𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛, 𝙷𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛, 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙴𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚢 |𝙰𝚘𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚌

Chapter 22 - Inception

Mara chewed her lip anxiously as they sat in their first official briefing as soldiers in the Scout Regiment. She had been a jumble of nerves since she and her friends had joined the scouts. The knot that had tied itself to her chest ever since she had heard Eren had been eaten by a titan still constricted her chest, she didn't think it would loosen until she saw him in front of her. Alive. She could hardly believe the young bright eyed boy she knew could turn into a raging monster.

As she looked around, Mara saw many unfamiliar faces. With the promise of a new weapon the regiment's ranks had grown considerably, more recruits had chosen to join the scouts. Mara regarded their snickering, arrogant demeanour as they chatted waiting for the briefing to commence and saw only naive fools. None of these new faces had been there at Trost, they didn't know the horrors of battle. Well, they would learn.

One of the boys caught her eye and smirked, she held his gaze, fixing him with her signature cold stare. For some reason he saw this as a reason to get up and come to her. She looked away from his arrogant grin and faced the front as he approached.

"Hey there, sweetheart," he said, leaning against her desk, "my name is Aric, and you are?" She ignored him and he still took it as an invitation to continue. "Why so serious?"

"Are you asking why I'm taking an official briefing seriously?" she said, meeting his eyes with a half-lidded stare, "are you an idiot?"

"Ouch," he smirked, clutching his chest, "cat's got bite. It wouldn't hurt to smile."

She looked him up and down, taking in his crisp white shirt, and polished black shoes. Interior kid, of course.

"So you are, then."

"I am what, darling?"

"An idiot," Mara responded, looking him straight in the eye.

Annoyance flashed across his face, his jaw clenched before he responded.

"Listen here-" he began.

"Take your seats," Section Commander Ness called out, "the briefing is about to begin."

Aric looked at her darkly as he walked back to his seat. Mara paid no mind to him as he muttered to his friends next to him.

"What was that about?" Jean whispered as he sat down next to her.

"Nothing," she replied, facing the front, "literally nothing."

Ness began briefly running through the formation they were planning to run for the expedition in a month. He explained how they would prepare for it over the next few weeks and what was required of the new recruits. Around her a few people made notes, Mara couldn't help but notice he was particularly vague on the way the formation would work but she refrained from commenting.

"We don't want to overload you with information, so that's all for today," Ness said, clapping his hands together, "tomorrow, we will take you in groups to meet the horses and assess you ability on ODM, for now think over what we've just discussed and prepare for a gruelling month. You're dismissed."
Mara wasted no time in leaving the briefing room, keeping her sights straight, inviting no unwanted conversation from any of her peers. Jean, Sasha and Connie caught up with her chatting about one thing or another.

"No, we should use this time to brush up on combat or something," Jean's voice cut through the noise.

"But Jean, " Sasha whined, "you heard Commander Ness, that's all we're going to be doing for the next month! Let's just relax for one night."
"Yeah, Jean," Connie agreed, "just because Mikasa said she was going to-"
"This isn't about Mikasa!" Jean said defensively, "what do you think Mara?"