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2 years after enlistment, Cal had gotten stronger. He had continued training on how he used to train with his father, testing his physical strength and flexibility. Social wise, he had made up with Connie and now decided to 'tolerate' Jean slightly smug and boasting attitude. He also became pretty close with Marco, seeing as he was naturally a nice guy.
Over the years, Cal had begun to realise that his overprotectiveness for Eren was slightly holding him back, so he started to lay off of him and focus on trying to become the best soldier he could be.
At the moment, the trainees were in the rain, trying to run as fast as they could throw the heavy rain whilst Shadis rode a horse next to them. Cal gritted his teeth as he held onto his backpack with a vice grip. The cold weather, surprisingly, didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. He could barely feel like the bitter wind brushing underneath his cloak.
"You're too slow!" Shdia boomed, "Run, you laggards!"
Everyone was running at a fast pace so that they could keep up with Shadis. Unfortunately, Armin had fallen behind and looked as if he was going to pass out from exhaustion any moment then. Cal looked at Armin behind him with sympathy as his blonde friend heaved out heavy breaths.
"What's wrong, Arlet?!" Shadis questioned as he turned his horse around to ride bedside the small male, "You're falling behind!"
"Is it too heavy for you?" Shadis sarcastically asked as he looked down at him, "Will you be the one guy to remove his equipment?"
"If this were a real fight, you'd be Titan food by now!" Shadis finished as he began to ride forward with the other cadets. Cal was tempted to slow down on purpose so Armin would be left behind, but he knew that the only way for Arin to become a strong soldier was if he got strong on his own.
He was surprised to see Reiner slow down and grab onto Armin's equipment before throwing it over his broad shoulder. Cal turned around and watched as Reiner began to run forward a bit. He cursed as he turned around and squeezed his eyes shut. He grinned as Armin put on a determined face, ran up to Reiner and pulled his equipment off of his shoulder. Armin ran forward and ended up next to Cal.
"Armin," Cal called. The blonde turned his head so both their bright blue eyes met, "Don't give up yet, alright?" He sent him a determined smile, to which the blonde copied before they both faced forward and continued their sprint.
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Their next part of their training was about practising slicing through a Titan's nape. Cal was most excited for this part because it always meant he could show the skills that he had picked up. He wouldn't really admit, but he picked up quite a lot of pointers from Jean, seeing as he was pretty skilled with ODM gear as well.
