Attack on Titan: A Blacksmith's Tale

Chapter 3: The Girl with Cold Eyes

"Joining the Cadet Corps meant radically altering your life permanently. Whether you ended up in the Interior as an MP, roaming Titan-invested lands with the Scouts, or learning the delicate art of gardening in the fields, nothing would ever be the same again. Most veterans would tell you it was the first day in which their lives were changed forever. Not me. It was the day after..."

(The next day)

When Dillon awoke the next morning, he was faced with two things he didn't see coming. The first were the unpleasant existence of group showers. Privacy was going to be a thing of the past every time he stepped in there naked with everyone else. To say that he was a little uncomfortable with the situation would be like saying the Titans were a bit annoying. Unfortunately, he would have to suck it up and deal with it lest he incur the wrath of Shadis. Silver lining? These weren't coed showers.

The other thing that took him off guard was the immediate ODM gear test after breakfast. His commanding officer left that part out when they spoke the day before. Apparently, part 1 to getting into the Training Academy was dealing with Shadis for the first day. Part 2 was seeing if the cadets could handle using stationary gear at a moment's notice. This was crucial, as Shadis eloquently put it.

"It's aptitude test time, so listen up! There is no place for you here if you cannot perform. Fail, and you'll be shipped to the fields."

Judging by half of the cadets' faces, it was clear they were extremely nervous, and they weren't the only ones. Dillon may have helped craft some of the swords they use for the ODM gear, but he never used the gear in his life. There was no reason to... until now.

You know, in retrospect, maybe I should've trained myself to use equipment to fight Titans before entering a military academy training people to fight Titans.

Since there were only four harnesses to practice on, everyone divided themselves into five random groups. Dillon decided to wait it out and watch others do it to get an idea of how to do it himself. Hopefully, Shadis would not force him up there before he was ready, especially after the broken nose incident. At least Dillon was able to be bandage-free today. Until then, he wouldn't be idle. Now was the time to learn about his comrades.

He realized he was standing next to the two tallest people in the Cadet Corps. One of them was short-haired blonde with gold eyes, and the other guy had slightly longer black hair and brown eyes. The second had a couple of inches on the first guy. Time to start earning some respect.

"Um, hi," Dillon greeted a little nervously. "I'm Dillon Amsdale. I don't think we've met."

Blondie looked at him and held out his hand. "Reiner Braun. This is Bertholdt Hoover."

He shook both of their hands, noticing how strong their grips were if his wincing was any indication. "Nice to meet you."

Reiner couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "I get that reaction a lot. Don't feel too bad."

"Okay..."

And just like that, the three fell into an awkward silence.

Come on, you idiot. Think of something! Dillon silently perused through thousands of things to talk about. Uh... "Man, you must have been lifting houses when you an infant." Even for me, that's stupid. The guy probably heard that joke all his life. "Isn't Shadis a jackass?" The guy's right there! Do you want to get shot!? "That ODM gear is something, isn't it?" he finally settled on.

"Oh, yeah," Reiner agreed with a nod.

Yet again, the air between them was filled with the sound of silence. Clearly, that had been the wrong choice of conversation.