titans! Here I come!" Not realizing the idiot she might have made her out to be.

 

[Braxnond]

While the girl jumped for joy, Jax's attention momentarily was pulled to her. When she was finished shouting, he turned those light hues back to the table he was sitting at; populated with various people who were about to graduate, the young man sat amidst the middle. It was not hard to see where Jax was going to end up being placed; anything less than top three would be a surprise to anyone. As each decided amongst themselves the best route to go after graduation, Jax kept quiet. In fact, the only reason he parted his lips was to shovel food down his throat with his fork, as a matter of fact.

When he was asked, though, he didn't hesitate on his answer. "Survey Corps." The response received overwhelming criticism. To defend his position, Jax had no problem explaining. "What am I going to do?" He set his fork down, his expression holding a neutral expression as he looked up among the faces, many of which would probably die within the year. "I refuse to waste my time rotting behind these walls just because i'm placing high. I'm not going to sit on the wall and wait to die. I'm going to go out and kill every one of those f_cking things and make the Garrison useless, anyway."

Of course, this was his rage talking. Calculated, cunning, slightly exxagerated rage. Jax was bound to have hardships, and difficulties would lie ahead. The human race was going to take both wins and losses with time. He knew that a lot of people were going to die.

Regardless of these facts, none of them were going to take him down. ​

 

[Minx]

Claire's attention was pulled towards Jax's comment, defending his choice of picking the survey corps. Wanting to make the garrison useless. She had once questioned wether or not she should join the garrison or the military police, but the garrison was a mess. Lazy people who stand on the wall and do nothing, and the military police are just as bad, only if titans are to attack, they are less likely to be in the fight. But the servey corps allowed them to be outside of the walls, which is where she wanted to be.

But why was so many people so worried about the titans, due to her lack of expierence with them, and that she's never met one up close and personal, they didn't seem to threatening or scary as people made them out to be. She wouldn't understand it though, not untill she was face to face with the beasts.

She still stood there, awkwardly looking at the table Jax occupied. She wanted to be surrounded like he appeared to be, popular. But for some reason she wasn't a center of attention as she wanted to be. So she turned around and made a plate of food before sitting at an empty table and ate silently.

 

[Hitomi Forsyth]

There she was, Arius; a girl everyone knew was a snob, they knew why, so they thought. She had been living a cozy life in the inner wall while many others had suffered. She didn't keep this a secret, yes she was from Wall Sina, more specifically from behind it. Although she turned out to be an excellent hand to hand combatant and had learned the 3D Maneuver Gear extremely well, she had a natural talent for it, the blades weren't as good but she was decent with them and had proven she could get deep enough in the nape of the neck of a Titan to kill it effectively. She was guaranteed to be in the top ten, but she didn't care, she had already decided where she would go. Survey Corps, that had been her choice from the moment she decided to become a recruit.

Arius didn't particularly care for anyone, no one had tried to befriend her because she had made it a point to tell them all she had left Wall Sina to help on the front lines instead of just waiting to die. Even though she had said she didn't feel like waiting around to die no one spoke to her still, she was a loner and she was eating by herself in a rather dark corner, but upon hearing the girl cheer and another boy's anger she simply scoffs, rather loud as well. Arius believed these people around her were unintelligent, it wasn't just about getting rid of the Titans or examining them, it was about taking humanity's pride back; that was what she cared about, she wanted to win against these things or die trying.

 

[Minx]

The thought of dying never crossed Claire's mind like it did for the others. Her excitement suppressed the dark thoughts. She knew she would be in the top ten. Her speed when it came to fighting outmatch most others. Plus she had martial arts training before she even joined the recruits. Her skills with swords were about average, but mixed with her speed, made her a force to be reckoned with. Though she wasn't wise with her gas, she keeps over using it making her twice as fast, but lower her time if using it.

She sat there shoving food down her throat, cutting the meat with her knife. The blade cut her finger by accident. She was too quick and didn't pay attention to where she had her finger. Blood dripped and she sucked her teeth as it stung "sh_t" she said under her breath as she put her finger in her mouth and sucked on it. She then pulled it away saying "stupid stupid stupid" she said wrapping a napkin around her finger.

 

[Braxnond]

When Jax had finished eating, he got up without another word and made his way from the mess hall. There was no need to continue pretending that he was friendly with people, because as time had it, they would all be leaving soon for their posts. Jax couldn't have been more pleased, finally be able to put his body to work. With the significant amount of losses and problems on the human's side of the ball, he needed to get out and do what he could. Hopefully he could help balance things out a bit; the exsistence of shifters on the side of good could apparently have amazing results, as seen with Eren Jaeger before him.

Hands grasped door handles, which led him outside after opening. He grabbed a cigarette from his pack, placing it between his lips and lighting it. Cocking his head up, Jax noticed the dark blue hue of the sky; it could have been pitch black, but there was still some light left. A bit synonymous to their current living situations, if you will. The stars were bright, almost seemingly brighter than usual days, and the moon was full, bathing the courtyard.

