Girl from Mitras ★ A. Arlert

Chapter 8 - Forgotten books

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As Y/N had predicted, the first hike was an interesting adventure. In the morning they were given maps and divided into groups of 10. The task was to reach another base of the cadet corps within 3 days. The cadets received various equipment, dry rations and other things necessary for survival, such as healing ointments, tourniquets, etc. And, given the general competitive atmosphere of training, it couldn't have done without it: the first group that arrived at the place was released from duties for a whole month. Therefore, everyone was more eager to get started.

This time the Commandant himself distributed the cadets into groups. Y/N was in the same group as Eren. With them in the group were Connie, Sasha, Mina, Reiner and a few other guys. Mikasa and Armin were in the same group as Jean. Mikasa once again wanted to try to switch places with Y/N, as she wanted to be in the same group as Eren, but her attempts were interrupted by the Commandant's stern look.

Y/N has never had a competitive spirit, all competitions seemed to her something childish. Therefore, she wasn't particularly worried about who would come first. However, she had no doubt that everything would go well with all the knowledge she had. In addition to the basic survival skills they had been taught over the past six months-how to pitch tents, build a fire, give first aid «IS THAT THEY CALL MEDICAL AID? GOD I CAN DO BETTER», Y/N read many books that could help with this task. These were books about the geography of different areas, the features of the terrain, she read several books with tips for surviving in different climatic conditions, as well as journals about Survey corps' studies. All this made up a good theoretical base, which Y/N was eager to put into practice.

It was an interesting two days. Yes, it took two days for Y/N's group to reach the base. One moment was decisive: at the end of the first day, the weather deteriorated sharply - light snow slowly began to turn into a blizzard. Then, the guys wanted to stop and put up tents to hide from the impending snowstorm. But Y/N was the one of those who understood the map and insisted on moving on. There were some disputes, in which, oddly enough, Y/N received support from Reiner, but in the end, the guys trusted Y/N. As a result, after two hours of exhausted walking, they reached the mountain caves. Y/N saw their marks on the map, others didn't pay attention to the weird icons on the mountains: «Well, they are mountains anyway» It was warm in the caves, there was spring water. They didn't even set up tents, which saved them a lot of time. In the morning, they realized that a lot of snow had fallen, and probably they wouldn't have left the forest without problems.

On this trip, Y/N got to know Connie and Sasha better, they asked her weird questions about the Capital, like «Is it true that meat is eaten every day in the palace? Is it true that the palace is so big that it cannot be walked around in one day? Is it true that all the walls there are made of gold?», about various things that they may or may not have learned from books. They joked with each other and at those around them, in general, behaved as absurdly as possible, maintaining a positive atmosphere. These two were the glue that made their group a team. Eren mostly talked to Reiner. The other guys didn't talk much, trying to cope with the current workload.

However, their group came second. The first group, which included Mikasa and Armin, arrived only an hour before them. And the first thing that happened after their return was a skirmish between Jean and Eren. Jean was smug about being better than Eren and all that. As soon as Eren reached for Jean with his fists, Y/N turned off the sound and went inside the barracks, which was located on the territory of the small base of the cadet corps they had come to. She wanted to rest: during these days, only now she felt that her legs were about to fail. Walking through large snowdrifts all day long is no easy task. She settled on the bed in one of the corners, took off her shoes, and decided to rub her legs. After that, she lay on her back and threw her legs up on the wall - this was one of the ways to disperse the blood and relieve leg fatigue.