Smoke billowed from his nostrils, seeping from the depths of his lungs to make an escape. Keeping his chin outstretched high into the air, he closed his eyes for a moment - putting his arms down by his side. Smoke continued rising from the burning cherry of his twist-up.​

 

[Minx]

Claire threw away her tray and made it out the front door, slipping past Jax as he smoked a cigaret. She pulled off the napkin and examined her finger. As she guessed, it healed and looked perfectly fine. "I still don't get it...I just cut it two minutes ago" she said silently walking past him.

She never had the time to really question why everything healed quicker then normal. A bone break for her took a couple weeks to heal, while for others it was months. It was like that ever since she could remember, she wished she could find more information on why this happens. But no recent evidence explains her issue...well more like a gift. But it still made her question her body.

 

[Aschu]

"Tylouis!"

Andrea froze mid-step. She knew that voice way to well. She did a complete 180 into a salute. "Yes sir!" The middle-eastern man slowly walked up to her, the clop, clop, clop of his boots echoing in the empty lot. Andrea had mixed feeling about Shadis. He was a great instructor, no doubt, but his use of insults and amount of unnecessary yelling annoyed her.

"Where do you think your going trainee?!"

"My dorm sir!" Shadis looked from her to the mess hall. "How come you aren't celebrating graduation with your fellow trainees?" Andrea inwardly flinched. She didn't want to have this conversation.

"Tired sir" Shadis narrowed his eyes at her.

"Tylouis, I've trained your sort for a very long time. Do you think I can't spot a lie?!" His voice rose. He leaned in, his eyes lit up like a volcano, ready to burst. "Now tell me the truth Tylouis" Andrea was now fed up, so she hadn't told the truth, but really?

"Well sir, I'm sorry but those idiots there can't seem to notice that today might be there last possible day alive, and don't seem to care. Kay'?" Andrea clamped her hand over her mouth as her eyes widened. That had been way out of line. Shadis straightened, and Andrea prepared herself for the worst. 5 laps maybe?

"They're celebrating because they know that they might never see each other again Tylouis," he said, surprisingly calm," friends aren't always going to be there physically so you should cherish there presence while you can" Then he turned around and started to walk back to his office. Suddenly, he looked sharply over his shoulder at Andrea. "But as punishment for being out of line, you must go rejoin those idiots... And run five laps first thing in the morning. You're not a soldier until you've seen a death or two"

Andrea nodded, and was fuming, but obeyed. She walked back to the mess hall, where she saw Jax smoking a cigarette. She held her breath, the last thing she needed was cancer. She also saw Claire examining her finger with interest. "Hey, Jax, do the world a favor and stop smoking, we don't need anything else but titans killing us. And Claire, why are you playing with your finger? You've had it for 16 years!"

 

[Braxnond]

Having slipped past him, Jax didn't notice Clair leaving the mess hall, either. However, he had heard the shouting from inside, which made him laugh. He wasn't in the mess hall, and yet the smell must have been that bad. What if he had been smoking marijuana? A smirk kept pasted his lips as his head fell down to it's normal position. Walking a couple of feet further, he would find something to sit on - a slab of concrete, maybe? Some hay? Yes, hay. Finding a semi-large stack of it, Jax would use his arms to lift his weight up onto it, positioning himself at the top. His feet dangled just above the ground, probably a half of a foot. As he lazily lounged out, a couple of thoughts crossed his mind, such as who he would meet on his first day in the Survey Corps. That subejct got him thinking about the time he spent waiting to graduate, which eventually moved on to... Graduation day.

Seriously, it was a good question. As for everyone who had an inkling of talent within the troop, who would make it to spot number one?

As time passed, he would finish his smoke and proceed to head back into the mess hall. People were still celebrating - Jax was just lucky he didn't get caught smoking outside. Despite him being an adult and despite it being technically allowed within the ranks itself, cigarettes were frowned upon in the academy. Jax wasn't sure why, and he didn't really care. As it stood, the rules were the rules and there was absolutely no wiggle room when it came down to it. Noticing Andrea was still standing about, he parted his lips to speak.

"Why is it that everytime you open your mouth, you have something to complain about?"​

 

[Aschu]

Andrea wasn't about to take crap from this guy. She didn't care if he was the "prodigy". "I just hate smoking, geez, your not just poisoning yourself, you're poisoning others too. And so what if I'm a complainer?! Look in the mirror Jax" she was ticked off. She didn't need more stress, Jax probably thought the world revolved around him for all she knew.

 

[Hitomi Forsyth]

Arius brushes a strand of loose black hair out of her face, her hearing was good and her position in the darkness near the door had her able to hear the conversation. Nobody talked to her, even to complain at her, in response she didn't talk back, but she did listen to other conversations that went on around her. She wanted to leave and head on to the girls dorms but would rather not have Shadis breathing down her neck; even though she didn't care, she had no friends, there was no reason for her to be 'celebrating' although she wasn't celebrating, she just didn't want to be weak from not eating. Arius was the kind of person who would forget to actually eat for a few days at a time if she didn't write a note to herself to make herself eat. With an irritated sigh she walks out of the room anyway, past the two fighting while readjusting her glasses to sit higher on her nose she says something, almost quietly to Jax, "Smoking will hinder your abilities to kill a Titan...if you're shaking for a smoke, the momentary lapse in focus...is all a Titan needs to kill you."

 

[Aschu]

Andrea threw her hands up in the air. "Thank you Arius! See Jax? That is a smart person right there" Jax looked like he was about to say something, but was interrupted.

"When I said rejoin the idiots Tyloius, I didn't mean argue with them. Now, the rest of you," he said opening the mess hall door," GO THE F_CK TO SLEEP!!!!! IT'S ELEVEN F_CKING O'CLOCK!!!!!" Everyone scrambled up from their seat and practically ran to thief dorm. "AND TYLOUIS! DON'T FORGET YOU HAVE TO RUN YOUR LAPS AT 4 AM!!!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you sure You want to go through with this Erwin? You smell suspicious"

"Yes, I'm sure Mike, we all know what happened last time I did this this soon, but each expedition right after the graduation tells us who's going to be useful, or who's going to be worthless"

"I still don't like it"

"Me neither Mike, but it has to be done"

"There's something else you're not telling me though, I can smell it"

"Hm, let's just say it has to deal with us not having to deal with another mess like Annie Leonhardt"​

 

[Braxnond]

People telling him what he could and couldn't do, based on his own physicality was a joke. They could apply science all they want, but it was him ultimately that dictated just how well he could do under what circumstances. On the surface, his expression hadn't changed to reflect how he really felt, which was anger for the present situation. However, before he could speak, he was interrupted. Of course, eleven at night was late, but not for normal people. As they scattered about, Jax moved back to his dorm and a normal pace to get some sleep. Walking into his room, he quickly changed and crawled up into bed, almost passing out instantly. ​

 

[Minx]

"BWHAAA" Claire flared her arms and ran inside as she was yelled at. Once she ran in she quietly walked into her dorm "why do they always treat us like we're kids" she grumbled as she slipped into some comfortable pajama's and got underneath some covers before closing her eyes and passing out. She snored loudly as she did so.

 

[Hitomi Forsyth]

Arius didn't scramble like the rest of them, she simply calmly walked to the girls dorm room where she lays in her bed and fairly quickly; probably due to her full stomach; she falls asleep. She didn't seem too worried about tomorrow though either so that helped her sleep.

 

[Aschu]

Graduation Day



Once the higher-up had finished his speech, he called out the names of the top ten trainees.
"In first, Jax Betancourt!"
Applause ran through out the hall, which was now still held in the training corp headquarters since of the mess Trost had made. No one was surprised though, on both accounts.
The admin went down the list.
"In fourth, Arius Angels!"
A more surprised round of applause rand out this time, some impressed, so confused. He went down the list even further.
"In eighth, Claire Wyoming!"
He went to the bottom of the list.
"And finally, Quintus Autry!"
Applause ran through out the building. And many people, including Andrea were in the massive crowd. The admin gave them a look of duty, and a salute, as well as all the others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(At the survey corp presentation)

A middle-aged man with eyebrows the size of brushes finished hi terrifying speech to the new recruits. Leaving some of them running to the Garrison, or military police. Only about twelve people stood after the crowd dispersed.

And only three of them weren't shaking.



Erwin nodded at them. "Then you are truly Humanity's braves. I WELCOME ALL HERE INTO THE RANKS OF THE SCOUTING LEGION!"
​

 

[Minx]

Claire stood in salute, she felt proud to be called one of the scouting legion, even though she was told she could possibly die, she still stood proudly. Now her dreams of seeing a Titan was only a moments away. Once he was done talking. She broke her stance when she saw others do so.

 

[Braxnond]

Placed first. It wasn't exactly a sublime feeling, but Jax was happy to be called the first in his class. In retrospect, the placing didn't matter, but he had something to prove to himself and he did it. He wouldn't let it show, but he was actually feeling a bit proud of himself as well. The claps rang out before everyone moved out to the legions that they planned to go. At the survey corps presentation, things seemed pretty bleak. Considering Erwin decided to bullshit everybody, the reaction was expected. People naturally go to the survey corps to die, so most people ended up completely understanding it. With twelve people left, Jax didn't dare to break his attention from Erwin to see who. Instead, Jax waited for Erwin to finish before he broke his salute and looked around. Familiar faces, some of those whom had left talked up a big game before they went running off. Running a hand through that hair of his, he would soon turn back to Erwin to see if there was anything else. Jax was ready to just go ahead and get stuff started, but he knew that wouldn't be the case. As far as he knew, the survey corps tended to have set times where they went out beyond the walls - and Jax didn't know if that day was one or not. ​